Pokemon LEGENDS: Z-A - Recent Happenings Thread

[Mr.Munchlax]

I just finished the second batch of Rogue Megas, though I think Mega Banette was harder this time than it was in my first playthrough. I knew the real one was the one glowing pink but it felt like none of my Pokémon could land any damage to it besides Absol (even though they all had STAB plus moves). Eventually it got to the point where my strategy was just build up mega energy, have Absol do all the killing, & run like crazy until Banette fainted. It was definitely tied with Canari as my hardest boss battle yet but it was a fun challenge.

I have a couple of side quests available, so I’ll probably do those, explore wild zone 11 &. 13, and figure out which 4 pokemon I’ll be using for my match against Ivor before I get my challenger’s ticket. I also need to decide on whether to evolve my Pikachu or Trubbish for this match.

I’ve also been spending a lot of time trading for items, filling up Mabel’s requests, and getting a Porygon-Z for my team. I finally have one, but I’m debating on whether to add it before or after my battle with Ivor since I want to limit my team to 10 pokemon for the main story and I’m planning I’m adding Klefki from the sewer mission.

Current Team:

• Emboar (♀) lv.39 @ Emboarite
• Pikachu (♂) lv.39 @ Light Ball
• Trubbish (♀) lv.38 @ Quick Claw [Shalpha]
• Clobbopus (♂) lv.38 @ Eviolite
• Absol (♂) lv.39 @ Absolite
• Dragonair (♂) lv.38 @__
• Amaura (♂) lv. 38 @__ [XS]

Happy New Year! In the spirit of new beginnings I decided to restart Z-A - I actually reset everything back in November but then never got around to playing it again, so here we are.

I'm taking things much slower this time, rather than neglecting the side missions and focusing predominantly on the main story. The side missions have been fun especially as I'm completing all the available ones before progressing the story - it actually feels like I'm engaging with the people of Lumiose somewhat, and the tasks are cute! Things like showing the girl an Ekans that she fawns over, battling Audino whose trainer is burnt out, the Budew competition... it's all quite charming I think! Plus it keeps me at the right level for them so I can at least pretend I'm getting somewhat of a challenge.

I've been taking photos of things that interest me as well like the paintings in Hotel Z, panoramic views of Lumiose Tower and pictures with each team member in cafes as well as in spots thematic to them! For example I've been taking pictures of Froakie/Frogadier at Bleu Plaza as that ends up becoming Wild Zone 16, where you can catch Froakie. Chikorita/Bayleef have been having their photos at Hotel Z as that's our origin point, and I'm actually struggling to find a good spot for Fennekin/Braixen! I can't even remember where I took their photos... Regardless, it's encouraged me to engage with the trainer customisation too which has been fun, not that I needed much of an excuse for that. I bought my trainer new clothes pretty much as soon as I could and they look a lot more like me now, if I had coloured hair and funky eyes! I need to update my hair actually now I've completed the Flabebe mission...

I've also spent most of my time just running around the map looking for cafes to take my Pokemon to in case I can snap a nice photo of them - maybe I'll post them here when I've beaten the game! I do find that the camera when you're at the cafes is pretty atrocious though, as I can never get my character properly in the photo with the Pokemon? I've been mainly visiting the Nouveau Cafe trucks as they seem to be the best options for that. It makes me feel like I'm bonding with my team, which satisfies the RP itch I have when I play these games. I like imagining why each team member joined my squad and what they might be like personality wise, even if I don't actively roleplay any of it.

In terms of actual progress made, I'm about 6 hours in and have reached Rank X, having beaten Yvon rather easily and then going on to body Naveen to learn his tragic backstory. I do feel bad for him, Lida really shouldn't have forced him to open up. I chose Chikorita this time rather than Tepig as I recently discovered Emboar has no neck and it looks like it's wearing a tube top, which has put me off the species entirely. This also seems like a good game for Meganium to do well in, and so far? That has held up - it soloed Zach to help me get to Rank Y, it has a Fairy move that made catching Sableye in the side mission a lot easier, and STAB Giga Drain at Level 16 is nuts! I then added Froakie and Fennekin to my team - both did amazingly the last time I played, form a nice Fire/Water/Grass core with Bayleef and they have snazzy Mega Evolutions I can use! Frogadier's movepool has been wonderful to explore and Braixen hits really hard with Psyshock, so it's great.

The Team:

Bracken the Bayleef, Level 20 ♂
Docile Nature
Razor Leaf, Disarming Voice, Giga Drain, Work Up

Frogue the Frogadier, Level 19 ♂
Sassy Nature
Bubble Beam, Ice Punch, Aerial Ace, Dig

Morgana the Braixen, Level 19 ♀
Lonely Nature
Psyshock, Swift, Ember, Fire Spin

That’s so cool! I’ve kind of been doing the same thing with this playthrough by taking my time between “gym” battles, doing all the side quests, bonding with my team, & exploring the city. I’m trying to find good spots for pictures too, though I think Café Woof is a good spot for smaller pokémon

 

[Ishiftyounot]

That’s so cool! I’ve kind of been doing the same thing with this playthrough by taking my time between “gym” battles, doing all the side quests, bonding with my team, & exploring the city. I’m trying to find good spots for pictures too, though I think Café Woof is a good spot for smaller pokémon

I have not tried Cafe Woof yet, so I'll give that a go with my next few team members and see if I can get the camera to do what I want! Nice to see other people are playing in similar ways, I've been having so much fun with it!

Since my last post I've made some more progress completing the story, having now made it to where I can challenge Vinnie. My rank-up battles to get to this point weren't too bad - Xavi was a nightmare the first time I played this game but this time he wasn't too much of a problem? His Venipede got blown up by Braixen's Psyshock + Fire Spin attacks, Frogadier managed to beat Roselia with a cleverly timed Dig (plus an Ice Punch and Aerial Ace) whilst I taught Bayleef Curse so it could survive against Furfrou and Kadabra without major issue. Rintaro was another easy fight since I also have a Fire-Water-Grass core, so I just pitted my team up accordingly to win - Braixen beat Simisage, Frogadier beat Simisear, Bayleef beat Simipour. Pretty simple stuff.

Beating Rintaro meant I got to chase after Zygarde (completely passed me by that this was the Pokemon Emma was on about) and ended up against the Rogue Mega Absol. This isn't particularly noteworthy... except Absol is my fourth team member! I named her Omen and she is delightful, although she was also 4 levels higher than everyone else when she joined the squad. Speaking of levels, I've tried keeping my team a level or two above the next boss as the battling system means you will be exchanging attacks, and I can never predict what's going to happen so it just helps a bit. Absol kind-of upset that a bit as my next major fight was against Taunie, who was around level 24-26 if I remember rightly? She was a pretty easy fight - Bayleef beat Croconaw, Frogadier beat Pignite, and she got the Mega vs. Mega fight she wanted when I used Absol against her Manectric.

I'm also still up-to-date on my side missions, as most of the time played has just been me wandering around the map looking for travel spots or rare Pokemon to catch, mixed in with some photography. Snapped a nice picture of all 3 Pan-monkeys on a roof together, and I had a field day in the museum taking photos of the amazing art! Makes me feel like a real tourist almost. The Hisui section hit surprisingly hard for someone who has yet to beat Legends: Arceus. The side missions remain pretty fun too - this batch wasn't too memorable besides hunting down all the Spewpa, and I had to catch a 4th Abra to trade to get the Riolu from the schoolkid, but that's okay! Mable also gifted me a Kanto starter although they will not be joining my team (I chose Charmander).

What's next on the agenda? I need to beat Vinnie, especially now my team matches his in levels. I need to take a photo of Absol as I've yet to do that, and then I suspect more side missions will crop up! My partner has kindly caught my last two team members for me as well so we need to trade at some point - they're Pokemon I've unlocked now but they're in the Slow experience group, which if you've seen half of my posts on here you know is my bitter enemy! Traded experience offsets it a bit. After that, we'll just be continuing on with the story!

The Team:

Bracken the Meganium, Level 32 ♂
Docile Nature
Bulldoze, Dazzling Gleam, Giga Drain, Work Up

Frogue the Frogadier, Level 32 ♂
Sassy Nature
Bubble Beam, Ice Punch, Night Slash, Dig

Morgana the Braixen, Level 32 ♀
Lonely Nature
Psyshock, Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, Ember

Omen the Absol, Level 32 ♀
Gentle Nature
Slash, Knock Off, Night Slash, Swords Dance

 

[UltraGlitterCat]

I got sidequest froakie (male, now frogadier) and sidequest chespin (female, now quilladin.) I am looking for sidequest fennekin. I don't think I have explored the sector the quest npc is at.

I am having so much fun. This was my Christmas present from Johnny, he's sweet.

I started with female tepig, now pignite. I am rank w but going strong! I don't have the dlc yet but that's fine because there is lots to do and it's exciting.

I like that it's easy to make money because the clothes can get pricey, I had to sell a lot of tiny mushrooms just to get my girl her glasses!! But at least now my avatar feels like she reflects me.

 

[Luthor]

I finally caught the last mythical that I need to complete the national dex once home compatibility comes through.

Spoiler

Marshadow

. Caught in a dusk ball (seemed thematic). But the hardest capture I have had so far is definitely Cryogonal, but after going through about 10 of them and failing eventually I got one, and then was able to catch an alpha in a repeat ball.

 

[Ishiftyounot]

It's been a slow weekend, so I've made a ton of additional progress in Legends: Z-A! I was meant to be starting Baldur's Gate 3 but I've just had the urge to play Pokemon instead, so I continued on and have now reached Rank D. Doubled my hours almost, this is the one game I've played in recent years where I can just play for hours on end and not get bored!

The first thing I did since my last post was trade with my partner for my next two team members - Crackle the Tynamo and Seraphim the Dratini, the latter of which is also an Alpha because I wanted to use one on my team. Because Dratini was an Alpha it didn't actually join the team on an official basis until I fought Canari in my exhibition match, but Tynamo joined the squad instantly. I went straight into my battle with Vinnie after that - Frogadier beat Houndoom, Meganium bodied Sharpedo, Braixen fought Buneary (pretty cute that he uses one) and then Absol got to have its Mega vs. Mega bout with Drampa which it won just barely. Drampa has such a cool Mega Evolution by the way, I'm pretty upset it can only be caught in Wild Zone 19 (you know, the last Wild Zone before the postgame) as it'd be on my team instantly! S-Tier Mega design, probably the only one from these games that makes it that far.

After I beat Vinnie and got my rank inflated to Rank F, it was time to take on our first batch of Rogue Mega Evolution boss fights! I carefully customised my team's movesets for each fight and began by unleashing Mega Meganium for the first time against Mega Slowbro, where Giga Drain kept it alive and +Razor Leaf knocked it down enough that we won relatively unscathed. I used Frogadier against Mega Camerupt, relying on +Bubble Beam to deal massive damage and Dig to avoid attacks a bit and stay mobile, but I think I had to use a Potion during the fight to keep it alive! I don't mind doing that for the Rogue Megas as they are pretty hard boss fights, but I try and keep it to a minimum! I chose Absol over Braixen for the Mega Victreebel fight as I could teach it Zen Headbutt and Aerial Ace, and we sped through that fight to a very easy win!

My next Z-A Royale opponent was revealed to be Canari, but I had to fight Naveen first to get the intel needed regarding her location. Poor Naveen, he wasn't a very difficult challenge and even he knew it so it felt bad that he had to accept giving me the info if I won. He was very helpful in getting through the Canari Whiz Quiz though! It was pretty cool seeing Gwynn there, and Mani being a perfect example of fandom was quite amusing too. Before I headed off to Racine Construction I took on the ranked mode to get my Greninjite and Delphoxite for my Kalos starters (as well as the Chesnaughtite and Baxcalibrite) - I quite enjoyed this even if I didn't win, but I've always had some interest in competitive battling so I am familiar with strategies and such even if I didn't EV train my team. I elected to run Reflect and Light Screen on Meganium alongside Delphox and Greninja (got to make them earn their own Mega Stones!) and it only took I think 4 battles to get all the Mega Stones? Not bad going!

I headed to Racine Construction where I had to fight off Tarragon and his Ground types - Meganium fought Hippowdon, Delphox fought Diggersby (I think) and Greninja Mega Evolved for the first time against Mega Excadrill! We barely survived a +1 X Scissor to KO with a couple of Water Shuriken attacks. Canari was next and was similarly easy - my newly evolved Eelektrik took down Heliolisk with some clever manoeuvring (i.e. running Protect and no Electric attacks), Absol beat Ampharos, Meganium fought Stunfisk and Delphox Mega Evolved against Eelektross! Where it lost... I forgot it knew Crunch. Meganium came back in to win the fight for me. I took a screenshot of Canari swearing, snapped a photo of Eelektrik in her gaming room and added Dratini to the team at last!

After that was Ivor's mission to reach Rank D, interspersed with random side missions, photography of my team, Rogue Mega Evolution battles and catching stuff to crown the Wild Zones. I also evolved my Dratini and Eelektrik to give me some additional firepower, much needed against Rogue Mega Hawlucha! Heading into the Sewers was pretty neat and I quite liked Ivor's character, even if I did feel bad for Gwynn. In my battle against her I used Absol, Delphox and Mega Greninja to take down her Banette, Gourgeist and Mega Chandelure, all were pretty easy one-shots besides Chandelure so not a lot to report there. Ivor I was preparing for trouble but I needn't have worried - Greninja survived a Brick Break from Heracross to win with +Bounce, Meganium fought off Machamp without major issue, Eelektross took on Medicham and crushed it and Mega Delphox got redemption versus Mega Falinks with a clean 0HKO with Psychic! Nice and simple.

Beyond that, I'm now at the point where I'm waiting for Corbeau to give me my first tasks to pay off Taunie's debt. Big fan of the Rust Syndicate so far, they're so funny to me and I love their décor! My team is doing pretty good, feel a bit bad that I'm not using Dragonair very much but there's plenty of game left to play and it'll evolve in a few levels and actually be good? Nobody feels bad or weak at least which is nice, although I wish Meganium had a better way to boost its Special Attack than Work Up and it had Earth Power (it's in Wild Zone 15 but I can't find it, I think I need to fix a Holovator). Greninja is strong, Delphox is even stronger, Absol is getting plenty of use, Eelektross is apparently my spirit Pokemon according to my partner so that's fun, and Dragonair is also decent really! I like that I can actually make use of Dragon Rush.

The Team:

Bracken the Meganium, Level 52 ♂
Docile Nature
Bulldoze, Energy Ball, Giga Drain, Dazzling Gleam

Frogue the Greninja, Level 52 ♂
Sassy Nature
Bounce, Ice Beam, Water Shuriken, Night Slash

Morgana the Delphox, Level 52 ♀
Lonely Nature
Psychic, Dazzling Gleam, Flamethrower, Mystical Fire

Omen the Absol, Level 52 ♀
Gentle Nature
Knock Off, Shadow Sneak, Night Slash, Swords Dance

Crackle the Eelektross, Level 52 ♂
Modest Nature
Crunch, Liquidation, Thunderbolt, Thunder Punch

Seraphim the Dragonair (Alpha), Level 52 ♀
Brave Nature
Flamethrower, Extreme Speed, Dragon Rush, Waterfall

 

[UltraGlitterCat]

I did sidequest fennekin (female.) She's super pretty but will not be on the main team because pignite and kirlia already provide her type coverage. I have used Delphox in violet blueberry academy so I don't feel too let down by not keeping her active. Quilladin will also probably not be a final member, I've used chestnaught before too. I love this game!!

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I was just in the Boxes looking for high leveled Pokemon when I discovered that the Avalugg I caught on Monday from a distance is not only an Alpha but also Shiny! I never saw it sparkle but I’m incredibly impressed that I managed to get a shiny Alpha!

 

[Tsukuyomi56]

Almost done with completing a living Hyperspace Pokedex, only ones left are Keldeo and a second Gimmighoul. Was able to get a Grass Sparkling Power 3 Donut which I used on a 5-star Grass Wild Zone with my "guaranteed" shiny being a Treecko (also female to boot). Now waiting for tomorrow to get Sceptile's Mega Stone from Ranked Battles. Rank up apri-ball rewards aside, don't think there is much motivation to shoot for A Rank now (unless that is your thing).

 

[Luthor]

Got Scpetile's mega stone. Now I just need to find the sceptile to use it with.

Also did the link trades to get Milotic and 2 Poryon2(one with the guy in game one online) and then traded the online one and got a porygon-Z. Fortunately that should be the last of the online trades I need to do in Z-A. Trading for Porygon-z was the hardest as I kept getting the same guy on the trade code who had not put the dubious disc on his porygon2.

 

[WishIhadaManafi5]

Been doing some item collecting and caught some Pokemon, including an Alpha Magikarp who was on land lol. Also did some nighttime battling, was working on breaking in my new Meowstic.

It was a pain to battle and catch.

My alpha Riolu, Al, finally evolved into Lucario. I'm so proud of him.

 

[UltraGlitterCat]

I finally reached the point where my pokemon can Mega evolve! I went to wild zone 7 afterwards and caught Vanillite and Hippopotas. I will look later today for Audino and Shuppet (night.) I evolved my Abra and my Gastly and hope I can find someone on the trade forums who wants to touch trade.

 

[UltraGlitterCat]

Pokedex: 80
newest entry: Dedenne
rank: V (now has megas!)
and this bad boy shows up when my boyfriend asked to watch me play!!

 

[PrinceOfFacade]

So I've been continuing my playthrough where I only battle with Patrat, and I managed to defeat Vinnie and his Mega Drama!

I told myself, that only if I beat Vinnie could I evolve my Patrat, and so I did. Now it's me and my Watchog vs the world.

 

[scififan21]

Got a shiny eevee in a mega dimension and without a shiny boost it was my 'catch a shiny' mission talk about lucky. Don't know what I want to evolve him into probably going to wait and see if I get any shiny evolutions. Also got a Shiny Tyrunt, and a Shiny Totodile and Croconaw with a sparkling 3 water donut. Also I finally beat Rayqueza and got Volcanion and Hoopa registered via sidequests.

 

[Luthor]

Got two shiny pokemon (rosalia and Gogoat) from the same mission (had to catch a shiny in that to get the points), finally encountered Sawk, and the treeko line, caught genesect, and then did a mission with Ivor and my Shiny Throh.

 

[UltraGlitterCat]

I finally found the NPC with the mareep quest so I have a shiny mareep. Better late than never, lol

I have over 90 Pokemon registered in za. I'm leveling up some of my dudes before I go for the next rank in the royale. I'm rank F currently.

 

[Tsukuyomi56]

Got both Keldeo and a few spare Gimmighoul, so I can safely evolve the quest Gimmighoul to complete my Hyperspace living Dex. Regarding Megas still have yet to complete the one that rewards Lucario Z’s Mega Stone. Regarding shinies, got a Tynamo and a Tyrunt from the “catch a shiny” mission from a 5-star Hyperspace Wild Zone featuring the fossil Pokemon.

 

[UltraGlitterCat]

Finally reached 100 in the dex and got to trade with my friend Brooke yesterday so now I have a shiny Gible and a shiny Fennekin. They are awesome. I maxed out the catching Canari plush. I explored some more of the rooftops but there was an alpha Talonflame in one area I just wasn't strong enough for so I climbed back down. I'd like to get an Inkay soon because they are adorable.

 

[UltraGlitterCat]

111 in the Pokedex and my 2nd shiny: Patrat. Beat the rogue mega victreebel, slowbro, and camerupt. They were tough!

 

[scififan21]

Finally got a Shiny Pichu from a distortion which was easier then hunting the one that spawned in Wild Zone 1 had to save before work so I'm hoping I get another two or a Pikachu so I can evolve one to Raichu. Shiny living Dex is making progress giving any extras to my son and husband when Home support comes. Caught an extra Shiny Mareep in a Love Ball for my husband thought it'd be fun to give him one with that specific PokeBall.