• Check out the relaunch of our general collection, with classic designs and new ones by our very own Pissog!

Pokémon Legends: Z-A General Discussion

I find Ampharos not getting Draco Meteor the most baffling. The reason its Mega becomes Dragon-type is because of a pun in its name in Japanese (the "ryu" in Denryu) and Draco Meteor's entire conceit is based on basically the same pun. They've handed out moves for far more esoteric reasons.
 
R_N said:
20251031194922-01-K8-YAS1-QMBJXDPBF2-XBFSCDYV.jpg


Just. The deepest sigh. It's the 100 point deficit that really sells it, you know?
Click to expand...

If it helps, here's a video which maybe the fastest way to rack up battles:
 
So you know I see it here & there, but I can't say I fully understand the idea of the Z-A dex being like...super limiting? I suppose it could have definitely been bigger (I think Lumiose could comfortably hold like 250 before it starts feeling over crowded) but I dunno it never felt stifling. Decent spread of Pokemon, typings. Availability on most of the dex isn't terrible outside of a few exceptions. Wild Zones had repeats, but not as often as you'd think (heped by shaking up how yo uencounter them and alphas). Trainers carry a pretty wide variety all over the dex, especially as you go along.

But sometimes the way people talk about it you'd think this was Diamond & Pearl. Tiny dex and you just really felt it across the types, the routes, and the stuff trainers used. Just don't get the same vibe
Pikachu315111 said:
If it helps, here's a video which maybe the fastest way to rack up battles:
Click to expand...
Yeahhhhhhh I dont want to do a set up that runs for eight hours. It was bad with Melee mewtwo, it's bad here. I don't want the Shiny Charm that bad. All the other tasks were pretty passive and kind of fun. I'll even probably hunt down those last 13 (!) screws.

I'm just going to hold out for the DLC and see where that takes me. Once I finish out the Royales (which itself is honestly far too grindy for what it is, but it's at least more varied) I'll probably be near 500 and the DLC will probably cap that out. Maybe there'll be some extra tasks that count towards the shiny charm, maybe there'll be some new (fun) mode that counts more. Maybe there'll be an update!
 
Karxrida said:
I find Ampharos not getting Draco Meteor the most baffling. The reason its Mega becomes Dragon-type is because of a pun in its name in Japanese (the "ryu" in Denryu) and Draco Meteor's entire conceit is based on basically the same pun. They've handed out moves for far more esoteric reasons.
Click to expand...
To this day Draco Meteor is only learned by Dragons (and Mew because Mew), Ampharos in its base form (the form that would learn the move) is not a Dragon. Would rather they not ruin the tradition of a move that has existed for almost two decades now as little flavors like this make the pokemon world more colorful.
 
pharaohcalvin said:
Would rather they not ruin the tradition of a move that has existed for almost two decades now as little flavors like this make the pokemon world more colorful.
Click to expand...
Hey remember how Ice-types used to be completely barred from learning Scald? And then it was given to Crabominable because the animal it was based on gave a reason to supersede that rule?

I find the existence of small non-Mew exceptions even more colorful than none at all.
 
Karxrida said:
Hey remember how Ice-types used to be completely barred from learning Scald? And then it was given to Crabominable because the animal it was based on gave a reason to supersede that rule?

I find the existence of small non-Mew exceptions even more colorful than none at all.
Click to expand...
You're not wrong but Draco Meteor is clearly being put on a pedestal alongside the Elemental Hyper Beams (starters + Mew) and the later similarly-created-as-part-of-a-contest Steel Beam (Steels + Mew/Arceus/Silvally) & Pledges (Starters + Mew* again and in gen 7 the Monkeys**)

That said, I do broadly agree that if they're already bending the page for Arceus & Silvally (they originally only learned it WHILE Dragon type, but since you can just...swap the types...they eventually just simplified it) you may as well do it for at the dragon megas.


*Silvally was, for some reason, also going to get the Pledges but they did a coding error so it only got Grass Pledge. Got nothing for that one.
**imo if you're going to give them the starter abilities and the starter pledges you may as well give them the hyper beams
 
R_N said:
That said, I do broadly agree that if they're already bending the page for Arceus & Silvally (they originally only learned it WHILE Dragon type, but since you can just...swap the types...they eventually just simplified it) you may as well do it for at the dragon megas.
Click to expand...

I say if a Pokemon can also learn Dragon Pulse they may as well get Draco Meteor. That'll not only include the Dragon Megas but also a lot of Pokemon that are in the Dragon Egg Group. There's quite a few "Oddities", but I think most can be handwaved as such:

* Reptile: Squirtle family, Lapras, Feraligatr, Groudon, Heatran(?), Krookodile, Terapagos
* Serpent: Onix family, Serperior, Eelektross(?), Runerigus (or rather depicts one... apparently it counts)
* Dinosaur/Pterosaur: Aerodactyl, Tyranitar, Tropius, Cranidos family, Archen family,
* Mythic/Dragon Connection: Arcanine (normal & Hisuian)(based on Shisa which are somewhat dragonic), Lugia (based on Ryujin & possibly wyverns), Necrozma (original form is a dragon), Poipole (evo is a dragon), Iron Jugulis (based on a Dragon-type)
* Hulking Beasts(?): Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Rhyhorn family, Aggron
* Pulse Users: Lucario, Clauncher family, Armarouge; (Okay, so they have no reason to get Draco Meteor, they're more the exceptions that proves the rule)
* Mew: Mew
 
Pikachu315111 said:
If it helps, here's a video which maybe the fastest way to rack up battles:
Click to expand...
I think the infinite royale is actually much faster than doing the battle cafes. you can get 50-100 battles per night and its not nearly as mind numbing.
Karxrida said:
I find Ampharos not getting Draco Meteor the most baffling. The reason its Mega becomes Dragon-type is because of a pun in its name in Japanese (the "ryu" in Denryu) and Draco Meteor's entire conceit is based on basically the same pun. They've handed out moves for far more esoteric reasons.
Click to expand...
at the very least now that we know they can do it with core enforcer, just turn dragon pulse or dragon breath or whatever into draco meteor when the pokemon evolves

both ampharos and sceptile would really really like to have draco meteor, lol
hell I think even charizard x would like to have it as an option considering it has 130 special attack
 
R_N said:
So you know I see it here & there, but I can't say I fully understand the idea of the Z-A dex being like...super limiting?
Click to expand...

More than the amount of available Pokémon, I'm a bit bothered by the variety.

Did we really need Roserade to take three spots when we already have six Grass/Poison? Ariados when we have Beedrill and Scolipede? Garbodor and Arbok when the Pokédex feels like it has already as many poison options as RBY?
 
I was admittedly concerned about the Pokédex size before the game came out, but in practice I think it works out just fine - I never felt the game being constrained by a lack of variety in any category. Maybe one more line of each type could have padded out things a bit, but I don’t think that’s necessary at all.

(edit: This said, I think that if the game is lacking in any category, it's post gen-6 'mons. Just having Falinks and Drampa for their megas, and a few regional variants, feels a bit artificial to me, for lack of better phrasing - I think adding Turtonator as another Fire and Dragon option, for example, could have been a good call and a nice way to pad out some of the later Wild Zones. But again, far from necessary as it stands, and the DLC is going to patch this perceived hole no matter what.)

Vinc2612 said:
Did we really need Roserade to take three spots when we already have six Grass/Poison? Ariados when we have Beedrill and Scolipede? Garbodor and Arbok when the Pokédex feels like it has already as many poison options as RBY?
Click to expand...

As for these three: I think they’re all just aesthetic choices? The Budew line visually complements Flabebe as flowers, Spinarak and Ariados are great visual setpieces who already have association with the nighttime, and the trash Pokemon in a city speak for themselves. Most players are likely only going to be using Megas (or a handful of non-Megas, but they’re unlikely to comprise the majority of teams), so GF likely had more flexibility to choose on aesthetic grounds rather than for the sake of type balance.
 
Last edited:
Honestly the only Pokemon I take umbridge being here is Delibird

It's not even really used for flavor, only one quest has it as a delivery mon for the delivery characters.
 
Pikachu315111 said:
I say if a Pokemon can also learn Dragon Pulse they may as well get Draco Meteor. That'll not only include the Dragon Megas but also a lot of Pokemon that are in the Dragon Egg Group. There's quite a few "Oddities", but I think most can be handwaved as such:

* Reptile: Squirtle family, Lapras, Feraligatr, Groudon, Heatran(?), Krookodile, Terapagos
* Serpent: Onix family, Serperior, Eelektross(?), Runerigus (or rather depicts one... apparently it counts)
* Dinosaur/Pterosaur: Aerodactyl, Tyranitar, Tropius, Cranidos family, Archen family,
* Mythic/Dragon Connection: Arcanine (normal & Hisuian)(based on Shisa which are somewhat dragonic), Lugia (based on Ryujin & possibly wyverns), Necrozma (original form is a dragon), Poipole (evo is a dragon), Iron Jugulis (based on a Dragon-type)
* Hulking Beasts(?): Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Rhyhorn family, Aggron
* Pulse Users: Lucario, Clauncher family, Armarouge; (Okay, so they have no reason to get Draco Meteor, they're more the exceptions that proves the rule)
* Mew: Mew
Click to expand...
Squirtle line should be under Pulse users.
 
AztecCroc said:
The Squirtle line only got it from Gen 6 (specifically ORAS) on, it only gets Dragon Pulse because of Mega Blastoise not because it's a reptile.
Click to expand...

But remember what we're talking about: expanding Draco Meteor beyond strictly Dragon-types (especially to those who get the Dragon-type upon Mega Evolving). I suggested, if GF still wants to stick to there being some kind of requirement, that if the Pokemon has Dragon Pulse it can get Draco Meteor (as it's the most powerful "general" Dragon-type Special Move). Dragon Pulse is a bit looser on who gets it as long as it has a "general" parallel connection to dragons: reptiles, serpents, dinos, & similar mythical creatures. This is where we move from who gets Dragon Pulse to justifying them getting Draco Meteor. It doesn't matter if Blastoise was given Dragon Pulse in Gen 6 because it('s Mega) became a Pulse user, what's important for this discussion is that it gets it now & it just so happens to also be a reptile. From a glance it would fall in with the likes of Lapras & Feraligatr than Lucario & Clauncher on who would logically be able to summon fireballs of dragon energy to rain down from the sky.
 
So post game has all the evolution stones added to Stone Emporium (Even the moon & sun stones!!) and Racine adds a pair of dudes to buy just about every single battle item including Metal Coat & King's Rock...is there anywhere that happens to sell the Sachet & Whipped Dream? As far as these items go they were "generous" enough to get you two for free, but it does feel a bit off to just have to grind royales for a shot at them otherwise. I felt similarly about SV where the bulk of things were either sold freely or super common to find in glowy spots but then a handful of other things were much more limited until you stated Item Printing.

It also feels like there should be a way to get more Galarica items. Like as it is right now, it's whatever since you have one Slowpoke available to you but...I dunno does feel weird to eventually have a situation where you'll be able to bring in Galarian Slowpoke and now its just uhhhh. Stuck like that until either the DLC adds a way to get more (hypothetical) or until Slowpoke returns in Gen 10.
 
Alright finished up the Infinite Royale.
Thought 1: Truly this is just too many. I think...conceptually, I get it. They want to "make up" for the 15 ranks you skipped earlier in the story.
I also feel like they want the final resolution with Taunie & getting Eternal Floette to maybe be this...secret thing? Something you don't necessarily know will happen, a little surprise for someone who keeps doing the Royales.
There's also something to be said about the whole "story at the start, story at the end" thing probably. Zygarde's full quest line unlocks after beating Zach again, then the end is back where it originated. Taunie the first trainer you met and Floette who can stand in for either AZ or Ange.

unfortunately this is just really boring. I do maintain there's enough there to keep it fresher than grinding out battles for the challenge but...15 is so many! It also feels kind of weird. You're going to earn so many levels, you'll quickly outpace everyone even if you didn't get the charms (which, to be clear, I did in the post game since there wasn't much left).

I think this whole sequence would be way better if you kept getting little "things" throughout. Arbitrary sure, but I think you could spread out Lysandre, Yveltal, Xerneas & Zygarde & Taunie a bit throughout and also maybe have, like, other little character/story beats? I guess that would have needed more writing for them, but it'd have been nice. Or you could space out the post game sidequests? Jsut something so you have an incentive beyond just the Eternal Floette

Thought 2: This was a very abrupt resolution to Taunie's whole family drama. Actually I can't even call it drama. Jett is barely a character in the game and Taunie keeps a lid on her stuff and then it just "hey Jett is your grandma, who worked for team flare on all the holo stuff and burnt out so bad she went away and died. Anyway you'r the CEO now. Also Emma is here, so you can't say she's useless."
Also her mom had regrets towards the end of her life and wished Taunie could find her grandma to pass on a message and its like. Dang girl maybe you could have...like...told her that her name was Jett? Would have really expedited this process.

Damn maybe if we could have like...had a chance to really open with up with Taunie, and Jett, over a several hour period where there's nothing else going on.................................

I also remembered to pick up the post-game Lucario
and, AZ's final message sure has a bunch of things I wish he had talked about. Meeting with Korrina, presumably as part of expediting this whole business. He met Xerneas & Yveltal on his travels, huh? Damn bro would've been cool to learn what that was like, instead of Xerneas & Yveltal just being drawn in. Witnessing the Darkest Day is pretty interesting too since it would've happened likely shortly after his business with the Ultimate Weapon. Honestly I assumed he was so busy with his own stuff he wouldn't have seen it.

Z-A's a pretty good game over all, despite my quibbling, and I quite like its characters and story beats but also god. There are so many little things it could have done but didn't on both those front. Maddening.

Anyway all about done with the game. I'll just find those last few screws.
 
Just learned to get quest 119 i have to do 20 royales

this one i have only to blame on myself, because obviously i have to get the jacinthe quest.
 
Am I the only one that notices the typeface used in the UI of Legends: Z-A and Arknights are the same?

Arknights and Pokémon have a lot more in common than you think.
 
R_N said:
*Silvally was, for some reason, also going to get the Pledges but they did a coding error so it only got Grass Pledge. Got nothing for that one.
Click to expand...
Silvally is effectively a starter in terms of how the Alola games use it. Gladion's the jerk rival while Hau's the friendly rival, and Silvally is how Gladion gets a mon with a type advantage over the player's starter. It's got as much claim as the monkeys.
 
While I was meandering around trying to find a bench (does it always feel like when you want a bench they're half way across the city lol), ran across this dialog
"Ooh, that pesky Galarian...Was he avenging his ancestors or what?"

I feel like I'm blanking here, who is this meant to be referring to? First thought was the twins, since they also had a social following, but avenging isn't..quite..how I would describe their behavior in the post game. It's also singular and I dunno if you'd bother singling out one brother over the other. So is it meant to be Rose? not quite how I would describe the darkest day in that regard. "Pesky" is also a bit, of an understatement.

--

Anyway getting through the last 5 ranks of royale to get 119 wasn't too bad. And it was worth it. Jacinthe............thank you. Such an honor.
Funnily enough even after those extra ranks I still did not reach 500 trainer victories

Otherwise good with walking away from the game. 52 hours by the end! I'll come back for Delphox & Chesnaught since it'll be done in a fraction of the time than Greninja.


I will say, though. That...I think I might have to build a second team for the DLC. I don't usually do that but, well, buying all the canari plush and then having to run through the Royale 15 times (much less the Jacinthe victory laps) all addedu p to everyone in their 90s. Bois is almost level 100. I don't think the DLC would be hard and Id probably still be overleveled for it but...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top