I Hated this Pokemon Legends: Z-A Move Until I Found a…

Pokemon Legends: Z-A's fresh take on the series' gameplay definitely takes some time to click, even for a veteran player like myself. Managing the cooldowns on my team's moves feels more like I'm playing an MMO than a traditional Pokemon game, but this also opens the door for new strategies to take hold. While I think Pokemon Legends: Z-A's overall shift from turn-based combat to active-time combat is a fun spin on battle for a series that has started to stagnate in recent years, there is bound to be some frustration with how some moves have been reworked to accommodate this change.

As an avid competitive Pokemon player, I know the value of having Protect on my mons all too well. Being able to strategically negate damage is a game-changer that can help turn the tide of battle even in a casual playthrough. However, Pokemon Legends: Z-A's battle mechanics had me pulling my hair out over this move for the longest time, but once I found the sweet spot, I realized that Protect is one of the best moves in the game when used correctly.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Changes to Protect Take Some Getting Used To

Accessing the TM for Protect is fairly easy; all it requires is hitting rank 4 of Mable's Research in Pokemon Legends: Z-A. I hit this point within the first couple of hours of my playthrough and immediately taught the TM to each of my party members. I fully expected to use it in my first Z-A Royale promotion match, but when my attempts to use Protect to block Zach's Pikachu from dealing supereffective damage to my Totodile failed, I grew annoyed with the move and decided the game wanted me to prioritize offense over a defensive playstyle.

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How Protect Has Changed in Pokemon Legends: Z-A's

Type: Normal
Category: Status
Cooldown: 15
Effect: The user takes on a protective stance that prevents incoming attacks from landing.

Historically, Protect acted as a priority move in Pokemon's turn-based combat that allowed the user to negate all incoming damage from their opponent that turn. The downside of this move's effect was that it had a very high chance of failing if the player used it multiple times in a row. While Pokemon Legends: Z-A removes the clause for Protect to fail if used multiple times in a row, it has a pretty lengthy cooldown of 15 seconds to prevent players from spamming the move.

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Instead of guaranteed protection against damage that turn, Protect now offers the user a small window of invulnerability to prevent incoming attacks from dealing damage. This is where things got tricky for me; properly timing the use of Protect meant I had to pay attention to when the opponent's Pokemon would be attacking so that I could activate the move within that window of protection. Finding where this window lies and anticipating the opponent's attacks took a lot of getting used to, but I'm glad I ultimately stuck with it since I've found Protect to be invaluable in Pokemon Legends: Z-A's late game.

Detect is another move that offers protection against incoming attacks. However, fewer Pokemon can learn it, and the move has a shorter window of protection than Protect as well as a shorter cooldown.

With the Right Strategy, Protect Becomes a Must-Use Move in Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Managing the cooldown of Protect, along with the timing of its protection window, may have been frustrating for me at first. However, what I eventually realized is that keeping an eye on the opposing Pokemon for when the move that they are about to use is shown above their head is the key to success. Most Pokemon have a brief window between when that move is shown and when the move actually follows through, where activating Protect can block that move completely. With enough practice, I was able to find that sweet spot and have used Protect to bail my Pokemon out of some tough situations in both the main story and Pokemon Legends: Z-A's online ranked battles as well.

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