Melli: The Warden Who Saw His Noble's Rage as a Divine Gift

Melli is the Warden who absolutely does not want anyone calming his Noble. In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the people of Hisui appoint Wardens to watch over the Noble Pokémon, and the Diamond Clan has entrusted him with the Electrode of Moonview Arena. Where the others try to soothe their lord, he sees its frenzy as a favor from Almighty Sinnoh and spends a good part of the story blocking the way of anyone who comes to put an end to it.

Contents

• A post entrusted by his own people, a lord to protect and feed
• The Nobles' frenzy, a favor he refuses to extinguish
• Three encounters, three ways of blocking the path
• Skuntank and the other four
• The Diamond Clan's "genius" and the Melli Prize
• After the crisis: Lian, Cresselia and the rematches
• Melli at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

A post entrusted by his own people, a lord to protect and feed

Melli belongs to the Diamond Clan, where the role of Warden is assigned by the people themselves. The Noble Pokémon that falls to him is Electrode in its Hisuian form, which he likes to call by its title: the Lord of the Hollow.

The mandate covers three separate things — the Pokémon, its territory, and its food supply. So Melli is as much a steward as a bodyguard, even if he prefers to stress the second role over the first.

His territory bears a name he presents like a royal address: Moonview Arena, which he calls Electrode's Royal Court. That's where he appears in the story of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and that's where you have to go looking for him, both before and after the main adventure.

The Nobles' frenzy, a favor he refuses to extinguish

His position fits in a single sentence, and he repeats it without ever straying from it: the Nobles' rage is a favor granted by Almighty Sinnoh. Letting that fury run free would therefore be, for the Diamond Clan, the best possible proof of faith, and he goes as far as making this mission his reason for being born.

The consequence is immediate for anyone who wants to approach his lord. A Noble venting its anger deep inside a mountain is none of the Galaxy Team's business, he explains, sending the player back home.

Yet once Electrode has been calmed, he sees not a victory but a loss: the Lord no longer has divine favor, and he is the one who helped it lose it. Adaman counters with the obvious opposite view, that of a Noble finally freed from its suffering; Melli, for his part, dreads the wrath of Almighty Sinnoh, the only thing that truly terrifies him in the whole affair.

Three encounters, three ways of blocking the path

He barges into the story. While Kamado is explaining to the player which Noble to calm next, Melli bursts into the office, outraged at not having been invited to a conversation that concerns his own Electrode. Adaman tells him that everything has already been decided and that the player will handle it; he sees this as a humiliation inflicted on the entire clan.

Second encounter, at the Lonely Spring, where he runs into the player accompanied by Ingo. He makes passage to the cave conditional on winning a battle, but the player can simply decline: Melli then recites his creed of sacred frenzy and leaves, having settled nothing.

Third encounter, in Wayward Wood, and the pretext shrinks even further. He scolds Ingo for going and putting the torches back in Wayward Cave, torches he insists he removed out of consideration for the Pokémon that live there and enjoy the darkness. The battle is cut short: Skuntank goes down, and Melli retreats for lack of Pokémon fit to continue — a retreat he immediately describes as strategic.

Skuntank and the other four

Five Pokémon are on record for him: Skuntank, Drapion, Golbat, Zubat and Skorupi. Skuntank is his go-to partner, the one he calls out by name as he starts a battle.

The decisive battle takes place on his home turf, at Moonview Arena. He welcomes the player there, admitting he had hoped they would come despite all the traps set along the way, and then loses. According to him, his defeat comes down to a simple lack of training time — and along the way he draws his first lesson of the story from it: time is precious, as Adaman used to say.

That leaves the piece of information you came for, the Noble's favorite food: Melli has forgotten it. Adaman is the one who reveals it, much to Melli's displeasure, before convincing him to make the calming balms. He ends up making a quantity he himself considers excessive and adds a battle tip that is genuinely useful: in front of the Noble, never stop moving.

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The Diamond Clan's "genius" and the Melli Prize

The character is written as an unabashed egocentric: full of himself, selfish, quick to cross anyone who doesn't wear his clan's colors. He brushes aside any task he considers unworthy of his genius, and when Adaman asks him to settle for a supporting role, since the other Wardens are already in charge of the Nobles and the village, he takes the instruction as an insult.

He has even created his own award. The "Melli Prize" rewards the player with Candy Truffles at Summit Camp, then with twenty Aguav Berries later in the adventure — rare berries in Hisui, he points out, so you fully appreciate the honor he is bestowing.

The height of this routine comes with the investigation into Massive Mass Outbreaks, which he announces he has already solved. His theory: Pokémon gather in his honor, that of "the Great Melli", and if they wait for downpours, it's to hide their emotion at the sight of him. Only one accurate piece of information survives his demonstration: elsewhere, mass outbreaks follow the rain, but in his area they follow blizzards.

After the crisis: Lian, Cresselia and the rematches

At Summit Camp, brought back by Adaman, he openly challenges the role given to Lian — right down to the hat of the Warden in question, which he finds as poorly chosen as the mission itself. The exchange escalates into a threat of electrocution, and Adaman has to remind him that the two clans are supposed to cooperate, not go to war.

Next comes the moonlight plate mission, and a very concrete worry for a Warden: since Cresselia made its home in the Arena, the Lord of the Hollow has stayed holed up. Melli says he can't sleep a wink from worry and urges the player to catch it; once the matter is settled, he muses out loud about making the player a training partner for his Noble.

Once the main story is over, he stays at his post and turns his guard duty into a permanent service: you can talk to him at Moonview Arena to battle Hisuian Electrode again as many times as you like. He times the attempts, comments on the failures and rewards good times with Exp. Candy, with a bonus for a win without taking damage.

Melli at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Melli in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
  He is a Warden of the Diamond Clan, appointed by the people of Hisui to watch over a Noble Pokémon. His duties cover protecting the Pokémon, protecting its territory and keeping it supplied with food.
• Which Noble Pokémon does Melli guard?
  Hisuian Electrode, which he nicknames the Lord of the Hollow and which lives at Moonview Arena. Melli presents this place as the Noble's Royal Court.
• Why does Melli refuse to calm Electrode?
  Because he considers the Nobles' rage a favor granted by Almighty Sinnoh. In his view, letting it run free proves the Diamond Clan's faithfulness, and above all he fears angering that deity by extinguishing it.
• What is Melli's team?
  Five Pokémon are on record for him: Skuntank, Drapion, Golbat, Zubat and Skorupi. Skuntank is his favorite partner, the one he sends into battle first.
• Can you battle Electrode again after the adventure?
  Yes. Once the main story is over, Melli stays at Moonview Arena and offers rematches against Hisuian Electrode as often as you like, timing the attempts and rewarding the best ones with Exp. Candy.

In short

Melli is Hisui's useful counterexample: a Warden who performs his role backwards, defending the crisis rather than resolving it. His change of heart comes late and through an unexpected door — Ingo speaks of a world where humans and Pokémon join forces, Adaman wonders whether this might be a trial, and Melli finally puts the right idea into words: Pokémon aren't the only ones who need to grow; Trainers do too. He heads off to train his Electrode, never once letting up on taking credit for how things turned out.