A new Pokémon game means a new trio of starters, and there’s plenty to figure out with Legends: Z-A following the trend set by the predecessor, Legends: Arceus—trying to predict the trio left me with a headache like a Psyduck.
The year of radio silence regarding Pokémon Legends: Z-A will come to an end this week on Pokémon Day with the customary Pokémon Presents taking place, which should provide a release date for the game and perhaps details on the trio of starters.
Ahead of the possible announcement, I wracked my brains trying to crack the code on which Pokémon would be selected, and while it was easy to rule some out, settling on a final three proved to be more complicated than picking up a Snorlax—but I’ve mapped out all the logic in this article.
With the return of Mega Pokémon in Legends: Z-A, teased in last year’s Pokémon Presents on Pokémon Day, it would make a lot of sense for the trio of starters to get a Mega form—immediately ruling out the Kanto trio of Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur, as well as the Hoenn trio of Blaziken, Swampert, and Sceptile, the latter of whom received their Mega forms in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
Others to rule out are the Paldea trio of Fuecoco, Quaxly, and Sprigatito, given they just had their moment in the limelight, along with Cyndaquil, Oshawott, and Rowlet, who were the starters in Legends: Arceus and had their final evolutions receive a Hisuain form. From there though, things get complicated.
The Galar trio of Scorbunny, Sobble, and Grookey may be removed from the equation as their final evolutions were all given Gigantamax forms in Sword and Shield. Although that doesn’t rule them out entirely, I’d be surprised if any of the three were selected.
But what about Sinnoh and Kalos? Sinnoh’s trio of Chimchar, Piplup, and Turtwig have seen a resurgence in recent years following Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, as well as Legends: Arceus, where they were found as wild spawns, so does that rule them out?
Similarly, Legends: Z-A is set in the Kalos region, so will it follow the same procedure as before and have the three starters, Fennekin, Froakie, and Chespin, available as wild spawns? If so, that makes the list of potential choices even smaller.
If the above are all ruled out, it would leave Tepig and Litten as the fire choices, and there’s no denying that Mega Incineroar would be extremely popular. As for water, the pair left would be Totodile and Popplio—with Totodile clearly the better choice and pairing well with Litten, as that would exclude Popplio.
So what about the grass starters? If we go with the above pair for the other types, the only remaining choice is Snivy and, again, Mega Serperior would be very cool, though I really want a Mega Meganium as Chikorita is one of my favorite starters and the line is very underappreciated.
If Sinnoh isn’t excluded, Mega Torterra would be awesome, which is just leaving me going around in circles again and again. I feel pretty confident with my predictions for Litten and Totodile, but I’m unsure about the grass starter and wouldn’t be surprised if a curveball gets thrown.
Thankfully, I’ll be put out of my misery very soon.
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