The worst Pokemon in Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Pokemon Legends: Z-A has been out for a little while now, and players are starting to get involved in the game’s competitive scene. It looks much different than the turn-based combat of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet – namely, Speed isn’t as important in the real-time battle system, which means Pokemon like Metagross, Excadrill, and Gyarados all rule the game at the moment. Even so, there are plenty of Pokemon that just don’t make the cut. Winning with these Pokemon online would be a real challenge!

Delibird

Delibird was introduced in Pokemon Gold and Silver in 1999, over 25 years ago. And in those 25 years, Delibird has never once been good. It’s easy to see why, too: its base stats are absolutely abysmal. As mentioned earlier, Speed isn’t as important in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, which means Pokemon with high attacking stats and good defenses work best. Delibird has none of those – it has 45 in HP, Defense, and Special Defense, which means it’s generally going to be knocked out even by powerful moves that it resists. In fact, 45 in each defensive stat makes Delibird one of the most fragile final stage Pokemon of all time. To add to this, Delibird has 55 Attack and 65 Special Attack. If you’re not familiar with what stats count as good and what count as bad, you need an Attack or Special Attack stat of around 110 or more to be considered “good”. 55 and 65 are not even close to cutting it. Not only is Delibird going to be knocked out almost immediately, but it deals almost no damage to boot. If you could believe it, Delibird’s problems don’t even end there – its Ice/Flying typing leaves it quadruple weak to Rock as well as Steel, Fire, and Electric.

Carbink

Here’s a quick fun fact: Carbink is strictly a worse version of Diancie. In addition to having access to Diamond Storm, Diancie has the same stats as Carbink but with doubled Attack and Special Attack. Diancie isn’t available in Pokemon Legends: Z-A just yet, but that doesn’t mean you should use Carbink instead. Carbink has a crippling quadruple weakness to Steel, and if you’ve played any online ranked battles, you’ve probably noticed how many Metagross and Excadrill you see online. They always carry moves like Bullet Punch, Heavy Slam, and Iron Head, which will always knock out Carbink in one shot despite its base 150 Defense and Special Defense stats (which are really good). Indeed, even though its defenses are high, its typing also leaves it weak to Ground and Water – tons of Pokemon carry Earthquake as a coverage move, and being weak to Gyarados doesn’t help either. To add to this, Carbink has extremely low base 50 Attack and Special Attack stats, so it’s not doing much damage either. It does learn nice support moves like Reflect, Light Screen, and Spikes, but its damage output is too low and it’s far too vulnerable to top-tier Pokemon.

Aegislash

This one is just sad – Aegislash has been good ever since its introduction in Pokemon X and Y, but it didn’t translate well to Pokemon Legends: Z-A at all. In turn-based Pokemon games, Aegislash has the ability Stance Change. When it uses an attack, it transforms into its sword form. When it uses a status move, it changes back into shield form. In sword form, Aegislash has base 150 Attack and Special Attack stats, which means it has as much Attack as Groudon and as much Special Attack as Kyogre. In shield form, Aegislash has base 150 Defense and Special Defense. Unfortunately, Aegislash was nerfed in Pokemon Sword and Shield, so now it only has 140 in those stats instead of 150 – but that’s still a really high number. How did it wind up so bad? When you command Aegislash to attack in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, it has to transform into its sword mode. In turn-based games, this happens instantly…but in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, Aegislash is completely vulnerable to damage as it transforms. In sword form, Aegislash has paper-thin base 50 defenses, which means it is almost always knocked out as it transforms before it can even attack. If Aegislash is already in sword form and is switching to shield form to use King’s Shield, it’s still vulnerable for a long time before it protects itself with King’s Shield. Basically, if you’re using Aegislash, you’re giving your opponent a very long time to land free attacks.

Those are just the bottom three worst Pokemon in Pokemon Legends: Z-A – many others, like Mega Glalie, Mega Sableye, Tyranitar, Furfrou, Klefki, and Mega Absol, are worse off in this game because it doesn’t include abilities. Abilities make or break Pokemon in competitive play, which is why we’ve seen Pokemon like Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Salamence do so well in the past.

In any case, are there any Pokemon that you feel like aren’t doing so well on your team in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, and do you agree with our picks? Feel free to let us know in the comments down below.