Choosing your starter Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Z-A is one of the earliest decisions you’ll need to make in the game, and it can be a tough choice! Chikorita is an adorable little yam-thing, Tepig is a great pig friend, and Totodile is a fantastic little gator. So which one should you pick?
There isn’t really a straightforward answer for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, but below, we provide you with the information you’ll need to make an informed decision about your first partner Pokémon, including what they evolve — and Mega Evolve — into.
What starter should I pick in Pokémon Legends: Z-A?
There are three Pokémon to choose from in Pokémon Legends: Z-A:
- Chikorita, the grass-type Pokémon from the Johto region
- Tepig, the fire-type Pokémon from the Unova region
- Totodile, the water-type Pokémon also from the Johto region
Across the many previous Pokémon games, some starters will give you a bit of an advantage in various parts of the game, if you do keep them in your party. While all starter Pokémon do evolve into powerful companions, there have been instances, like in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, where there was such an absence of available fire-type Pokémon, that picking the fire-type starter was one of your few options. This isn’t really the case in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, where you’ll get a plethora of various Pokémon at your disposal throughout the game.
Additionally, there aren’t traditional gym leaders in this game, but rather trainers with teams made up of varieties of Pokémon types (though there are some specialists, like Corbeau, who uses poison-type Pokémon), so none of these three selections should make or break the difficulty for this game. None of the aforementioned specialist trainers are in the early-game, so you’ll have plenty of time to build up counters against them.
Notably, you will get access to one of the Kanto starters (Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander) as well as all of the Kalos starters (Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie) early on, so you shouldn’t have to worry too much about any type-based gaps in your team.
That said, there’s not really a real answer here, but you should take their Mega Evolutions into consideration before choosing.
What do the Legends Z-A starter Pokémon evolve into?
Unlike Pokémon Legends: Arceus, this game does not have special regional starter evolutions. In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, all three of these Pokémon will evolve into their usual forms:
- Chikorita will evolve into Bayleef, and then Meganium, a pure grass-type.
- Tepig will evolve into Pignite, and then Emboar, a dual fire/fighting-type.
- Totodile will evolve into Croconaw, and then Feraligatr, a pure water-type.
Notably, all three of these do have Mega Evolutions, which changes their typing:
- Mega Meganium becomes grass/fairy-type.
- Mega Emboar stays fire/fighting-type.
- Mega Feraligatr becomes water/dragon-type.
With this in mind, you should mostly pick your starter based off what you gel with given the above information, unless you plan on letting them stay as their cute little baby forms forever. There’s nothing wrong with having a little buddy forever!
