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Pokémon Legends: Z-A Starters and Mega Evolutions: What the Leak Got Wrong

Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile are Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s official partners. The early starter rumor was unverified, while Mega Chesnaught, Delphox, and Greninja were officially confirmed.
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Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s official partner Pokémon are Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile—not the Kalos starters suggested by an early leak interpretation. The new forms confirmed for Chesnaught, Delphox, and Greninja are Mega Evolutions, not ordinary new stages for the game’s partner trio.

What are the Pokémon Legends: Z-A starters?

Nintendo names Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile as the Pokémon players can partner with. Their types are Grass, Fire, and Water, respectively.

Partner Pokémon Type
Chikorita Grass
Tepig Fire
Totodile Water

These are the game’s partner choices. They are distinct from Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie, the Kalos starter trio whose final forms later received confirmed Mega Evolutions.

Do the Pokémon Legends: Z-A starters get new evolutions?

The confirmed new forms associated with starters are Mega Chesnaught, Mega Delphox, and Mega Greninja. Those Pokémon are the final forms of the Kalos starter lines; they are not Chikorita, Tepig, or Totodile, and the announcement does not describe them as ordinary new evolutionary stages.

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Pokémon Legends: Z-A Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]
  • Your journey will take you to all manner of sights in the streets arrayed around Prism Tower, including shops, restaurants, and places called wild zones—where Pokémon roam free.
  • As you catch, train, and battle Pokémon, there will be plenty of people to meet too—like AZ, the enigmatic owner of Hotel Z.

The Pokémon Company said on September 12, 2025: “New Mega Evolutions—evolved forms that transcend standard Evolution—of these three Pokémon have now been discovered.” Its wording matters: Mega Evolution is a distinct transformation, not another standard stage added to a Pokémon’s evolution line. The company’s official news page carries its announcements and updates.

How to get the three Mega Stones

The Pokémon Company says the Mega Stones for Chesnaught, Delphox, and Greninja can be earned as promotion rewards in online Ranked Battles in the Z-A Battle Club. The announcement describes these as rewards for promotion, rather than stating that the stones are automatic starter gifts.

Rank #2
Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Mega Dimension DLC - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]
  • Venture into Hyperspace Lumiose in this additional story content that can be accessed after completing the main game
  • Work with the mysterious baker, Ansha, to make donuts that awaken the Mythical Pokémon Hoopa’s power and grant you and your Pokémon a variety of useful effects
  • Join Team MZ and the Mega Evolution Successor, Korrina, to investigate Hyperspace Lumiose, the otherworldly home to rare and hyper-strong Pokémon
  • Discover new Mega Evolutions such as Mega Raichu X, Mega Raichu Y, Mega Chimecho and Mega Baxcalibur
  • Claim Holo-X and Holo-Y in-game apparel items, which you can wear as soon as you are able to customize your character’s look and outfit in the main game

What did the Pokémon Legends: Z-A starter leak actually say?

On November 9, 2024, ComicBook.com reported an interpretation of a post by leaker Riddler Khu about leaked Pokémon World Championships key art. The outlet read the post as hinting at Chespin, Froakie, and Fennekin as the game’s starters, and speculated that the remark “something is different” might point to new forms or evolutions. The report also said that interpretation could not be validated. ComicBook.com’s report is evidence of what was rumored and how it was interpreted—not proof that the game’s partner choices or new forms had been leaked accurately.

Official information subsequently established a different partner trio and confirmed Mega forms for the final evolutions of the Kalos trio. So “leak reveals” overstates what that early report showed: it described an uncertain clue, not an authoritative announcement of the game’s starters or new ordinary evolutions.

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Rank #3
Pokemon Legends: Z-A (Nintendo Switch)
  • Live the life of a Pokémon Trainer in the streets of Lumiose City!
  • Lumiose City a home for people and Pokémon alike. Here, thanks to an urban redevelopment plan driven by Quasartico Inc., the lush greenery of verdant parks and natural vistas intermingles with facilities made using the latest cutting-edge technology. A lot has changed here since the days of the Pokémon X and Pokémon Y games!
  • Choose Chikorita, Tepig, or Totodile as your first partner Pokémon, and then set off on a grand adventure! Your journey will take you to all manner of sights in the streets arrayed around Prism Tower, including shops, restaurants, and places called wild zones where Pokémon roam free. As you catch, train, and battle Pokémon, there will be plenty of people to meet too like AZ, the enigmatic owner of Hotel Z.
  • Catch, battle, and Mega Evolve all in real time!
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Are Mega Chesnaught, Mega Delphox, and Mega Greninja the game’s starters?

No. The three Mega Pokémon belong to the Kalos starter lines, while Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile are the partner choices in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. They are two different trios with different roles in the game’s announcements. Calling the Mega trio the game’s starters—or saying the confirmed Mega forms are new evolutions for its partner Pokémon—mixes them up.

Game release and upcoming physical bundle

Pokémon Legends: Z-A released worldwide on October 16, 2025, for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. The Pokémon Company describes it as a real-time battle RPG set in Lumiose City.

The company has scheduled a physical Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Mega Dimension bundle for October 29, 2026. The announced game card includes the game and DLC on one card; the DLC story requires completion of the main game’s story. The date is a scheduled future release, not confirmation that the bundle is already available.

Quick Recap

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Pokemon Legends: Z-A (Nintendo Switch)
Pokemon Legends: Z-A (Nintendo Switch)
Live the life of a Pokémon Trainer in the streets of Lumiose City!; Catch, battle, and Mega Evolve all in real time!
$57.10

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