This is a guide for defeating Jacq the Instructor during the Academy Ace Tournament in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.

Jacq, your homeroom teacher, is one of the trainers you can fight in the Academy Ace Tournament. In the very first tournament, he will always be your Round 2 opponent.

From the second tournament onwards, you can randomly encounter him as a opponent during the first three rounds.

What is the Academy Ace Tournament?¶

The Academy Ace Tournament is a single elimination tournament, consisting of 4 rounds, that you can participate in during the postgame. Your opponents will be trainers and faculty members from Naranja/Uva Academy.

To unlock the Academy Ace Tournament, you must complete the Area Zero story, perform the Gym Inspection for Geeta and report the results to her back at Naranja/Uva Academy.

Recommended Pokémon for Jacq (Academy Ace Tournament)¶

You’ve never had a chance to fight Jacq before, so you might not know what to expect. Anyway, his team has good variety of types, so your team should be somewhat varied as well. Despite being the opponent after Arven, his Pokémon are slightly weaker, between Level 65 to 66. You should have minimal problems with Level 66+ Pokémon.

Here are some recommendations, if you need help:

• The Level 75 Tera Lucario at Dalizapa Passage, in the underground tunnel. High level and a great all rounder. Type-wise, somewhat disadvantaged for this fight, but you could teach it Bulldoze or Earthquake.
• The Level 75 Tera Dragonite, found north-east from Levincia. High level and a physical powerhouse. Only super-effective against one Pokémon, but its high Level and high Attack will leave a massive dent on the others.
• Great Tusk or Iron Treads, common but powerful Ground type Paradox Pokémon found in Area Zero.
• If playing Scarlet, Sandy Shocks, a versatile Electric and Ground type Paradox Pokémon, found in the rocky, outdoor parts of Area Zero.
• Pretty much any of the Treasures of Ruin, to counter Jacq’s Terastallized Pokémon.

What Pokémon Does Jacq (Academy Ace Tournament) Use?¶

Arcanine¶

Jacq leads with an Arcanine. This fiery dog can use Flare Blitz for hard-hitting STAB, Close Combat to thwart Rock types, plus Psychic Fangs and Play Rough for general coverage. Its Intimidate ability will lower your Pokémon’s Attack stat when it enters battle.

Water types are highly recommended and Ground types should do pretty good too. To avoid being affected by Intimidate, we also suggest using a special attacker, if possible.

Lurantis¶

Jacq’s Lurantis is carrying Leaf Blade for STAB, Leech Life to steal HP, Brick Break to hurt Ice types and shatter barriers and Night Slash for additional coverage.

Fire, Flying, Bug and Poison types should have a field day here.

Swalot¶

When facing Jacq’s Swalot, beware of the Toxic and Protect combo. It loves to use Toxic to inflict poison that gets worse with each turn, then use Protect to shield itself from harm, while watching you slowly succumb to poison. Besides that, it can use Ice Punch to scare Ground types and Fire Punch to tickle Steel types.

For damage dealing, Psychic and Ground types are recommended. Ground types may be susceptible to Ice Punch, but Swalot’s offensive stats aren’t that impressive. If you’re hit with Toxic, cure it ASAP.

Mudsdale¶

Mudsdale can be a tough cookie if you’re careless. For attacks, it can use Earthquake for STAB, Stone Edge to smack Flying and Ice types, plus Close Combat and Heavy Slam for additional coverage (and more ways to crush Ice types). Its Stamina ability raises its Defense for each hit it sustains.

Grass types are highly recommended and Water types aren’t too shabby either. Use special attackers where possible, so Stamina isn’t an issue. Do not use Bullet Seed or Icicle Spear, otherwise you could raise its Defense to near max before you know it!

Slowbro¶

Slowbro plays the role of tank, sort of. Jacq’s one can use Surf and Psychic for STAB, Flamethrower to burn Grass types and Light Screen to weaken your special moves.

Electric and Grass types would be ideal here. Although Grass types are weak to Flamethrower, Slowbro shouldn’t do too much damage with it. Use special attackers if you can, since Slowbro has high Defense. Light Screen can be problematic, but since Slowbro is, well, slow, you can probably do a lot of damage before it gets a chance to use it.

Terastallized Farigiraf¶

Finally, Jacq will Terastallize his Farigiraf into a pure Psychic type. In terms of attacks, it’s got Psychic for STAB, Shadow Ball to counter Ghost types, plus Thunderbolt and Energy Ball for general coverage. Its Armor Tail ability negates priority moves used against it, like Sucker Punch.

Dark types are ideal, to shrug off Tera and STAB-boosted Psychic. Bug types should do fine too, but they may take heavy damage from Psychic.