Pokémon Legends: Z-A · Guide

Pokémon Legends: Z-A Battle Mechanics

Reference Z-A cooldowns, Speed, damage multipliers, status conditions, Plus Moves and battle modes, with verified examples and Mega Dimension scope.

Real-time actions and positioning

Both Trainer and Pokémon act in real time. Position, move reach and timing matter alongside stats; there is no shared turn queue.

Default controls and battle actions
Action	Z-A behavior	Practical consequence
Target and command	Hold ZL to focus; A/B/X/Y issues the assigned move. While focused, the right stick changes target.	Check the selected target before committing a move.
Move and reposition	Left stick moves the Trainer. Pokémon follow when they are free to move.	Leading your Pokémon closer changes how far it must travel before attacking.
Switch or recall	D-pad left/right selects a party member; up sends it out; down recalls in supported single-player battles.	A timed recall can avoid a hit on the Pokémon; the Trainer can still be in danger. Battle Club limits differ.
Avoid damage	Y rolls the Trainer in overworld combat. Pokémon avoidance also depends on positioning and the chosen move.	A Trainer roll is not a universal dodge command for your Pokémon.
Range and area	Close-range, projectile and area attacks require different positioning. Surf and Earthquake can threaten several nearby opponents.	Check where a move carries the user and where its attack lands.
Wild encounters	Wild Pokémon can be fought and caught; damaging them can help capture. Moving far away can disengage wild/battle-zone encounters.	Do not assume scripted Trainer or boss battles allow the same escape.

Cooldown, wind-up and execution

The Speed stat affects recharge, not the Pokémon’s travel speed. Moves such as Agility change movement speed instead; they do not grant the same cooldown reduction as a higher Speed stat.

For the published version-2.0.0 model, let S be the Speed stat and C the move’s base cooldown in seconds. Without donut powers or drowsiness: cooldown ≈ max(3, C − 0.03 × max(0, S − 25)). This is a readable model, not a frame-exact timer: the game uses floating-point values and update steps.

Drowsiness slows cooldown progress to half rate while it applies. A cooldown spent entirely drowsy therefore takes about twice as long; a condition that begins or ends partway through is not a blanket doubling of the whole action.

From issuing a move to using it again
Phase	What happens	Why it matters
1 · Approach	The Pokémon may reposition into the move’s usable range before starting it.	Distance can delay a move even when its cooldown is ready.
2 · Wind-up	A move-specific preparation phase precedes the attack. Speed investment does not shorten this phase.	An opponent may evade or interrupt before the attack happens.
3 · Execution	The attack takes effect during its execution phase; movement and hitboxes remain move-specific.	Zero wind-up does not mean zero total action time.
4 · Cooldown	Each move recharges after its execution loop. Cooldown replaces PP and is separate from casting time.	A short recharge alone does not make a slow wind-up move fast to land.

Checked move examples: base cooldown and animation parameters
Move	Verified values	Read the values correctly
Quick Attack · Normal / Physical	30 power · 3 s base cooldown · 0 wind-up frames · 20 execution frames	Its preparation is immediate; the execution and recharge still take time.
Thunderbolt · Electric / Special	90 power · 8 s base cooldown · 25 wind-up frames · 20 execution frames	Base cooldown and move animation are separate values.
Growth · Grass / Status	15 s base cooldown · 40 wind-up frames normally, 20 as a Plus Move	The temporary stat effect lasts 12 s normally, 15 s as Plus; this is not its cooldown.

Search move types, categories and learners

Damage categories and modifiers

Stats and selected Z-A damage modifiers
Mechanic	Verified rule	Application
Physical	Normally uses the user’s Attack and the target’s Defense.	Category describes the damage calculation, not a promise that the move is a close-range punch.
Special	Normally uses Special Attack against Special Defense.	Move-specific exceptions still apply: Psyshock is Special but uses the target’s Defense.
Same-type attack bonus	1.5× when the move matches one of the user’s current types.	Use the current form’s types, including Mega type changes.
Critical hits	1.5× damage modifier. The ordinary critical-rank denominator is 24 (about 4.17%); moves can change the rate.	A surprise opening against a battle-zone Trainer forces a critical hit; not every hit is a critical.
Z-A damage scaling	Reviewed settings apply a 70% final battle-damage factor, before considering integer rounding and other rules.	A turn-based calculator used unchanged will not reproduce Z-A damage.

Compare Pokémon stats and forms

Type effectiveness and Rogue exceptions

Matchup identities still matter, but Z-A’s damage multipliers are not a direct copy of the turn-based chart. The table below gives ordinary damage-effectiveness factors before STAB, critical hits, other modifiers and rounding; it does not predict final HP loss.

Rogue encounters have additional damage rules. Ordinary non-Plus damage against an aura-protected Rogue Mega is multiplied by 0.3; a separate 0.63 factor can apply to 4×/8× weaknesses. Some Rogue attacks also hit through type immunities. These are boss rules, not properties of every player-owned Mega Pokémon.

Effectiveness before other damage modifiers
Matchup	Traditional factor	Z-A regular	Z-A Plus
Normally immune	0×	0×	0×
Two resistances	0.25×	0.3×	0.36×
One resistance	0.5×	0.6×	0.72×
Neutral	1×	1×	1.2×
One weakness	2×	2×	2.6×
Two weaknesses	4×	4×	5.2×

Status conditions and timed stat effects

Stat effects are timed in seconds rather than lasting a fixed number of turns. Growth’s 12-second regular effect and 15-second Plus effect illustrate why the move and variant matter. Movement-speed effects do not replace the Speed stat in the cooldown model.

Use appropriate status-curing medicine or a compatible held Berry when the battle rules allow it. Temporary conditions and stat effects can expire, but this reference does not assign one duration to every condition. Check the condition and move; recall, a normal Potion and leaving combat are not interchangeable cures.

Z-A condition effects
Condition	Gameplay effect	Practical consequence
Burn	Loses HP over time; physical damage is weakened.	Treat the damage loss as well as the HP drain.
Poison / bad poison	Ongoing HP loss; bad poison becomes more damaging over time. Poison can keep draining while a Pokémon is out in the field.	Leaving combat is not the same as curing it.
Paralysis	Slows movement.	Do not substitute the turn-based “cannot act” chance or a halved Speed stat.
Freeze	Temporarily prevents movement and most attacks; certain moves can thaw the user.	The escape options depend on the move, not a generic frostbite rule.
Drowsiness	Replaces sleep; cooldowns progress more slowly while the condition is active.	The Pokémon can still act; plan around slower recharge.
Confusion	Can disrupt movement, including the path back to the Trainer.	Do not assume the traditional self-hit damage mechanic.
Flinch	Cancels a move being wound up and puts that move on cooldown.	An interrupted attempt can cost recharge time without landing.

Plus Moves, mastery and Mega Power

Plus Move requirements and checked effects
Mechanic	Requirement or effect	Practical consequence
Use a Plus Move outside Mega Evolution	Have the Mega Ring, a mastered move marked with the Plus icon and at least one filled Mega Gauge segment. While focused, toggle + before selecting it.	Execution spends one segment of the same Mega Power used for Mega Evolution.
Natural mastery	A move in the species’ level-up learnset can gain mastery at a later, move-specific level.	There is no safe blanket “learn it, then add exactly ten levels” rule. Check the mastery mark.
TM-only mastery	Josée at the Justice Dojo can master a move for a Seed of Mastery after her battle in Main Mission 19.	TM compatibility alone does not mean a move is already mastered.
Effects vary by move	Neutral damaging Plus Moves use 1.2× effectiveness; a usual single weakness uses 2.6× instead of 2×. Other moves can change healing, range, duration or wind-up.	Do not apply a universal 25% boost or reduce every Plus cooldown.
Protection	Plus attacks can deal damage through Protect/Detect; the published damage tests show a 0.25 protection factor.	Protect still reduces the damage; Plus is not an unconditional full-damage bypass.
Recover example	Regular Recover restores 30% maximum HP; Plus restores 40%.	Plus can change a non-damaging effect rather than just a damage number.

Mega Evolution and held items
Mechanic	Battle rule	Practical consequence
Mega Power and Mega Evolution	Battling and collecting orbs charges the gauge. Ordinary activation needs a full gauge and the eligible Pokémon’s matching held stone.	Spending segments on Plus Moves can postpone transformation. Rayquaza’s Dragon Ascent requirement is a documented stone exception.
While Mega-Evolved	Moves become Plus Moves automatically. Mega Power drains over time; recall pauses its use and an empty gauge ends the form.	Use the dedicated Mega Evolution guide for unlocks, forms and stone requirements.
Held items	Z-A supports held Berries and other held items; an ordinary Mega Stone uses the Pokémon’s held-item slot.	Choose between that stone and another held effect. Held-item activation and medicine use are different actions.

Mega Evolution: unlocks, Mega Power and Mega Stones

Wild, Trainer, Royale and Battle Club rules

Do not transfer a mode’s rules into another mode
Action	Z-A behavior	Practical consequence
Wild battles	Move around, weaken targets and throw Poké Balls; the Trainer can also be endangered.	Approach from cover and leave attack areas; protecting the Pokémon alone does not protect you.
Regular Trainer battles	Use the same real-time move system to defeat the opposing team.	Do not import the wild catching flow or Battle Club respawn/switch rules into every Trainer encounter.
Z-A Royale	Night-time battle zones award Ticket Points toward promotion matches. An undetected opening against a Trainer gives a critical hit.	Being spotted first leaves you caught off guard; cover and approach direction matter.
Z-A Battle Club	Up to four players battle for three minutes. A knockout gives the finishing player a point; a defeated player respawns with a recovered team.	Ranked and Private Battles use this arena system; check their selected rules and current eligibility.
Battle Club switching	The standard format allows three switches before a knockout; the counter refreshes on respawn.	This is not unrestricted single-player recall. Private settings and later rule changes need their own check.

Shiny Pokémon: source eligibility and locks

Mega Dimension battle additions

DLC scope
Mechanic	Verified or version-scoped change	Practical consequence
Mega Dimension · Speed Power	The published 2.0.0 model applies donut Speed Power to the Speed stat before cooldown reduction: Lv. 1 ×1.1, Lv. 2 ×1.25, Lv. 3 ×1.5, rounded down.	Use this effective Speed in the model; ordinary movement-speed buffs do not do the same thing.
Mega Dimension · Z Mega Evolution	Officially described as launching moves sooner while consuming Mega Power faster.	This form-specific wind-up change does not mean the normal Speed stat shortens all casting animations.

Mega Dimension hub

Scope, exceptions and further references

Numerical examples use pinned 2.0.2 move/settings exports and published 1.0.3/2.0.0 observations. Reference pages were reviewed on 18 October 2026. This page does not provide a frame-exact simulator, a universal status-duration table or a complete damage formula with every rounding step.

Traditional Abilities are not a general active battle system in Z-A. Species or form-specific passive behaviors still exist, so do not assume an old Ability effect applies just because a generic Pokédex lists it.