Pokémon Legends: Z-A Guide | How to Choose a Starter

A guide on how to choose a starter in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

Game Guide by Groot on Oct 16, 2025

Choosing your starter Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Z-A is an important decision that shapes your early game experience and overall strategy.

In this guide, you’ll learn which starter is the most effective choice, how their stats compare, and how each one performs against major opponents and Mega Evolutions.

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Whether you value offense, defense, or personal preference, this guide will help you make an informed decision for your adventure through Lumiose City.

The Best Starter Pokémon

In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Tepig stands as the most effective starter overall. With a strong offensive typing and a later-generation evolution line, Tepig’s final form, Emboar, benefits from a more modern stat distribution compared to its Generation 2 counterparts.

If you prefer balance, Totodile offers a reliable middle ground. Its final form, Feraligatr, combines a good defensive type with a balanced stat spread. However, when compared to Emboar, it lacks offensive power and falls behind in damage output.

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On the other hand, Chikorita remains the least favorable choice in terms of combat performance. Even though the battle system in Legends: Z-A differs from past games, Chikorita’s evolution line continues to be less competitive.

You might still choose Chikorita if you enjoy its design or if you want to take on additional challenge during your playthrough.

Starter Evolution Lines

Each starter in Pokémon Legends: Z-A follows its original evolutionary path. Chikorita evolves into Bayleef at level 16 and into Meganium at level 32.

Totodile evolves into Croconaw at level 18 and then into Feraligatr at level 30. Tepig evolves into Pignite at level 17 and reaches its final form, Emboar, at level 36.

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Unlike Pokémon Legends: Arceus, there are no special evolution changes here. All starters evolve at roughly the same pace, though Tepig’s line evolves slightly later, giving Emboar a more robust final stat total.

Stat Comparisons

The final evolutions of the three starters reflect their distinct roles in battle. Emboar has the highest offensive potential but sacrifices both defense and speed.

Feraligatr maintains balance between attack and endurance, while Meganium focuses on defense and durability.

When considering Mega Evolutions, all three become slow and durable attackers. Mega Meganium acts as a special attacker with even defensive balance, Mega Feraligatr turns into a physically strong and tanky attacker, and Mega Emboar becomes a physical powerhouse with solid special resistance.

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Important Type Matchups

When facing mono-type trainers, understanding your starter’s strengths and weaknesses is key. Trainers like Vinnie, Canari, Ivor, Corbeau, Jacinthe, Gwynn, and Philippe specialize in different Pokémon types.

Against this group, Emboar stands out. It avoids significant weaknesses and holds the only type advantage—its Fighting typing is strong against Normal and Steel types used by Vinnie and Philippe. Feraligatr and Meganium can handle certain encounters but lack consistent type advantages in these matchups.

Mono-type trainers often use Pokémon that share a main type but might also include dual types, introducing variability that can challenge your starter’s matchup consistency.

Mega Evolution Matchups

As you progress, you’ll encounter numerous Mega Pokémon during Rogue Mega Battles or as signature Pokémon of major characters.

These include Mega Absol, Mega Slowbro, Mega Camerupt, Mega Victreebel, Mega Beedrill, Mega Hawlucha, Mega Banette, Mega Ampharos, Mega Barbaracle, Mega Mawile, Mega Froslass, Mega Altaria, Mega Venusaur, Mega Dragonite, Mega Tyranitar, Mega Starmie, Mega Scrafty, Mega Excadrill, Mega Dragalge, Mega Pyroar, Mega Gyarados, Mega Malamar, and Mega Charizard X.

When comparing performance against these opponents, Emboar again proves the most adaptable. Its Fire and Fighting typing provides effective coverage against many Mega Evolutions, allowing it to deal consistent damage while resisting several attack types.

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Feraligatr remains a viable secondary option with fewer weaknesses, making it a steady but less powerful alternative.

This matchup analysis focuses solely on type interactions and does not account for specific movesets. Depending on the abilities or attacks each Pokémon carries, outcomes may vary.

By evaluating evolution paths, stat growth, and type advantages, Tepig and its evolutions clearly offer the most practical advantage throughout the story.

However, Totodile provides balanced reliability, and Chikorita offers a unique experience for players seeking a personal or unconventional challenge.

Also, check our Pokémon Legends: Z-A Review. and other guides below: