Jumping into Pokemon Legends: Z-A can feel a little bit overwhelming for a newcomer or a veteran. There are many new things, a large city to explore, and lots of wild Pokemon. Whether you’re new to the game or just want to understand its main things better, this Pokemon Legends: Z-A Beginner’s Guide will help you make your Pokemon Legends: Z-A journey smoother.
Beginner’s Guide – Pokemon Legends: Z-A
Below we have listed some tips and tricks that will help you jump-start your adventure in the game:
Retrieve Your Lost Pokéballs Easily:
In Pokemon Legends: Z-A, you don’t have to worry about losing Pokéballs forever. You can talk to the man who stands in front of every Pokemon Center, and he will return all the Pokéballs you’ve lost, even the advanced ones. You can even throw a Pokéball near him, and he’ll instantly give it back. Try visiting him regularly so your inventory of Pokéballs stays full.
Use Pokemon Centers for More Than Healing:
Pokemon Centers are more than just for restoring your team’s HP for free. They also act as fast travel spots, letting you move quickly between areas. You can also buy consumables and Pokéballs there whenever needed.
It’s always smart to heal your team before entering a big fight since it doesn’t cost anything and saves time.
Learn to Catch Pokemon:
One of the best ways to increase your chances of catching Pokemon is ‘Sneaking Up’. Crouch down and move quietly behind your target, using bushes or other cover to stay hidden. When the Pokemon’s back is turned, throw your Pokéball to catch it.
If you see four upward arrows on the screen, your capture chance is almost guaranteed. You can also quickly change your Pokéball type by holding L2, pressing R2, and switching with the D-pad when needed.
Battle Zones and Rank Progression:
Battle Zones are where you can fight trainers to increase your rank from Z to A. These special zones only appear at night and are marked by a glowing red light.
You can skip to nighttime by resting in your hotel bed or interacting with a bench. You need to remember, if time changes naturally while you’re fighting, the Battle Zone can reset your enemy’s HP.
To make the most of these battles, try using ambush attacks at the start, carry Challenge Cards for bonus rewards, and talk to trainers with yellow name tags after fighting; they might heal your Pokemon or give you coins, XP, or new cards.
Search Rooftops for Hidden Treasures:
Rooftops in the game often have rare Pokemon and valuable items like Evolution Stones and TMs. You can reach them using ladders or yellow elevators, while red elevators unlock later through side missions.
Make sure to check higher areas frequently, because most of the Pokemon are present.
Complete Mabel’s Research:
Mabel’s Research helps you to unlock new TMs, which are skills you can teach to your Pokemon. Catch as many different Pokemon as possible because each new one adds points.
As you progress through Mabel’s research, you’ll unlock stronger Pokéballs, new skills, and other rewards. Since TMs in this game are permanent, you can reuse them anytime.
Prevent Pokemon from Disobeying:
Sometimes your stronger Pokemon might not listen to your commands if you are not progressed in Mabel’s Research.
Research raises your obedience level limit from 25 to 40, allowing higher-level Pokemon to follow your orders. Without it, they may skip attacks or take unnecessary hits, so keep your research updated.
Learn How Evolution Works:
Most Pokemon evolve by gaining XP through battles. Grass-type Pokemon usually evolve the earliest, often around level 8. Some Pokemon, like Eevee, need Evolution Stones instead.
You can use XP Candies to help your Pokemon level up faster.
Unlock Mega Evolutions:
After you reach the ninth story mission, you’ll unlock Mega Evolutions to use. To do this, you’ll need a special accessory and a catalyst item.
During battle, you can press R to activate Mega Evolution temporarily, giving your Pokemon a boost in stats and a new form until the effect ends.
Don’t Skip Side Missions:
Side missions are very important in your early journey. They usually take 5-10 minutes to finish, but give you special Pokemon, items, and coins. Some of these rewards can’t be found anywhere else, so it’s good to complete as many as possible.
Talk to NPCs:
NPCs with yellow text often have something valuable. They give you healing items, coins, or even special powers. Always explore and talk to people in the game.
Pick Up Every Pokéball:
You’ll find different colored Pokéballs around the city.
| Color | Feature |
| Standard | Standard ones on the streets usually contain basic items |
| Purple | Purple ones on rooftops often hold rare materials and Evolution Stones. |
| Yellow/Gold | This one can teach new abilities to your Pokemon. |
When you hover over these, you’ll see marks. A blue check mark means it’s perfect for your Pokemon, a white one means it can use it, but not ideal, and an X mark means it’s not compatible.
Clear Obstacles:
You can use Pokemon attacks that can remove obstacles in your path. For example, Stone Break clears rocks, Water washes away muck, Wind blows away webs, Ice creates frost bridges, and Fire burns through brambles.
Clearing these obstacles not only opens your path to move forward but also gives you XP, resources, and XP Candies.
Remove Any Effect on Your Pokemon:
If your Pokemon is poisoned, confused, or suffers from other damage-over-time effects, you can recall it into its Pokéball and send it back out to remove this.
Though this takes up a turn, it gives your opponent a chance to attack. Some effects, like Infestation, stop Pokemon from switching, so you can also use that strategy against enemies.
Combat Tips & Tricks:
In Pokemon Legends: Z-A, battles are completely transformed. Attacks no longer use PP; instead, they have now cooldowns, which means players must wait a short time before using the same move again.
Every move now behaves differently. Some moves can be used repeatedly after the cooldown resets, while others require your Pokemon to move away from the target before using them.
Physical moves like Bite or the Ice, Thunder, and Fire Fang attacks require your Pokemon to get close to the opponent, while in some attacks, you can be very close for combo attacks, such as Quick Attack or Pursuit.
Poison status is also back, but it is much stronger this time. A Pokemon that is poisoned will lose health every three seconds, dropping to just 1 HP, making it sit outside the battle or faint completely.
Choosing the Best Starter:
In Pokemon Legends: Z-A, the best starter depends on how you plan your team.
To balance your team, it’s a good idea to catch one of the three elemental monkeys named Pansear, Panpour, or Pansage. For example, if you start with Chikorita, you can catch Panpour and Pansear. If you choose Totodile, you can go for Pansear and Pansage.
It’s also very good to catch some strong early-game Pokemon. Houndour provides Fire and Dark, Mareep is an Electric-type, Fletchling starts as a Normal/Flying type but later becomes a Fire/Flying Fletchinder, and Magikarp can evolve into Gyarados.
Exploring Lumiose City:
There are several ways to move around Lumiose City, which include Holovators, which are special elevators that instantly transport players to rooftops. You’ll also find stairs and ledges that lead to higher platforms.
At the beginning of the game, movement feels slower, since the ability to run (B) and dodge (Y) is only unlocked after doing the early missions.
You’ll also find Sewer Entrances, which require you to solve small puzzles or complete secondary missions to open. You should explore these underground areas of Lumiose, as Lumiose’s sewers are a huge maze filled with secrets and rare Pokemon.
Getting a Fast Start:
If you want to progress quickly in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, you should focus on catching Pokemon and breaking Mega Crystals. These crystals are scattered around the world, and when destroyed in sequence, they give you a large amount of XP, helping you level up rapidly without having to fight wild Pokemon.
Keep your eyes everywhere while travelling the city, because Pokemon don’t just appear in Wild Zones, you can also find some higher-level ones on rooftops, on streetlamps or trees, and sometimes even hiding among the townspeople.
Completing Secondary Missions is another great way to accelerate in the game. For example, one of the first secondary missions lets you catch Sableye, while another one allows you to trade a Pikachu caught in Wild Zone 3 for a Heracross.
Stealth & Ambush Attacks:
When night falls in Lumiose City, things can get wild. If a trainer spots you first, they get the upper hand and can attack multiple times before you can react. This can leave your character and Pokemon stunned, making it harder to recover.
However, if you manage to sneak up on them using Stealth and Ambush attacks, you’ll get an upper hand. You should remain cautious while running into high-ranking trainers during the Z-A Royale Nights, since they often carry powerful teams, including Mega-Evolved Pokemon. So, try to avoid them.
Those were some of the best early-game tips and tricks for Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Additional Pokemon Legends: Z-A guides are detailed below:
- Pokemon Legends: Z-A Time Guide – How to Pass Time, Make it Night or Day
- Pokemon Legends: Z-A Pikachu Guide – How to Get Pichu, Pikachu, Raichu
- Pokemon Legends: Z-A Mega Evolution Tier List – All New Mega Evolutions
- Pokemon Legends: Z-A Pan-Tastic Pot of Tea Mission Guide – Where to Find Pansage, Pansear & Panpour
- Pokemon Legends: Z-A Fast Travel Guide – How to Unlock
- Pokemon Legends: Z-A Master Ball Guide – How to Get
This concludes our Pokemon Legends: Z-A Beginner’s Guide. If you have some tips and tricks for us, feel free to let us know in the comments section below.
