If you’ve just begun to make some progress in Game Freak’s Pokemon Legends: Z-A, you might be wondering how to build on the momentum you’ve gained as you go around Lumiose City. While battles might be the major part of the gameplay loop, what you do in between them could make the next one go a whole lot smoother.
With that being said, here are a few advanced tips and tricks to make your time in this new adventure more fun, and easier to manage. While the game does facilitate varying playstyles, these tips are aimed towards making your character be equipped to deal with a variety of situations and have the abilities you will need to constantly upgrade your Pokemon and improve on your battle prowess.
With that out of the way, let’s dive in!
1. Strike From the Shadows
It’s a good idea to always try sneaking up on stray Pokemon or rival trainers and initiate combat via a sneak attack. This not only gives you an advantage right off the bat but could save you time, and potentially resources such as consumables if you’re able to get the jump on your opponents.
It’s also a great way to capture Pokemon out in the wild and add them to your collection without having to battle them first, provided you have the right Pokeball type to do so.
2. Seek Out Pokemon Centers
Pokemon Centers are quite important locations that you must seek out as much as you can. In addition to acting as fast-travel points, they also house NPCs who serve important functions. There’s a nurse who can heal up your Pokemon between battles in addition to another NPC who can retrieve Pokeballs you use in the field for you. You can also purchase different types of Pokeballs as you unlock them via playing the story, an important part of the gameplay loop.
Unlocking as many of them as you can will help save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. You’re going to want to have one nearby as you begin to level up and battle against more dangerous opponents in the game!
3. Explore Rooftops For Valuable Loot
If you haven’t already discovered Holovators, seeking them out and unlocking as many as you can lets you get to Lumiose City’s rooftops which house a lot of rare and valuable loot for you to pick up. While you can get by via exploring the streets and collecting everything you see at the ground level, up high is where you find a better crop of collectibles and you should be taking to the roofs whenever you can.
4. Don’t Neglect Side Quests
Side Quests in Pokemon Legends: Z-A are a great way to earn rare new Pokemon that you might not find out in the field while also being sources of valuable currency and loot. It helps that they’re also relatively short for the most part, allowing you to quickly blaze through their objectives. On balance, they’re a great option for those of you looking to add a few potent Pokemon to your party without having to spend hours hunting them down.
5. Dealing With Obstacles
We’d recommend nabbing a Pokemon for each of the elemental types in the game as it not only lets you handle a more diverse set of opponents, but can also let you unlock new paths to explore around Lumiose City. Since new paths lead to new discoveries, having a varied roster of Pokemon means that you quickly open yourself up to better ways to play the game quite early on in your adventure.
6. Use Your Recalls Wisely
You’ve probably found that some of your opponents are able to inflict statuses that cause damage to your Pokemon over time. If you’re looking to preserve consumables that either mitigate or negate those effects, you could try recalling your Pokemon by throwing out a Pokeball while in battle.
You could lose a bit of time as your Pokemon will have a cooldown period before it can attack again, but it’s a quick way to get rid of a DoT effect in many cases. However, you should know that some of these effects block you from recalling Pokemon altogether, so it’s always best to keep a few consumables stocked just in case.
7. Control Your Time
Since Battle Zones in Lumiose City open up only at night, it’s a good idea to stay on top of the game’s day/night cycle and use it to your advantage. By that, we mean pacing yourself and completing objectives during the day right up until night is almost upon you. At which point you can manually switch to night mode once you’re good and ready to take on a few trainers and level up.
This ensures that you’re using your time optimally and avoiding approaching potentially hard battles already tired from a day of exploring and battling Pokemon.
8. Loot Everything!
If you see something that isn’t nailed down to the ground, pick it up! It’s a great way to fill up your inventory with useful items and valuables, allowing you to have a well-equipped hoard of things you might need later down the line. It’s also a great way of having enough stuff to sell should the need arise.
Besides, you might just find rare items during your travels that can make your adventure go that much better. It’s part of why we recommend having Pokemon in your party that are capable of clearing elemental obstacles, since it lets you go down new paths as early as possible.
9. Mega Evolutions Win Fights
We’re quite big on using Mega Evolutions to win your fights with style and also as a way to ensure your Pokemon come out of fights relatively unscathed, Look at them as a sort of type-pivot punish that you trigger just before your opponent launches a deadly attack. Your Mega form not only shakes off the damage you’d otherwise receive, but also makes the most of that immunity as you land a guaranteed swing.
Using them tactically is a great way to exploit the temporary stat bonuses they grant you, which could mean the difference between a 2HKO and an OHKO in the heat of battle.
10. Research Missions Are Key to Gaining New Abilities
You should look at doing as much as you can to complete Dr. Mable’s research objectives as soon as you get the chance since she provides you with valuable TMs that you can equip across the board to give your Pokemon cool new abilities. It’s great that TMs are not one-time consumables and you can equip them with compatible Pokemon as you see fit.
The good doctor’s missions are also excellent sources of other valuable loot so making her a priority is going to serve you quite well in the long run. You might want to keep updating your Pokemon’s move pool quite regularly since their loadouts don’t automatically update themselves once you acquire new TMs.
11. Socialize As Much As You Can
Aside from exploring every possible corner of Lumiose City, it also pays to talk to as many of its denizens as you can. It’s quite likely that they provide you with useful items and loot, making it worth your while to have those conversations as you find your way around the streets.
It could also lead to some interesting discoveries along the way!
12. Ensure Your Pokemon Actually Follow Orders
If you’re not at a required threshold when capturing and training higher level Pokemon, you might find that they’re not as likely to listen to your commands when you’re out in the field. To that end, completing research objectives and improving your level thresholds are a must if you want to get the most out of your companions.
13. Unlock Different Pokeball Types
Prioritize unlocking different types of Pokeballs as quickly as you can as you’re going to need them to capture rarer Pokemon along your journey. Having a few Pokeballs of each type in your inventory lets you approach potential new additions to your roster without having to worry about whether you’re actually ready to capture them.
14. Stack Challenge Cards in Battle Mode
Since battling other trainers at night is your best way to level up, picking up challenge cards along the way and completing their objectives nets you a nice little bonus at the end of each fight. What’s great is that you can pick up cards with the same or similar objectives and belt them all out in one go, netting you the collective rewards they offer while saving you a lot of time.
15. Pick Your Battles
While in a Battle Zone, it’s a good idea to farm safer encounters in order to max out your Mega gauge and try and figure out the best possible combinations for your party before heading into a Promotion Match.
Putting in the effort to prepare for these matches means that you’re more than likely to achieve a Promotion once you take them on, and do so in style since you’re already heading into it with the right combination of Pokemon and a full Mega gauge. It’s a great way to ensure that you don’t let the game’s RNG mechanics get in your way and allows you to potentially finish tough battles on your first attempt.
You might also want to know that opening up the menu during a battle lets you access your satchel and use items you’re carrying. However, there’s a cooldown before you can get back into your satchel again so pick your moments wisely.
And that’s a wrap on our tips and tricks to make your time in Lumiose City be that much more fun and engaging. We’d love to hear from you if you have any other ones for your fellow players in the comments!
