The player can do a lot of things in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet‘s main story, such as battle the massive new Titan Pokemon, challenge all the Gym Leaders in the Paldea region, take on the mysterious Team Star, participate in the Pokemon League to become a Champion and be the very best like no one ever was, and capture every Pokemon because, y’know, gotta catch ’em all!

After completing all these, players can still take on post-game challenges, such as rematches with Pokemon Gym Leaders and former Team Star squads, right after the final mission and the credits roll. One of these special events/missions that the player can take on is the Academy Ace Tournament, which commemorates the player’s achievement of becoming a champion in the Paldea region.

This guide will teach us how to defeat Nemona in the Academy Ace Tournament!

The Academy Ace Tournament

To access the Academy Ace Tournament, the player must first help Top Champion Geeta by challenging all of the Pokemon Gym Leaders in the region to a rematch so they can prove their skills and Top Champion Geeta can participate in the tournament. The Academy Ace Tournament will be unlocked only after the player has defeated all Gym Leaders in the region again.

The player will engage in four consecutive battles in the Academy Ace Tournament against Pokemon Trainers who are either academy faculty or other students. To be crowned the ultimate champion and named the academy’s ace, the player must triumph over each of the four Trainers. 

Go to the Academy in Mesagoza, enter the Entrance Hall, and speak with the staff member wearing blue who is standing next to a Gengar at the front desk if you want to take part in the Academy Ace Tournament.

The player’s first attempt in the Academy Ace Tournament will be against a set group of four Pokemon Trainers: Arven, Jacq, Dendra, and Top Champion Geeta. However, the player will face four random Trainers in the following attempts, chosen from Arven, Jacq, Dendra, Hassel, Tyme, Miriam, Raifort, Saguaro, Salvatore, Penny, Director Clavell, or Nemona.

The player cannot change the Pokemon in their party after each battle during the tournament. However, after each round, the player’s Pokemon’s HP will be healed, and the player’s Tera Orb will be recharged.

Rewards

Aside from money and EXP points, the Sporty Cap (Pokemon League) and 6-Star Tera Raids (if the player has completed at least ten 4-Star Tera Raid battles) will be unlocked after becoming the ultimate champion in the Academy Ace Tournament for the first time.

The following prizes may be awarded at random for a player’s subsequent victories of the entire tournament: up to 10 Rare Candies, up to three Nuggets, one Big Nugget, up to 3 PP Ups, a PP Max, three random Vitamins, three random Tera Shards, a rare Apriball (a Beast Ball, a Dream Ball, a Fast Ball, a Friend Ball, a Level Ball, a Lure Ball, or a Moon Ball), a random nature Mint, a Bottle Cap, a Gold Bottle Cap, or a scarce Ability Patch.

Nemona

If the player decides to participate in the Academy Ace Tournament again after becoming the academy’s ace for the first time, prepare for an epic battle with Nemona, another Paldea Region Champion and the player’s rival!

Nemona, as previously encountered by the player, does not have a type specialty and will use six Pokemon: a Level 71 Lycanroc (Midday Form), a Level 71 Goodra, a Level 71 Dudunsparce, a Level 71 Orthworm, a Level 71 Pawmot, and a Pokemon that depends on the player’s starter Pokemon (a Level 72 Meowscarada, Skeledirge, or Quaquaval).

With that in mind, it is worth noting that Lycanroc (Midday Form) is a Rock-type Pokemon. Hence, it is weak (super effective) to Fighting-type, Grass-type, Ground-type, Steel-type, and Water-type moves and resistant (not very effective) to Fire-type, Flying-type, Normal-type, and Poison-type moves.

Nemona’s Lycanroc (Midday Form) will use the following moves:

• Drill Run is a physical Ground-type move with 80 Power and 95 Accuracy with a 1-stage increased Critical Hit ratio.
• Stone Edge is a physical Rock-type move with 100 Power and 80 Accuracy and also has a 1-stage increased Critical Hit ratio.
• Accelerock is a physical Rock-type move with 40 Power and 100 Accuracy; it also has an increased Speed priority of 1, making it faster than most moves.
• Stealth Rock is a Rock-type status move where rocks will be set on the opposing Pokemon’s area of the battle and inflict damage to all the opposing Pokemon that will be sent out (the damage dealt depends on the opposing Pokemon’s weakness or resistance to Rock-type moves).

Aside from that, Nemona’s Lycanroc has an Ability called Sand Rush, which doubles its Speed during a Sandstorm.

Goodra is a Dragon-type Pokemon, so it is weak (super effective) to Dragon-type, Fairy-type, and Ice-type moves and resistant (not very effective) to Electric-type, Fire-type, Grass-type, and Water-type moves.

Nemona’s Goodra will use the following moves: 

• Dragon Pulse is a special Dragon-type move with 85 Power and 100 Accuracy.
• Sludge Bomb is a special Poison-type move with 90 Power and 100 Accuracy that, in addition to dealing damage, also has a 30% chance of inflicting Poison on the opposing Pokemon.
• Ice Beam is a special Ice-type move with 90 Power and 100 Accuracy that, aside from inflicting damage, also has a 10% chance of freezing the target Pokemon.
• Muddy Water is a special Water-type move with 90 Power and 85 Accuracy. In addition to causing damage, it also has a 30% chance of decreasing the Accuracy stat of the opposing Pokemon by one stage.

Not only that, but Nemona’s Goodra also has an Ability called Sap Sipper that increases the Attack stat of the Pokemon with the Ability by one stage if the Pokemon is hit with a Grass-type move. Also, the Pokemon with the Ability will now be immune to Grass-type moves.

Dudunsparce is a Normal-type Pokemon, so it is weak (super effective) to Fighting-type moves and immunity (no effect) to Ghost-type moves.

Nemona’s Dudunsparce will use the following moves: 

• Hyper Drill is a physical Normal-type move with 100 Power and 100 Accuracy that, aside from causing damage, also breaks through the effects of moves like Protect, Detect, and similar moves.
• Drill Run is a physical Ground-type move with 80 Power and 95 Accuracy that also has a 1-stage increased Critical Hit ratio.
• Dragon Rush is a physical Dragon-type move with 100 Power and 75 Accuracy that, in addition to dealing damage, has a 20% chance of making the opposing Pokemon flinch.
• Coil is a Poison-type status move that increases the Pokemon using the move’s Attack, Defense, and Accuracy stat by one stage.

Orthworm is a Steel-type Pokemon, so it is weak (super effective) to Fighting-type, Fire-type, and Ground-type moves, resistant (not very effective) to the Bug-type, Dragon-type, Fairy-type, Flying-type, Grass-type, Ice-type, Normal-type, Psychic-type, Rock-type, and Steel-type moves, and immunity (no effect) to Poison-type moves.

Nemona’s Orthworm will use the following moves: 

• Iron Tail is a physical Steel-type move with 100 Power and 75 Accuracy that, aside from dealing damage, also has a 30% chance of lowering the opposing Pokemon’s Defense stat by one stage.
• Body Press is a physical Fighting-type move with 80 Power and 100 Accuracy where, instead of the Attack stat, the Defense stat of the Pokemon using the move is used to calculate the amount of damage that will be dealt.
• Earthquake is a physical Ground-type move with 100 Power and 100 Accuracy that will hit all of the Pokemon on the field and deal double damage to a Pokemon in the middle of the move Dig.
• Rock Blast is a physical Rock-type move with 25 Power and 90 Accuracy that will hit the player two to five times consecutively (37.5% chance to hit the opposing Pokemon two times, 37.5% chance to hit three times, 12.5% chance to hit four times, and 12.5% chance to hit five times).

Also, Nemona’s Orthworm has the Earth Eater Ability that will make Ground-type moves no longer affect the Pokemon with the Ability and will instead heal 25% of its maximum HP when it is attacked with a Ground-type move.

Pawmot is an Electric and Fighting-type Pokemon. Hence, it is weak (super effective) to Fairy-type, Ground-type, and Psychic-type moves and resistant (not very effective) to the Bug-type, Dark-type, Electric-type, Rock-type, and Steel-type moves.

Nemona’s Pawmot will use the following moves:

• Double Shock is a physical Electric-type move with 120 Power and 100 Accuracy that will result in the Pokemon using the move losing its Electric typing if used by an Electric type. The move will fail if used by a Pokemon that is not an Electric type.
• Close Combat is a physical Fighting-type move with 120 Power and 100 Accuracy that, aside from delivering damage, will also lower the Pokemon using the move’s Defense and Special Defense stat by one stage.
• Ice Punch is a physical Ice-type move with 75 Power and 100 Accuracy that not only deals damage but also has a 10% chance of freezing the opposing Pokemon.
• Quick Attack is a physical Normal-type move with 40 Power and 100 Accuracy with an increased Speed priority of 1 that makes it move faster than most moves.

As previously mentioned, Nemona’s last Pokemon depends on the starter Pokemon that the player chose at the beginning of the game:

Suppose the player has Sprigatito as a starter. In that case, Nemona will use Quaquaval, which is a Water and Fighting-type Pokemon, but as it will be Terastallized, Quaquaval will change into a pure Water-type because of its Tera type. Hence, it now is weak (super effective) to Electric-type and Grass-type moves and resistant (not very effective) to Fire-type, Ice-type, Steel-type, and Water-type moves.

Nemona’s Quaquaval will use the following moves: 

• Aqua Step is a physical Water-type move with 80 Power and 100 Accuracy that, aside from dealing damage, will also increase the Speed stat of the Pokemon using the move by one stage.
• Brick Break is a physical Fighting-type move with 75 Power and 100 Accuracy that, aside from dealing damage, also destroys the active protective barriers in the battle.
• Aerial Ace is a physical Flying-type move with 60 Power and will never miss unless the opposing Pokemon uses Protect, Detect, Bounce, Dig, Dive, Fly, Phantom Force, Shadow Force, and Sky Drop.
• Ice Spinner is a physical Ice-type move with 80 Power and 100 Accuracy that, aside from dealing damage, will also destroy the terrain active in the battle, and the move will not fail even if there is no terrain active.

Suppose the player has Fuecoco as a starter. In that case, Nemona will use Meowscarada, which is a Grass and Dark-type Pokemon, but, as it will be Terastallized, Nemona’s Meowscarada will change into a pure Grass type because of its Tera type.

Hence, it now is weak (super effective) to Bug-type, Fire-type, Flying-type, Ice-type, and Poison-type moves and resistant (not very effective) to Electric-type, Grass-type, Ground-type, and Water-type moves.

Nemona’s Meowscarada will use the following moves: 

• Flower Trick is a physical Grass-type move with 70 Power that, aside from dealing damage, never misses and always lands a critical hit.
• Thunder Punch is a physical Electric-type move with 75 Power and 100 Accuracy that not only deals damage but also has a 10% chance of paralyzing the opposing Pokemon.
• Shadow Claw is a physical Ghost-type move with 70 Power and 100 Accuracy that, aside from dealing damage, also has a 1-stage increased Critical Hit ratio.
• Play Rough is a physical Fairy-type move with 90 Power and 90 Accuracy that, aside from dealing damage, also has a 10% chance to lower the Attack stat of the opposing Pokemon by one stage.

Suppose the player has Quaxly as a starter. In that case, Nemona will use Skeledirge, which is a Fire and Ghost-type Pokemon. Still, as it will be Terastallized, Nemona’s Skeledirge will change into a pure Fire-type because of its Tera-type, so it will be weak (super effective) to Ground-type, Rock-type and Water-type moves and resistant (not very effective) to Bug-type, Fairy-type, Fire-type, Grass-type, Ice-type, and Steel-type moves.

Nemona’s Skeledirge will use the following moves: 

• Torch Song is a special Fire-type move with 80 Power and 100 Accuracy that, aside from dealing damage, will also increase the Special Attack stat of the Pokemon using the move by one stage.
• Earth Power is a special Ground-type move with 90 Power and 100 Accuracy. Aside from inflicting damage, it also has a 10% chance of lowering the target Pokemon’s Special Defense stat by one stage.
• Shadow Ball is a special Ghost-type move with 80 Power and 100 Accuracy that, aside from dealing damage, also has a 20% chance of lowering the Special Defense stat of the opposing Pokemon by one stage.
• Snarl is a special Dark-type move with 55 Power and 95 Accuracy; it also lowers the Special Attack stat of the opposing Pokemon by one stage.

Tips

As Nemona’s Pokemon are Level 71 and 72, it is advised that the player use Pokemon that are Level 63 and higher with Fighting-type and Fairy-type moves. This is because Fighting-type moves deal super-effective damage to Nemona’s Lycanroc, Dudunsparce, and Orthworm, and Fairy-type moves can deal super-effective damage to Nemona’s Goodra and Pawmot.

Because Gallade can use Fighting-type and Fairy-type moves, it can be very effective against Nemona’s team.

As for Nemona’s final Pokemon, the player can simply use the starter Pokemon they chose because they can damage Nemona’s final Pokemon extremely effectively.

With the right Pokemon and the right moves, the player can easily defeat Nemona, one of the Champions in the Paldea region and the player’s rival, in the Academy Ace Tournament!