Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: How to beat 7-star Serperior Tera Raid guide

Serperior, the Grass-type Starter from the Unova region, is the next 7-star Tera Raid boss in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, so here’s all you need to defeat and catch this mighty ‘mon.

Scarlet & Violet players recently took on the Alolan Fire/Dark-type Starter, Incineroar, during its run as a 7-star Raid boss, and now it’s time to jump to another popular starter.

The regal snake – Serperior – will not appear along with any Mass Outbreaks, but instead, it will appear twice during the month, and the second time around it will be accompanied by Blissey in 5-Star Tera Raid battles.

Those looking to catch a Grass Tera Type Serperior with the Mightiest Mark in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet can check its weaknesses and best counters below.

When will Serperior appear in Tera Raids?

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s 7-star Grass Tera Type Serperior Raid event will run from Thursday, September 19, 2024, at 5:00 PM PDT until Sunday, September 22, 2024, at 4:59 PM PDT.

Then, the mighty Unova Starter will return from Thursday, September 26, 2024, at 5:00 PM PDT until Sunday, September 29, 2024, at 4:59 PM PDT, accompanied by Blissey with various Tera Types as a 5-star Tera Raid boss.

It’s important to remember that you will only be able to catch one Serperior with the Mightiest Mark per save file, though you can challenge it as many times as you want to get plenty of rewards and farm the elusive Herba Mystica.

7-star Serperior moves, Tera Type, and Ability

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During its run as a 7-star Raid boss, Serperior with the Mightiest Mark will have the Grass Tera Type. As a mighty boss, the Unova starter will have outstanding stats and an arsenal of great moves, so you will need a solid plan and team if you want to win.

Serperior base stats

POKEMON	ABILITY	HP	ATTACK	DEFENSE	SP. ATTACK	SP. DEFENSE	SPEED
	Contrary	75	75	95	75	95	113

Serperior moves

The move pool for Serperior hasn’t been confirmed yet, but out of all its moves available, it might use the following:

• Leaf Storm (Grass)
• Giga Drain (Grass)
• Dragon Pulse (Dragon)
• Sunny Day (Fire)
• Solar Beam (Grass)
• Light Screen (Psychic)
• Gastro Acid (Poison)

As a pure Grass type, the regal Pokemon is weak to Flying, Poison, Bug, Fire, and Ice, and that won’t change when it Terastallizes, as it has the Grass Tera Type.

However, Serperior will probably expand its coverage with other types of moves like Poison, Psychic, and even Fire or Dragon, so be careful with how you build your team to avoid taking Pokemon with weaknesses to any of these attacks.

Serperior is good as either a physical or special attacker, but it will probably focus on special moves. More so, players must be ultra careful with its Contrary ability, as it reverses any stat changes and might turn your buffs into nerfs.

Best Serperior 7-star Tera Raid counters

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Serperior’s Contrary ability is a key factor to consider when fighting this Pokemon, as it will change the rules of the battle for everyone. More so, it will allow Serperior to spam the nuke Leaf Storm as Contrary will raise its Sp. Attack instead of lowering it.

To help you defeat Serperior with the Mightiest Mark, here are the best counters you can use:

Skeledirge

The Paldean Fire Starter has one of the best abilities to counter Serperior’s Contrary. Skeledirge’s Unaware ability allows the Pokemon to ignore any of the opponent’s stat changes, which means any boost Serperior gets, will be overlooked.

When the battle starts, use Sunny Day to boost all Fire-type moves for five turns, then spam Skeledirge’s signature move Torch Song, which will not only scorch the enemy but will also boost its own Sp. Attack.

If needed, use Slack Off to rest and recover half of Skeledirge’s max HP and Protect to avoid getting hit by any type of move.

POKEMON	LEVEL	MOVES	ABILITY	NATURE	HELD ITEM	TERA TYPE
	100	– Protect – Torch Song – Sunny Day – Slack Off	Unaware	Bold	Shell Bell	Fire

Galarian Slowking

Another way to counter Serperior’s Contrary ability is to use a Galarian Slowking with the Skill Swap move, which exchanges abilities with the opponent. This means Serperior will get Regenerator, while we get Contrary.

Due to Serperior fighting solo, Regenerator will not work, as the Pokemon needs to be withdrawn to regain HP. Plus, by not having Contrary, every time Serperior uses Leaf Storm, its Sp. Attack will be lowered.

As a Poison type, Galarian Slowking will resist Serperior Grass-type moves, but you can still use Light Screen to protect yourself from special moves for five turns while you hit it with Acid Spray and Sludge Wave to deal super effective damage.

POKEMON	LEVEL	MOVES	ABILITY	NATURE	HELD ITEM	TERA TYPE
	100	– Skill Swap – Acid Spray – Sludge Wave – Light Screen	Regenerator	Modest	Shell Bell	Poison

Delphox

Similar to Galarian Slowking, Delphox can use Skill Swap to block Serperior from boosting its Sp. Attack every time it uses Leaf Storm, forcing it to lower its own stats instead.

Start the battle with Sunny Day to boost all Fire-type attacks and use Mystical Fire to hit Serperior. Because you’ve stolen the Contrary ability, you can use Overheat without having your Sp. Attack lowered, so spam it all you want.

The Blaze ability will power up Fire-type moves when the Pokemon’s HP is low, so whenever your health bar is down, use both Mystical Fire and Overheat non-stop.

POKEMON	LEVEL	MOVES	ABILITY	NATURE	HELD ITEM	TERA TYPE
	100	– Skill Swap – Overheat – Mystical Fire – Sunny Day	Blaze	Modest	Shell Bell	Fire

Serperior Tera Raid rewards

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Those who manage to defeat Serperior as a 7-star Tera Raid boss can catch Serperior with the Mightiest Mark and claim a bunch of useful rewards:

• Herba Mystica (Bitter, Salty, Spice, Sour, or Sweet)
• Exp. Candy L
• Exp. Candy XL
• Dark Tera Shard
• Comet Shard
• A TM
• Ability Capsule
• Ability Patch
• Bottle Cap
• Brave Mint
• Star Piece
• Rare Candy
• Nugget
• PP Up
• Protein

Can 7-star Tera Raid Serperior be Shiny?

No, Grass Tera Type Serperior with the Mightiest Mark cannot be Shiny in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as not being able to catch the Shiny of the featured Pokemon has been the case for all previous 7-star Raid bosses as well.

However, players who catch this Pokemon can try to obtain a Shiny version through breeding, using the Masuda Method to improve the odds.

That’s all you need to take down Grass Tera Type Serperior with the Mightiest Mark in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s 7-star Tera Raids. Be sure to check out more of our coverage, including guides on Mass Outbreak events and all Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Shiny sandwich recipes.