How to Beat 7-Star Sceptile Tera Raid: Best Counters and Builds in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Get ready – everyone’s favorite leafy lizard, Sceptile, has come to 7-Star Tera Raids, and it’s no pushover. So here are some of the best builds and counters to take on the 7-Star Sceptile Tera Raid in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

7-Star Sceptile Tera Raid Event Dates in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

The 7-Star Sceptile Tera Raid event in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet began on Thursday, June 27 at 5 PM PST and will continue until Sunday, June 30 at 4:59 PM PST. The event will occur again a week later on Thursday, July 4 at 5 PM PST until Sunday, July 7 at 4:59 PM PST.

7-Star Sceptile Moveset and Tera Type

Perhaps in reference to its Mega Evolution, Sceptile will have the Dragon Tera type during its 7-Star Tera Raid in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which alters many of its usual strengths and weaknesses as a Grass-type Pokemon. The Dragon Tera type will also boost any Dragon-type moves added to its repertoire, such as Breaking Swipe. Like other 7-Star Raid Pokemon, 7-Star Sceptile will have access to more than the usual four moves, have perfect stats, and be at a max level of 100.

7-Star Sceptile’s full moveset and abilities are as follows:

Pokemon	Level	Moveset	Ability	Nature	Tera Type
Sceptile	100	Leaf Blade Dragon Dance Breaking Swipe Thunder Punch Earthquake Leaf Storm	Unburden	Hasty	Dragon

Best Builds and Counters for 7-Star Sceptile Tera Raid

The Dragon Tera type on 7-Star Sceptile makes it weak to Fairy-, Ice-, and Dragon-type moves. Its hidden ability, Unburdern, will double Sceptile’s speed if it has a held item that’s used up or lost. But as 7-Star raid Pokemon don’t have held items, this ability shouldn’t actually come into play.

7-Star Sceptile will begin the battle with Leaf Storm, which will deal significant Grass-type damage and lower your Special Attack by two stages. Once it has 85% HP remaining, it will use Breaking Swipe, a Dragon-type move that deals medium damage but also lowers your Attack by one stage. And at 30% HP remaining, Sceptile will pull out an Earthquake as a strong Ground-type attack. Aside from Sceptile’s attacks, during the fight, all player stats will reset at 85% time remaining, Sceptile’s stats will reset at 65% time remaining, and Sceptile will put up a shield at either 70% HP remaining or 75% time remaining.

In between all that, Sceptile will hit you with its three main moves (Leaf Blade, Thunder Punch, and Breaking Swipe) and also has access to Dragon Dance, which will increase its Attack and Speed stats by one stage each. There’s a lot of stat trickery going on in this fight, which may throw trainers for a loop, but no need to fear: with the right build, we can easily bypass this.

Below are a few recommendations to help you succeed in this challenge:

Clefable

Clefable is likely going to be the go-to choice here as a Fairy-type Pokemon immune to Breaking Swipe and with access to the Unaware hidden ability. Unaware will cause any of 7-Star Sceptile’s stat changes to be ignored whenever Clefable deals damage or takes damage, making all of Sceptile’s stat nonsense moot.

Draining Kiss is a damaging Fairy-type move that will heal Clefable by 75% of the damage dealt, and with the Metronome held item, the attack power and amount of HP healed will increase each time you use the move consecutively (up to a 100% increase after about six Draining Kisses if used consecutively). Be sure to set up a Reflect to help keep you from getting one-hit KO’ed, and use a few Calm Minds to build up your stats before you start spamming Sceptile with non-consensual kisses. Note: We do not endorse the use of non-consensual kisses outside of the 7-Star Sceptile Tera raid.

Pokemon	Level	Moveset	Ability	Held Item	Nature	Tera Type	EVs/IVs
Clefable	100	Draining Kiss Calm Mind Reflect Moon Blast / Protect	Unaware	Metronome	Bold	Fairy	HP & Sp. Attack

Annihilape

Did you think you could escape Annihilape? Well, think again. As usual, Annihilape comes in handy yet again to exude its wrath upon 7-Star Tera raids, this time taking advantage of its Defiant ability to raise its Attack stat whenever it has any stat lowered by an opposing move or otherwise. With Rage Fist’s power already increasing every time Annihilape is hit by an attack, Bulk Up further increasing Annihilape’s Attack stat, and Focus Energy greatly increasing the chance to land a critical hit, Annihilape will dish out monstrous damage against 7-Star Sceptile.

Use Taunt to keep Sceptile from increasing its stats with Dragon Dance, and you’re sure to make quick work of it. The main concern here is that, with no useful resistances in this fight, Annihilape may be a bit of a glass cannon. But luckily, Annihilape doesn’t have any weaknesses in this fight either, so as long as your Pokemon is hyper-trained for max EVs and IVs, you shouldn’t have too much trouble surviving.

Pokemon	Level	Moveset	Ability	Held Item	Nature	Tera Type	EVs/IVs
Annihilape	100	Rage Fist Bulk Up Focus Energy Taunt	Defiant	Shell Bell	Adamant	Ghost	Attack & Defense

Grimmsnarl

When it comes to pure Attack, Grimmsnarl is quite a heavy-hitting Fairy-type Pokemon. Unfortunately, it suffers quite a bit in Defense, but luckily, its Prankster ability will help us get up a Reflect before Sceptile can move, bolstering everyone’s defenses. Much like with Annihilape, you’ll want to use Taunt to prevent Sceptile from using Dragon Dance and then set up a few Bulk Ups to increase your Attack and further increase your Defense. You can then use Play Rough as your high-damaging move, which also has a 10% chance of lowering Sceptile’s Attack stat by one stage. And with Shell Bell as your held item, you’ll heal yourself a bit each time you use Play Rough, hopefully mitigating any big damage you’ve taken.

Pokemon	Level	Moveset	Ability	Held Item	Nature	Tera Type	EVs/IVs
Grimmsnarl	100	Play Rough Bulk Up Taunt Reflect	Prankster	Shell Bell	Adamant	Fairy	HP & Attack

Whimsicott

If you want to go full support while attempting the 7-Star Sceptile Tera raid with a few friends, Whimsicott’s a great option. As a Grass/Fairy dual type, this fluffy Pokemon resists every move Sceptile can throw at it, is immune to Breaking Swipe, and its status moves will have priority with the Prankster ability. Cotton Guard will increase Whimsicott’s Defense by a whopping three stages, Charm will lower Sceptile’s Attack by two stages, and Fake Tears will also lower Sceptile’s Special Defense by two stages. You also have Moon Blast to do a bit of damage and subsequently heal yourself with Shell Bell, though you’ll likely rely on the damage from your teammates to actually win the fight. Despite the middling damage output, you should be able to survive the ordeal with nary a scratch on you.

Pokemon	Level	Moveset	Ability	Held Item	Nature	Tera Type	EVs/IVs
Whimsicott	100	Charm Cotton Guard Fake Tears Moon Blast	Prankster	Shell Bell	Bold	Fairy	HP & Defense

That’s it for the 7-Star Sceptile Tera Raid in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. As a reward for taking down the Mightiest Sceptile, you’ll gain plenty of EXP Candies, Dragon Tera Shards, Herba Mystica, an Ability Patch, TM222, and a smattering of some other goodies. Well worth the effort. Good luck out there, trainer!

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are available now on the Nintendo Switch.