We finally have our first real look at Pokémon Legends: Z-A and which Pokémon will grace its world. This time around players are headed to the Kalos region and the starters they get to pick from are Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile. While I’m a grass-type enthusiast at heart, there’s no question who I’m picking this time around.
The Pokémon Company provided our first-look at Pokémon Legends: Z-A during Thursday’s Pokémon Day showcase, which confirmed the game is still coming this year but not until “late 2025.” We also got a tour through its urban setting and less open-looking environments compared to those in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Most importantly, we now know who players can pick from to begin their adventure in the series’ latest action-RPG hybrid spin-off.
Chikorita the grass-type starter with evolutions into Bayleef and Meganium. Totodile is the water-type starter with evolutions into Croconaw and Feraligatr. Both hail from the Johto region and were first added to the series back in Pokémon Gold and Silver.
Tepig, meanwhile, is the fire-type starter with evolutions into Pignite and Emboar. Introduced in Pokémon Black and White, he was only recently added to Violet and Scarlet after missing from Sword and Shield. He’s had somewhat of a controversial past, with a few fans not liking his bipedal wrestler fighting-type evolutions, but I think the little guy is finally due for a reappraisal.
It’s interesting to see Game Freak double-dipping in the Johto region with both Chikorita and Totodile, a choice that will no doubt disappoint some fans given the increasingly deep well of other starters for the developer to pull from, especially since it now seems unlikely there will be any actual new mainline entry in the series this year. Pokémon Legends: Z-A will likely be the main Pokémon game for a bit as fans wait for the first sequel built from the ground up for the Switch 2.
If Z-A is anything like Arceus though, I won’t mind. That one kept players plenty busy and arguably remains one of the best games in the entire franchise. That’s another way of saying that Z-A will have big shoes to fill.
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