Pokemon fans use Mega Evolutions and French history to uncover Legends Z-A starters, and I’m sold

Some super effective guesswork

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The race to figure out whatPokemon Legends Z-Astarters we’re getting is on, and plenty of pros and long-time fans aren’t short ofthoughts.

2016 Pokemon World Champion Wolfey uses Z-A’sreturning mega-evolutionsto suss out which fire starter we’ll potentially get, landing on Incineroar. The pro believes thatThe Pokemon Company"probably" wants the starters to mega-evolve. Considering Charizard and Blaziken already do so and that Typhlosion was a starter in the last Legends game, Wolfey reckons “there’s a 1/5 chance we get Mega Incineroar.” I ain’t mad about that.

One of the more popular theories doing the rounds involves a trailer for Generation 9 DLC. You’ve got several shots that include Pokemon Legends Arceus starters Rowlet, Cyndaquil, and Oshawott. What’s caught the attention of some, though, is that each starter is accompanied by another generational starter who shares the same element. Rowlet is with Servine, Cyndaquil is joined by Torchic, and Oshawott can be seen with Piplup. One heck of a coincidence, but wait.

Hey uh…remember the trailer for the Gen IX DLC? Look at the Pokemon on the left in each image. Those are the starters from Legends.That might mean the ones on the right are the starters from Legends Z-A.(Yet another theory from /vp/) pic.twitter.com/Dfr4XfkAHGFebruary 28, 2024

As you’ll probably know by now, Pokemon Legends Arceus brings back several old starters that appear to tie into ahistoric Japanese theme, which is appropriate given the game’s older setting. Legends Z-A’s ties to a French-themed region lend the above theory some weight. As one fan pointsout, Servine’s final evolution Serperior has French nobility inspirations; Torchic eventually evolves into Blaziken, which is fun as France’s national animal is the rooster; and Piplup eventually evolves into Empoleon - we’ll let you figure that one out.

It remains to be seen who Pokemon Legends Z-A will cast as its starters and what theme they’ll serve, though we know enough to assume it won’t be the Generation 5 starters, despite the game’s location.

Starters are one of many things Pokemon fans have been left to speculate over, as we don’t know heaps about the upcoming game. Pokemon Legends Z-A is due to release next year, is limited to Lumiose City, and that’s just about it. We’ve gone through the trailer to make a start on what thePokemon Legends Z-A Pokedexmight look like, though expect plenty of information to come about all of that over the next year or so.

Another theory for the road? Pokemon Legends Z-A was hinted at in Arceus a full 2 years ago, and barely anyone noticed.

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Iain joins the GamesRadar team as Deputy News Editor following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When not helping Ali run the news team, he can be found digging into communities for stories – the sillier the better. When he isn’t pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new hat, you’ll find him amassing an army of Pokemon plushies.

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