The Pokemon Company dropped plenty of tidbits for fans to chew on regarding the new Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Indigo Disk DLC, including the Legendary Pokemon called Terapagos, as well as a new Tera Type. Now that the game is officially out, these details have come into focus.
While we’ve known for a while that the Legendary Pokemon Terapagos would appear in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet as part of the Indigo Disk DLC, the fact that this Pokemon has multiple distinct forms wasn’t revealed until close to the DLC’s release. But what is Terapagos, and what does it have to do with the new Stellar Tera Type?
Related: How to Download The Indigo Disk Update in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
What Are Terapagos’ Forms & Type in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
Terapagos is a new Legendary Pokemon in The Indigo Disk DLC, and players will encounter it towards the end of the main storyline. Terapagos has three forms: a Normal Form, a Terastal Form, and a Stellar Form. All three of Terapagos’ forms have their own distinct appearance, abilities, and base stats.
In all forms, Terapagos’ primary type is Normal. It wields the Stellar Tera Type, meaning it can turbocharge a variety of moves when Terastallized into its Stellar Form.
Terapagos’ Normal Form
In its Normal Form, Terapagos is smaller and looks like a cute turtle with large, innocent eyes. This is the default form that Terapagos will maintain while outside of battle. While in its Normal Form, Terapagos has the Tera Shift ability, which will automatically transform Terapagos into its Terastal Form when entering battle.
Despite never using this form in battle, Terapagos’ Normal Form has its own base stats, which are lower across the board than its other two forms:
- HP: 90
- Attack: 65
- Defense: 85
- Sp. Atk: 65
- Sp. Def: 85
- Speed: 60
Terapagos’ Terastal Form
Every time you throw Terapagos into battle, it will shift into its Terastal Form which will give it the appearance of a floating, hairy sea turtle with a crystalline jewel-like shell. In its Terastal Form, Terapagos will adopt the Tera Shell ability, which will decrease the damage taken from moves that hit Terapagos while its HP is full.
While in battle, Terapagos’ Terastal Form has the following stats:
- HP: 95
- Attack: 95
- Defense: 110
- Sp. Atk: 105
- Sp. Def: 110
- Speed: 85
Terapagos’ Stellar Form
If you terrastalize Terapagos, it will shift into its Stellar Form. Terapagos’ Stellar Form is the one you may have seen hinted about in the Scarlet or Violet book, where it will appear floating atop a massive half-shell that glows with symbols that look a lot like the Tera Type symbols we’ve seen throughout Scarlet & Violet.
In its Stellar Form, Terapagos will adopt the Teraform Zero ability, which will make it immune to all weather and terrain effects. It will also adopt the “nineteenth type”, known as the Stellar Type, in addition to its Normal Type. With the Stellar Type, exclusive to Terastallization, every move’s type has a chance to be boosted once. However, Terapagos is immune to the limitations that regular Pokemon using the Stellar Type would have, meaning Terapagos will get a 20% boost for every move of any Type it uses and 100% boost for all Normal-Type attacks regardless of whether or not it had used the move prior.
Terapagos’ Stellar Form has the following increased stats:
- HP: 160
- Attack: 105
- Defense: 110
- Sp. Atk: 130
- Sp. Def: 110
- Speed: 85
Where to Find Terapagos in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: The Indigo Disk
Players will encounter Terapagos in the latter half of the Indigo Disk DLC, as part of another excursion into the Great Crater of Paldea. And what an adorable encounter it is, because this little guy’s Normal Form is too darn cute.
Before reaching this point in the story, players will need to defeat the BB Elite Four and its champion, Kieran. Once this is done, Briar will ask the player, Carmine, and Kieran to accompany her on an expedition to Area Zero to learn more about the Tera Phenomenon.
During this expedition, the player will battle several powerful Pokemon to unlock the pathways deep into the Area Zero Underdepths, where you will encounter the legendary Treasure of Area Zero, aka Terapagos. The final battle with this Pokemon’s Stellar Form is a tough one, so be prepared with some high-level Pokemon in your party.
What is the Mysterious New Nineteenth Tera Type in The Indigo Disk
This new nineteenth Tera Type is called the Stellar Tera Type, and it functions slightly differently from other Tera Types.
When you Terastallize a Pokemon with the Stellar Tera Type, that Pokemon will get a 20% boost to each of its moves in addition to any STAB that may be included. However, the boost can only be used once per type. In other words, once you use the Stellar boost for a Grass-type move, you can’t use it for any other Grass-type moves during that Terastallization period. This limit does not apply to Raid Battles, where you can use the boost multiple times.
Where to Find Pokemon With the Stellar Tera Type
Pokemon with the Stellar Tera Type will begin to appear in the Blueberry Academy Terrarium only after the player has returned from Area Zero with Briar. At this point, she’ll use what she learned to make improvements to the Terarium, causing Stellar Tera Type Pokemon to appear there. Based on our experience, it appears these Pokemon will only spawn in the Terarium, meaning you can’t capture Stellar Tera Pokemon in Paldea or Kitakami.
When exploring any of the biomes in the Terarium, you can spot these Pokemon with the Stellar Tera Type by the rainbow glitter that surrounds them.
Typical Tera Pokemon will still appear on the map as well, so you’ll want to look closely for multicolored glitter to find a Stellar Tera-type Pokemon in the wild. Once you start an encounter with these Pokemon, you can easily confirm their Tera Type because the Stellar Tera Type looks quite different, featuring a glowing circle of gems around the Pokemon similar to Terapagos’s Stellar form.
Just like any other wild Tera Pokemon you encounter, you’ll have to battle these Pokemon until they’re weak enough to return to their usual form before you can catch them.
