One Tera per match, one Pokemon. It's the most expensive resource on the board — burn it and the opponent knows the rest of your win condition has to come from non-Tera plays.
STAB math
- Native ≠ Tera: 1.5x (Water Pelipper Tera Steel still gets 1.5x on Hydro Pump)
- Native = Tera: 2.0x (Adapted STAB — Iron Hands Tera Fighting upgrades 1.5 → 2.0 on Drain Punch)
- Pure Tera-type STAB (new type that wasn't native): 1.5x
Tera Stellar
A special form: every move type gets a one-time 1.2x bonus on first use, while keeping your normal types. Niche so far; mostly seen in Paradox / restricted boss matchups.
When to Tera
- About to eat a lethal hit and a defensive Tera (Steel vs Iron Valiant, Fairy vs Dragapult) saves you
- You're set up to sweep — Tera STAB pushes your damage over the KO threshold for the next 1-2 turns
- Opponent already spent their Tera and you hold the information edge
Common Tera mistakes
- Tera-ing on turn 1 — usually wastes flexibility
- Tera-ing the turn AFTER the threat — opponent already got their free switch
- Forgetting Tera changes both offence and defence — Tera Grass on Pelipper kills its Water STAB even if the new resists feel good