Thonky.com's Pokémon Legends: Z-A Walkthrough

After you escape to Hotel Z and get a good night's rest, it's time to explore the city.

A New Life in Lumiose City

Exit your hotel room, then check on the elevator and go to 1F (Lobby). You'll get the Z-A Royale app on your Rotom Phone, and you'll get a Team MZ jacket and satchel. An explanation of the Z-A Royale App will appear on screen. You can review this any time by pressing X to open the Main Menu, then press L to open Help & Settings.

Urbain/Taunie will demonstrate how to roll. Then you'll meet Lida.

After the cutscene, you learn how to dash: press B once to start dashing. You don't need to keep holding the B button. You'll keep dashing until you stop moving. Then you learn how to roll: press Y. Do this to avoid a Pokémon attack that is aimed at you.

When you're ready, exit the hotel and talk to Urbain/Taunie. If you're ready for a battle, say "You're on!"

Urbain/Taunie of Team MZ has a level 5 starter Pokémon that is weak to your starter (Chikorita if you picked Tepig, Tepig if you picked Totodile, or Totodile if you picked Chikorita). When you defeat it, there will be an explanation of Pokémon type matchups. Then you will battle a level 5 starter Pokémon that is strong against your starter (Chikorita if you picked Totodile, Tepig if you picked Chikorita, or Totodile if you picked Tepig). You get 280 Pokédollars for winning.

You now have access to the Map app. Press + to view it. When you're viewing the map, you can press X to open the mission list, then press L and R to check mission details.

The map will automatically open. Your next destination has an exclamation mark with a small flag on the map. Close the map and you will see the exclamation mark and flag in the minimap in the corner of the screen, and when you move the camera, you can also see the exclamation mark and flag.

Go straight ahead and approach Urbain/Taunie. Afterward, go straight ahead, and check on the ladder to climb it. Then continue going straight ahead.

Go straight ahead, then go toward the exclamation mark and flag to enter the Pokémon Center. Talk to the lady at the counter and say you're ready to install the Pokédex App. You'll automatically send out your Pokémon and it will be registered in the Pokédex App.

Now go straight ahead to the exclamation mark on the map, but before you get there, look to the left and right to find some glowing red things. These are a Potion, a Poké Ball, and an Antidote. Then talk to Urbain/Taunie.

After the cutscene, approach the door and it will display the recommended level to enter the Wild Zone. If you're ready, press A to go in.

How to Catch Wild Pokémon

When you see a wild Pokémon, hold ZL to target it, then press and hold ZR to aim a Poké Ball. Let go of ZR when you're ready to throw. Or if you want to cancel your throw, press B.

Urbain/Taunie gives you 10 Poké Balls.

Whenever you target a Pokémon, the ^ symbols next to it will show you how easy or difficult it will be to catch, with more ^ meaning it's easier to catch, and fewer ^ meaning it's harder to catch.

Try to catch Fletchling, and it won't work the first time, but try it again and it will work the second time.

Next, after the cutscene and the explanations, approach the Bunnelby, then you can press left or right on the directional pad to choose a Pokémon, then press up on the directional pad to send the selected Pokémon out. Have your Pokémon battle the Bunnelby until you reduce its HP to 0, and then throw a Poké Ball.

Urbain/Taunie will explain how to crouch, which makes it harder for wild Pokémon to see you. Press the left control stick like a button and you will crouch. It is especially helpful to crouch behind objects or in tall grass.

Urbain/Taunie gives you 10 more Poké Balls.

Now your goal is to register at least two more types of Pokémon in your Pokédex. Feel free to register more than that if you wish. If you have more than six Pokémon, you can press X to view your Boxes in the Main Menu and change which Pokémon are in your party.

In Wild Zone 1, you can find Scatterbug, Caterpie, and Mareep. Wander around in the Wild Zone to find these Pokémon and try to catch them. Remember to weaken them first if they are too hard to catch.

Talk to the people with a different color speech bubble to receive items. The person near Urbain/Taunie gives you 5 Potions. Be sure to pick up the Potion near the food cart, and the Potion north of the center of the Wild Zone. Be on the lookout for sparkles in the Wild Zone. These give you random items. West of the center of the Wild Zone, there is a person at a vendor stall who will give you a free Lumiose Galette. West of that, there is a Paralyze Heal.

When you're ready to continue, go out through the west exit of the Wild Zone. Approach the destination. Before you go into the lab, go west to find a Super Potion near the tree. Then go into the Pokémon Research Lab.

Pokémon Research Lab

Enter the elevator and choose 3F. Go around the partition and talk to the person. There will be a cutscene and you will meet Mable. Mable gives you research requests and will reward you for your progress.

Press X to open the main menu, then press X to get your first reward: Rock Smash. You can press L and R to switch between Mable's rewards and Mable's requests.

At this point Link Play is added to the Main Menu. You can participate in Ranked Battles and Private Battles, you can perform Link Trades with nearby or faraway players (you need to enter a Link Code to perform these trades), you can get Mystery Gifts, and you can choose a title to be displayed when you play against other players. You can view the list of available titles and the requirements for unlocking each one. You can also press + to check the latest news for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which can include Mystery Gift distributions and Ranked Battle seasons in which you can earn special rewards.

Whenever you check the News in the Link Battles menu, the Mystery Gift menu will be updated if there are any new gifts available, so be sure to check the News from time to time.

Go Outside

When you're ready, use the elevator to go to 1F, then go outside. There will be a cutscene and you'll get a Striped Trilby. If you're in the Main Menu, you can press - to change your outfit and looks. (Note that if you press - outside of the Main Menu, you will switch to the camera instead, and instructions will appear, teaching you how to take photos.)

Urbain/Taunie tells you to use the Rock Smash TM to teach the move to your Bunnelby. (You can use TMs as many times as you wish; they don't disappear.) So press X to open the menu, press right on the directional pad to go to the list of your Pokémon, and put the cursor on Bunnelby. Then press ZR to view the Pokémon, and press ZR to switch to Available TMs. Then choose the Rock Smash TM, then choose an empty slot in their move set to teach Bunnelby the move.

Exit the menu, put the cursor on Bunnelby and press up on the directional pad to send it out. Then go over to the pile of rocks, target it with ZL, and press the Rock Smash button to have Bunnelby get rid of the rocks. Pick up the Revive that was underneath the rocks.

There is an area of Wild Zone 1 that you can now reach by breaking the rocks in the way. In that area, climb the ladder, and if you walk toward the upper part of the roof, you automatically climb up, but beware of a Pidgey in this area. You can catch it if you wish. On the far end of the roof, there is a Pearl.

Don't jump down to where you can see a Pichu. Instead, go back to the ladder and climb down, then go east until you can go north. Go through the north exit of the area, then go west and pick up the Potion on the left that is on top of the bins. Then keep going west until you find another entrance to Wild Zone 1 on the left. Go in and crouch, then get in the grass, and when Pichu's back is turned, throw a Pokéball (it will run away if you send a Pokémon to fight it). Afterward, be sure to get the Potion in the southwest corner of this area.

Return to the Hotel

When you're ready to move on, go to the fenced-in area just north of Wild Zone 1 and use Rock Smash on the rocks here. There is an item just north of the fenced-in area, and you can also reach a ladder at the northeast corner of the fenced-in area after you use Rock Smash. When you climb up the ladder, you can find a Flabébé on the rooftop, and if you go south, you can find an Abra, as well as some items, including a Full Heal. There is a ladder on the north wall that leads to a courtyard with a Great Ball in it.

Get back on the roof and go north to the small courtyard west of the hotel to find a Kakuna and some Bunnelbys.

Then climb back up on the roof and use the ladders to go back to the fenced-in area. From there, go south into Wild Zone 1, then use the east exit to leave Wild Zone 1, and from there, go north, use Rock Smash on the rocks, and keep going north to reach the hotel. You'll be assigned your next Promotion Match, against trainer Zach. Before you can do the Promotion Match, you have to earn ticket points by defeating other trainers in Battle Zones at night.

This begins Main Mission 04: Battling in the Z-A Royale.