How to get the Kalos starters in Pokémon Legends: Z-A
Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie aren’t your starters in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, but you can still recruit all three around Lumiose City with a bit of work. They show up fairly early if you tackle their side missions, and you’ll see them in wild zones later on as you push toward the endgame.
A couple of quick notes before you start: you’ll need to finish Main Mission 5, “The City in the Shadow of Prism Tower,” to make these side missions appear. If you have the Mega Dimension DLC, you can also bump into the trio via Hyperspace portals. The side-mission versions can’t be shiny, so shiny hunters will want to target their wild-zone spawns or Hyperspace Lumiose instead.
Where to start each side mission
- A Feisty Chespin — North of Restaurant Le Wow in the Rouge District, between Rouge Sector 2 and Académie Étoile.
- Get Well, Fennekin — Northwest of Prism Tower, Magenta Sector 2.
- A Challenge from Froakie — Just northwest of the Jaune Pokémon Center on North Boulevard.
‘A Feisty Chespin’ walkthrough
You’ll spot a lone Chespin blocking a taxi on the road between Rouge Sector 2 and Académie Étoile. Challenge it and you’ll need to beat it three times back-to-back. This Chespin is level 14. Grass-type Pokémon are weak to flying, poison, bug, fire, and ice; you’ll find plenty of good options early, especially flying, poison, bug, and fire. Bring at least one counter in your party before you engage.
Win the three rounds and Chespin joins your team automatically—no Poké Ball required.
‘Get Well, Fennekin’ walkthrough
Head to Magenta Sector 2 and you’ll find a Fennekin looking under the weather. Talk to Branche nearby and then stop by Café Classe, right next to the Vernal Pokémon Center on Vernal Avenue. An elderly patron points you toward a revitalizing twig in Wild Zone 5.
Turn on guidance for the mission once you enter Wild Zone 5 so the twig spots mark on your screen. The catch: the twigs aren’t out in the open. You need to access a tucked-away area. There are two ways in—clear the sludge in the northwestern corner of Wild Zone 5, or clear the sludge in Bleu Sector 3. If you’re already in Wild Zone 5, the northwest sludge is quickest. Use a water- or psychic-type move to break it down, then take the lower tunnel. On the far side, an alpha Whirlipede (level 27) patrols the passage. You can fight it, but sprinting past is faster and safer at this stage.
Once you’re in the hidden area, you’ll see multiple twig spots. The mission only advances when you pick up the final twig in the set, so just grab them all. Bring the revitalizing twig back to Fennekin and it will recover and join your party.
‘A Challenge from Froakie’ walkthrough
Look for Froakie perched on scaffolding just north of the Jaune Pokémon Center. Chat with Surv—the construction worker nearby—to learn this Froakie’s a parkour pro. You’ll have to clear three timed obstacle courses to earn its trust. The first two routes are close to the starting point and mostly ask you to climb and keep moving along the marked path.
The third course sits east of the Rouge Pokémon Center at the very north of Lumiose City, and it’s the tricky one. Two gaps look too wide to cross without a glide, but you can clear them by rolling. After the first ladder—and again near the end—edge right up to the ledge and press Y to roll over the gap. Finish all three courses and Froakie hops into your party.
