How to easily defeat Alpha Pokemon in Pokemon Legends Z-A

Alpha Pokemon return in Pokemon Legends Z-A. First introduced in the previous game, Pokemon Legends Arceus, these powerful creatures boast an intimidating presence with their larger-than-usual stature and menacingly red glowing eyes. Pair that with them often being high-leveled, and taking them down can be a challenge.

Thankfully, there is an easy strategy to beat most of these Alpha Pokemon in Game Freak's latest open-world adventure. Read on to know more.

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How to cheese most Alpha Pokemon in Pokemon Legends Z-A

Alpha Pokemon can be terrifying to face in the open world of Lumiose City (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Alpha Pokemon are tucked around the urban jungle of Lumiose City, from alleyways to rooftops. So it is not uncommon to come across these powerful creatures when exploring the sandbox. Oftentimes, they will be higher level than your team, especially when starting out, which can make these fights quite a challenge.

However, Pokemon Legends Z-A offers a few tools to trivialize these fights. The primary among them is using status effects, as Alpha Pokemon are not immune to them, unlike Rogue Mega Evolutions. The most effective of the bunch is Poison. This status effect can be caused by several Poison-type moves but the most consistent method to poison the target is Toxic and Toxic Spikes.

Upon being inflicted, the target will take steady HP damage over time, gradually depleting the Alpha Pokemon's HP to zero and defeating them without you having to do anything else. However, depending on the enemy Pokemon's level and HP, this may take some time during which it will retaliate with its own moves, which must be dodged.

Status effects like Poison trivialize many of these fights (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Do note that there are additional caveats to consider, like Poison-type Alpha Pokemon are immune to being Poisoned. In such a scenario, you will have to resort to the next best thing: Burn. This also causes loss of health over time, though at a slower rate than Poison. Fire-type moves have a chance to inflict this, though the TM move Will-o'-Wisp has a 100% burn chance if it lands.

Once the Alpha Pokemon has been Poisoned or Burned, simply avoid their moves by relocating to areas where they cannot reach. Be sure not to exit the aggro range of the foe, however, as this will cause the Alpha Pokemon to reset and regain all lost HP; you will know this happens when the combat music dies down as the Alpha Pokemon flees back to their original position.

Of course, these tactics are not 100% foolproof, as it depends on a variety of factors, including the Pokemon being faced against, the arena being battled in, your party setup, and so on. As such, some scenarios may warrant fleeing to get stronger to take them on.

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Check out more articles:

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• Should you play Pokemon X and Y before Legends Z-A?