Z-A Just Gave Me a Big Reason to Replay It

I have played Pokemon Legends: Z-A for a long time because of a few factors: it came out at a time I really wanted a new Pokemon game to play, I very much enjoyed live battles competitively, it had a limited Pokedex that gave me motivation to fully shiny hunt it, and it featured a lot of new Mega Evolutions. Of my 685+ hours in the game, I think I spent at least 300 shiny hunting, and I want to say another 20 or so just resetting my donuts at Asha’s since the DLC came out. Despite all this time in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, I didn’t complete every single thing it had to offer, especially some DLC quests, the DLC Pokedex, and some Legendary or Mythical quests.

Recently, I went back to the game to get the exclusive Pokemon Legends: Z-A Mega Floette for Pokemon Champions, as I hadn’t finished grinding through the Infinite Z-A Royale for Challenger Tickets. I thought I would eventually go back for the likes of Zeraora and Mega Zeraora, Marshadow, Magearna, and other Legendary or Mythical Pokemon, but apparently, that time has already come. Today, Pokemon Legends: Z-A released a new promotion that allows you to get a shiny Volcanion in Pokemon, albeit not exactly without effort.

You Can Get Shiny Volcanion in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, But There’s a Catch

The problem is that you can only get Shiny Volcanion in Pokemon Home, and to do so, you have to complete Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Pokedex, its Mega Evolution Pokedex, and the Hyperspace Pokedex. This is not exactly easy, and even though I had already finished the base game’s Pokedex, I’m barely halfway through that of the DLC. I focused on getting all the Pokemon I wanted first and immediately shiny hunt them, so I wouldn’t have to do it later. I’m glad I did, but it took me a bit too long for my taste, and I eventually stopped grinding for the remaining species.

Now, I find myself booting up Pokemon Legends: Z-A again after just over a week since I got Eternal Flower Floette and its Mega Stone, and I’m not exactly happy about the state of my Pokedex. I have caught 97 Pokemon out of 132, but the ones I’m missing are mostly from special scans, like those that allow you to get Latios and Latias and other shiny Legendaries in Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Not only that, but these are the Pokemon I have registered in the Pokedex, not necessarily the ones I have in the game.

Image via GameRant; Source: Nintendo, The Pokemon Company

The reason why this matters is that the Pokemon Home promotion to get shiny Volcanion only applies if you meet the following criteria:

• You need to have a Pokemon Home account linked to your Switch games
• You need to have the Pokemon Home app on mobile
• Your Pokemon Home accounts on Switch and mobile must be linked
• You need to have registered all the species in Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Pokedex in Pokemon Home, meaning you have to transfer each Pokemon in the Pokedex individually at least once, and they have to be from Pokemon Legends: Z-A originally for it to work
• Repeat the process for the Hyperspace Pokedex in Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s DLC
• Make sure you have all the Mega Evolutions in Pokemon Legends: Z-A and its DLC unlocked in the game to complete the Mega Evolution Pokedex once the respective Pokemon are transferred to Pokemon Home

Getting Shiny Volcanion in Pokemon Home is a Huge Grind

What follows is that, while I have completed the base game’s Pokedex and a good chunk of the DLC Pokedex, I don’t have one Pokemon per species in my boxes for the entire base game’s Pokedex and that of the DLC, so even mons that I caught already, I’ll have to catch again just for this purpose. This makes getting shiny Volcanion a bit of a chore if you don’t have all the Pokemon already, and it can be especially problematic for special scan Pokemon in the DLC.

Nonetheless, this is the first time since Volcanion’s introduction that it can be obtained as shiny. Shiny-locked Pokemon are, unfortunately, still a thing, and many critters remain without a shiny form in the series. Now, fans can check an item off the list, but more shiny-locked Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet and even prior games remain, with one of the most infamous being Victini. I am partly looking forward to actually finishing the Pokedex in Pokemon Legends: Z-A now, but I’m not very pleased with the grind it will require to have one specimen of every species in the game and its DLC to transfer to Pokemon Home.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Systems

Released

October 16, 2025

ESRB

Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases