Z-A's Season 7 is Already The Worst Ever (and I'm Talking Franchise-Wide)

Pokemon Legends: Z-A has been my go-to comfort game since it came out, and while it’s far from perfect, I still very much enjoy it for several reasons. One of them is shiny hunting, probably chief of the bunch, as I was able to get shiny Latios, Latias, Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion for the first time in my history with the franchise. Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s ranked battles are nothing to scoff at, though, and I’ve loved ranking on ladder in real-time matches with very accessible training options since launch. However, Season 7 is officially here, and it’s one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced in Pokemon.

One could argue that Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s approach to battles is not suitable for VGC. Yet, the game still has a rather active competitive scene, with users hosting tournaments regularly. It is very different from usual competitive Pokemon, however, as not only are battles real-time rather than turn-based, but teams are made of three Pokemon each and have different rulesets compared to official regulations for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, for example. Unfortunately, Season 7 may have the worst ruleset I’ve ever seen in the franchise at large, and it can only get worse from here.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Home Support Gets an Update

Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s new season just started as news surface regarding its Pokemon Home compatibility, and things may be even better on Pokemon Day.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Breaks a Massive Competitive Teambuilding Rule

If you need the rewards, like all the types of special Poke Balls, Poke Dollars, and similar, then playing ranked battles in Legends: Z-A is very much worth it. Even more so if you’re looking to get the exclusive Mega Stones in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, including Blaziken’s, which is available for the first time in Season 7. At the same time, the competitive meta is now very frustrating and very samey, as the ruleset not only enables all critters in the Pokedex, but also allows everyone to use up to two restricted Pokemon. These are:

Xerneas
Yveltal
Zygarde
Mewtwo
Kyogre
Groudon
Rayquaza

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In Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Season 6, these were limited to one per team, which made the choice more difficult, as the best picks were still dependent on team composition and what other players used. The ruleset still allowed players to use even three Legendary or Mythical Pokemon at once, but the absolute strongest in the game were limited to just one per team. Even if Xerneas and Kyogre were dominating most matches, one could build teams to counter them and still have fun.

My best team in Pokemon Legends: Z-A last season was Overqwil, Rotom Mow, and Swampert. In season 7, I still use Overqwil and Rotom Mow to counter Xerneas, Mewtwo, Kyogre, and Groudon.

How Legends: Z-A’s Restricted Pokemon Ruin The Game

Now, however, every team can run three Legendary and Mythical Pokemon in Legends: Z-A while also using two restricted mons, which usually translates into very unfun and repetitive team compositions, all using a combination of Xerneas, Mewtwo, Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza, with side mons like Genesect, Darkrai, Magearna, etc. This is the first time in the franchise where you can use a full team of Legendary/Mythical mons that includes two restricted Pokemon, and the result is pretty terrible. You can still try not to use Legendaries and Mythicals, but it’s very hard to get wins with fun, creative sets like Focus Energy + Scope Lens Kangaskhan as opposed to spamming Life Orb, Focus Sash, and Expert Belt on OP Pokemon like Xerneas and Kyogre.

Rayquaza is almost an auto-inclusion in most teams, too, as Mega Rayquaza in Legends: Z-A doesn’t require any held items to Mega Evolve, so it can easily use Focus Sash to be more durable.
Geomancy Xerneas with Life Orb can decimate most meta threats even with no supereffective hits, and it’s very durable.
Kyogre has access to its Primal version, but the base form remains an amazing pick due to its vast move coverage and incredible stats.
Groudon has become one of the most used Ground-type Pokemon, to the point that Garchomp is rarely seen.

I’d never even thought there would be a time when I would miss a Garchomp meta in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, and yet, here we are. I rarely even see Ice-type Pokemon now, as Rayquaza is mostly Sashed, so there’s not much to gain from using Ice-types to break its Sash. Any move can do it. Most of all, though, I just really hate how the game is now devoid of most “standard” Pokemon, as their meta status has fallen off, and restricted Pokemon are everywhere. Season 8 could be even worse, perhaps allowing any number of restricted Pokemon, but that remains to be seen. Still, Season 7 is arguably the lowest point in the franchise for competitive, allowing players to forget most regular Pokemon even exist, and becoming a stale battle of the Legendaries.