Best Team for Story Progression
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In Pokemon Legends: Z-A, it is important to build the best team for the story that will get you through the battles in the Z-A Royale and fights against Rogue Mega Pokemon. Read on for the best team for the early game, mid game, and late game, as well as recommended Pokemon team for each starter.
| Best Pokemon Guides | |
|---|---|
| Best Starter | Best Team |
| Story Tier List | Ranked Battles Tier List |
Best Team for Story Progression in Pokemon Legends: Z-A
Best Team for Late Game
| Pokemon | Description |
|---|---|
 Chosen Starter (Final Evolution) |
Where to find: ・Evolve Starter Pokemon Reason: Receives experience from the very beginning of the game and helps round out the Fire + Water + Grass team typing. |
 Excadrill
|
Where to find: ・Evolve from Drilbur, which is found in Wild Zone 8 and 14. ・Excadrill is also found in Wild Zone 14. Reason: Main damage dealer against any Fairy, Fire, Rock, or Electric types. |
 Gardevoir
|
Where to find: ・Evolve from Ralts, which is found at Vert Sector 4 during the Night. An Alpha Ralts can also be found in the same area. Reason: Arguably, the best Psychic and Fairy type Pokemon who can even use multiple type moves, such as Psychic, Fairy, Ghost, and Dark. |
 Lucario
|
Where to find: ・Evolve from Riolu, which is found at the roof in Rouge Sector 4. ・An Alpha Riolu can be found at the roof in Bleu Sector 5. Reason: A very versatile Pokemon that is very resistant against multiple types, such as Dark, Normal, Ice, Bug, Dragon, Grass, Rock, and Steel. |
 Dragonite
|
Where to find: ・Evolve from Dratini, which is found on the roof of Restaurant Le Nah. ・An Alpha Dratini can be found on the roof of Bleu Sector 9. Reason: A pseudo-legendary that is very helpful in countering Dragon type Pokemon, either Mega Evolved or not. |
 Houndoom
|
Where to find: ・Evolve from Houndour, which is found at Wild Zone 6. An Alpha Houndour and Houndoom can both be found in the same area. Reason: Main source of strong Fire and Dark-type moves and can be caught during the early game, which is convenient. |
The Pokemon above are the best to have on your team at late game despite which starter you chose as these Pokemon cover a lot of weaknesses, resistant to many types and deal a lot of damage in general.
Have Heracross, Charizard and Absol if You Choose Chikorita
 Heracross
|
 Charizard
|
 Absol
|
If you choose Chikorita at the start of the game, it will eventually evolve into Meganium, a very durable Grass-type Pokemon. With this starter, you can also opt to have a Heracross, Charizard, and an Absol aside from Excadrill and Gardevoir.
Heracross is great Physical attacker especially with Mega Evolution, while Charizard can be used to counter some of Meganium weaknesses such as Bug-type. As for Absol, it can counter Ghost-type Pokemon and can be obtained during Main Mission 9.
Have Heracross, Gyarados and Skarmory if You Choose Tepig
|
Heracross
|
 Gyarados
|
 Skarmory
|
If you choose Tepig at the start of the game, it will eventually evolve into Emboar who boasts high Attack and Special Attack and is a Fire and Fighting Pokemon who can deal against many Pokemon from start to finish. With this starter, consider having Heracross, Gyarados, and Skarmory to provide an excellent balance to this already strong team.
Have Heracross, Charizard and Skarmory if You Choose Totodile
|
Heracross
|
Charizard
|
Skarmory
|
If you choose Totodile at the start of the game, it evolves into a Feraligatr, who has an excellent balance of Attack and Defense. Consider having Heracross, Charizard, and a Gyarados aside from Excadrill and Gardevoir.
Heracross is great Physical attacker especially with Mega Evolution, while Charizard can be used to counter some of Feraligatr weaknesses such as Grass-types. Lastly, have a Skarmory who is a durable Flying-type.
Best Team for Early Game
| Pokemon | Description |
|---|---|
Chosen Starter |
Where to find: Obtained at the beginning of the game Reason: Receives experience from the very beginning of the game and helps round out the Fire + Water + Grass team typing |
|
Heracross
|
Where to find: Traded with Tracie for a Pikachu (side mission 2), in the shopping area, Passage du Palais, above Wild Zone 4 Reason: Is able to learn powerful moves early on and dual typing is great against Grass-type Pokemon |
 Bunnelby
|
Where to find: Caught during the catching tutorial in Wild Zone 1 Reason: Helpful in destroying obstacles, collecting Mega Shards and countering Electric type Pokemon |
 Fletchling
|
Where to find: Caught during the catching tutorial in Wild Zone 1 Reason: Can counter a lot of early game Bug, Grass and Fighting type Pokemon. |
 Pikachu
|
Where to find: Caught in Wild Zone 3 Reason: Can counter Flying and Water type Pokemon; Can also evolve early by purchasing the Thunderstone from the Stone Emporium. |
 Gastly
|
Where to find: Caught in Wild Zone 4 Reason: Can learn Curse via Level up and Toxic via TM, which are extremely useful against Alpha Pokemon. Evolves into Haunter at Level 25, and can further Evolve if traded. |
Best Team for Mid Game
| Pokemon | Description |
|---|---|
Chosen Starter (Second Evolution) |
Where to find: Evolve Starter Pokemon Reason: Receives experience from the very beginning of the game and helps round out the Fire + Water + Grass team typing |
 Camerupt, Slowbro or Victreebel |
Where to find: Evolve Bellsprout caught from Wild Zone 5, Numel Wild Zone 8 and Slowpoke Wild Zone 10; Obtain their Mega Stones from Main Missions 11 - 13 Reason: Select one that complements your chosen starter Pokemon's weakness |
|
Absol
|
Where to find: Obtain both Absol and the Absolite from Main Mission 9 Reason: Helpful in defeating Rogue Mega Slowbro. Easily obtainable from playing through the Main Story |
 Diggersby
|
Where to find: Evolve Bunnelby caught from Wild Zone 1 Reason: Can counter a lot of Electric Pokemon when fighting Canari. |
 Talonflame
|
Where to find: Evolve Fletchling at Level 35 Reason: Very high Speed stat, allowing you to attack more often. |
|
Gyarados
|
Where to find: Evolve Magikarp from Wild Zone 2; Alpha Magikarp from Wild Zone 2 at night Reason: Learns strong Water type moves that help in defeating Fire and Ground type Pokemon |
Best Additions to the Team in Pokemon Legends: Z-A
Underrated Pokemon for the Main Story
Certain Pokemon like Manectric fall behind other Pokemon in terms of stats and versatility, but can still help you greatly with the story.
Check out the video above to see our picks for Underrated Pokemon for the main story!
Kalos Starters
The Kalos Starters can be obtained during the side missions, 7, 8 and 9. They serve as strong alternatives to round out the Grass, Fire and Water type teams and even gain different secondary typings on their final evolutions.
One of the Kanto Starters
Players can select one of the Kanto starters during A Call from Mable
Side Mission 022. It is strongly recommended to pick a starter different from your initially chosen starter to help round out your team for different type coverages.
Ralts
Ralts is a strong option to add to the team because it can eventually evolve into Gardevoir, a Pokemon known for its high special attack stat. In addition to this, Gardevoir can Mega Evolve to gain the secondary Fairy typing which will be great against strong Dragon type Pokemon.
A Ralts holding a Gardevoirite can be received as a Mystery Gift over the internet until February 28, 2026.
Hawlucha
Hawlucha makes an excellent choice because of its rare dual typing of Fighting and Flying. This gives it access to a variety of strong moves on top of it receiving a Mega Evolution in Legends: Z-A.
Talonflame
Although not the most common choice, Talonflame can help a lot in defeating Bug, Fighting and Grass type Pokemon, most of which are encountered as opposing Pokemon very early on in the story.
Include Pokemon that Rounds Out Your Team
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Enter up to 6 Pokemon in our new Team Matchup Checker and find out which types your team is weak to! |
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Check out our Pokemon Team Matchup Checker to identify which type of Pokemon has good compatibility and chemistry with each of your chosen Pokemon.
Type Chart and Team Matchup Checker
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Comment
Anonymous about 2 monthsFor me, the late game starts after Ivor. I just used the same team for the whole game and didn’t follow any recommendations but if u wanna pivot, I suggest doing it at the beginning of main mission 20: “Request from the Rust Syndicate.”
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I feel confused. Are you supposed to use "best team for the story", "best team for each starter", or both?