Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: When Does the Charizard Tera Raid Start?

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet offer a wealth of content out of the box, but many fans are already looking forward to the games’ limited-time events. Thankfully, those fans won’t have to wait long to take place in the Unrivaled Charizard Tera Raid Battle Event.

The first split of the Unrivaled Charizard Tera Raid Battle Event will start on Thursday, December 1st at 4 p.m. PST (7 p.m. EST). It will end on December 4th at 3:59 p.m. PST. If you miss that event, you’ll be able to join the second split of the Charizard Tera Raid starting on Thursday, December 15th at 4 p.m. PST (7 p.m. EST). That second split will run until Sunday, December 18th at 3:59 p.m.

Aside from the challenges these raids offer, the best reason to participate in them is the rare chance to catch a wild Charizard. At present, there are no plans to add Charizard to the base Violet and Scarlet games. In other words, you’ll never be able to just catch one out in the wild. As such, you’re only chance to add the legendary Pokémon to your roster/collection is to beat it in this event.

In order to participate in the Unrivaled Charizard Tera Raid Battle Event, you’ll first need to complete the Victory Road storyline and unlock the ability to participate in six-star raids. Once you’ve reached that point in the game, you’ll want to look for the event in the Tera Raid section of the Poké Portal. Alternatively, you can find it in the open world by looking for the black crystal on your map that identifies a raid location. Either method will take you to the same place.

As for the raid itself…well, it won’t be easy. These raid events are intended to be the ultimate test of your skills and lineup. Their challenges are amplified by the fact that it’s hard to know exactly what to expect until you’re playing the raid. Yes, we know Charizard’s types, which means that we also know how to counter those types. However, this special raid version of Charizard will be significantly more difficult than any of the Fire/Flying/Dragon Pokémon you’ll find in the base game. As such, you’re really going to have to optimize your lineup if you’re going to survive the fight.

For what it’s worth, these events are designed to be tackled by multiple people. The game will offer solo players some NPC help, but they’re significantly easier to beat if you bring some friends with you. With the right lineup, you can pretty much brute force your way through any raid encounter.

As for specific Charizard strategies, we should have a better idea of the best lineups, builds, and counters as soon as the event is live. Until then, get a few of your most powerful Charizard counters ready to go, and be prepared to tweak and change your roster as needed!