Pokémon Emboar 7-Star Tera Raid: moveset and counters

The 7-star tera raids roll on in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, with the latest being Emboar, the fire-type starter Pokémon from Generation 5. Like all the other 7-star raid Pokémon, this Emboar comes with the Mightiest Mark if you can defeat it in battle and catch it, making it an impressive prize for all Pokémon collectors.

Emboar packs a strong punch and has the potential to be a very difficult raid, so we’ve put together our predicted moveset for the raid and some potential counters you can prepare for when the event starts.

Like most other events, this raid will be hosted over two different weekends:

Emboar will coming into this event with its hidden ability, Reckless, which is one of the main factors that makes it a tough challenge. It gives a 20% boost to the damage of all of Emboar’s recoil-inducing moves, and it will likely be going for them regularly. This does give us a small helping hand with recoil damage, but it’s negated by the raid boss’ massive health bar and the increased damage of its attacks.

Here’s what we think Emboars set will look like:

The Mightiest Emboar – Level 100:

It’s hard to go wrong with Gastrodon, and it’s been useful in many previous raids for that reason. It’s extremely strong defensively, and often in Tera Raids, being able to stay alive on the field for longer is the biggest difference maker. It’s immune to Wild Charge and resists both Flare Blitz and Head Smash, dramatically nerfing Emboar’s offensive capabilities. On top of that it can reply with super effective Ground-type moves.

We’ve created two sets for Gastrodon in this raid. The first is a Storm Drain set designed to be used in tandem with another Gastrodon on your team. The idea is you consistently use Chilling Waters on each other to raise your special attack, then unleash ridiculously powerful Earth Power attacks, with Acid Armor to boost your defenses and Recover to heal you.

Storm Drain Gastrodon – Level 100:

Second is a Gastrodon designed to take on Emboar alone. Setting up a sandstorm will activate Sand Force, and then you can use Curse to boost yourself before unleashing Earthquake repeatedly to take Emboar down. Then finally you have Recover, which is always useful.

Sand Force Gastrodon – Level 100:

Versatile may not be the first word to come to mind when you think of Mudsdale, but it’s surprisingly applicable for this raid set. By using the Stamina ability, Mudsdale boosts its defense every time it gets hit with an attack. As it’s bulking up, you can use Curse to boost its attack too, and then once your Tera Orb is ready to be activated, you can no nuts with Earthquake or Counter depending on what the situation calls for.

Mudsdale – Level 100:

Iron Hands is another that always manages to worm its way into usability in these raids. That’s thanks to how it can get huge attack boosts in no time at all without having to put themselves in harm’s way. With either Swords Dance or Belly Drum you can get Iron Hands to six attack boosts in just three turns, but even one or two will still make a huge difference if it’s too risky.

Drain Punch can help you recover HP to keep boosting, and then once you’re set-up, let loose with Earthquake and watch Emboar’s health drain away.

Iron Hands – Level 100:

If you’re stuck in Scarlet and don’t have access to the Violet-exclusive Iron Hands, then here’s an alternative that you can make use of. Great Tusk has great stats for both physical attack and defense, helped along by a big HP pool. It has access to Bulk Up to boost both of those stats even further, and its moveset is rounded out by Mud Slap for accuracy drops, Earthquake for damage, and Fire Fang for a burn chance.

Great Tusk – Level 100:

RYAN WOODROW

Ryan Woodrow is Guides Editor for GLHF based in London, England. He has a particular love for JRPGs and the stories they tell. His all-time favorite JRPGs are the Xenoblade Chronicles games because of the highly emotive and philosophy-driven stories that hold great meaning. Other JRPGs he loves in the genre are Persona 5 Royal, Octopath Traveler, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Nier Automata, and Pokémon. He also regularly dives deep into the indie scene trying to find hidden gems and innovative ideas. Some of his favorite indie games include FTL: Faster Than Light, Thomas Was Alone, Moonlighter, Phantom Abyss, and Towerfall Ascension. More of his favorite games are Minecraft, Super Mario Odyssey, Stardew Valley, Skyrim, and XCOM 2. He has a first-class degree in Games Studies from Staffordshire University and has written for several sites such as USA Today's ForTheWin, Game Rant, The Sun, and KeenGamer. Email: ryan.woodrow@glhf.gg

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