In Pokemon Scarlet and Violet‘s main story, the player can do a lot of things, like battling the humongous new Titan Pokemon, challenging all the Gym Leaders in the Paldea region, taking on the mysterious Team Star, participating in the Pokemon League to become a Champion and be the very best like no one ever was, and capturing every Pokemon because, y’know, gotta catch ‘em all!
However, even after completing all these, players can still take on challenges in the post-game, right after the final mission and the credits roll, such as rematches with the Pokemon Gym Leaders and the former Team Star squads. One special event the player can participate in is the Academy Ace Tournament, which celebrates the player’s victory as the Paldea Region Champion.
This guide will teach you how to defeat Saguaro in the Academy Ace Tournament!
The Academy Ace Tournament
To unlock the Academy Ace Tournament, the player must first do something for Top Champion Geeta: she will ask the player to challenge all the Pokemon Gym Leaders in the region to a rematch so they can prove their skills, and so Top Champion Geeta will be able to participate in the tournament. The Academy Ace Tournament will only be unlocked after the player beats all Gym Leaders in the region again in a rematch.
In the Academy Ace Tournament, the player will participate in four consecutive battles against other Pokemon Trainers, either faculty members or other academy students. The player must win against all four Trainers to be the ultimate champion and declared the academy’s ace.
To participate in the Academy Ace Tournament, head to the Academy in Mesagoza, go to the Entrance Hall, then speak to the staff member dressed in blue next to a Gengar at the front desk.
For the player’s first go in the Academy Ace Tournament, the player will battle a fixed group of four Pokemon Trainers: Arven, Jacq, Dendra, and Top Champion Geeta.
However, in the next attempts, the player will battle four random Trainers selected from Arven, Jacq, Dendra, Hassel, Tyme, Miriam, Raifort, Saguaro, Salvatore, Penny, Director Clavell, or Nemona.
During the tournament, the player cannot change the Pokemon in their party after every battle. But, the HP of the player’s Pokemon will be healed, and the player’s Tera Orb will be recharged after each round.
Rewards
After becoming the ultimate champion in the Academy Ace Tournament for the first time, aside from earning money and EXP points, the Sporty Cap (Pokemon League) and 6-Star Tera Raids (if the player has finished at least ten 4-Star Tera Raid battles) will be unlocked.
For the player’s next wins of the whole tournament, the player will be given a random prize which is either of the following: a maximum of 10 Rare Candies, a maximum of three Nuggets, one Big Nugget, a maximum of 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 very rare Ability Patch.
Saguaro
After becoming the academy’s ace for the first time, get ready for an epic battle with Saguaro, the home economics teacher of the academy, as there is a possibility that the player will face Saguaro if the player takes on the Academy Ace Tournament again!
Saguaro does not have a Pokemon-type specialty. Still, it will use these six Pokemon: a Level 65 Pachirisu, a Level 65 Froslass, a Level 65 Alomomola, a Level 65 Vespiquen, a Level 65 Goodra, and a Level 66 Hatterene with a Fairy Tera Type.
Saguaro’s Pachirisu
With that in mind, it is worth mentioning that Pachirisu is an Electric-type Pokemon. Hence, it is weak (super effective) to Ground-type moves and resistant (not very effective) to Electric, Flying, and Steel-type moves.
Saguaro’s Pachirisu will use the following moves:
- Super Fang is a physical Normal-type move with 90 Accuracy that will deal damage equal to half of the opposing Pokemon’s HP.
- Nuzzle is a physical Electric-type move with 20 Power and 100 Accuracy that, aside from dealing damage, will also inflict Paralyze on the opponent.
- Quick Attack is a physical Normal-type move with 40 Power and 100 Accuracy, it is an attack with an increased Speed priority of 1, so it may go faster than most moves.
- Thunder is a special Electric-type move with 110 Power and 70 Accuracy. In addition to dealing damage, it also has a 30% chance of paralyzing the opposing Pokemon and will deal damage to Pokemon in the middle of the move Fly, Bounce, or Sky Drop. Also, this attack has an increased Accuracy during Rain but will have decreased accuracy during Harsh Sunlight.
Saguaro’s Froslass
Froslass is an Ice and Ghost-type Pokemon, which means it is weak (super effective) to Dark-type, Fire-type, Ghost-type, Rock-type, and Steel-type moves, resistant (not very effective) to the Bug-type, Ice-type, and Poison-type moves, and immunity (no effect) to Fighting-type and Normal-type moves.
Saguaro’s Froslass will use the following moves:
- Blizzard is a special Ice-type move with 110 Power and 70 Accuracy that, in addition to causing damage, has a 10% chance of freezing on the opposing Pokemon and increased Accuracy if a Snowstorm is active.
- Hex is a special Ghost-type move with 65 Power and 100 Accuracy, increasing the damage to 130 if the target Pokemon has a status condition.
- Will-O-Wisp is a Fire-type status move with 85 Accuracy that will burn on the target Pokemon.
- Ice Shard is a physical Ice-type move with 40 Power and 100 Accuracy that, in addition to dealing damage, also has an increased Speed priority of 1, making it move faster than most.
Saguaro’s Alomomola
Alomomola is a Water-type Pokemon which means it 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.
Saguaro’s Alomomola will use the following moves:
- Light Screen is a Psychic-type status move that will lessen the damage received by the user’s side of the battle from Special Attacks by 50% in Single Battles and 33% in Double Battles for five turns.
- Aqua Jet is a physical Water-type move with 40 Power and 100 Accuracy; it also has an increased Speed priority of 1, allowing it to go faster than most moves.
- Liquidation is a physical Water-type move with 85 Power and 100 Accuracy; it also has a 20% chance of lowering the Defense stat of the target Pokemon by one stage.
- Body Slam is a physical Normal-type move with 85 Power and 100 Accuracy that will not only deal damage but also has a 30% chance of paralyzing the target Pokemon.
Saguaro’s Vespiquen
Vespiquen is a Bug and Flying type Pokemon. Hence, it is weak (super effective) to Electric-type, Fire-type, Flying-type, Ice-type, and especially Rock-type moves, resistant (not very effective) to Fighting-type, Grass-type, and especially Bug-type moves, and immune (no effect) to Ground-type moves.
Saguaro’s Vespiquen will use the following moves:
- Attack Order is a physical Bug-type move with 90 Power and 100 Accuracy that also has a 1-stage increased Critical Hit ratio.
- Power Gem is a special Rock-type move with 80 Power and 100 Accuracy.
- Air Slash is a special Flying-type move with 75 Power and 95 Accuracy that deals damage and has a 30% chance of causing the target Pokemon to flinch.
- Sludge Bomb is a special Poison-type move with 90 Power and 100 Accuracy that, aside from inflicting damage, also has a 30% chance of inflicting poison on the opposing Pokemon.
Aside from that, Saguaro’s Vespiquen has the Ability called Pressure, where whenever a move hits the Pokemon with the Ability, the move used will consume 2 PP instead of only one.
Saguaro’s Goodra
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.
Saguaro’s Goodra will use the following moves:
- Muddy Water is a special Water-type move with 90 Power and 85 Accuracy that, aside from causing damage, also has a 30% chance of decreasing the target Pokemon’s Accuracy by one stage.
- Power Whip is a physical Grass-type move with 120 Power and 85 Accuracy.
- Dragon Breath is a special Dragon-type move with 60 Power and 100 Accuracy that, aside from dealing damage, also has a 30% chance of paralyzing the opposing Pokemon.
- Sludge Bomb is a special Poison-type move with 90 Power and 100 Accuracy; it also has a 30% chance of inflicting poison on the target Pokemon.
Aside from that, Saguaro’s Goodra also has the Sap Sipper Ability, which will raise its Attack stat by one stage if the Pokemon with the Ability is hit with a Grass-type move. Additionally, it will also be immune to Grass-type attacks.
Saguaro’s Hatterene
Hatterene is a Psychic and Fairy-type Pokemon, but as Saguaro will Terastallize his Hatterene, it will become a pure Fairy type because of its Tera-Type. Hence, it is weak (super effective) to Poison-type and Steel-type moves, resistant (not very effective) to the Bug-type, Dark-type, and Fighting-type moves, and immune (no effect) to Dragon-type moves.
Saguaro’s Hatterene will use the following moves:
- Psychic is a special Psychic-type move with 90 Power and 100 Accuracy that not only deals damage but also has a 10% chance of decreasing the Special Defense stat of the target Pokemon by one stage.
- Dazzling Gleam is a special Fairy-type move with 80 Power and 100 Accuracy.
- Shadow Ball is a special Ghost-type move with 80 Power and 100 Accuracy that deals damage and has a 20% chance of decreasing the opposing Pokemon’s Special Defense stat by one stage.
- Magic Powder is a Psychic-type status move with 100 Accuracy, which will change the type of the opposing Pokemon to Psychic type.
Tips
As Saguaro’s Pokemon are Level 65 and 66, it is recommended that the player’s Pokemon are Level 67 and higher with Ground-type, Fire-type, Grass-type, Rock-type, Ice-type, and Steel-type moves.
This is because Ground-type moves can deal super effective damage to Saguaro’s Pachirisu, and Ground-type Pokemon are immune to Electric-type moves which Saguaro’s Pachirisu has; Fire-type moves will deal super effective damage to Saguaro’s Froslass and Fire-type Pokemon are immune to Burn which the Will-O-Wisp from Saguaro’s Froslass will inflict.
Grass-type moves will deal super effective damage to Saguaro’s Alomomola, Rock-type moves will deal four times the amount of damage to Saguaro’s Vespiquen and will also deal super effective damage to Saguaro’s Froslass; Ice type moves will deal super effective damage to Saguaro’s Goodra; and Steel moves will deal super effective damage to Saguaro’s Terastallized Hatterene.
type
Additionally, Electric-type moves would also be great as they can deal super effective damage to Saguaro’s Alomomola and Vespiquen.
After you defeat Saguaro, prepare for the next Academy Ace Tournament round!
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