Mechanics lab
Tera Types Explained: How Terastallization Works in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet (2026 Guide)
A complete plain-English guide to Tera Types in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet — how Terastallization works, what each Tera Type does, the rare Stellar Tera Type, Tera Blast, and how to use Tera competitively.
Terastallization is a battle mechanic introduced in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet that lets a Pokémon temporarily change its type to its Tera Type — gaining STAB on attacks of that type and altering its weaknesses and resistances. It’s the defining mechanic of Generation 9 and the single biggest factor in Scarlet/Violet’s competitive metagame.
If you’ve ever watched a Pokémon battle and someone says “they’re going to Tera into Fairy” and you nodded politely with no idea what that meant — this guide is for you.
Key Takeaways
- A Tera Type is a secondary, hidden type each Pokémon has that you can activate once per battle by Terastallizing.
- Terastallizing changes a Pokémon’s type to its Tera Type, granting STAB on attacks of that type and changing defensive matchups.
- Each player can Terastallize only one Pokémon per battle.
- Tera Type can match the Pokémon’s original type (boosting existing STAB to 2x) or be a different type for defensive utility or coverage.
- The Stellar Tera Type is a rare special type from the Indigo Disk DLC that boosts moves of every type, but only once per type.
- Tera Blast is a Normal-type move that becomes the user’s Tera Type when Terastallized — the move that justifies Tera Types on coverage-poor Pokémon.
- Tera is legal in Regulation Set I (SV’s final VGC format) but not in Regulation Set M-A on Pokémon Champions.
Table of Contents
- What is a Tera Type?
- How Terastallization Works
- How to Change a Pokémon’s Tera Type
- Offensive Tera: Matching Type for Power
- Defensive Tera: Mismatched Type for Survival
- Tera Blast: The Coverage Mechanic
- Stellar Tera Type Explained
- Tera Types in Competitive Play
- Best Tera Type Choices for Popular Pokémon
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Tera Type?
Every Pokémon in Scarlet/Violet has a Tera Type — a secondary type that exists alongside its standard type. The Tera Type is set when the Pokémon is encountered or hatched (it’s random for wild catches), and can be changed later with special items.
The Tera Type only activates when you choose to Terastallize the Pokémon during battle. Until then, the Pokémon behaves as its normal type. Once Terastallized:
- The Pokémon’s type changes to its Tera Type.
- The Tera Type “stacks” on the Pokémon’s original STAB if it matches.
- Defensive matchups recalculate based on the new type.
- A crystal-shaped Tera headpiece appears visually.
You can only Terastallize one Pokémon per battle, and once that Pokémon is Terastallized, it stays Terastallized for the rest of the match. There’s no untransform option.
How Terastallization Works
The mechanical details:
To Terastallize:
- Select your Tera move from the battle menu (the orb icon).
- Confirm — the Pokémon transforms with a Tera crystal visual.
- Choose your move as usual. The Tera Type’s effect applies immediately.
What changes after Terastallizing:
| Property | Before Tera | After Tera |
|---|---|---|
| Type for offense | Original type(s) | Tera Type only |
| Type for defense | Original type(s) | Tera Type only |
| STAB on matching moves | 1.5x | 1.5x (Tera Type) and 1.5x (matching original) — see below |
| Special: Tera Blast | Normal-type | Tera Type-typed |
The “double STAB” rule: If your Tera Type matches one of your original types — say, a Fire-type Pokémon with a Fire Tera Type — then your Fire moves get 2x damage instead of the usual 1.5x. This is one of the most important strategic facts: a matched-type Tera is a flat 33% damage boost on your STAB moves.
Defensive implications: After Terastallizing, your Pokémon takes damage as if it were only its Tera Type. Your original type’s weaknesses and resistances disappear. For example, a Gholdengo (Steel/Ghost) Terastallized to Fairy becomes a pure Fairy-type for damage calculations — losing its Steel resistances but gaining Fairy resistances.
Once-per-battle: You can only Terastallize one of your Pokémon per match. The Tera icon disappears from the menu after use. Choose carefully.
How to Change a Pokémon’s Tera Type
A Pokémon’s starting Tera Type is random when caught (or determined by the egg if hatched). To change it, you need Tera Shards — collected from defeating Terastallized Pokémon, Tera Raid Battles, or sold at certain stores.
To change a Tera Type:
- Travel to the Treasure Eatery in Medali (a restaurant in the Paldea region).
- Talk to the NPC offering Tera-changing service.
- Pay 50 Tera Shards of the desired type to permanently change the Pokémon’s Tera Type to that type.
You can repeat this process as many times as you want with different shard types.
Stellar Tera Type uses Stellar Shards, which only drop from specific Indigo Disk DLC content — see the Stellar section below.
Offensive Tera: Matching Type for Power
The most popular use of Tera is offensive — matching your Tera Type to one of your Pokémon’s main attacking moves to get the 2x STAB multiplier.
Example: A Garchomp with Dragon Tera Type Terastallized in battle will get 2x Dragon STAB on Dragon Claw, Outrage, and Dragon Tail. Combined with its already-high Attack, this turns into one-shot territory on most opposing Pokémon.
Typical offensive Tera picks:
- Iron Valiant with Fairy Tera (boosts Moonblast to 2x STAB).
- Gholdengo with Steel Tera (boosts Make It Rain to 2x STAB).
- Great Tusk with Ground Tera (boosts Earthquake to 2x STAB).
- Annihilape with Fighting Tera (turns Drain Punch into a wallbreaker).
The strategic value of an offensive Tera is predictable, massive damage. The downside is that your opponent often anticipates it — if your Garchomp has been telegraphing Dragon Claw, your Tera Dragon is no surprise.
Defensive Tera: Mismatched Type for Survival
A defensive Tera swaps your Pokémon into a type that resists incoming threats, often saving the run.
Example: Your Iron Valiant is about to die to a Choice Specs Latios’s Draco Meteor. You Terastallize into Steel — now Draco Meteor does neutral damage and your Pokémon survives.
Common defensive Teras:
- Steel Tera — neutralizes Dragon (huge in Reg I metas with Restricted Dragons).
- Fairy Tera — same Dragon immunity, plus better offensive synergy on Fairy STAB attackers.
- Fire Tera — burns away Fairy weakness on Steel-types.
- Grass Tera — covers Water/Electric/Grass weaknesses, common on Ground-types.
Defensive Tera is less predictable than offensive Tera because most pre-game scouting assumes offensive intent. Surprising your opponent with a defensive Tera on a Pokémon they didn’t expect is a hallmark of top-level play.
Tera Blast: The Coverage Mechanic
Tera Blast is a TM-taught move (TM171) with 80 base power, available to most Pokémon. Out of Tera, it’s a Normal-type move. When the user Terastallizes, Tera Blast becomes the user’s Tera Type.
This is huge for coverage. A Pokémon with poor offensive movepool can suddenly hit perfectly:
Example: Gholdengo’s Steel/Ghost typing leaves it weak to checks like Gastrodon (immune to Electric, resists Steel and Ghost). Give Gholdengo a Ground Tera Type and Tera Blast becomes Ground — instant 2x STAB Earthquake-equivalent that destroys Gastrodon.
Tera Blast also:
- Is Special by default, but becomes Physical if the user’s Attack > Special Attack.
- Has 80 BP (boosted to 100 by Adaptability or 2x STAB matching).
- Does not lower stats unless the user is Stellar Tera Typed (see below).
- Is the only move that takes the Tera Type when Terastallized.
For Pokémon with limited move options, Tera Blast is the move that justifies Tera Type changes.
Stellar Tera Type Explained
The Stellar Tera Type is a special Tera Type introduced in the Indigo Disk DLC. Unlike standard Tera Types, Stellar doesn’t exist as a normal type — there are no Stellar Pokémon, no Stellar moves outside Tera Blast.
How Stellar Tera works:
- Terastallizing into Stellar gives the Pokémon STAB on moves of every type — but only once per type.
- The first Fire move you use after Tera Stellar gets 1.5x STAB. The second Fire move does not.
- The first Ground move you use gets 1.5x STAB. The second does not.
- This works across all 18 types.
Defensive Stellar:
- The Pokémon’s original type continues to determine defensive matchups.
- Stellar does NOT make you a “Stellar type” defensively — there’s no resistance/weakness reshape.
Stellar Tera Blast:
- Tera Blast becomes super effective against any Pokémon that has Terastallized (regardless of their Tera Type).
- The downside: Stellar Tera Blast lowers the user’s Attack and Special Attack after use.
When to use Stellar:
- On versatile, multi-move-type Pokémon (like Tinkaton, who learns moves across Steel, Fairy, Ground, Rock, etc.).
- On Pokémon whose original typing is so strong defensively that you don’t want to change it (e.g., Iron Hands).
- As a surprise — many players don’t expect Stellar Tera Type because it’s harder to obtain.
How to get Stellar Tera Shards: You obtain Stellar Tera Shards through specific Indigo Disk endgame content — defeating BB League trainers in the Blueberry Academy and completing certain post-game challenges. It’s significantly rarer than standard Tera Shards.
Tera Types in Competitive Play
Tera Type is the defining strategic element of Scarlet/Violet’s competitive metagame. Here’s the format breakdown as of May 2026:
Legal in:
- Regulation Set I (Scarlet/Violet’s current VGC format).
- Smogon’s OU, UU, RU, NU, PU, Ubers (all SV-based Smogon tiers).
- Battle Stadium Singles and Doubles in SV.
Not legal in:
- Regulation Set M-A (Pokémon Champions doesn’t include Tera mechanics).
- Pre-Gen 9 simulators or formats.
Why Tera is so polarizing: Tera adds a massive layer of prediction. Every Pokémon has a hidden 18-19 type identities behind the scenes (the 18 main types plus Stellar). When you scout an opponent’s team, you don’t actually know what any of their Pokémon’s true defensive matchups are — they could Tera into anything.
This makes Scarlet/Violet’s meta the most prediction-heavy in series history. It also means bringing a counter-pick is harder — you can’t reliably wall a threat when it could Tera out of your wall’s strengths.
Common community sentiment splits Tera into two camps:
- Pro-Tera: It adds variety, rewards creativity, prevents staleness.
- Anti-Tera: It’s too random, makes scouting useless, encourages 50/50 plays.
Pokémon Champions’ decision to remove Tera for Reg M-A may be a partial response to anti-Tera sentiment in the competitive community.
Best Tera Type Choices for Popular Pokémon
This is a sampling of “default” competitive Tera Type choices in Reg I as of May 2026. Trends shift week to week.
| Pokémon | Common Tera Type | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Great Tusk | Steel | Defensive — removes Fighting/Ground/Water weaknesses |
| Iron Valiant | Fairy | Offensive — 2x STAB Moonblast |
| Gholdengo | Steel or Flying | Steel = double STAB; Flying = Earthquake immunity |
| Annihilape | Ghost | Defensive — Fighting immunity, neutral to most threats |
| Roaring Moon | Flying | Offensive — Acrobatics with Booster Energy + 2x STAB |
| Iron Hands | Grass | Defensive — counters Electric/Water/Grass threats |
| Garchomp | Ground or Steel | Ground = offense; Steel = Ice immunity defensively |
| Tornadus-T | Flying | Offensive — Hurricane 2x STAB; common Tailwind setter |
| Urshifu-Rapid Strike | Water | 2x STAB Surging Strikes; ignores Sticky Web |
| Calyrex-Shadow | Normal | Defensive — Ghost immunity, ironic |
| Miraidon | Fairy | Defensive — Dragon resistance, paired well with its Electric STAB |
| Tinkaton | Stellar | Versatile; uses multiple coverage moves |
| Ogerpon (any mask) | Ogerpon’s natural type | Mask-specific 2x STAB; signature Tera |
Note that “best” Tera is highly matchup-dependent. Top players often have multiple Tera Type changes per Pokémon depending on the tournament’s expected meta.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Tera Type in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet? A Tera Type is a hidden secondary type each Pokémon has that you can activate by Terastallizing during battle. When activated, the Pokémon’s type changes to its Tera Type, gaining 1.5x STAB on attacks of that type and changing its defensive matchups.
How many times can I Terastallize per battle? You can Terastallize one Pokémon per battle, and only once. Once Terastallized, the Pokémon stays in its Tera form for the rest of the match.
How do I change my Pokémon’s Tera Type? Visit the Treasure Eatery in Medali in Paldea and pay 50 Tera Shards of the desired type. You can repeat this as many times as you want.
What’s the difference between Tera Type and the Pokémon’s normal type? The Pokémon’s normal type determines its default behavior in battle. Its Tera Type is dormant until activated by Terastallizing. After Terastallizing, the Pokémon is treated as its Tera Type for both offense and defense.
Does matching my Tera Type to my Pokémon’s original type do anything? Yes. If your Tera Type matches one of your Pokémon’s original types, attacks of that type get 2x STAB instead of the usual 1.5x. This is a 33% damage boost on those moves.
What’s Tera Blast? Tera Blast is a Normal-type move (80 BP) that becomes the user’s Tera Type when Terastallized. It’s the go-to move for giving coverage-poor Pokémon access to a different STAB type.
Is Tera Type legal in VGC 2026? Tera Types are legal in Regulation Set I (the current SV format) but not in Regulation Set M-A on Pokémon Champions. Pokémon Champions doesn’t include Tera mechanics at all.
What’s the Stellar Tera Type? Stellar is a special Tera Type from the Indigo Disk DLC that gives STAB on moves of every type — but only once per type. The first Fire move gets STAB; the second doesn’t. Defensively, you keep your original type’s matchups. Stellar Tera Blast becomes super effective against any Terastallized Pokémon but lowers your offensive stats after use.
Can I Tera back to my original type? No. Once Terastallized, the Pokémon stays Terastallized for the rest of the battle. There’s no untransform.
Does the Tera Type affect anything outside of battle? No. Tera Type is a battle-only mechanic. Outside of battle, the Pokémon behaves exactly as its normal type.
How do I tell what a Pokémon’s Tera Type is before they Terastallize? You can’t, unless you’re using a tool that exposes hidden info. The Tera Type is hidden until the Pokémon actually Terastallizes. This is why prediction is so important in SV’s competitive scene.
Why do some Pokémon have Stellar Tera Types in raids? Stellar Tera Raids are 7-star raid battles introduced as endgame Indigo Disk content. They feature Pokémon with Stellar Tera Types and are significantly harder than standard raids.
Are Tera Types random when I catch a Pokémon? Yes, for wild encounters and gift Pokémon. Static encounters (legendaries, specific NPC gifts) often have fixed Tera Types. You can always change a Tera Type later using Tera Shards.
Want to understand the rest of competitive Pokémon? Pair this with our Competitive Pokémon Lingo Cheat Sheet and VGC 2026 Regulation Guide.
Looking for Tera Blast coverage on your team? Generate a Showdown-compatible export with the Pokedexgenerator.com team builder.