Z-A's New Mega Evolutions Have Yet to Play The Biggest Ace Up Their Sleeve

Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Mega Evolution was rightfully marketed as the big allure for the game, as it was and still is one of the most beloved mechanics in the series, or possibly the most beloved, period. After all, all the main characters in the game have a Mega Evolution or even more than one on their team when you battle them, and the game pushes you to get all Mega Stones in Pokemon Legends: Z-A through Mega Shards, Poke Dollars, and even ranked battles. The Mega Dimension DLC even added more Mega Evolutions to discover, but one is still missing — arguably, one of the best and most important.

When Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Mega Lucario Z was revealed, it became apparent that the gimmick itself had evolved, as Mega Z Pokemon are different in terms of behavior compared to all other Megas. The differences are:

Mega Z Pokemon always have a base Speed stat of 151 (so far)
Mega Z Pokemon take less time to charge their attacks
Mega Z Pokemon’s Mega gauge depletes faster

This makes the current Mega Z Pokemon interesting and yet niche in their use, as both Mega Lucario Z and Mega Absol Z are not as bulky as other critters, even if they can deal devastating damage with their high stats. However, Pokemon Legends: Z-A leaks confirmed a new Mega Garchomp that was never released with the DLC, and datamining later confirmed it to be Mega Garchomp Z. Based on the leaks, this may be the ultimate Mega Evolution in the series.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Looks Set to Rewrite the Unwritten Rules of Mega Evolution

With the gameplay changes Pokemon Legends: Z-A is making to the series’ formula, the best Mega Evolutions may look completely different.

Say Hello to Pokemon Legends: Z-A Best Mega Evolution

Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Garchomp is already an S-tier Pokemon that has been sitting at the top of the meta since the game came out. The DLC and the various Legendary and Mythical Pokemon in the game can’t really compete with it, and when they can, players still have access to other critters to swap Garchomp with. Mega Garchomp takes this further, as it’s a powerful attacker with very good stats. Yet, Garchomp’s biggest weakness is Ice moves, as they deal 4x damage to it.

Mega Garchomp Z massively reduces that weakness by changing types from Dragon/Ground to a pure Dragon-type Pokemon. On top of that, it becomes a special attacker rather than a physical attacker, introducing new options for players and unlocking the critter’s full potential by accessing moves like Earth Power, Draco Meteor, and Nasty Plot. Thanks to datamining, Mega Garchomp Z’s stats will be:

HP: 108
Attack: 130
Defense: 85
Special Attack: 141
Special Defense: 85
Speed: 151

Compared to the base form, Mega Garchomp Z sacrifices 10 points in Defense to get 61 points in Special Attack and 49 points in Speed.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Best Moveset and Team Composition for Mega Garchomp Z

Spoting Rotom in Pokemon Legends Z-A Mega Dimension DLC

Considering that Mega Garchomp Z loses Garchomp’s 4x Ice weakness in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, it’s already a great candidate for ranked battles and most teams, but what makes it even better is its movepool. It learns the following Special moves:

Dragon Breath (Dragon-type)
Power Gem (Rock-type)
Swift (Normal-type)
Fire Blast (Fire-type)
Hyper Beam (Normal-type)
Earth Power (Ground-type)
Draco Meteor (Dragon-type)
Flamethrower (Fire-type)
Surf (Water-type)
Dragon Pulse (Dragon-type)
Scorching Sands (Ground-type)
Razor Wind (Normal-type)
Vacuum Wave (Fighting-type)

Since Mega Garchomp Z learns Nasty Plot, it’s easy to make it an extremely powerful Pokemon to deal with in Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s ranked battles. It also has good coverage, so you can easily go with a moveset like Nasty Plot for more Special Attack and damage, Scorching Sands for STAB Ground-type moves before Mega Evolution, Draco Meteor for a devastating STAB Dragon-type attack, and something like Fire Blast, Flamethrower, or Power Gem to deal with pesky Ice-types.

If you want to be nitpicky, the main issue Mega Garchomp Z has is that it doesn’t really have something to counter Fairy-type Pokemon like Xerneas, but even then, you can simply swap it for another mon. In fact, Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Mega Magearna is a fantastic potential partner for Garchomp, and the same goes for base Magearna, thanks to its Fairy/Steel type combination. The third team member could be whatever, basically, but good options would be Rotom Fan for powerful Thunderbolts via Charge/Nasty Plot and screens, or Mr. Rime for screens and Ice coverage for Ground-types and opposing Garchomps.

It’s worth noting that while Mega Garchomp Z is not in the game, it was datamined to be associated with an event, and the most likely option is for it to be distributed for free to all players, regardless of DLC ownership, on Pokemon Day — February 27, 2026.