Garchomp is back in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's 7-star Tera Raids, from Friday, October 23 at 12:00 a.m. UTC to Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. UTC. Ground Tera Type, level 100, the Mightiest Mark, and one catch per save file: here are the dates, the counters that actually work, and what the raid pays out.
Dates and access: one single week, no second window
The raid runs from October 23 at 12:00 a.m. UTC through October 29, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. UTC. No second window has been announced this time: back in May 2025, the event was split across two weekends, while this rerun fits into one continuous week. In Central European time, that means it ends in the small hours of Friday, October 30.
To make the black crystal show up on the Paldea map, download the latest Poké Portal News: open the Poké Portal menu, then Mystery Gift, then the option to receive Poké Portal News. A plain internet connection is enough for that. A Nintendo Switch Online membership is only required to battle the raid online with other players. And if your save hasn't unlocked black crystals yet, they only appear in the postgame, you can still join another Trainer's raid in multiplayer: the rewards are exactly the same.
Why this Mighty Garchomp is a different kind of boss
This Garchomp comes in at level 100 with a Ground Tera Type, the Rough Skin ability and HP multiplied by 25 compared to a regular one, the standard for 7-star raids. The Ground Tera Type suits it perfectly: Garchomp is already Dragon and Ground by nature, and Terastallizing erases its infamous double weakness to Ice while boosting its own Earthquake.
Its moveset covers a lot of ground, literally: Earthquake as the main weapon, Liquidation, Fire Fang and Poison Jab to punish the types that think they have it figured out, Swords Dance to snowball mid-fight and Breaking Swipe to lower your team's Attack. Rough Skin, meanwhile, chips away at every attacker that makes contact. Over a battle this long, that attrition is the difference between a team that holds and a team that folds halfway through.
That's what makes this boss sneakier than it looks. Garchomp has carried a steamroller reputation since Diamond and Pearl, and it's exactly the kind of Pokémon worth keeping in sight once the console is off: the Garchomp crystal LED Poké Ball engraves the land shark in 3D inside the sphere, at €29.99.
Which Pokémon beat Ground Tera Garchomp?
The reliable angles are Ice, Water and Grass on the special side, behind a defender that fears neither Earthquake nor contact damage. Four names keep coming up in the teams that take it down without drama:
| Pokémon | Type | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Sinistcha | Grass / Ghost | Its signature move deals Grass damage while healing its user, and it resists both Earthquake and Liquidation. The benchmark counter since May 2025 |
| Slowbro | Water / Psychic | Super-effective special Water damage, huge Defense, and tools to boost its own stats while the boss wears itself out |
| Quagsire | Water / Ground | Its Unaware ability flat-out ignores the boss's Swords Dance boosts, which defuses its snowball plan |
| Arboliva | Grass / Normal | As support: its Grassy Terrain halves Earthquake damage for the whole team and regenerates a little HP every turn |
Two traps to avoid. First: rushing in with a physical Ice-type because "Ice beats Dragon". The Ground Tera Type removes the double Ice weakness, and Rough Skin plus Fire Fang punish contact attackers. Second: underestimating Poison Jab, which poisons the Grass-types that came for Earthquake immunity. Ranged special attackers remain the safest route, with a support that lowers the boss's Attack or keeps the team healthy.
If Water-types are your go-to answer for bosses like this one, the nod is easy: the Squirtle crystal LED Poké Ball puts the original Water starter under the light, same price as the whole range.
What the raid pays out, win after win
Every victory guarantees 6 Exp. Candies L, 4 Exp. Candies XL, 5 Carbos and 40 Ground Tera Shards, plus 20 extra for the raid host. On top of that, once per save file, you get TM149 Earthquake and an Ability Patch, the item that turns a regular ability into its hidden version and remains genuinely scarce in the game.
The catch itself is limited to one per save file, and the lock also applies to players who caught it in May 2025: no second copy, but nothing stops you from re-running the battle for the items. Don't hope for a shiny either, the rate is locked at zero for this event, as it is for every raid that hands out a special Mark.
The full 7-star raid schedule through December
This Garchomp is the fifth stop in a ten-week rotation bringing back the Mighty pseudo-legendaries, one per week, each running Friday to the following Thursday. After Ghost Tera Tyranitar in early October, then Salamence and Metagross, here is what's left on the calendar:
| 2026 dates | Pokémon | Tera Type |
|---|---|---|
| October 23 to 29 | Garchomp | Ground (live now) |
| October 30 to November 5 | Hydreigon | Poison |
| November 6 to 12 | Goodra | Water |
| November 13 to 19 | Kommo-o | Fighting |
| November 20 to 26 | Dragapult | Dragon |
| November 27 to December 3 | Baxcalibur | Ice |
Normal Tera Dragonite opened the series in late September, followed by Tyranitar, Flying Tera Salamence and Steel Tera Metagross. From Friday, October 30, Hydreigon takes over with a Poison Tera Type. If you missed the first weeks, treat each window seriously: The Pokémon Company does rerun these raids in waves, but sometimes more than a year apart, as this very Garchomp proves.
To keep the series going once the Switch is down, the Garchomp LED Poké Ball on a wooden base turns the same land shark into a shelf night light, and the rest of the light-up Poké Ball collection covers a good part of this rotation's Pokémon, at €29.99 each.
Image credits: official event capture via Serebii.net, official Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Pokédex artwork via pokemondb.net. Game and visuals © Nintendo / Creatures / GAME FREAK / The Pokémon Company. Sources: pokekalos.fr, serebii.net, bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net, pokemonblog.com, eternia.fr, game8.co, theclick.gg.