This is a guide for defeating Mela, Boss of Team Star’s Fire Crew in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.

You will fight Mela after completing the Star Barrage at the Fire Crew’s base in East Province (Area One), north-west of the town of Artazon (where the Grass Gym is).

Recommended Pokémon for Mela¶

Your Pokémon team should ideally be Level 25 or higher for this battle.

In general, Water , Rock and Ground Pokémon are recommended. Especially the first two, since they resist Fire. Of note, we suggest leading with a Rock type or a Pokémon that can handle Sunny Day (weakens Water moves).

For a list of recommended Pokémon species, please refer to the previous page.

Mela of the Team Star¶

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(1 of 2) Mela looks like she can take you on.

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Mela looks like she can take you on. (left), The harsh sunlight will weaken Water attacks. (right)

Pokémon	Level	Type
Torkoal	27	Fire
Revavroom (Schedar Starmobile)	26	Fire

Mela leads with Torkoal. If you sent out a pure Water type, you might be in trouble because Torkoal’s Drought ability summons Sunny Day, boosting the power of Fire attacks and weakening the power of Water attacks.

Hopefully you led with a Rock type like we suggested; even Ground is good. If you have a Water-type, you can still win by brute-forcing it, but make sure they’re not your only one because they’ll likely take a battering.

Alternatively, Psyduck can ignore the effects of Sunny Day if it has the Cloud Nine ability. Another thing you could try is using Rain Dance (learned by Gyarados at Level 28 etc. or TM) to turn the tables, weakening Fire attacks and boosting Water ones.

For her next Pokémon, Mela will send out a Revavroom, but it’ll be a Schedar Starmobile, which is bulkier than usual and a pure Fire type. Each turn, its Speed will increase from its Speed Boost ability.

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(1 of 2) You must be pretty desperate to make your car fight.

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You must be pretty desperate to make your car fight. (left), Speed Boost is a little annoying, but no big deal. (right)

The Schedar Starmobile loves using Blazing Torque, a Fire attack with a high chance to Burn. Occasionally, it may use Screech to lower your Defense by two stages. On rare occasions, it can also use Overheat, a powerful Fire attack that lowers its Special Attack by two stages.

Pokémon that resist Fire-type attacks–namely Water or Rock will perform very well here. Physical attackers should be somewhat cautious of being burned, since it lowers Attack. Drednaw is amazing since it takes a quarter damage, but is susceptible to Burn.

If your Pokémon’s Defense has been impacted by Screech, remember that you can cancel the debuff by switching out. Just make sure to switch in a Pokémon that resists Fire.

Unless you’re seriously underleveled or brought the wrong Pokémon, this is a pretty one-note fight, despite Mela’s mean looks.

After the Battle¶

After putting out Mela’s fire, you’ll receive a Star Badge from her and TM038 Flame Charge. This teaches a Fire-type attack that also boosts the user’s Speed.

While leaving the base, Cassiopeia will call you again, unlocking additional TMs that you can craft at the TM Machine. Also, their helper will supply you with various Pokémon materials for crafting TMs.