Before you can complete the Path of Legends storyline in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet by exploring Area Zero—also known as the Great Crater of Paldea—you will need to defeat Arven in a Pokémon battle.
So far, you have only had Arven battling beside you as your trusty partner against the Titan Pokémon spread across the region, but the tides have changed as the final part of the game dawns upon you.
Arven challenges you as a test to see whether you are ready to face the overpowering creatures that await you in Area Zero, this time with his fully healed best friend and ace Pokémon Mabostiff.
This won’t be an easy battle though, and this is why we have come up with a nifty guide on how you can optimally beat Arven in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
All Arven Pokémon team details and how to beat him in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Arven’s final team he uses against you towards the end of the Path of Legends storyline comprises of six balanced and well-rounded Pokémon that have a wide coverage of moves, so your general strategy against him would be to either take them out in one hit or make sure your Pokémon are tanky enough to eat a hit or two from his ‘mons and survive to blow them back with your own.
Arven’s Pokémon range from levels 58 to 63, so it would be imperative to have your Pokémon leveled to at least somewhere near his lowest level ‘mon for a fighting chance against him.
Below are the complete details of the six Pokémon on his team, including their types, abilities, moves, and the best ways that you can beat each of them:
1) Greedent (Male) – Lv. 58
Type: Normal
Ability: Cheek Pouch
Held item: None
Tera type: Undisclosed
Moveset:
- Bullet Seed
- Body Slam
- Psychic Fangs
- Earthquake
Stats:
- HP – 120
- Attack – 95
- Defense – 95
- Special Attack: 55
- Special Defense: 75
- Speed: 20
Greedent may be decently bulky with solid coverage and a dependable Attack stat, but its weakness is its Speed. It is quite slow, so anything that can outspeed it and knock it out with a strong—preferably STAB—super-effective hit should be able to make quick work of this greedy overgrown squirrel.
The only type that deals super-effective damage to Normal types is the Fighting type. Something like a Gallade or Pawmot with Close Combat should be enough to finish off Arven’s Greedent in a single hit.
2) Cloyster (Male) – Lv. 61
Type: Water/Ice
Ability: Skill Link
Held item: None
Tera type: Undisclosed
Moveset:
- Rock Blast
- Icicle Spear
- Liquidation
- Light Screen
Stats:
- HP – 50
- Attack – 95
- Defense – 180
- Special Attack: 85
- Special Defense: 45
- Speed: 70
If you are positioned unfavorably, Cloyster has the tools to pin you pretty easily. Its ability in Skill Link makes sure it gets all five hits on its multi-hit moves, so if your Pokémon is weak to either Rock or Ice, and slower than Cloyster, it is most likely getting taken out.
Make sure you have a fast Pokémon that is a Special Attacker, since Cloyster possesses pathetic bulk on its Special Defense side, even letting a strong neutral Special hit to take it out in one shot. If you want to be absolutely sure of knocking it out in a single hit a special Electric, Grass, Rock, or Fighting move should do the trick.
Raichu, Gengar, and Rotom are all ‘mons that come to mind which have access to moves like Thunderbolt and Energy Ball that also naturally outspeed Cloyster to take it out in a single hit. This will also prevent it from getting the time to set up Light Screen and being able to eat at least one Special hit.
3) Scovillain (Female) – Lv. 60
Type: Grass/Fire
Ability: Chlorophyll
Held item: None
Tera type: Undisclosed
Moveset:
- Fire Blast
- Energy Ball
- Zen Headbutt
- Crunch
Stats:
- HP – 65
- Attack – 108
- Defense – 65
- Special Attack: 108
- Special Defense: 65
- Speed: 75
Scolvillain can be pretty threatening since it possesses the ability Chlorophyll that doubles its Speed in the Sun. So unless you happen to set up harsh sunlight for it, Scovillain remains a relatively slow ‘mon since Arven cannot set the Sun up for himself.
Combined with Scovillain’s poor bulk, you should be able to take it out with a single super-effective hit. Scovillain is only weak to two types, however, which are Flying and Rock.
Talonflame, Kilowattrel, Squawkabilly, Flamigo, and many other Flying-type Pokémon easily outspeed and knock this chili pepper out with a single Flying-type move such as Air Slash, Hurricane, or Brave Bird. You can also use other faster Pokémon like Garchomp with Rock Slide and Stone Edge, and Glimmora with Power Gem.
4) Toedscruel (Female) – Lv. 62
Type: Ground/Grass
Ability: Mycelium Might
Held item: None
Tera type: Undisclosed
Moveset:
- Power Whip
- Earth Power
- Spore
- Sludge Bomb
Stats:
- HP – 80
- Attack – 70
- Defense – 65
- Special Attack: 80
- Special Defense: 120
- Speed: 100
Toedscruel is an interesting ‘mon to go up against, as it has quite a few tools to handle a wide variety of Pokémon.
Toedscruel is one of the more fast Pokémon on Arven’s team, so outspeeding it can be a bit of a task, but doing so with the right Pokémon is extremely rewarding. If you have a Pokémon faster than Toedscruel that also has access to an Ice move, you should be able to take it out in a single hit courtesy of its four-times weakness to Ice, being a Grass and Ground dual-type.
That being said, if you don’t have a Pokémon like that, you shouldn’t be too worried. Toedscruel has low bulk on its Defense side, so if you have a faster Physical Attacker that can at least deal neutral damage to it, you should be fine.
What you should be wary of, however, is its access to the move Spore. Due to its ability Mycelium Might, it will always use Spore last, but this also means you can’t prevent yourself from falling asleep by switching in a ‘mon like Garganacl or Gholdengo, as it will also bypass their abilities.
Barraskewda, Floatzel, and Froslass can all outspeed Toedscruel and knock it out in a single Ice-type move such as Ice Fang or Ice beam. Additionally, you can use Baxcalibur as well, since it doesn’t need to care about Speed tiers and can hit Toedscruel with a priority Ice Shard to knock it out in a single hit.
5) Garganacl (Male) – Lv. 59
Type: Rock
Ability: Purifying Salt
Held item: None
Tera type: Undisclosed
Moveset:
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Body Press
- Stealth Rock
Stats:
- HP – 100
- Attack – 100
- Defense – 130
- Special Attack: 45
- Special Defense: 90
- Speed: 35
Garganacl may be a bulky Pokémon all around, but its weaker defensive stat is its Special Defense. While a strong super-effective Physical Attack can do the trick of knocking it out in a single hit, it would be safer to hit it on the Special side.
You also probably are not going to be in danger of getting outsped by Garganacl since it is quite slow. Bringing just about any strong offensive Pokémon that has access to STAB Grass, Ground, Steel, or Fighting moves should do the job.
Think Meowscarada with its signature move Flower Trick, Lilligant and Toedscruel with Energy Ball, and Breloom with Close Combat and Bullet Seed.
6) Mabostiff (Male) – Lv. 63
Type: Dark
Ability: Intimidate
Held item: None
Tera type: Dark
Moveset:
- Crunch
- Psychic Fangs
- Fire Fang
- Play Rough
Stats:
- HP – 80
- Attack – 120
- Defense – 90
- Special Attack: 60
- Special Defense: 70
- Speed: 85
Here comes Arven’s ace, his beloved dog that he traveled to the ends of Paldea to have its life saved, Mabostiff. This is his only Pokémon that can Terrastalize, so it’s gotta be the biggest threat on his team, right?
Arguably enough, we don’t think so. Mabostiff has got a good Attack stat, but its bulk—especially on the Special side—leaves more to desire. Furthermore, Mabostiff can get outsped by quite a lot of Pokémon, so opting for a defensive Tera type that can cover for its Dark-type weaknesses would be ideal; instead, it double dips and Terrastalizes into Dark itself.
This gives Mabostiff a very strong Crunch able to knock out your ‘mons with one neutral hit itself, and if you position yourself poorly, it can take advantage of this by hitting you with its wide coverage moves, but you can otherwise easily outspeed and knock this mutt out with a strong super-effective move.
Fairy-type Pokémon are ideal for dealing with Arven’s Mabostiff. Not only do they resist its STAB/Terrastalized Crunch, but they also don’t take super-effective damage from any of its moves while dealing STAB super-effective damage back. Bug and Fighting-type Pokémon can also deal STAB super-effective damage to Mabostiff, but they are also susceptible to taking super-effective damage from Mabostiff’s coverage moves.
Additionally, a lot of Bug—and especially Fighting types—are Physical Attackers, while Mabostiff possesses the ability Intimidate, lowering the Attack stat of the opposing Pokémon when it switches in, which of course isn’t ideal
Pokémon like Florges and Gardevoir can OHKO Mabostiff with a Moonblast, while Sylveon can use Pxilate-boosted Hyper Voices to do the same.
