Team Star is back and tougher than before. Each rematch hides sharper strategies, higher-level Pokémon, and a few surprises that test everything you learned during your first encounters. Here’s how to outsmart every boss and prove you’re still the Academy’s strongest.
Repeating Team Star challenges
After your first victory over Team Star, you can repeat their challenges by revisiting each base. Interacting with the gate allows you to face the squad leader again, with their Pokémon lineup scaled to higher levels. These rematches provide additional experience, prize money, and a chance to refine your battle strategies against tougher versions of their teams.
By ringing the bell at the entrance to the Team Star bases, you can repeat the original Team Star challenges that you did before. Rather than K.O-ing 30 Pokémon in 10 minutes, you’ll need to take out 50 Pokémon. According to Serebii.net, the faster you do this, the more League Points (LP) you’ll get as a reward.
We finished the challenge in two minutes and 54 seconds and we got 7,541 LP – quite a lot for just throwing Pokémon around.
If you can’t quite remember how this works, then allow us to refresh you. The first three Pokémon in your team will need to take down 50 Pokémon in autobattles only. If your Pokémon get too weak, you can heal them using Clive by the entrance or the vending machines scattered around the campus. That said, you’ll either want a type advantage or you’ll want to be very overleveled.
After completing the challenge, your Pokémon will be healed. Completing this challenge will not immediately start the Team Star leader battle. (You’ll need to go talk to them directly in order to battle them.)
Team Star rematch battles
After completing the main story, players can challenge the Team Star bosses again in rematch battles featuring stronger teams and improved strategies. Each leader uses fully evolved Pokémon with competitive movesets, turning these encounters into tougher tests of your progress. Winning these battles rewards players with extra League Points, valuable items, and a sense of closure for Team Star’s storyline, as the bosses show how far they’ve grown since their original defeat.
Once per day, you can rematch the Team Star leaders at their respective bases. Thankfully, they no longer have Starmobiles, so it’s just a straightforward battle. (They don’t even Terastilize.)
They do give a good amount of money and are pretty easy to beat, since they all specialize in specific types, so if you’re grinding for extra money, consider visiting each member once a day.
Once again, here are the weaknesses for each type:
- Dark: bug, fairy, fighting
- Fire: ground, rock, water
- Poison: ground, bug, psychic
- Fairy: steel, poison
- Fighting: flying, psychic
We list out the members with their parties in alphabetical order below.
Team Star Atticus (poison)
- Skuntank, level 65 (poison/dark)
- Muk, level 65 (poison)
- Dragalge, level 65 (poison/dragon)
- Toxapex, level 65 (poison/water)
- Revavroom, level 66 (steel/poison)
Team Star Eri (fighting)
- Primeape, level 65 (fighting)
- Toxicroak, level 65 (poison/fighting)
- Passimian, level 65 (fighting)
- Lucario, level 65 (fighting/steel)
- Annihilape, level 66 (fighting/ghost)
Team Star Giacomo (dark)
- Cacturne, level 65 (grass/dark)
- Honchkrow, level 65 (dark/flying)
- Mabosstiff, level 65 (dark)
- Krookodile, level 65 (ground/dark)
- Kingambit, level 66 (dark/steel)
Team Star Mela (fire)
- Torkoal, level 65 (fire)
- Coalossal, level 65 (rock/fire)
- Houndoom, level 65 (dark/fire)
- Arcanine, level 65 (fire)
- Armarouge, level 66 (fire/psychic)
Team Star Ortega (fairy)
- Klefki, level 65 (steel/fairy)
- Azumarill, level 65 (water/fairy)
- Wigglytuff, level 65 (normal/fairy)
- Hatterene, level 65 (psychic/fairy)
- Dachsbun, level 66 (fairy)
Giacomo Team Star rematch team and counters
Giacomo’s Team Star rematch in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet features a level 65-66 Dark-type specialized team at his Star Training Center (STC) in West Province (Area One). All Pokémon are vulnerable to Fighting, Fairy, and Bug moves, with some dual-type exceptions.
Team Lineup
Giacomo leads with bulky Dark attackers; expect coverage moves like Crunch, Earthquake, and Swords Dance. No Tera types here.
| Pokémon | Level | Type | Notable Moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cacturne | Grass/Dark | Bullet Seed, Sucker Punch, Thunder Punch | |
| Honchkrow | Dark/Flying | Dark Pulse, Hurricane, Psychic | |
| Mabosstiff | Dark | Play Rough, Crunch, Ice Fang | |
| Krookodile | Ground/Dark | Earthquake, Crunch, Dragon Claw | |
| Kingambit | Dark/Steel | Kowtow Cleave, Iron Head, Stone Edge |
Recommended Counters
Prioritize fast Fighting-types to OHKO Kingambit (4x weak) before its Supreme Overlord boosts Attack. Fairy-types like Tinkaton handle most neutrally or super-effectively.
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Annihilape or Iron Valiant: Close Combat sweeps Cacturne/Kingambit; resists coverage.
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Tinkaton or Sylveon: Play Rough crushes pure Darks; Steel typing blocks Kingambit.
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Corviknight: Immune to Ground, resists Dark/Flying; Roost for longevity.
Battle Tips
Enter overleveled (Lv. 67+), use Choice Band setups, and switch for coverage (e.g., Electric vs. Krookodile). Rematch daily for ~12k Pokédollars and EXP; ring the bell first for optional autobattle LP.
Best Fighting type Pokémon for Giacomo rematch
Fighting-type Pokémon excel against Giacomo’s Dark-focused rematch team in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, hitting all foes super effectively (4x on Kingambit). Prioritize fast sweepers to outpace setups like Swords Dance.
Top Picks
These are accessible in Paldea/DLC, level them to 67+ for safety, and teach priority moves like Mach Punch.
| Pokémon | Why It Works | Key Moves | Location/How to Get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breloom | Priority Mach Punch OHKOs; Spore for control | Mach Punch, Brick Break, Force Palm | West Province (Area Three) |
| Quaquaval | High Attack, Aqua Stepper boosts Speed; Close Combat nukes | Close Combat, Low Sweep, Mega Kick | Evolve Quaxly (starter) → Lv36 |
| Gallade | Strong coverage, Justified ability vs Dark | Close Combat, Zen Headbutt | Evolve male Kirlia + Dawn Stone |
| Heracross | Megahorn for Grass coverage, raw power | Close Combat, Megahorn | North Province (Area One) |
| Annihilape | Rage Fist ramps up; 4x resists Kingambit Steel | Close Combat, Rage Fist | Evolve Primeape with Rage Fist (Lv1) |
Strategy Tips
Lead with Breloom or Quaquaval to smash Cacturne/Honchkrow early, then pivot for Krookodile’s Ground moves (avoid pure Fighting leads). Pair with a Fairy like Tinkaton for Honchkrow’s Flying STAB. Kingambit falls fastest to any 4x Fighting hit before it boosts.
