Best Pokemon for Cinderace Tera Raid: Scarlet & Violet 7-star raid guide

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s Seven-Star Cinderace Tera Raids return this weekend, January 13 – 15, and here are the best counters you need to build to take on this Fighting-type fire bunny.

Cinderace is a favored starter for many who traveled through the Galar region. As such, this Fire-type has made its way into Paldea via incredibly challenging seven-star Tera Raids.

Similar to the Charizard raid event in 2022, these raids require quite a bit of skill and knowledge to overcome. The level 100 Cinderace has five moves, incredibly high stats, and uses a Fighting Tera Type giving it a wide range of coverage.

However, if players build the proper team members, this raid isn’t as brutal as it seems. This guide will show players a few builds for Pokemon that can make seven-star Cinderace a breeze.

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Slowbro – Support/Terrain setter

Many players might opt for a “one-shot” Slowbro in Cinderace Raids, utilizing Stored Power alongside stat buffing moves. That’s fine, but this build offers a far more reliable strategy that assists teammates with healing and terrain setting.

Its high defense and typing allow it to resist Cinderace’s moveset and stay in the fight longer while also packing a punch and lowering stats with moves like Chilling Water. Set up Psychic Terrain to boost Psychic damage, use Chilling Water to deal damage and lower attack, and mix in Heal Pulse where necessary.

Pokemon	Level	Moveset	Held Item	Ability	Nature	EVs
	100	– Chilling Water – Helping Hand – Psychic Terrain – Heal Pulse	Terrain Extender	Own Tempo	Modest	HP & Special Attack

Pelipper – Support/Rain setter

Pelipper is another crucial support Pokemon and a great teammate to Slowbro. It specializes in Rain setting and Chilling Water spam, and it can sustain itself and others with Roost and Helping Hand. Players won’t need to worry about dealing the most damage with Pelipper.

Instead, start by making it rain with Rain Dance to boost Water-type moves and lower the damage of Fire-type moves. Then spam Chilling Water to deal damage and lower Cinderace’s attack stat. Mix in Roost to maintain health and Helping Hand to boost the attacks of others.

Pokemon	Level	Moveset	Held Item	Ability	Nature	EVs
	100	– Chilling Water – Rain Dance– Roost– Helping Hand	Damp Rock	Drizzle	Bold	HP & Defense

Armarouge – Psychic Attacker

If you want to be a damage dealer, you will likely want to use Armarouge. Its typing allows it to tank a lot of damage, and its moveset will crush Cinderace with the right setup. Having Slowbro set up Psychic Terrain will help significantly with the amount of damage you can deal.

Start with Reflect to mitigate the damage your team takes, and then follow this up with Acid Spray to chip away at the Pokemon’s Special Defense. If you don’t have a Slowbro on your team, use Psychic Terrain before unleashing a devastating blow with Expanding Force.

Pokemon	Level	Moveset	Held Item	Ability	Nature	EVs
	100	– Reflect– Expanding Force– Acid Spray– Psychic Terrain	Twisted Spoon	Flash Fire	Modest	HP & Special Attack

Stored Power Slowbro – FOR SOLO PLAY ONLY

This is the build for players who don’t want to rely on team play. The Stored Power Slowbro allows players to one-shot Cinderace raids after six turns of setup, and so to avoid this strategy from messing up, you SHOULD NOT use this Pokemon in co-op raids.

Stored Power increases its power by 20 with every stat buff, so players will want to spend the first six turns of the raid using Iron Defense and Nasty Plot. Once these stats are maxed, use Stored Power to eliminate Cinderace. Players can also use Slack Off to regain health where need be.

Pokemon	Level	Moveset	Held Item	Ability	Nature	EVs
	100	– Iron Defense– Nasty Plot– Stored Power– Slack Off	Life Orb	Own Temp	Modest	HP & Special Attack

Shinx – Support Pokemon on a budget

Shinx is not the most exciting pick for taking on Cinderace raids, nor is it the most engaging. That’s because, for this build, the player will spend a lot of time dying. This build was initially discovered by Reddit user DBrody6.

Players who don’t have time to train the perfect raid counter can easily pick up this viable Shinx option. At level one, with the ability Intimidate and the move Helping Hand, Shinx can consistently buff the attacks of its teammates while lowering the Attack of Cinderace each time it respawns. And since it’s at such a low level, its deaths won’t affect the Raid timer.

Pokemon	Level	Moveset	Ability
	1	– Helping Hand	Intimidate