Iron Treads & Great Tusk Tera Raid: Best Counters in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
Best Tera Raid Counter Guide for Iron Treads & Great Tusk in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
- Iron Treads & Great Tusk will be in Tera Raid battles from May 19th-21st.
- Great Tusk will appear in Pokémon Violet and Iron Treads will appear in Pokémon Scarlet.
- This is a guaranteed way to get a high IV version of these Paradox Pokémon.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet continues to host weekend Tera Raid Events with a slow drip of new Pokémon that cannot be obtained by any other means. This weekend the Chesnaught raid is still going on and along with it Pokémon Scarlet & Violet are doing something a little different. Two of the Paradox Pokémon you can normally only find in Area Zero and that are version exclusive, are switching versions.
Iron Treads, a future version of Donphan who can only be found in Pokémon Violet, will appear in Tera Raids for players who own Pokémon Scarlet. Likewise, Great Tusk, the past version of Donphann who only appears in Pokémon Scarlet, will be in Tera Raids for Pokémon Violet.
These special Iron Treads and Great Tusk Tera Raids will only be available for the weekend, so drop everything you're doing and start preparing now! They will be in Tera Raids on May 19th through May 21st.
Why Capture these Paradox Pokemon?
Chances are very high that you probably already have these Paradox Pokémon in your Pokémon from trading friends or using the Surprise Trade feature. But you should still look into doing these raids a few times to get a version of these Pokémon with nearly perfect IVs. As 5 Star Tera Raids they will have a guaranteed 4 perfect stats which make them great for training into competitive Pokémon or Tera Raid fighters.
Capturing Iron Treads and Great Tusk
Start by finding the raid den for Iron Treads or Great Tusk. You’ll have to look around since their Tera Types are random. But the good news is that these are not going to be as hard as the 7 Star Raids with the fully evolved Starter Pokémon. Depending on what counters you run and what Tera Types they have, some may even be soloable if your Pokémon is strong enough.
And if you have other trainers join you, the majority of these fights should be a piece of cake!
Rewards for Iron Treads & Great Tusk
What kinds of rewards do you get for taking down these Paradox Pokémon? You’ll be able to add them to your Pokémon collection, of course and they’ll have guaranteed 4 perfect IVs. It might take you a few tries to get the right stats, but unlike the 7 Star Raids you can do these as many times as you please.
You’ll also get the best chance at Herba Mystica, Ability Patches and Capsules, a large amount of Tera Shards and plenty of items to sell for Poke Dollars. Plus, the best chances at Bottle Caps and Golden Bottle Caps for hyper training.
The Best Counters for Iron Treads & Great Tusk
Lucky for all the trainers out there, Iron Treads and Great Tusk share the ground type, with Great Tusk being Fight\Ground and Iron Treads being Ground Steel. You can actually take on both of them with the same three counters. But don’t be afraid to experiment a little if you have another Pokémon who is a stronger counter to whatever Tera Type you’re facing down.
Annihilape
Here’s all the basic details you need to know at a glance to get your Annihilape prepared.
- Tera Type: Fighting or Ghost
- Nature: Adamant (Attack Up, Special Attack Down)
- EV Spread: HP 252, Attack 252, Defense 4
- Ability: Defiant
- Held Item: Shell Bell
- Move set:
- Rage Fist
- Drain Punch
- Bulk Up
- Screech
Annihilape is a great pick because right off the bat being a Ghost Type gives it immunity to any Fighting Moves either of the Paradox Pokémon may have up their sleeve. The ghostly primates Fighting type also means it’s going to be strong against any of the Steel Type moves they may have.
Defiant, Annihilape’s ability, raises its attack whenever it’s hit with a stat down move. That along with the Rage Fist move means that he’ll be at max attack for much of the fight. Use Drain Punch if you need to get some hit points back, Tera Orb when it’s full and Rage Fist some more until you earn a victory.
Skeledirge
Here’s all the basic details you need to know at a glance to get your Skeledirge prepared.
- Tera Type: Ghost or Fire
- Nature: Modest (Special Attack Up, Attack Down)
- EV Spread: HP 252, Special Attack 252, Defense 4
- Ability: Unaware
- Held Item: Throat Spray
- Move set:
- Torch Song
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Slack Off
Skeledirge should be an easy one to prepare if you’ve collected and trained up all of the starter Pokémon from Violet & Scarlet. He’s got great defensive typing giving him immunity to Fighting Types and resistance to Steel Types.
He is weak to Ground Type moves, but he’s a big boy with a lot of bulk. You should be able to keep yourself healthy with Slack Off as a healing ability. Use Torch Song to boost your Special Attack, keep a burn effect on the Paradox Pokémon with Will-O-Wisp and nuke when you can using Shadow Ball.
Slowbro
Here’s all the basic details you need to know at a glance to get your Slowbro prepared.
- Tera Type: Psychic
- Nature: Modest (Special Attack Up, Attack Down)
- EV Spread: HP 252, Special Attack 252, Defense 4
- Ability: Oblivious
- Held Item: Leftovers
- Move set:
- Iron Defense
- Nasty Plot
- Stored Power
- Psychic Terrain
Slowbro is a very powerful, very tanky Pokémon that every trainer should have in their stable. He’s great against Iron Treads and Great Tusk because his dual Water and Psychic Type gives him resistances to both Fighting and Steel moves, the majority of what these Paradox Tera Raids will use against you.
Iron Defense will increase your Defense stat, Nasty Plot will increase your Special Attack stat, Psychic Terrain will increase the power of your Psychic moves and then you unload with Stored Power.
What makes Stored Power so powerful is that it does damage based on how many stat increases you have. Between Iron Defense and Nasty Plot, you may even be able to solo the Paradox Pokémon Tera Raids with a Slowbro.
More Pokémon Strategy?
If you’re looking for more Pokémon articles and guides, check out our best dual typing article and our competitive spotlight for the Paradox Pokémon Flutter Mane.
