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Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’sstory may be completed, but the extra raids don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. For Early February, we have a seven-star Tera Empoleon with the Ice-type. This Sinnoh starter is a little late to the winter festivities, but it’s still a real threat for players.
Empoleon’s been revamped with a new hidden ability to better suit its moveset, and between its bulk and its ability to hit hard, Empoleon’s rather tough. It has the honor of being one of the raids where it’s better to play online than try it solo. But, a determined trainer can still make this raid Empoleon’s Waterloo with a good strategy.
Empoleon Raid Event Information
Empoleon isavailable until Sunday, July 26, 2025, at 11:59 PM UTCand will return from12:00 AM UTC on Friday, Jun 12, 2025, to Sunday, Jul 29, 2025 11:59 UTC.
When beating Empoleon the first time, you’ll receive the TM for Ice Beam and an Ability Patch. Empoleon will have theMightiest Mark; youcanonly catch it once per save file.
Empoleon’s Kit
Empoleon’s biggest threat is its new hidden ability,Competitive,whichboosts its Sp. Atk by two stages every time any stat is lowered.
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Special
110
Has a chance to freeze your Pokemon, and never misses in snow.
90
80
Raises Defense by two stages.
Competitive makes this very hard to solo, asmost NPC teams will have at least one move that will drop Empoleon’s statsand make the fight very quickly unmanageable.
Empoleon is also veryphysically bulky.Snowscapewill give it aDefense boostduring the first five turns, and it usesIron Defensejust before it hits half health, so it’s best tobring a Special Attacker with good Special Defense.
Best Pokemon To Solo Empoleon
Tinkaton’sSteel-type, bulk, and access to the move Skill Swapmakes it the best choice for soloing Empoleon. Make sure your Tinkatonis IV trainedand use the following build:
100
Flash Cannon, Fake Tears, Skill Swap
252 Sp. Atk, 252 Sp. Def, 6 HP
If you want to solo Empoleon, the first thing you have to do isreset the NPC trainersuntil you get ateam that doesn’t include Tauros, Staraptor, or Arcanine.
To reset for NPCs, you have to select “Challenge as a group” and then start the raid without anyone joining. This will allow you to get new NPC trainers. Once you have a team you like, use “Challenge alone” to keep them.
Once you’ve got a team that won’t hold you back,use Skill Swap on your first turn. Empoleon cannot reset this, so you won’t have to worry about Competitive for the rest of the fight.
At this point, you will probably faint, but once you come back, start using Flash Cannon andTerastalize as soon as you can.
Use a PP Up or a PP Max on Flash Cannon to ensure you have enough uses.
With the Shell Bell keeping you healed and Flash Cannon, you should get through the shield before Empoleon resets its own stats.
Once you’re down to about aquarter of the timer bar, Empoleon will startusing moves back to back.
Once Empoleon removes negative effects from itself,use Fake Tears twice, then continue spamming Flash Cannon until Empoleon is defeated.
Other Pokemon That Are Good Against Empoleon
These Pokemonaren’t capable of beating Empoleon solo,but if you’re in online raids or with friends, they fare very well.
Mew
Skill Swap, Acid Spray, Light Screen, Bug Buzz/Snarl
Use Life Dew to keep your party healed, and use the rest of your moves to drop Empoleon’s stats.Run Steel Terafor the defensive boost.
Be careful asMew is not very bulky, and will go down quickly if you’re not focused on buffs.
Gallade
Skill Swap, Aura Sphere, Calm Mind, Life Dew
Gallade can hit hard with Aura Sphere, but doesn’t have ways to quickly raise its stats.
Calm Mind has the benefit of raising both Sp. Atk and Sp. Def, however, and Life Dew for healing will allow for better longevity.
Gallade’s strong, but frail,and doesn’t do well when splitting focus, so if you have a partner who can handle buffs and healing, Gallade is great.
Toxicroak
Swords Dance, Drain Punch
Toxicroak can’t learn Skill Swap, but it can boost its Attack with Swords Dance and keep itself healed with Drain Punch. If you have the Dry Skin ability, Empoleon can’t use Surf.
Paired with a support Pokemon to increase Special Defense or use Skill Swap, Toxicroak is a very effective attacker with Fighting Tera.
Gholdengo
Nasty Plot, Flash Cannon
Gholdengo is the Special version of Toxicroak. It’s a good attacker that can boost its Sp. Atk with Nasty Plot and hit Empoleon with a Steel Tera-boosted Flash Cannon.
UnfortunatelyFlash Cannon has a slight chance to drop Empoleon’s Special Defense,which will boost its Special Attack, making it risky.
If you can nullify Competitive, then Gholdengo can also use Metal Sound for more damage.
