How to get the Kalos starters in Pokémon Legends Z-A: Chespin, Fennekin and Froakie location

How to get the Kalos starters in Pokémon Legends Z-A

The Kalos starters - Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie - can be obtained by either completing a Side Mission, catching them in a Wild Zone or trading with another player. Though this guide will cover how you can obtain each one without trading in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

If you've just started playing Legends: Z-A or are having trouble catching the Kalos starters, then I recommend obtaining them via the Side Missions. All three of the Kalos starters Side Missions unlock during Main Mission 6 - 'Reaching Rank X', so you don't have to wait for very long to obtain them.

Here are the Kalos starter Side Missions, alongside their starting locations:

Side Mission 7 - A Feisty Chespin

Location: Outside Académie Étoile (east of Wild Zone 3). Talk to the woman by the taxi.

Side Mission 8 - Get Well, Fennekin

Location: Magenta Sector 2 (east of Wild Zone 7), in the small garden area in the centre of this sector. Talk to the woman standing next to Fennekin.

Side Mission 9 - A Challenge from Froakie

Location: South of Café Action! in Jaune Sector 8 (south of Wild Zone 15, east of Wild Zone 19). Talk to the construction worker standing in front of the scaffolding.

Keep in mind that the Kalos starters you obtain from these Side Missions will be shiny locked as are all of the Pokémon you obtain from missions. (Aside from the shiny Mareep for obvious reasons.) If you want a shiny Kalos starter, one with better stats or simply want to catch another then you will need to catch it in a Wild Zone.

Before we take a look at their Wild Zone locations, however, it's important to note that all three are considered hard catches. Fennekin and Froakie will flee if they catch sight of you, with Froakie being quite hard to sneak up on. Though you can battle Chespin, it's still a rare spawn and will take a good number of Ultra Balls to catch.

With that in mind, here's the Wild Zone locations for the Kalos starter Pokémon:

Wild Zone 16 Froakie location

Wild Zone 16 will unlock after you've completed Main Mission 24 - 'Reaching Rank C'.

Froakie can be found sitting atop the plinth in the middle of Wild Zone 16 and it's by far the hardest Kalos starter to catch. This is because the plinth gives Froakie a bird's eye view of the Wild Zone and can easily spot you approaching.

On top of this, you'll most likely be engaged in battle with a wild Pokémon no matter which entrance you use for the Wild Zone. Since Wild Zone 16 is quite small, this Pokémon can easily follow you and keep on attacking while you attempt to catch Froakie.

Instead, the best way to catch Froakie is to actually make it flee. This will give you time to both deal with any troublesome wild Pokémon and get to one of the bushes standing the plinth. Once you're at the bush, crouch down and wait for Froakie to respawn. It might take a while, but it's the easiest way to get into the right position for catching it! Even if you have to move slightly in the bush to get the right shot, it's incredibly hard to get close to Froakie without being spotted.

I recommend choosing one of the bushes away from the watery area in this Wild Zone as this will prevent you from being spotted by even more wild Pokémon.

Wild Zone 17 Chespin location

Wild Zone 17 will also unlock after you've completed Main Mission 24 - 'Reaching Rank C'.

Chespin can be found in the lower level of Wild Zone 17 where Diggersby will jump out of their burrows. When you first visit this Wild Zone 17, however, it might not seem like Chespin is here and, in your defense, it might not be.

Before I get into how to find Chespin, however, it's important to note that this is the only wild Kalos starter that will engage you in battle. Chespin will not flee but fight! The downside? Chespin will be between Level 21 to 25. This might not sound like a problem until you realise that the Level range for Wild Zone 17 is Level 44 or above and your regular Pokémon party will mostly be around this range or higher.

Due to this, it's a good idea to pop some Level 20 to 30 Pokémon in your team before Chespin hunting to ensure you can safely knock its health down. (I'd keep a higher level Pokémon in there, however, to be a damage sponge for when you're catching Chespin.) You'll also want to stock up on Ultra Balls.

To find Chespin, you need to have it spawn in one of the burrows rather than a Diggersby. You can tell when it's spawned by having the camera pointing directly downwards. This will allow you to creep up to the burrows and see whether there are some blades of grass poking out of its middle. If the answer is yes, then you've got a Chespin.

Typically, I've found that Chespin spawns in a burrow that appears close to or behind the food cart.

Once you've found a Chespin burrow, it's time to carefully knock its health down so you can catch it! I highly recommend trying your best to avoid the Diggersbys as they will make the battle more complicated. Also, due to the Level discrepancy between them and Chespin (Diggersby being around Level 45), there's a chance that you could accidentally knock out Chespin if an attack for Diggersby.

Wild Zone 18 Fennekin location

Wild Zone 18 unlocks after you've completed Main Mission 30 - 'Reaching Rank B'.

Fennekin can be found on the most northerly roof in Wild Zone 18.

To reach Fennekin, you need to climb the scaffolding outside of the Wild Zone 18 and then enter by its southerly rooftop entrance. From there, you need to go down the ladder and across the lower roof to reach the ladder where Fennekin is hiding. You'll most likely be able to see Fennekin from the point you enter Wild Zone 18 using this rooftop entrance!

I recommend defeating the Pokémon on the lower roof as they can interfere with your attempts to catch Fennekin. It's also a good idea to crouch down the moment you reach its roof. This is because Fennekin will flee if it spots you!

When you're ready, toss out a Poké Ball but be prepared for this catch to fail and for Fennekin to flee. Thankfully, there is an easy way to wait out Fennekin's respawning.

To your right, you'll see another set of Wild Zone gates. Head through them and follow the rooftops around until you're away from Fennekin's location. Now wait a couple of minutes before heading back to where Fennekin was. If it's there, you can head inside to attempt catching it again. If not, simply repeat the process until it does. You can do this repeatedly until you've caught a Fennekin.

Kalos starters Mega Evolutions in Pokémon Legends Z-A explained

All three of the Kalos starters now have a Mega Evolution, which was introduced as part of Pokémon Legends: Z-A's release. (When you think about it, it's a little strange they didn't have Mega Evolutions back in the Pokémon X and Y days.)

Each of these Mega Evolutions retains its original typing - Water and Dark for Greninja, Grass and Fighting-type for Chesnaught, Fire and Psychic for Delphox. Each Mega Evolution design also builds upon their original appearance rather than taking the Pokémon in a whole new direction like some Mega Evolutions do. (Though Mega Evolved Delphox looks the coolest in my opinion.)

At the time of writing, however, only the Mega Stones for Greninja and Delphox have been made available though. This is because they're tied to the Ranked Battles Seasons and you must progress to a certain Rank to obtain them. Nintendo has stated, however, that these Mega Stones will be available through different means in the future.

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Best of luck adding the Kalos starters to your Legends: Z-A Pokédex! We've also got a guide on the Kanto starters, TM locations and how to get Diancie.