So you chose Totodile? Building the perfect Pokémon Legends: Z-A team around your starter

by

You picked Totodile as your first Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Z-A? Excellent! Totodile is a long-time favorite, and it’s awesome to see it in this new game. There’s no bad Pokémon to choose for your team, but if you want some ideas on how to build a strong team around Totodile, this guide can help.

Which Pokémon should you add to your team to support your starter, Totodile?

This guide mainly covers the beginning and end parts of the game without revealing major story details. However, if you want to discover Pokémon in Lumiose City in Legends: Z-A without knowing what to expect, be careful! If you’ve already played the Z-A Royale and battled some of the powerful Rogue Mega Evolutions, you might already have a strong team, but this guide can still offer helpful tips on how to best help your favorite partner Pokémon succeed.

We also have team-building guides if you’re interested in using Chikorita or Tepig.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Totodile, being a Water-type Pokémon, has only two weaknesses: Electric and Grass. This is a significant advantage, as few Pokémon types have so few weaknesses. When you battle with Totodile, your Water-type attacks will be very effective against Fire, Rock, and Ground types, but Grass, Dragon, and other Water types will be able to withstand them. On the other hand, Totodile is strong against Fire, Ice, and Water attacks, meaning those attacks won’t do much damage.

Totodile, as a Water-type, actually benefits from partners that are either Grass or Fire. Grass types are strong defensively, as they can effectively counter other Water types and resist Electric and Grass attacks. Fire types excel offensively, dealing significant damage to Grass types and appreciating the help a Water-type provides against Rock, Ground, and other Water types. Combining Fire and Grass with a Water-type creates a particularly strong team, especially when you’re starting the game.

Totodile stays a Water-type Pokémon through all its evolutions – first as Croconaw, and finally as Feraligatr. So, which Pokémon make good teammates for it?

Early Game Partners

Early in the game, you’ll find plenty of Pokémon who can become helpful partners. While exploring Lumiose City, look for Pokémon in the trees – you might see Kakuna or Spinarak, but you could also find the elemental monkeys. Specifically, watch out for Pansage (the Grass-type) and Pansear (the Fire-type). Both of these Pokémon would be excellent companions for Totodile, as they can help cover its weaknesses.

Okay, so if I don’t want my team to be totally weak, there are some good Grass-type Pokémon to grab early on. They’re a little easier to find than Fire types. I can find Budew in Wild Zone 2, Skiddo in Wild Zone 3, and Bellsprout in Wild Zone 5. Any of those three would be awesome to team up with my Totodile when I’m just starting out.

Okay, so Fire-types aren’t super common, but there are still a few places to find them. I’ve had luck finding Litleo in Wild Zone 3, and Houndour hangs out in Wild Zone 6 – just be careful, there’s a really strong Alpha Houndoom there! Also, you can spot Fletchling in Wild Zone 1 and around the city, but it doesn’t actually become a Fire-type until it evolves, so keep that in mind.

Totodile’s Final Evolution (Spoilers Ahead)

Fortunately, since Totodile stays a Water-type Pokémon for most of the game, the partner Pokémon we discussed earlier will continue to be a good fit as Totodile grows stronger and evolves.

Just one more important note: the following section contains major spoilers for Pokémon Legends: Z-A. If you’d rather go into the game knowing as little as possible, it’s best to stop reading now.

Totodile’s final evolution, Feraligatr, can Mega Evolve in this game. However, you won’t be able to unlock this ability until you’ve progressed a fair way through the story, and you’ll need to get Croconaw to level 30 before it can evolve. When Feraligatr Mega Evolves, it changes type to become both Water and Dragon.

Choosing Dragon as your starter is a great idea defensively! It only makes you weak to Fairy and Dragon-type attacks, and it actually removes your weaknesses to Grass and Electric. Plus, your Water typing cancels out Dragon’s weakness to Ice, making it a balanced choice. This combination also opens up some interesting team-building possibilities.

If you’re looking for a strong Pokémon, I highly recommend Flabebe and its evolutions, Floette and Florges. Being a Fairy type makes them completely resistant to Dragon-type attacks, and they can function similarly to a Grass type by learning useful Grass-type moves, though their attack power isn’t as high. They’re especially effective against powerful Dragons like Dragonite, Salamence, and Goodra, as their Fairy-type attacks deal significant damage.

Another great thing is that your Fire-type Pokémon will be even more helpful! Fire-types are strong against Fairy-type attacks, so they can be a solid defense against opposing Fairy-types that might cause problems for your Mega Feraligatr. That means if your Litleo evolves into a Pyroar, or your Houndour becomes a Houndoom, they could be valuable team members to keep around.

Steel-type Pokémon are great against both Dragon and Fairy attacks. However, they can be hard to find, particularly early and mid-game. Honedge is one of the few Steel types available early on – you can find it at night in Wild Zone 4. Alternatively, if you catch a Drilbur in Wild Zone 8, you can evolve it into Excadrill, which is both Ground and Steel-type, around the same time your Croconaw evolves.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this guide gives you a good starting point for building a strong team around the Pokémon you choose. But remember, there’s no single ‘right’ way to play Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Feel free to pick your favorite Pokémon and have fun – you can’t really go wrong with any team in a Pokémon game!

Good luck climbing the ranks of the Z-A Royale!

Read More

2025-10-25 07:33