10 Best Potential Starters For Pokemon Legends: Z-A

With Pokemon Legends: Z-A coming out in 2025, fans of the franchise are full of excitement and curiosity as to what the developers will come up with. One thing to easily theorize about is the starters, as Pokemon Legends: Arceus gave us a mix of previous starters as well as provided them with regional evolutions.

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It's just as likely that we'll get new Mega Evolution forms for the starter trio in Pokemon Legends: Z-A as we are to get Kalosian forms for them since the mechanic is being reintroduced. With that being the case, it's fun to think about who could get that exclusive spot. Here are our picks.

The new starter trio will likely get Mega Evolutions. Therefore, Generation One and Three are not considered as they already have them.

10 Tepig

Fire/Fighting Starters Are Back In Fashion

Tepig was bullied quite a lot by fans back in Generation Five, due to it evolving into Emboar, the third Fire/Fighting starter in a row. However, it's been four whole generations since then, and tons of people have grown to like both Tepig and Emboar a whole lot more.

That means it's the perfect time to bring the little pig back into the spotlight. The design of Emboar is full of potential and would make for an absolute candidate for both a mega and a regional variant. While we may get more Generation Five favoritism with the inevitable Black and White remakes, let's make sure we get some Emboar hype going first.

9 Turtwig

Too Many Design Possibilities To Pass Up

Yet another cute quadruped that desperately needs to become relevant again is Turtwig. To be fair, Torterra got a significant buff in Generation Nine thanks to getting access to the powerful Shell Smash, but that's barely made it more popular.

Torterra has endless design potential and desperately needs a power boost. It could easily turn into a Grass/Rock type with more mountains on its back, or even become a Grass/Steel with a construction site on its back, leaning into a goofier design. Turtwig would be a great option for Legends: Z-A, and it needs a popularity boost more than most.

8 Popplio

Bring It Up To Its Peers' Level

While there are some very devoted fans of Popplio, it's by far the least popular of the Generation Seven starters. Rowlet managed to be the king of memes and edits, whereas Litten managed to become sort of infamous due to how powerful its evolution (Incineroar) is.

That leaves Popplio by the wayside a little bit, and it's about time GameFreak fixes that. This Water/Fairy starter is quite strong already but could be turned into even more of a powerhouse with a Mega Evolution. It fits perfectly too, as Kalos introduced the world to the Fairy-type to begin with.

7 Piplup

A Fan-Favorite That Fits The Region

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were disappointing games for a lot of fans, and a big part of that is that it didn't innovate enough. The Generation Four starters were also barely given anything new. Well, Legends: Z-A is the perfect opportunity to try something new.

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Empoleon is already quite a powerful Pokemon, with its Great Water/Steel typing and wide move pool. However, a Mega Evolution with good stat distribution and an ability to either boost its defense or offense would skyrocket its popularity. Kalos is based in France too, a country with a rich history of Monarchy, making the emperor penguin the perfect fit.

6 Snivy

Smug, Yet Somehow Loveable

Snivy is the pure Grass-type starter of Generation Five. While mono-type starters are usually seen as lesser by the fans, Snivy's evolution Serperior is already a good adversary with its Ability Contrary and access to Leaf Storm. That doesn't mean it can't be improved on though.

Serperior is a very smug-looking Pokemon, which could be a fun design aspect to lean into with a Mega Evolution. Maybe Serperior gets humbled and more down to earth, or maybe it fully embraces its smugness. Regardless, as long as GameFreak is careful not to make it broken, a Mega Serperior would be an amazing addition.

5 Sobble

Like James Bond But French

Sobble may seem like a weird entry on this list, as it's a relatively new addition to the starter list. However, Sobble never lived up to its potential, and many fans agree that its evolution Inteleon was lacking something.

What better way is there than Mega Evolution to take a decent Pokemon and make it one of the greats? Inteleon could easily turn into a Water/Dark or Water/Ghost-type like many fans predicted before Sword and Shield came out. Lean into the spy aspect and make it look actually sneaky or dangerous, and you have a fan-favorite Pokemon on your hands.

4 Scorbunny

It's Football Actually

Yet another Generation Eight starter that semi-failed to live up to expectations is Scorbunny. This little rabbit was one of the fan-favorites when first revealed and people speculated that it would turn into a speedy Fire/Normal-type or a Fire/Electric-type. While Cinderace is cool, why not take it to the next level?

Scorbunny and Cinderace fit the region perfectly too, as soccer is extremely big in France. A full-on soccer bunny with an additional type could make Cinderace as relevant as it needs to be. They could even bring back Goh in some way to cross-promote.

3 Totodile

A Dragon That Needs Its Potential Realized

Totodile is one of the all-time favorites as far as Water-type starters are concerned. Its evolution Feraligatr has also received numerous small buffs over the years, such as access to Dragon Dance, more powerful physical moves, and decent coverage. Unfortunately, it's always lacked the punch.

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Tons of fans have alternate forms for Feraligatr too, because the design is just that promising. A full-on Water/Dragon or a Water/Dark Feraligatr could end up being one of the most badass-looking Pokemon of all time. We'll never have said it enough: Johto does need some love.

2 Chikorita

A Pokemon Desperate For An Overhaul

While Totodile and Cyndaquil are decent Pokemon that could use some buffs to make them more interesting, Chikorita is absolutely desperate for anything to make it relevant again. This adorable Grass-type has been made fun of for being the weakest starter of all time for decades now, and it's about time to change that.

It's not like Meganium lacks potential or a gorgeous design. Radical Red, a fan game, turned Meganium into a powerhouse with little effort, giving it an additional Fairy-type and the Ability Triage. While something like that could work, a full-on overhaul with a Mega Evolution would be the best way to go with it.

1 Kalos Starters

Sometimes The Obvious Choice Makes Sense

While Pokemon Legends: Arceus set the precedent for Legends games having a trio of starters from different regions, there's no rule set in stone that says that. While some may believe that putting the Kalos starters in a Kalos-set Legends game may be lazy, it actually makes a lot of sense. To begin with, it was cruel to begin with when GameFreak excluded the Kalos starters from their own regional mechanic: Mega Evolution.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A would be the perfect time to bring back this adorable trio and give them amazing Mega Evolutions as a sort of apology. To be fair, we'd rather see Megas for all starters at some point, but the Froakie, Chespin, and Fennekin deserve the front seat more than any other. Let's keep Ash-Greninja as a relic of the past though, for balance reasons.

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