17 November 2025

The Worst Gen 6 Starter is Actually a Secret Weapon in Pokemon Legends: Z-A

By newsgame

Pokemon Legends: Z-A has been out for a month now, with its Mega Dimension DLC dropping in just three weeks. Although the game includes 26 new Mega Evolutions in total, only a few can be obtained and used early, with the earliest being Mega Absol and the chosen starter. Most new Mega Evolutions in Pokemon Legends: Z-A are locked behind story progression, post-game content, or farming a lot of money and Mega Shards, essentially being time-gated. This is especially true for the Gen 6 starters’ Mega Evolutions, as they were put on hold as online play rewards one at a time, with Greninjite in Season 1, Delphoxite in Season 2, and Chesnaughtite in Season 3.

This is particularly bad for Delphox and Chesnaught, as Mega Greninja became available on launch, whereas Mega Delphox debuted 10 days ago, and Mega Chesnaught is not coming for another couple of weeks. Considering that it was arguably the worst Gen 6 starter Pokemon when the games first came out, it may be surprising to hear that Mega Chesnaught in Pokemon Legends: Z-A is actually a secret weapon to wield in battles. There are several reasons for this:

Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Xerneas is dominating online battles alongside Charizard, Delphox, Garchomp, Gyarados, Metagross, and other critters. Mega Chesnaught has incredible defensive stats to take hits from Xerneas very well, while also boosting itself further with moves like Iron Defense and Swords Dance.
Mega Chesnaught has a whopping 137 Attack, 172 Defense, and 115 Sp. Defense, meaning it can be a walking bulwark that still deals a lot of damage. Despite its weaknesses to Fire and Fairy, Chesnaught has access to incredible coverage moves, like:
- Rock Slide – can 1-hit-KO Charizard and Mega Charizard Y
- Earthquake – great vs. Steel-type Pokemon like Metagross and Excadrill, and Fire-types as well
- Dig – amazing tool against Steel and Fire mons, but also as a gap closer
- Poison Jab/Iron Head – potentially lethal against Xerneas, with high EVs and IVs in Attack
- Wood Hammer/Close Combat – STAB moves with 120 base power
- Dragon Claw – good to counter Dragon-type Pokemon in Pokemon Legends: Z-A
- Thunder Punch – great to beat Flying critters, which can deal 4x damage to Chesnaught, and it most likely oneshots non-Mega-Evolved Gyarados
Chesnaught has access to Curse, meaning it can reduce its Speed to increase its Attack and Defense at the same time.
Brick Break can remove Light Screen and Reflect from opposing mons, which can significantly decrease the amount of damage they take.
Speed is Mega Chesnaught’s weak stat, but it’s not necessary to succeed in online battles in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, as it reduces cooldowns rather than determines turn order.

Compared to regular Chesnaught, its Mega Evolution gains 30 Attack, 50 Defense, and 40 Sp. Defense, and loses 20 Speed. Seeing how Speed is not a mandatory stat in the game at all, losing 20 points in it in favor of extra defenses is a great trade-off, especially considering that this makes Mega Chesnaught one of the most resilient critters in the game overall. Since its Special Defense is already very high, it makes sense to use Curse on Mega Chesnaught like most of Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s best teams do.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Finally Takes Chesnaught Full Circle

However, it’s equally possible to skip Curse and Swords Dance to use four attack moves – maybe two STAB moves and two coverage moves. This would need more fine-tuned EVs, such as points into either Defense or Special Defense, with a good amount in Attack, and the rest in HP. Either way, there are many ideal setups for Mega Chesnaught, and it can truly be an ace up the sleeve in ranked battles.

This shows an interesting trend, as Chesnaught is better in the game due to Speed being less impactful, whereas Aegislash is bad in Pokemon Legends: Z-A because real-time battles force it into long animations to change stances. It’s unclear what role Mega Chesnaught will play, but it could very well be one of the best critters around, and it will come out very soon.