The number of challenging trainer battles in Pokémon Legends: Z-A changes as you progress, forcing you to alter your team composition of Pokémon periodically. Depending on the starter you chose, your Pokémon squad can vary, with some creatures offering a balanced spread of types. To create the strongest team possible that synergizes with your starter, you’ll want to assemble a group that covers a variety of match-ups.
Considering how unique Legends: Z-A combat is compared to other Pokémon games, you must consider that traditional Pokémon teams may not be as effective as they were in previous titles. For example, no Pokémon has hidden or innate abilities in this spin-off; instead, they rely on other factors. Traits like the ability to Mega Evolve, being a large Alpha variant, and other features contribute significantly to a Pokémon’s strength here.
Best Pokémon Teams After Choosing Tepig
Pair Your Fire-Type With Strong Defensive Coverage
+ Evolutions: Tepig (Fire), Pignite (Fire/Fighting), Emboar (Fire/Fighting), Mega Emboar (Fire/Fighting)
+ Pignite and Emboar’s Fire/Fighting dual-typing make them stronger against a larger variety of Types but also increases their own weaknesses.
+ The evolution line is fairly slow, so have one or two speedy members on your team.
+ Complement the Pokémon’s aggressiveness with strong defenses.
Choosing Tepig as your starter will eventually lead you to Pignite and Emboar, two Fire/Fighting-types who are excellent attackers for your team. However, the early game of Legends: Z-A will have you using only a pure Fire-type in Tepig, which means that Pokémon with a stronger type variety will be beneficial to have. As you grow stronger, you’ll need Pokémon with strong defenses to balance out the aggressiveness of Tepig and its evolutions.
All the starter final forms, like Emboar, Meganium, and Feraligatr, have a Mega Evolution in Legends: Z-A. These starters could all be the one Mega Evolution you have on your team, but they don’t have to be if you find a stronger option.
The following table presents three collections of possible early game, mid game, and end game teams that could work with Tepig as that starter levels up in strength throughout your adventure:
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Earlygame Team |
Midgame Team |
Endgame Team |
|---|---|---|
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At the early stages of the game, Tepig works best when you simply have enough type match-ups to cover everything that Fire is normally weak against: Ground, Rock, and Water. Hence why Staryu is so important as it is not only a fast Water-type but also a Pokémon whose Psychic-type gives it even more advantages.
For the middle and late game, as Tepig evolves into Pignite and Emboar, the same philosophy applies. Dragonite provides bulk to your team while Greninja and Eelektross add much-needed Speed to compensate for Emboar’s slow stats, giving you more versatility in battles. With Excadrill, Gyarados, Victreebel, and Froslass all having great Mega Evolutions as well, any of these Pokémon could be great to pair with the Fire/Fighting juggernaut.
Best Pokémon Teams After Choosing Chikorita
Place Other Fast Growing Creatures Alongside The Enhanced Grass-Type
+Evolutions: Chikorita (Grass), Bayleef (Grass), Meganium (Grass), Mega Meganium (Grass/Fairy)
+ The final evolution’s strength is best paired with defensive Pokémon to protect it.
+ Boost Mega Meganium’s strength with a few other strong attackers to end battles quickly and brutally.
Chikorita gained many benefits compared to its original appearance as a Johto starter, mainly due to the Grass/Fairy-type Mega Evolution of Meganium. As one of the strongest new Pokémon forms, you must use Pokémon from the Pokédex of Legends: Z-A to compensate for Mega Meganium’s weaknesses against Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice, Steel and Poison. While balanced, you need Pokémon who specialize in certain categories to defend your starter as effectively as possible.
This table provides examples of great team compositions for Chikorita at all stages of its development:
Given Meganium’s bulk later inLegends: Z-A, you need to have Pokémon on this starter’s team who are good attackers more than defensive creatures. Almost the opposite of Emboar’s ideal team composition, Chikorita benefits most from a wide attacking variety making Gible, Houndour, and Fletchling great picks to cover its bad match-ups.
Your coverage strengthens progressively with the listed Pokémon. Steel-types like Metang and Lucario provide excellent resistances while Tyranitar, Heracross, Gyarados, Camerupt and Garchomp boast some of the highest damage output among any Pokémon on their move lists. Meanwhile, a strong alternate starter like Charizard adds even more strength since that Pokémon has two distinct Mega Evolutions available for use.
Best Pokémon Teams After Choosing Totodile
Combat Common Pitfalls With Speed And Strength
+Evolutions:Totalodile(Water), Croconaw(Water), Feraligatr(Water), Mega Feraligatr(Water / Dragon)…
The biting strikes of Feraligatr are formidable but an often overlooked strength of this starter is how it has very few weaknesses with one typing. Unlike Chikorita’s bad match-ups which are less common giving you greater flexibility with team compositions built around it.
The Feraligatr does not always remain pure Water-type gaining potent Dragon-type upon Mega Evolution…
The table below provides helpful examples of great teams surrounding the Water-type:
| Earlygame Team | Midgame Team | Endgame Team |
|---|---|---|
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| The overlooked Pokémon inLegends : Z-A… The later stages see Speed added with members like Raichu… As coverage grows you can invest more endurance into your team… |
