Who is your starter Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: ZA? Wait, wait, let me guess: is it Totodile?
Chances are I was right, at least based on a survey we conducted yesterday about the ZA launch. Our poll has been running for 22 hours and has received over 11,000 votes from IGN readers, and shows that of the three Pokémon ZA starters, over half of the IGN audience chooses Totodile over Tepig or Chikorita.
At the time of writing, Water-type Totodile had 56% of the votes, 24% chose Grass-type Chikorita, and only 20%, or one-fifth of our readers, chose Fire-type Tepig – and we agree with the winner: Totodile is the best choice in terms of stats, with some caveats, which we discuss in our Pokemon Legends: ZA Beginner’s Guide. Update: at 32k votes Totodile remains locked at 56%, Chikorita at 25.3% and Tepig at a moderate 18.7%.
This may not come as a shock to anyone, however, as Totodile has long been a fan favorite. Just look at the bitten boy! Chikorita and Tepig have historically been less liked, and Tepig in particular is the outlier in this trio, as both Totodile and Chikorita are from Johto, while Tepig was a starter in Pokémon Black, White, Black 2, and White 2.
That said, while I personally chose Chikorita (I chose Totodile both times in Generation 2 and wanted a change), I must say that Tepig has by far the best final Mega Evolution of the three. All members of this trio get modern Mega Evolutions in ZA, and while I won’t spoil them here, Meganium was rather underwhelming and Feraligatr just looks weird. However, emboar? It looks amazing.
But don’t think about it too much. All three starters are completely viable throughout ZA’s campaign, and it’s very straightforward to catch all three Pokémon in your PokeDex when you hit the endgame, so you don’t miss out.
If you’re still on the fence, you can learn more about starter Pokémon and their evolutions in our Wiki guide. Then check out our ongoing Pokémon Legends: ZA guide, as well as our Side Missions List to make sure you don’t miss anything. We also have the Pokémon Legends: ZA Pokedex and, most importantly, a guide to all the clothing stores and clothes in Pokémon Legends: ZA, so you can catch them all in style. And my review of Pokémon Legends: ZA is already underway if you want to check out my impressions of the first 24 hours, with the full review coming next week.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Her posts can be found on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Have a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
