There’s a lot of nuance with the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Terastal Pokémon, with its ability to change the type of any monster in the game. So, we decided to break down everything you need to know about this fancy new-to-gen-nine mechanic, and you can find it all here in this neat guide.
The latest Pokémon title has us having some serious fun exploring Paldea, but if you need a helping hand, we’ve got you covered with guides to Pokémon Scarlet & Violet legendaries, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet new Pokémon, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet breeding, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet exclusives, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Eevee, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet evolution, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet elite four, and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet gym leaders.
Let’s dive right into the latest Pokémon mechanic
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Terastal Pokémon
Pokémon found in the Paldea region have the unique ability to take on Terastal forms, which make Pokémon shine and glimmer like gems. When players initiate the Terastal mechanic in battle, Pokémon gain a Tera Jewel on their head like a crown, and then the entire Pokémon’s body is encased in crystalline armour that glistens like a diamond. Very fancy.
Trainers can only activate the Terastal mechanic with a unique new item called a tera orb. Once you have used it to terastallize a Pokémon it will run out of energy and you recharge it by heading to a Pokémon centre. You can find the shining crystals across the region to add more new monsters to your team, so long as you’re willing to take part in some Pokémon Scarlet and Violet tera raid battles.
How do I find wild Terestal Pokémon?
You can find wild Terastal Pokémon by searching the wild for special glowing Pokémon in the overworld. No, we don’t mean shiny Pokémon, these ‘mons will be their regular colour but with a shining golden aura. If you bump into one of these, that’s right, it’s guaranteed to be a Terastal Pokémon. You can check out more about the special encounters in the trailer below.
How do I use Terastal Pokémon in battle?
Like previous mechanics, mastering the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Terastal phenomenom mechanic will be the key to victory, and challenging the Pokémon champions of the Paldea region. All Pokémon have the ability to use this new mechanic, and will gain additional power when they do so, but that’s not all.
Every single Pokémon also has a tera type, which only activates when you terastallize a Pokémon, changing its type to the Pokémon’s tera type. This changes even Pokémon of the same species, as the latest trailer showcases an Eevee that can gain the flying tera type, while another gains the normal tera type. Terastallizing adds another complication to battles and reminds us a bit of a supercharged hidden power.
Just like regular types, there are eighteen different tera types, and Pokémon using the ability will gain extra power in moves that match with the tera type, much like regular STAB attacks. They may also gain new resistances, so this will be an essential mechanic to master if you want to challenge the eight gym leaders. But remember, you can only terastallize a Pokémon once a battle, and it will last until the battle ends, much like the dynamax mechanic in the Kalos region. Check out the full Pokemon Presents below for even more details.
If you’re a huge Pokemaniac, be sure to check out our recent articles celebrating Pokémon Go’s sixth anniversary, including an interview with Niantic in our Pokémon Go sixth anniversary Niantic interview, and our chat with prominent members of the Pokémon Go community, including Serebii.net’s Joe Merrick, in our Pokémon Go sixth anniversary interview. Or, if it’s more help with the ninth generation you need, see our Pokémon Scarlet and Violet gym leaders and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Eevee guides.