Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Normal Dragonite 7-star Tera Raid guide: Counters, weaknesses, and more

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's latest set of 7-star Tera Raids features a Normal Tera Type Dragonite bearing the Mightiest Mark. The raids will take place from August 23, 2024 (at 00:00 UTC), until September 1, 2024. Since Dragonite is quite the desirable Pokemon and this raid boss provides plenty of great rewards, it's understandable that trainers will want to prepare to defeat it.

With that in mind, it's worth examining the best weaknesses and counters to beat Dragonite's 7-star raids once they begin in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

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Normal Dragonite's strengths and weaknesses in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raids

Dragonite in the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Pokedex (Image via The Pokemon Company)

• Tera Type: Normal
• Ability: Inner Focus
• IVs: 31 IVs in all stats
• Usable Moves: Extreme Speed, Scale Shot, Dragon Dance, Rain Dance, Thunder, Hurricane, Earthquake, Draco Meteor

In this 7-star Tera Raid in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Dragonite will be Terastallized into a Normal-type, meaning that its only weakness will be Fighting-type moves/Pokemon. Meanwhile, as a Normal-type instead of a Dragon/Flying-type, Dragonite will have immunity to Ghost-type moves.

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Best counters to Normal Dragonite in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raids

Annihilape is a natural fit to counter Normal Dragonite in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's 7-star Tera Raids (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Because of its Ability Inner Focus, this raid boss can avoid flinching from a wide array of moves. However, compared to other abilities that could be much more problematic, players should be able to easily circumvent this ability and still deal plenty of damage without needing to worry about causing Dragonite to flinch at all.

Here are a few recommended counters to defeat this particular Normal Tera Type Dragonite raid boss:

Pokemon	Ability	Tera Type	Nature	Moveset	Held Item	EV Points
Annihilape	Defiant	Stellar	Adamant	Bulk Up Drain Punch Close Combat Low Kick	Metronome or Shell Bell	252 HP, 252 Atk, 4 Def
Corviknight	Mirror Armor	Fighting	Impish	Iron Defense Body Press Reflect Screech	Shell Bell	252 HP, 252 Def, 4 Sp. Def
Zamazenta	Dauntless Shield	Fighting	Impish	Iron Defense Body Press Reflect Heavy Slam	Shell Bell	252 HP, 252 Def, 4 Sp. Def

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How to beat Normal Dragonite in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raids

Corviknight's Iron Defense + Body Press combo works very well in multiple parts of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Below, players can find a collection of strategies to beat Normal Dragonite's 7-star Tera Raids with the Pokemon outlined above:

• Corviknight - Begin by using Reflect to reduce Dragonite's damage output before using Iron Defense to skyrocket Corviknight's Defense stat, then use Body Press to deal massive amounts of damage since its output is based on the user's Defense stat instead of having a set damage value. Screech can also be used to reduce Dragonite's Defense stat to allow for Body Press to deal more damage. Shell Bell is used to keep Corviknight healed throughout the fight.
• Annihilape - Annihilape can thrive simply by using a combination of Bulk Up and Drain Punch to keep its health topped off while dealing super effective damage. Since it's part Ghost-type, Annihilape is immune to Extreme Speed. Close Combat can be used to finish Dragonite off, and Low Kick will do 100 base damage based on Dragonite's weight, making it an excellent damage dealer when Drain Punch isn't necessary. Metronome can be used to power up Drain Punch, or you can swap the Metronome for Shell Bell for extra survivability.
• Zamazenta - This strategy essentially works the same as the Corviknight build above, but utilizes Zamazenta for Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB) damage that will increase damage output without needing to Terastallize. Again, Iron Defense and Body Press are the main combo, and Reflect should be used to hinder Dragonite's offense. Other than that, there isn't much needed to keep Zamazenta in the fight and doing damage, though Heavy Slam is available in this moveset to provide weight-based damage since Zamazenta and Dragonite are both quite heavy.

While there are several other Pokemon, movesets, and abilities (or hidden abilities) that could be used against this Normal Tera Type raid boss, the options listed above should be more than capable of defeating it with time to spare.