How to beat Nemona in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

First Nemona battle strategy in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Your first battle with Nemona will occur shortly after choosing your starter Pokémon during the opening chapter of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet - The First Day of School.

Nemona will ask you to battle her on the beach behind her house and her team is the following:

For defeating Nemona, you’ll earn 500 prize money.

This is a very easy battle win, because Nemona only has one Pokémon and will have selected the starter which is weak to yours. She will have the Water-type Quaxly, for example, if you choose the Grass-type Sprigatto.

Second Nemona battle strategy in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Your second battle with Nemona occurs when you reach the Mesagoza gates during The First Day of School - the opening chapter of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Nemona will now have two Pokémon in her team:

You will earn 530 prize money for defeating Nemona.

We recommend starting this battle with your starter Pokémon, because by now it should know a move which will be super effective against Nemona’s first Pokémon. Remember - her starter Pokémon will always be weak to yours, so, if it’s still in your party, make sure you use it against this Pokémon.

Nemona will Terastallize this Pokémon, increasing the power of its Electric-type moves, but, sadly, you don’t have the ability to do so yourself yet.

For Pawmi, you can catch a Poison and Ground-type Paldean Wooper at the pond which lies between the Poco Path Lighthouse and Los Platos. If this Paldea Wooper knows Mud Shot, then you’ll make short work of Pawmi.

If you don’t have a Paldean Wooper, you can use your most powerful Pokémon as long as it’s not a Water or Flying-type Pokémon - sorry Quaxly!

Third Nemona battle strategy in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Before you can battle Nemona for a third time, you must first defeat two Gym Leaders. She will then appear the next time you enter any Gym and challenge you to battle.

For this fight, Nemona will have the following team:

You will earn 1,320 and 3 Full Heals for defeating Nemona.

Nemona will begin the battle with Rockruff, which is weak to Fighting, Grass, Ground, Steel and Water-type Pokémon.

If you choose Sprigatito or Quaxly as your starter Pokémon, you’ll be able to easily defeat Rockruff using them. If you didn’t, however, then you can still use a strong Water or Grass Pokémon, such as Gyarados or Dolliv - the evolved form of Smoliv.

For Pawmi, you can once again use a Ground-type Pokémon. If you’ve been training a Paldea Wooper, it will have most likely evolved into a Clodsire by now, which will work wonderfully. If this isn’t the case, then another Ground-type like Dugtrio is a good choice.

Finally, Nemona will use, and Terastallize her starter Pokémon, which has now reached its second evolution. We recommend you copy both of these actions, because, as always, her starter is weak to yours. If you’ve decided to abandon your starter Pokémon, however, use a Pokémon which is aligned with the weaknesses listed above.

Fourth Nemona battle strategy in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Nemona’s next challenge will come immediately after you’ve earned your fourth Gym Badge in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

For this fight, Nemona will have the following team:

You will earn 4,440 prize money and x5 TM0171 Tera Blast for defeating Nemona this time.

Nemona’s Rockruff is now a Lycanroc, but it still has the same weaknesses. This means it can be easily defeated by any Fighting, Grass, Ground, Steel and Water-type Pokémon. Once again, we recommend using your starter Pokémon if you choose Quaxly or Sprigatito and, if not, a Pokémon which exploits these weaknesses.

Nemona has also added a Goomy to her team, which is weak to Dragon, Fairy and Ice-types.

We recommend using a Fairy-type Pokémon, because it also has an advantage over Nemona’s next Pokémon. Tinkatink, and its evolutions, are good choices there since they’re Fairy and Steel-type Pokémon, with Tinkatink being found in a couple of locations across Paldea.

If you’d prefer an Ice or Dragon-type, then we recommend visiting the northern regions of Paldea; you can find Dratinis swimming in Casseroya Lake and a range of Ice-type on Glaseado Mountain.

Another evolved Pokémon is up next in the form of Pawmo. It’s weak to Fairy, Ground and Psychic-type Pokémon, which means the Ground-type Pokémon may have previously used for Pawmi is still a good choice. A Fairy-type, like Tinkatink or its evolutions, will also be super effective against Pawmo.

Nemona will, once again, end the battle by using, and Terastallizing, her starter Pokémon, which is still in its second evolution. As always, we recommend using your own starter Pokémon, because, say it with me, her starter Pokémon is weak to yours. Just remember to Terastallize your Pokémon to increase the power of its moves!

Fifth Nemona battle strategy in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

To battle Nemona for the fifth time, you first need to collect six Gym Badges. She will then appear at the next Gym you enter and you will have to defeat her before challenging the Gym Leader.

For this battle Nemona’s team consists of:

You will earn 7,740 prize money and x3 Max Potion for defeating Nemona.

The only changes to Nemona’s team this time is that both Goomy and her starter have evolved. For this reason, we recommend sending out the same Pokémon you used in the previous battle - if they’re still in your team, of course! If you have changed your team, make sure your choices align with the weaknesses listed above.

Nemoan’s starter Pokémon has now reached its third and final evolution. She will once again send it out last and will Terastallize it, so, for the fifth time, we recommend using your starter Pokémon and Terastallizing it. With the increased power Terastallizing brings, you’ll easily defeat her final Pokémon.

If you’re not using your starter Pokémon, keep in mind that Nemona’s starter Pokémon will now be a dual type. For this reason the Pokémon you’ve been using previously may no longer have an advantage over hers, so you may need to make some changes to your team lineup.

Sixth Nemona battle strategy in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Your sixth battle against Nemona will occur after you’ve defeated the Elite Four and Top Champion of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Nemona will want to battle you in the central plaza of Mesagoza, so meet her there! It’s important to note, however, that her Pokémon are stronger than Top Champion Geeta’s, so you may want to raise your team’s levels beforehand.

For this battle, Nemona will have the following team:

For Lycanroc, Pawmot and Goodra, you can send out the Pokémon you’ve previously used to defeat. If your team has changed, however, make sure you still have Pokémon which align with the weaknesses listed above.

Nemona has also added two new Pokémon to her team - Orthworm and Dudunsparce.

Orthworm is weak to Fighting, Fire and Ground-type Pokémon, which means you can easily defeat it if you picked Fuecoco as your starter or, if you’re playing Pokémon Scarlet, have an Armarougein your team.

Dudunsparce, meanwhile, is only weak to Fighting-type Pokémon. If you chose Quaxly as your starter Pokémon, then Quaquaval will, as a Fighting-type, make short work of this Pokémon. If you chose a different starter Pokémon, however, then a Fighting-type like Pawmot, Lucario or Annihilape will take care of Dudunsparce.

Nemona will end the battle by sending out her starter Pokémon, which she will Terastallize. Once again, we recommend using, and Terastallizing, your starter Pokémon if it’s still in your team. If not, then use a Pokémon which exploits the weaknesses of Nemona’s fully evolved starter.

The Victory Road storyline will come to a close after you’ve defeated Nemona! Depending on where you are in Scarlet and Violet’s main campaign, you’ll now need to either finish Starfall Street, Path of the Legends or start a whole new storyline…

Who is Nemona in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

Nemona is your rival in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Victory Road storyline and, in keeping with Pokémon tradition, she is also your neighbour. Like you, she’s attending the Pokémon Academy of the Paldea region and is the Class President.

A lover of Pokémon battles, Nemona achieved the Champion rank during the previous year’s Treasure Hunt and she’ll encourage you to do the same.

Due to this, you’ll regularly encounter Nemona during the Victory Road storyline - though she’s not stalking you. Apparently. She does always seem to be very close by…

Nemona will challenge you to a battle at certain points during your Victory Road storyline, which you learn more about in the sections above!

Good luck defeating Nemona in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet! For more help across Paldea, we've got pages on the Path of Legends and Starfall Street stories as well.