Pokemon Legends Z-A has surprised fans with many changes, and among them, the combat system redesign that has caused a lot of controversy among lovers of the turn-based core mechanic. Be it as it may, some things never change: There are good Pokemon, and then there are subpar or bad Pokemon that are not fit for battle.
If you want to climb the A-Z Royale rankings without too many issues, make sure to avoid the worst Pokemon in Legends Z-A. Use this list as a reference to avoid wasting time and resources training subpar Pokemon that should only be obtained as a Pokedex entry, and not as part of a solid lineup to challenge Lumiose City's finest.
Vivillon (Scatterbug, Spewpa)
Pretty, But Only For Collectible Purposes
- Pros: Visually attractive, nice background decor
- Cons: Poor Stats, Poor Movepool, Squishy
Vivillon seems to have become the most popular bug-type Pokemon ever since Volcarona made its triumphant entrance in the Pokedex, though not precisely among fans of Pokemon battles. With absolutely zero competitive value and being one of the weakest Bug-types in the entire game, Vivillion makes no sense at all. Sure, it's pretty, and seeing it flocking around the flower-pot-ridden terraces of Lumiose City is a nice detail, but that's the end of it. Some might go even further, saying that the collection of all Vivilion patterns in each game is a must, but for sure many trainers will agree this would be the last thing they want to do (again) in a Pokemon game.
|
|
|
The worst part is that there's an entire Secondary Mission (Spewpa in the Museum) dedicated to this Pokemon family, and with powerhouses like Beedrill and Scizor coming back strong thanks to their Mega Evolution, having Vivillion in the Party is a waste of a team slot. If players need to consider a Bug-type option for their ensemble, then they should get themselves a Beedrill, since its powerful kit is absolutely broken, and greatly benefited by the changes in the Battle System.
Pidgey (Pidgeotto, Pidgeot, Mega Pidgeot)
Not Worth Training, Not Even With Its Mega Evolution
- Pros: Decent STAB Moves
- Cons: Constrained by Cooldown and Outperformed by other Flying-types
With the changes made in the Battle System, many Pokemon have been greatly benefited (especially physical attackers), since now their attacks can be spammed and chained, causing tons of damage in a brief window of time. But Pidgey and its evolutions seem to have gotten the shorter straw despite the meta. This family of Normal/Flying-type Pokemon learn moves like Air Slash, and Hurricane, which have lots of utility if you are looking for a Flying STAB Special Attacker. Sadly, its best moves: Brave Bird and Aerial Ace (learned with TM) are Physical, and Pidgeot is not a good Physical attacker.
|
|
|
|
But what happens with Mega Pidgeot? With 579 Base Stats, Mega Pidgeot loses the battle against superior Flying Megas (like Mega 
Skarmory, Mega Dragonite, and Mega Aerodactyl), and even despite that incredible stat boost, this is only temporary: when it turns back to Pidgeot, it's game over for this Gen 1 early bird. Plus, its best moves have considerable cooldown, and one would believe a fast Pokemon like Pidgeot should have a more balanced moveset. Even teaching it U-Turn is not enough to make it viable in the end game, even less in competitive.
Spritzee (Aromatize)
Nearly Useless, Only Good For Certain Support Builds
- Pros: Pure Fairy-type
- Cons: Poor Stats, No Good Moves, Squishy, Evolution is Subpar as well
Spritzee might sound like an attractive option as a pure Fairy-type Pokemon, but looking at its base stats, keen trainers will know it's not worth the trouble. Even worse, this is one of those Pokemon that requires players to get an item and trade with another trainer to evolve it. Getting the Sachet is not so hard (players can obtain it relatively easily by completing a Secondary Mission), but then evolving Spritzee into Aromatisse and hoping it will throw good results thanks to its meager stat increase, it's a fool's errand.
|
|
Aromatisse used to be a good Trick Room setter, thanks to its infamously low SpD, but now that the Combat System has 'evolved,' its utility in competitive is dubious at best. Worse yet: Duo Battles are not a thing in Pokemon Legends Z-A, so the only value Aromatisse has as a support has been completely deleted. And don't even try using it in Rogue Mega Battles (PvE): It's squishy as hell, and cannot hold up against anything that those beasts throw at it.
Litleo (Pyroar, Mega Pyroar)
One Of The Worst Mega Evolutions, In Both Stats And Design
- Pros: Easy to train and catch (somewhat decent early option)
- Cons: Useless in the endgame, Aims to be a Hybrid Attacker, but its stat distribution is horrible
Fans of Litleo have been over the moon with the inclusion of its Mega Evolution (Mega Pyroar) but sadly, there's more bad news coming to spoil their fun: Its overall stat increase when Mega Evolving is disappointing. With a +20 increase in all Base Stats except HP, Mega Pyroar excels at basically nothing, being a hybrid attacker but failing to overcome the utility barrier on both ends.
|
|
Work Up is a mandatory move for this Pokemon, since it increases both Atk and SpA, though alternating between moves like Crunch, Overheat, and Fire Fang might seem like a good option, it will ultimately reduce its SpA, which is its real forte. So, having tried many builds with Mega Pyroar in the endgame fails to convince those trainers looking for a decent Fire-type for their team, and with options like Mega Charizard X/Y, Mega Houndoom, and even Mega Camerupt, there's no point in wasting time on this Normal/Fire Pokemon. At the end of the day, Mega Pyroar's utility is as lackluster as its design.
Trubbish (Garbodor)
Not Worth The Trouble To Train This
- Pros: None
- Cons: Poor Moveset, Average Base Stats (even evolved)
With one of the poorest movepools of all Poison-type Pokemon, and looking literally like something coming out of a trash can, here comes Trubbish again. This Pokemon that evolves into Garbodor, has subpar stats that do not justify wasting precious time, resources, and the Trainer's patience in learning the right combination of moves to make it somewhat usable against other trainers. And this is only in PvE. With so many good options to get early in Lumiose, Trubbish is better left in the dark corners and alleys of the city, where it feels at peace.
|
|
In PvP, Trubbish (Garbodor) is as bad as it can be expected from a Pokemon whose base stats don't go over the bare minimum to be considered viable. What's worse, now that Pokemon do not have Abilities, the utility of Garbodor has greatly diminished. Its ability Aftermath was something that made it somewhat usable in competitive, and Stench was also another good pick, thanks to its probability to inflict Flinch. Now that these options are gone, so is this Pokemon's only combat advantage.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 79 /100 Critics Rec: 66%
- Released
- October 16, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak, Creatures Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
