Pokemon Legends Z-A Best Starter: Chikorita, Tepig or Totodile

If you want the most damage, pick Tepig: its final form, Emboar, has the highest Attack of the three and is the only one with two types. Totodile ends up with the best total stats and Chikorita with the best Speed, so there is no wrong answer. You can also catch the two you skip once the main story is over.

The three starters at a glance

Pokemon Legends: Z-A starts you off with Chikorita, Tepig or Totodile, and each line ends in a Mega Evolution.

Tepig picks up its Fighting type as Pignite, while the other two stay single-typed until they Mega Evolve.

Base stats compared

Stats run HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, Speed. The totals are our own sums.

The totals sit within five points of each other, so the real difference is where each line puts its points.

Why we lean Tepig

Battles in Legends: Z-A run in real time, and Emboar is built to end them quickly. It has the most HP and Attack of the three final forms, and Mega Emboar pushes Attack to 148. Game8 calls Tepig the best overall starter, and Nintendo Life names it the statistical pick.

The trade-off is that Emboar has the lowest Defense, Special Defense and Speed of the three, at 65 each. Game8 points out that the low Speed means longer cooldowns between moves, and it lists Water, Flying, Psychic and Ground as Emboar's main weaknesses.

When Totodile or Chikorita makes more sense

Totodile suits you if you want a sturdy all-rounder. Feraligatr has the highest base stat total, reaches its final form earliest at level 30, and Mega Feraligatr's 160 Attack is the single highest stat on the chart. Game8 lists only Grass and Electric as Feraligatr's weaknesses, shifting to Dragon and Fairy once it Mega Evolves into a Water and Dragon type.

Chikorita suits a special attacker who likes to outlast opponents. Meganium is the fastest of the three final forms and has the best Special Defense, and Mega Meganium jumps to 143 Special Attack with a new Fairy type. It is the slowest to evolve, though, waiting until level 32.

Your starter's Mega Stone

You do not have to hunt for your own starter's stone. AZ gives it to you at Hotel Z during Main Mission 10, the day after you defeat Rogue Mega Absol. The other two starter stones are sold at the Stone Emporium on Vernal Avenue for 100,000 Poke Dollars each. Sources disagree on when they appear: Game8's Mega Stone list has them unlocking once Main Mission 10 is done, while Nintendo Life says they are not on sale until the post game, so check the shop once you have your own stone. Our Mega Evolution guide covers how Megas work in battle.

Getting the starters you skipped

Once the credits roll, talk to your friends at Hotel Z, then speak to Vinnie in Centrico Plaza. That opens Wild Zone 20 in the middle of the map, where Totodile lives near the water, Chikorita in the grass and Tepig in the brick area.

The Kalos starters, Chespin, Fennekin and Froakie, come from side quests that open at Rank Y, and Side Mission 22, A Call from Mable, lets you pick a Kanto starter. See our side quests guide for those, or head back to the Legends: Z-A hub for the basics.