---
title: "Tera Types Explained: How Terastallization Works in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet | pokee.si"
url: "https://pokee.si/articles/tera-types-explained"
description: "What a Tera Type is, how Terastallizing changes weaknesses and STAB, how to change a Tera Type with Tera Shards, and what the Stellar Tera Type does."
last_updated: "2026-10-21"
publisher: "pokee.si: a Pokédex for families (unofficial fan site)"
published: "2026-10-21"
---

# Tera Types Explained: How Terastallization Works in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

A Tera Type is a hidden extra type that every Pokémon has in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Once per battle, you can Terastallize one Pokémon. Its type then becomes its Tera Type until the battle ends or it faints. For defence, its old types disappear. For attack, it keeps its same-type bonus on its old types and gains one on the new type.

Most wild Pokémon have a Tera Type that matches one of their own types. A Pokémon with a surprising Tera Type can flip a match: a Dragon type that turns Steel no longer fears Ice.

## How it changes weaknesses

The defensive change is the main reason to Terastallize. These examples are computed from the type chart in our data. They show what each Pokémon is weak to before and after.

| Pokémon | Normal type | Weak to | Tera Type | Weak to after Terastallizing |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Dragonite](https://pokee.si/pokemon/dragonite) | [Dragon/Flying](https://pokee.si/types/flying-dragon) | Ice 4×, Rock, Dragon, Fairy | [Normal](https://pokee.si/types/normal) | Fighting |
| [Garchomp](https://pokee.si/pokemon/garchomp) | [Dragon/Ground](https://pokee.si/types/ground-dragon) | Ice 4×, Dragon, Fairy | [Steel](https://pokee.si/types/steel) | Fire, Fighting, Ground |
| [Gyarados](https://pokee.si/pokemon/gyarados) | [Water/Flying](https://pokee.si/types/water-flying) | Electric 4×, Rock | [Water](https://pokee.si/types/water) | Electric, Grass |
| [Charizard](https://pokee.si/pokemon/charizard) | [Fire/Flying](https://pokee.si/types/fire-flying) | Rock 4×, Water, Electric | [Dragon](https://pokee.si/types/dragon) | Ice, Dragon, Fairy |
| [Scizor](https://pokee.si/pokemon/scizor) | [Bug/Steel](https://pokee.si/types/bug-steel) | Fire 4× | [Water](https://pokee.si/types/water) | Electric, Grass |
| [Tyranitar](https://pokee.si/pokemon/tyranitar) | [Rock/Dark](https://pokee.si/types/rock-dark) | Fighting 4×, Water, Grass, Ground, Bug, Steel, Fairy | [Fairy](https://pokee.si/types/fairy) | Poison, Steel |
| [Ferrothorn](https://pokee.si/pokemon/ferrothorn) | [Grass/Steel](https://pokee.si/types/grass-steel) | Fire 4×, Fighting | [Fire](https://pokee.si/types/fire) | Water, Ground, Rock |

Dragonite with a Normal Tera Type is a good example. It goes from four weaknesses, one of them 4×, to just Fighting, and Normal types are immune to Ghost moves.

It cuts both ways, though. A Pokémon loses its old resistances and immunities too. A Tera Water Gyarados is no longer immune to Ground moves, because it is no longer part Flying. If you want to see which types give the fewest weaknesses, compare the [type pages](https://pokee.si/types). Normal and Electric have one weakness each, and Steel resists 10 types.

## How it changes attacks

| Situation | Same-type bonus |
| --- | --- |
| Move of an original type | ×1.5, as before |
| Move of the Tera Type (a new type) | ×1.5 |
| Move of the Tera Type, when the Tera Type is also an original type | ×2 |
| Same, with the Ability Adaptability | ×2.25 |

These are the same-type attack bonus (STAB) numbers. If STAB is new to you, read [what STAB means](https://pokee.si/articles/what-does-stab-mean) first.

There is a second, smaller boost. A Terastallized Pokémon's moves of its Tera Type that have less than 60 power are raised to 60. That doesn't apply to moves that hit more than once or to priority moves.

[Tera Blast](https://pokee.si/moves/tera-blast) is the move built for this. It is an 80-power Normal move that becomes the user's Tera Type once it Terastallizes. In our data, 726 of the 1,025 species can learn it.

## Getting and changing a Tera Type

Wild Pokémon in Paldea usually have a Tera Type that matches one of their types. A [Charcadet](https://pokee.si/pokemon/charcadet), for example, always has a Fire Tera Type. The Tera Type doesn't follow evolution and isn't passed on by breeding.

Two kinds of Pokémon break the pattern: glowing Tera Pokémon found in the wild and the bosses of Tera Raid Battles often have a different Tera Type. That makes raids a good place to find a Pokémon with an unusual one.

You can also change it. After you beat the Medali Gym, the chef at the Treasure Eatery in Medali will change a Pokémon's Tera Type for 50 Tera Shards of the type you want. There are 19 kinds of Tera Shard, one for each type including Stellar. Two Pokémon can't be changed: [Ogerpon](https://pokee.si/pokemon/ogerpon) and [Terapagos](https://pokee.si/pokemon/terapagos).

## The Tera Orb

You Terastallize with the Tera Orb, a key item. One use empties it. You recharge it at a Pokémon Center or by touching a Terastal crystal. In Area Zero it recharges itself, and after you catch Terapagos in The Indigo Disk it never needs charging again.

## The Stellar Tera Type

Stellar is the 19th Tera Type. It arrived with The Indigo Disk, the second part of Scarlet and Violet's DLC, and no Pokémon or move is Stellar by nature.

A Stellar Pokémon keeps its original types for defence, so it doesn't gain or lose any weaknesses. On attack, the first time it uses a move of each type, that move gets a one-time boost: 2× for its original types and 1.2× for any other type. After that, moves of that type go back to normal.

[Terapagos](https://pokee.si/pokemon/terapagos) has its own Stellar Form. Its Ability there, [Teraform Zero](https://pokee.si/abilities/teraform-zero), cancels all weather and terrain. Its signature move, Tera Starstorm, becomes a Stellar-type move in that form.

## Ogerpon's masks

[Ogerpon](https://pokee.si/pokemon/ogerpon) is Grass type, and its Tera Type depends on the mask it holds. Each mask also gives it a second type in our data and a different Ability.

| Form | Type | Ability |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Wellspring Mask Ogerpon](https://pokee.si/pokemon/ogerpon?form=ogerpon-wellspring-mask) | [Grass/Water](https://pokee.si/types/water-grass) | [Water Absorb](https://pokee.si/abilities/water-absorb) |
| [Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon](https://pokee.si/pokemon/ogerpon?form=ogerpon-hearthflame-mask) | [Grass/Fire](https://pokee.si/types/fire-grass) | [Mold Breaker](https://pokee.si/abilities/mold-breaker) |
| [Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon](https://pokee.si/pokemon/ogerpon?form=ogerpon-cornerstone-mask) | [Grass/Rock](https://pokee.si/types/grass-rock) | [Sturdy](https://pokee.si/abilities/sturdy) |

Ogerpon and Terapagos are the only two Pokémon with their own special Terastallized look. Every other Pokémon gets the same glittering crystal body and a crown-shaped Tera Jewel above its head.

## Where it came from

In the story, Terastal energy comes from the Great Crater of Paldea, where Terapagos sleeps deep in Area Zero. The name "Terastal" is often explained as a mix of the Japanese "terasu" (to shine) and "crystal", but that is a fan reading, not an official one.

Among the main series games, only Scarlet and Violet have Terastallization. To see which Pokémon gain most from it, look at the ones with a 4× weakness in [Pokémon with 4× weaknesses](https://pokee.si/articles/pokemon-with-4x-weaknesses). The [Terastallization guide](https://pokee.si/guide/mechanics/terastallization) has the short version of these rules.

## Questions people ask

### What is a Tera Type?

Every Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet has a Tera Type. When it Terastallizes, its type becomes its Tera Type for the rest of the battle, which changes its weaknesses and resistances.

### How do you change a Pokémon's Tera Type?

After beating the Medali Gym, give 50 Tera Shards of the type you want to the chef at the Treasure Eatery in Medali. Ogerpon and Terapagos can't have their Tera Type changed.

### Does a Terastallized Pokémon keep STAB on its old types?

Yes. It keeps the 1.5× bonus on its original types and gains it on the Tera Type. If the Tera Type matches an original type, that bonus becomes 2×.

### How many Tera Types are there?

Nineteen: the 18 normal types plus Stellar, which arrived with The Indigo Disk. There are 19 kinds of Tera Shard to match.

### Is the Tera Type passed on by breeding?

No. An Egg's Tera Type is not inherited from its parents.

## Sources

- [Bulbapedia: Terastal phenomenon](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Terastal_phenomenon)
- [Bulbapedia: Tera Type](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Tera_Type)
- [Bulbapedia: Stellar (type)](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Stellar_(type))
- [Bulbapedia: Same-type attack bonus](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Same-type_attack_bonus)

---

Source: https://pokee.si/articles/tera-types-explained (HTML page). pokee.si is an unofficial fan site and is not affiliated with Nintendo, Creatures, GAME FREAK or The Pokémon Company. Pokémon and all related names and images are © their respective owners.