Best Delphox 7-Star Tera Raid counters & movesets in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

With the Delphox Raid returning in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet just for this weekend, more players will be keen to know the best counters to beat the 7-star boss.

This particular 7-Star Tera Raid has been one of much anticipation, since none were announced following the second round of the Chesnaught Tera Raid getting cancelled. With the Delphox Tera Raid so far providing players with ample difficulty compared to those of the past, the best counters are in more demand than ever. 

So, for the Tera Raid's start date and location, along with Delphox's moveset and a rundown on the best counters - including their full builds and movesets, keep reading for a full breakdown. 

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When will the 7-Star Delphox Tera Raid return in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?

As confirmed on the official Pokemon forum post covering the event, the date and time that Delphox returns to Tera Raids is from Friday 14 July 2023 at 0:00 UTC to 16 July 2023 at 23:59 UTC.

Not normally encountered in Paldea, this will be the only way for many players to obtain the Fennekin evolution, so be sure to not miss out.

If you do miss the initial 7-9 July window however, the Delphox Tera Raid will return to Scarlet & Violet for one final time from Friday 14 July 2023 at 0:00 UTC to 16 July 2023 at 23:59 UTC, giving you a second chance. 

Keep in mind though, only one Delphox from this 7-Star Raid can be caught per player across these two weekends. 

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How to find Delphox Tera Raid in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet 

As with other 7-Star raids of the past, you can find the Delphox Tera Raid in Scarlet & Violet through the black crystals that will appear on the map.

The Fire-and-Psychic type Delphox will instead be sporting a Fairy Tera Type, so you will need to look out for the Fairy-type symbol on the black crystal in order to identify the raid's location.

With a moveset including Dazzling Gleam, Magic Room, Psychic, Fire Blast, Nasty Plot, Will-O-Wisp, and Sunny Day, Delphox will have varied type advantages; the boss becomes even more troubling if using Magic Room to disable the effects of held items. 

So, utilising one of the following best Delphox counters in Scarlet & Violet is all the more essential. 

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Delphox 7-Star Tera Raid moveset counters in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

Ceruledge

Thanks to its Fire-and-Ghost typing, its Flash Fire ability, and Bitter Blade attack, Ceruledge earns its place as one of the best Delphox Tera Raid counters by having a resistance/immunity to Fire-type attacks along with the means to quickly recover health - if Delphox's Magic Room nullifies the Shell Bell. 

The best Ceruldedge Delphox Tera Raid build is as follows:

• Ability: Flash Fire
• Nature: Adamant
• Tera Type: Steel
• Hold Item: Shell Bell
• EVs: 252 Atk, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Def
• Moveset: Bitter Blade, Iron Head, Light Screen, Swords Dance

Light Screen is a reliable backup if you feel like bolstering your allies' Special Defense. Otherwise, outside of recovering health with Bitter Blade, you'll also want to spend time increasing Cerulede's Attack stat with Swords Dance.

Also increasing the amount of health recovered with Blitter Blade, Swords Dance will also bolster the super-effective Iron Head for massive damage later in the raid.

Houndoom

Like Ceruledge, Houndoom is one of the best counters for how to beat the Delphox Tera Raid with its Dark-and-Fire typing plus its own Flash Fire ability. Then, its versatile range of learnable moves works well if you want to use Poison-type attacks as your ideal counter.

The best Houndoom Delphox Tera Raid build is as follows:

• Ability: Flash Fire
• Nature: Modest
• Tera Type: Poison
• Hold Item: Shell Bell
• EVs: 252 Sp. Atk, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Def
• Moveset: Nasty Plot, Mud-Slap, Taunt, Sludge Bomb

Taunt and Mud-Slap come in handy if you want to reduce the odds of Delphox using Magic Room and reduce its Speed, but the main strength of this Houndoom build for this raid is in Nasty Plot and Sludge Bomb. 

With Shell Bell and "Heal" Cheers for HP recovery, you simply need to stack Sp. Atk boosts for Nasty Plot (two stages with each use), before hitting with more powerful and super-effective Sludge Bombs. 

Skuntank

Although not the hardest-hitting attacker in terms of base stats, a dual Dark-and-poison typing gives Stuntank the most resistance amongst the best Delphox counters to be one of your safest bets. 

The best Skuntank Delphox Tera Raid build is as follows:

• Ability: Stench
• Nature: Adamant
• Tera Type: Poison
• Hold Item: Shell Bell
• EVs: 252 Atk, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Def
• Moveset: Poison Jab, Screech, Snarl, Taunt

Snarl is useful if you still want to lower Delphox's Sp. Atk to stave off the damage from its Fire-type moves and lessen the loss of HP to your allies.

On the other hand, Skuntank's resistance to most of the 7-Star raid boss' other potential moves means that you'll have more opportunity to wear down Delphox's Defense with Screech (drops two stages with each use), and then Strike with super-effective Poison Jabs - and recover lost health with the Shell Bell. 

Nevertheless, if you're still worried about Magic Room, you can still use Taunt to make sure Delphox uses damage-only moves, half of which Skuntank will be resistant to. 

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What is the best Delphox Tera Raid counter in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet?

With a unique Steel-and-Fire typing and high defensive stats, Heatran is without a doubt the best Delphox Tera Raid counter in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, even when not considering its ability and moveset.

Even though it's also the most difficult amongst Pokemon to obtain and defeat Delphox - needing to be transferred from Pokemon HOME - the pay-off is well worth it. 

To start, the best Heatran Delphox Tera Raid build is as follows: 

• Ability: Flashfire
• Nature: Modest
• Tera Type: Fire
• Hold Item: Shell Bell
• EVs: 252 Sp. Atk, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Def
• Moveset: Flash Cannon, Metal Sound, Taunt, Steel Beam

Along with its dual typing offering Heatran resistance to Delphox's Fairy and Psychic moves, Flashfire will make this ideal counter immune to the boss' Fire Blast as well. Then, as the battle starts, you'll want to utilise Taunt to prevent Delphox using Magic Room - which would normally nullify held items like your Shell Bell. 

Afterwards, that's when you start using Metal Sound to lower Delphox's Sp. Def before striking with a super-effective Flash Cannon. As the 7-Star boss' health is almost depleted, you can use the more powerful-but self-inflicting Steel Beam as an ultimate finishing move. 

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That's everything you need to know about the Delphox Tera Raid, including the best counters, dates and times, and location in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.

For even more Pokemon Scarlet & Violet guides, you can be sure to find them right here at GGRecon.