The best Pokemon in Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Season 3 Ranked Battles

A while back, we wrote a guide on the best Pokemon to use in ranked battles online in Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s second season. Garchomp, Xerneas, and Metagross were all centralizing threats, but now Pokemon has thrown a wrench into the metagame by allowing Zygarde in Season 3’s ranked battles. Theoretically, that means you’ll be seeing a whole lot of Zygarde in high-ranked matches. So if you want to win in Season 3 ranked, a Zygarde counter is an absolute necessity – and while all of Zygarde’s counters crumple in the face of its Complete Form, they can cause it a great deal of trouble before it transforms. There are spoilers afoot in the full guide, so keep that in mind before you continue. On that note, entering ranked battles in general will also spoil you on the same thing, so keep that in mind as well.

Here’s the optimal way to use Zygarde in Pokemon Legends: Z-A ranked matches: run away from the competition and spam Substitute to whittle down Zygarde’s health to transform into Complete Form, and then Mega Evolve into Mega Zygarde. From there, the you can simply spam Nihil Light until everything else is dead. Mega Zygarde has a gargantuan base 216 HP and 216 Special Attack, which means it’s extremely bulky and will often survive a 4x effective Ice-type move, plus it deals insane damage that even decimates Pokemon who resist Dragon-type moves. Other than its crazy stats, Mega Zygarde’s biggest strength is Nihil Light – its signature move, and Core Enforcer actually turns into Nihil Light when it Mega Evolves. This move is 200 base power, which means it’s stronger than most Z-Moves at no cost to the user. Nihil Light can be used multiple times per Mega Evolution, ignores opponents’ stat changes, and strikes Fairy-type Pokemon for neutral damage even though they’re normally immune to Dragon-type moves. There is little to no counterplay to this move whatsoever – Steel-type Pokemon resist it, but many of them have low Special Defense and are still knocked out by the move at full health. What results is the most disproportionately overpowered Pokemon not just in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, but in Pokemon games in general. That is, if it’s allowed to transform and Mega Evolve.

Zygarde usually runs Core Enforcer, Extreme Speed, Earth Power, and Substitute. Mega Zygarde’s biggest (and only) weakness is that it needs to lower its health to transform into Complete Form, and only then can it Mega Evolve. The easiest way to do this is actually with Zygarde’s 10% form, which has a much higher Speed stat than the 50% form. That means its moves will recharge much faster, which lets it use Substitute quicker. From there, you can transform into Complete Form, Mega Evolve, and then spam Nihil Light over and over again. If any opponents happen to survive, use Extreme Speed to pick them off. This works just fine even if you’re running a Modest nature and 252 Special Attack EVs, and no Attack investment.

As strong as Zygarde is when it Mega Evolves, it’s often difficult to get it there. Xerneas is still very common online, and it has no trouble dispatching Zygarde in its 10% or 50% form before it Mega Evolves. If you see a Zygarde on the field, prioritize chasing it down and defeating it before it can power up. Unfortunately, this means the optimal way to play Zygarde is simply to run away from everything and refuse to engage with opponents until you’ve filled up your Mega Gauge. We’d highly recommend bringing an Ice-type Pokemon (or just Xerneas) to counter opposing Zygarde. The premier options are Vanilluxe and especially Glaceon, and you should chase down opposing Zygarde and attack with Ice-type moves over and over again, preventing them from Mega Evolving. This means you’ll need to be extremely aggressive about chasing Zygarde – as soon as they respawn, you need to get over there and KO it again before it’s given the chance to Mega Evolve. As long as you’re aggressively chasing Zygarde and KOing it before it transforms, you should have a much easier time securing a win. And while you have Glaceon or Vanilluxe out, you can gather Mega Energy on the field so that your gauge is full by the time you send out your own Zygarde.

Vanilluxe and Glaceon each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Vanilluxe is slightly bulkier on the special side, has a higher Speed stat, and has access to Light Screen and then Flash Cannon for other Ice-types. Glaceon is bulkier on the physical side and is slightly stronger. Vanilluxe can pick between Freeze-Dry, Ice Beam, Light Screen, Acid Armor, and Flash Cannon, whereas Glaceon usually runs Freeze-Dry, Ice Beam, Ice Shard, and Calm Mind. Do keep in mind that Calm Mind’s Special Defense boost is nullified if Mega Zygarde hits you with Nihil Light – even though Glaceon and Vanilluxe are supposed to be counters, they only function as such before Zygarde Mega Evolves. Nihil Light will still one-shot them most likely – once Zygarde Mega Evolves, it loses all of its true counters, but it is at least vulnerable for a moment after firing off Nihil Light (assuming any of its opponents are still alive afterward). So bring a Glaceon or Vanilluxe and make sure to hunt down any Zygarde you see before they get a chance to power up. No matter if you’re running Vanilluxe or Glaceon, you will want to use either a Focus Sash or a Never-Melt-Ice as your held item. Focus Sash guarantees they live a hit, but Never-Melt-Ice might guarantee that an Ice Beam one-shots Zygarde before it Mega Evolves.

As for other Pokemon, Assault Vest Metagross is now a bit more popular than its Mega Evolved form. Mega Evolutions other than Zygarde are still viable, but you might want to make sure it’s not one that’s weak to Ice, Steel, or Ground-type moves, as those are the most common attacks in the game right now. Garchomp is still a great Pokemon who doesn’t need to Mega Evolve to put work in, and of course Xerneas nearly guarantees that you’re able to dispatch Zygarde before it can cause any damage. Dragonite, Gyarados, and Excadrill remain solid Pokemon as well. Remember to switch your Pokemon any time an opponent with a type advantage comes your way, and you should be able to earn plenty of ranked points this way.

To be honest, allowing Mega Zygarde in this format isn’t the greatest idea – it’s centralizing, but not necessarily broken. If it’s allowed to power up, Nihil Light can annihilate everyone on the field at once. On the other hand, smart players can knock out Zygarde before it turns into Complete Form, rendering it nearly useless because its Special Attack is rather poor in its 10% and 50% forms (and it needs to run special attacks for the Mega Evolution). If you’ve got any other Pokemon you’ve used during Season 3 and found to be successful, feel free to share in the comments down below!