Game Freak has revealed that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's villain team.
How Team Star Works In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
Unlike other Pokémon generations, Team Star does not actually have a centralized leader. Instead, the rebel students are actually broken up into smaller separate squads. Each group will represent a specific Pokémon element such as Fire-types and will have their own Team Star base compound that is located throughout the Paldea region map.
Players will be tasked with discovering each of these bases and infiltrating them. After entering a compound, trainers will trigger in a new Horde Mode where they must defeat a wave of wild Pokémon within a set time limit. After defeating the Team Star Grunts, players will then have a chance to challenge the squad's leader in a unique boss battle.
In the September update, Nintendo revealed that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will have a new feature that is based on the Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee Kanto remakes from 2018. The new "Let's Go" mode allows players to send out a Pokémon to take on other Pokémon in automatic battles. According to Game Freak, this new gameplay mechanic can be used to help players defeat the wave of Team Star Pokémon needed to unlock the squad's boss fight.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Team Star Boss Battles
After defeating the grunts, players will have an option to challenge the Team Star squad leader. Once the battle is triggered, the boss will ride out in a special car vehicle called a "Starmobile". While there is still a lot unknown about this boss mechanic, Game Freak states that the custom vehicle will actually "get in the way" of players and disrupt them.
Trainers will not only have to defeat the squad leader's team of "Party Pokémon" but they will also need to take down the Starmobile as well. While not confirmed, several leaks claim that the car itself is a Steel-type Pokémon. If the rumors are true, the Pokémon is actually going to be the engine that powers up the Starmobile.
Based on the trailer, the Team Star bosse's looks like a mix of traditional villain battles, as well as Pokémon Legends: Arceus' Noble Pokémon. In the Hisui region title, players had to throw out Pokémon to battle, but then also had to dodge the rampaging giants and pelt them with items. Perhaps Team Star's Starmobile will act as a similar mechanic, and the fight itself will have various stages to it.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Team Star Base Locations Leak
Although Game Freak has not yet confirmed this, a prominent Gen 9 leaker claimed that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will have a total of five Team Star squads throughout the Starfall Street campaign. This means that players will have to discover five Team Star bases that are scattered throughout the Paldea Region map.
Pokémon news CentroLeaks reposted the leak on Twitter and wrote that Team Star will use the "Cassiopeia constellation" to plot out their base locations across the region. A high-definition image of the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet map, seemingly confirms the rumored Team Star locations.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Team Star Schedar Squad Leader Mela
With Team Star appearing to have five squads, Game Freak has only revealed one of them so far. In the September trailer, players got their first look at Mela, the leader of Team Star's Schedar Squad. The fiery trainer is a Fire-type , and battles with Torkoal from the Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Hoenn region games. In her official summary, Mela is described as being her squad's best "all-rounder". Although she is also stated to be heavy-handed, she can fix any problem under any circumstance.
Unlike the Pokémon League campaign, the Pokémon Company hasn't confirmed yet whether players will be able to take on the Steam Star squads in any order or not. Regardless, Mela and her fire squad will technically be one of the first Team Star encounters fans will face in the game, as their base is located close to the starting area of Mesagoza city.
Because Team Star does not seem to have a main villainous leader, it appears that the Gen 9 antagonists are more similar to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's Gym Leaders. As players explore the map, they will have powerful leader battles that they will get to take on. The addition of the villain bases, however, adds a new layer to the villain team formula that the Pokémon franchise hasn't ever seen before.
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