I’m Already Mourning My Pokemon Legends: Z-A Starter Choice

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Pokemon Legends: Z-A is now available, and many fans are starting to explore the game, either right away or over the weekend. As a big Pokemon fan, I’ve been following all the news about Pokemon Legends: Z-A, especially the new battle system and the return of Mega Evolutions. I enjoy planning out strong teams and figuring out the best strategies for success. I spent a lot of time creating several optimized teams for each starter Pokemon, but after going back and forth, I chose Tepig – and I immediately regretted it.

Choosing a starter in *Pokemon Legends: Z-A* can be tough! Instead of overthinking it, pick the one you like the most and will have the most fun with. Honestly, that’s usually the best approach in any game with starter choices – I often realize my first pick wasn’t ideal anyway. Each starter in *Pokemon Legends: Z-A* has its strengths, and none are truly bad. I personally love Tepig, and it was actually my first starter way back in the original Gen 5 games!

Despite the hype, *Pokemon Legends: Z-A* isn’t introducing any new Pokemon; it’s focusing on Mega Evolutions and a fresh battle system. While I’ve never been a fan of Emboar’s design, I know Meganium still isn’t great despite improvements, and Feraligatr never really appealed to me. I decided to give Emboar a try, leveling it up and evolving it, but quickly realized I would have preferred either of the other starter Pokemon for both how they look and how they’d fit into my team.

My Pokemon Legends: Z-A Starter is Suddenly the Worst Choice for Me

I’m not a big fan of Emboar because it just looks too aggressive. What really made me hesitate when choosing a starter in *Pokemon Legends: Z-A* was that Mega Emboar remains a Fire/Fighting type, while Mega Meganium gets a Grass/Fairy typing and Mega Feraligatr becomes Water/Dragon. I prefer something new and different, and that’s a perfect example of why I would have preferred choosing Chikorita or Totodile.

The upcoming *Pokemon Legends: Z-A* introduces fantastic Mega Evolutions for Fire and Fighting types, including Chandelure and Pyroar, as well as Barbaracle, Falinks, and Hawlucha. Personally, I think these new forms are all better than Emboar. While I love Tepig, the early-game form, the game doesn’t let you keep your starter Pokemon in its cute, initial form forever. This is frustrating because I really want to use either Chandelure or Pyroar as my Fire-type and likely Falinks as my Fighting-type, but that doesn’t work well with having Emboar on my team due to overlapping types.

Here is My Current Pokemon Legends: Z-A Team

I initially wanted a team without any other Fire or Fighting-type Pokemon alongside Emboar. However, after considering all the Mega Evolutions, I’ve changed my mind. I think Mega Falinks is a fantastic evolution concept, and Mega Pyroar reminds me of my cat! While I could still include Emboar, Pyroar, and Falinks on the same team, it would leave my team with poor type coverage and multiple shared weaknesses. Here’s my current team composition:

  • Emboar (Fire/Fighting)
  • Froslass (Ice/Ghost)
  • Victreebel (Grass/Poison)
  • Skarmory (Steel/Flying)
  • Eelektross (Electric)
  • Starmie (Water/Psychic)

If I had started with Chikorita or Totodile, I could have easily traded them for Victreebel or Starmie. Then, I would have swapped out Emboar and Eelektross for Pyroar and Falinks, which are two of my favorite potential Mega Evolutions. Mega Starmie might be the best new Mega in *Pokemon Legends: Z-A*, and even though Mega Meganium doesn’t have a great set of moves, choosing Chikorita would have allowed me to keep Starmie on my team as well.

I Am Officially Putting My Pokemon Legends: Z-A Starter in a Box

I’m really stuck on how to build my team for *Pokemon Legends: Z-A*. I’m even thinking about making big changes, and possibly doing something many players consider a major mistake – replacing my starter Pokemon. Although you can find the other starters later in the game, I haven’t caught them yet, and it just wouldn’t feel the same. My current idea is to build a completely new team that doesn’t include Mega Emboar. Here’s what I’m planning:

  • Mega Pyroar (Fire/Normal, special attacker)
  • Mega Falinks (Fighting, physical attacker)
  • Mega Skarmory (Steel/Flying, physical attacker)
  • Mega Starmie (Water/Psychic, hybrid attacker)
  • Mega Victreebel (Grass/Poison, special attacker)
  • Mega Excadrill (Ground/Steel, physical attacker)

At that point, my team-wide defenses would look like this:

Pokemon Bug Dark Dragon Electric Fairy Fighting Fire Flying Ghost Grass Ground Ice Normal Poison Psychic Rock Steel Water
Pyroar Resist Neutral Neutral Neutral Resist Weak Resist Neutral Immune Resist Weak Resist Neutral Neutral Neutral Weak Resist Weak
Excadrill Resist Neutral Resist Immune Resist Weak Weak Resist Neutral Neutral Weak Neutral Resist Immune Resist Resist Resist Weak
Falinks Resist Resist Neutral Neutral Weak Neutral Neutral Weak Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Weak Resist Neutral Neutral
Skarmory Resist Neutral Resist Weak Resist Neutral Weak Resist Neutral Resist Immune Neutral Resist Immune Resist Neutral Resist Neutral
Starmie Weak Weak Neutral Weak Neutral Resist Resist Neutral Weak Weak Neutral Resist Neutral Neutral Resist Neutral Resist Resist
Victreebel Neutral Neutral Neutral Resist Resist Resist Weak Weak Neutral Resist Neutral Weak Neutral Neutral Weak Neutral Neutral Resist

I realize this might just be a personal frustration, but I strongly prefer two other Pokémon over both Emboar and its Mega Evolution. Because of that, I think it makes the most sense to remove my starter Pokémon from my team. Ultimately, the game should be enjoyable, and sometimes that means making tough choices, like leaving a Pokémon you started with behind. It’s a bit sad to think about, but I believe it’s the right thing to do.

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2025-10-17 02:08