Best counters and builds for defeating 7-star Dragonite Tera Raids in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

The seven-star Dragonite Tera Raid event is now live in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and it’s another tough battle, just like previous Unrivaled raids.

You can challenge seven-star Dragonite Tera Raids starting Thursday, Aug. 22 at 7pm CT until Sunday, Sept. 1 at 6:59pm CT in the Gen IX Pokémon games. Beating the Tera Raid gives you the opportunity to catch the lovable dragon with the Mightiest Mark. Defeating this Dragonite, however, won’t be easy without some preparation and the right counter.

Here’s what you need to know about the seven-star Dragon Tera Raid and how to beat it in Scarlet and Violet.

Beating the Unrivaled Dragonite Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

The key to beating Unrivaled Dragonite is to bring a Pokémon that can hit it for super-effective damage while tanking a lot of hits. We’ll go through Dragonite’s typing, Tera Type, weaknesses, and moveset to determine the best counter.

What type is Unrivaled Dragonite?

As you might expect from its name and wings, Dragonite naturally has the Dragon/Flying-typing, but it’ll also have the Normal Tera Type for this event. The Normal Tera Type gives Dragonite just one weakness, Fighting. and an immunity to Ghost. Offensively, watch out for Normal Tera-boosted attacks like Extreme Speed.

What moves does Unrivaled Dragonite know?

This Dragonite is a mixed Scarlet and Violet attacker with both physical and special moves. Its physical moves are Extreme Speed, Scale Shot, and Earthquake, while its special moves are Draco Meteor, Hurricane, Thunder. It also has Rain Dance to set up the rain and Dragon Dance for boosts in Attack and Speed.

Moves

• Extreme Speed
• Scale Shot
• Dragon Dance
• Earthquake

Additional moves

• Draco Meteor
• Rain Dance
• Thunder
• Hurricane

Best counter for the Unrivaled Dragonite Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

I’ve found the best counter for the Unrivaled Dragonite Tera Raid event is Orthworm because it can use its fantastic physical bulk to tank tons of hits and launch powerful Body Presses for super-effective damage.

Best Orthworm Tera Raid build in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

If you aren’t already a fan of the worm, you will be; Orthworm has all the qualities that perfectly counter Dragonite with its Steel-typing, good bulk, and access to Body Press.

Since Orthworm is a pure Steel-type Pokémon, it resists all of Unrivaled Dragonite’s attacks except for Thunder. It would be weak to Earthquake, but the worm’s signature Earth Eater ability turns that weakness into an immunity and HP recovery. Once you maximize Orthworm’s Defense stat with three Iron Defenses, it’ll be taking little damage from anything Dragonite throws at it. The only thing you’ll need to worry about is an unlucky critical hit, which did knock out my Orthworm on my first attempt.

With its maxed out Defense, Orthworm can spam Body Press, which calculates damage based on the user’s Defense rather than Attack. When Dragonite resets your Pokémon’s stats, simply set up with three more Iron Defenses before spamming Body Press again. To boost your damage output even more, consider using the “Go all out!” cheer. Orthworm should heal back enough HP each time it attacks thanks to the Shell Bell item.

When it came to picking a Tera Type, I decided the Stellar Tera Type was the best option for Orthworm since it retains its handy Steel-type resistances while gaining a damage boost in Body Press.

If you were to give it the Fighting Tera Type, for example, the poor worm would be taking more damage from Dragonite’s attacks, including super-effective damage from Hurricane.

Here’s the step-by-step game plan:

• Use three Iron Defenses.
• Spam Body Press.
• Terastallize to the Stellar Tera Type as soon as possible when Orthworm is not at risk of fainting.
• When Orthworm’s stats are reset, use three more Iron Defenses.
• Spam Body Press until you beat Dragonite.