Shiny Rayquaza is the star of the next Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

the next Tera Raid Battle event for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and it’s a big one. Trainers will be able to fight and catch a Shiny Rayquaza, from December 19, 2024, to January 5, 2025.

Simply named “Shiny Rayquaza Appears!”, of the famous legendary Pokémon flying through the skies of the Paldea region, visiting iconic locations, and appearing alongside several important characters from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, like Arven,꧃ Penny, Team Star, and the playable protagꩲonist.

It’s important to keep in mind that Shiny Rayquaza will appear on 5-star Tera Raid Battles inside Tera Raid Crystals scattered throughout the entire Paldea region. This is a high difficulty level, which means that it’s not going to be easy to defeat, so players should prepare themselves in advance. Pokémon also recommends teaming up with other trainers for this event, instead of relying on NPCs.

Several other in-game events will run alongside “Shiny Rayquaza Appears!”, with the most interesting one being “Search for Dark-Colored Shiny Pokémon”, which will make Shiny Pokemon with dark coloration appear more often in Mass Outbreaks. The examples listed are Cetoddle in Paldea, Carbink in Kitakami, and Fraxure in Blueberry Academy. These two combined events will run simultaneously and are a great opportunity for fans who enjoy collecting Shiny Pokémon.

Why did Pokémon specifically choose Shiny Rayquaza for this event?

This event is quite a big deal because, even though Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has had a lot of Tera Raid Battle events since its release, having the opportunity to catch a Shiny Legendary Pokémon is not something that happens every day. On top of that, Rayquaza is arguably one of the most powerful and popular Legendary Pokémon, not to mention 𒈔that it♒s Shiny version is one of the best in the entire franchise.

Sometimes named Black Rayquaza instead, The Pokémon Company has heavily featured this Pokémon in recent media: It appeared in Pokémon UNITE as a boss, and , Pokémon Horizons: The Series.

The company didn’t state anything official about it, but it most likely released this huge event due to the fact today is the 2-year anniversary of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which are still the most recent mainline games. On top of that, 2024 is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar, which may have also contributed to Rayquaza’s frequent appearances over the past few months.