Pokemon Legends: Z-A Season 5 is actually bringing your worst nightmares to life (quite literally)

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It’s been about a month since the Mega Dimension DLC released for Pokemon Legends: Z-A, adding new gameplay features, ways to find Pokemon (including shinies!), and even giving players a lot of free Legendary and Mythical Pokemon. While the DLC’s roguelike elements and time limits in the Hyperspace Areas might not appeal to everyone, it’s generally considered a fun addition with many returning favorites and new Mega Evolutions. No matter how you feel about the expansion, you’ll need to play through each season to earn all the ranked rewards, and Season 5 could prove to be particularly challenging.

Several important things are happening with the new downloadable content. These include how the DLC functions, the structure of ranked battles and rewards this season, and the significant impact that Legendary and Mythical Pokémon from Pokémon Legends: Z-A could have on player-versus-player battles. Here’s a breakdown of the reasons:

  • Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Mega Darkrai is nightmares incarnate and the main plot point of the DLC, and in battle, it’s incredibly powerful thanks to its absurd 165 base Special Attack and 130 Defense and Special Defense.
  • Season 5 allows players to use most Legendary and Mythical Pokemon in the game, and the list of new entries includes:
    • Mega Sceptile
    • Latias and Mega Latias
    • Latios and Mega Latios
    • Heatran and Mega Heatran
    • Darkrai and Mega Darkrai
    • Cobalion
    • Terrakion
    • Virizion
    • Keldeo
    • Meloetta
    • Genesect
    • Hoopa
    • Volcanion
    • Magearna and Mega Magearna
    • Marshadow
    • Zeraora and Mega Zeraora
    • Meltan
    • Melmetal
  • In order to get Mega Sceptile in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, you need to play ranked battles in Season 5, meaning you will either have to use or face constantly Legendary and Mythical Pokemon.
  • Some of the Legendary and Mythical Pokemon becoming available in Season 5 are hard to get because they rely on RNG, as there is no way of manipulating the special scans you will get. This means you may not get them before or even during Season 5, if you haven’t already, and the process can be dragged out for days if you also want to shiny hunt Latias, Latios, Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion.

All Returning Legendary and Mythical Pokemon in Legends: Z-A Season 5

The upcoming DLC for Pokemon Legends: Z-A will include a large number of Legendary and Mythical Pokemon – a total of 20 new ones, in addition to the 5 already available in the original game. However, not all of these Pokemon will be permitted for use in the upcoming Season 5 competitions. Here’s a list of which ones are allowed:

  • Xerneas (Not legal)
  • Yveltal (Not legal)
  • Zygarde (Not legal)
  • Diancie (Not legal)
  • Mewtwo (Not legal)
  • Heatran (Legal)
  • Volcanion (Legal)
  • Cobalion (Legal)
  • Terrakion (Legal)
  • Virizion (Legal)
  • Keldeo (Legal)
  • Meloetta (Legal)
  • Genesect (Legal)
  • Hoopa (Legal)
  • Marshadow (Legal)
  • Meltan (Legal)
  • Melmetal (Legal)
  • Darkrai (Legal)
  • Latias (Legal)
  • Latios (Legal)
  • Kyogre (Not legal)
  • Groudon (Not legal)
  • Rayquaza (Not legal)
  • Magearna (Legal)
  • Zeraora (Legal)

According to The Pokemon Company, when using the Lumiose Pokedex, you can only register Pokemon numbered 1 through 227. For the Hyperspace Pokedex, the limit is 1 through 127, including Pokemon numbers 131 and 132. This means Pokemon like Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde, Diancie, Mewtwo, Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza won’t be available in Legends Z-A.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A is Shooting Itself in the Foot With Its Season 5 Ranked Meta

Some of these Pokémon are well-known for their success in competitive battling. Here are a few of the most notable examples:

  • Terrakion: One of the best Focus Sash holders around with Swords Dance and STAB Rock and Fighting-type moves, has plenty of options for coverage.
  • Latias and Latios: Mega Latias and Latios can dish out some incredible damage and will have rather low cooldowns due to how Speed works in the game.
  • Genesect: Genesect has one of the best types in the series and will most likely replace Golisopod in Pokemon Legends: Z-A.
  • Darkrai: The base form and Mega can be quintessential counters to Armarouge in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, while being rather bulky and powerful attackers with good coverage.
  • Magearna: This Pokemon has the best type combo in Pokemon games with Steel/Fairy, and now it has access to a Mega Evolution that makes even more OP.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Season 5 Ranked Battles Are History Repeating Itself

Image via The Pokemon Company

Certain Pokémon are expected to be very popular in Legends: Z-A when the new season begins on January 7th. This could limit team variety and create a predictable competitive environment where players need specific counters. Terrakion and Magearna are likely to be frequently used, and because both are vulnerable to Ground-type attacks, Pokémon like Garchomp will probably remain dominant, mirroring a pattern seen in previous seasons with Pokémon like Xerneas and Mewtwo.

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2026-01-06 17:05