Before you start saying, “These haven’t been revealed yet,” please hear me out. This is a solid prediction that I believe has an almost certain chance of being correct, so I’m willing to lay out my reputation and pride on what are almost certainly the Pokémon starters for Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

How the prediction works:

The crux of this prediction is to accurately and psychologically evaluate the previous starters and where the Pokémon company currently is in their thought processes. Remember that Pokémon are marketable, and increasing marketability in a way that makes us happy is the core focus, especially on those who missed the mark the first time around.

At its crux, the Legends series is there to create new, safe content away from the mainstream games before having it adapted ready for Pokémon’s competitive scene via Pokémon Home. The previous starters had a number of attributes that made them viable for this type of game.

The first:

Each starter had a third evolution with no additions. Typhlosion, Decidueye and Samurott were untouched before Legends Arceus. This allowed them to be given new forms and allowed players to bond with these Pokémon in new ways. It was an elevation effort that worked well. I highly doubt they would change this aspect of the formula.

The second:

Each starter had a final form with attributes of a significantly popular and relevant member of the Hisui native Pokémon.

Typhlosion – Took elements from Spiritomb.

Decidueye – Took elements from Infernape.

Samurott – Took elements from Zoroark (Re-introduced in this game, shiny form takes elements of Hisuian Zoroark)

The third:

None of these starters infringed on the current Pokémon game out at the time, that being Sword and Shield. The last thing  Game Freak wants to do is waste precious marketing opportunities on the same Pokémon.

So, given these elements, let’s start deleting starter Pokémon that cannot be part of this game:

Gen1:

Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle are out; they’re in Pokémon Unite, used in a lot of projects, and already have megas/different forms.

Gen 2:

Cyndaquil is out, leaving Totodile and Chikorita as viable. Chikorita especially gets the nod here due to their designmatching the Kalos aesthetic.

Gen 3:

Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip are all out. They already have Mega forms and will likely be catchable in the game.

Gen 4:

Turtwig and Piplup are viable; however, I think Chimchar is out due to aesthetics not matching. Piplup gets the nod due to Kalos being based on France and Empoleon being based on Napoleon Bonaparte.

Gen 5:

Snivy and Tepig are viable. Oshawott will not return for a second time.

Gen 6:

It would make no sense to have a Kalos variant of the starters already from there. All out.

Gen 7:

Litten and Popplio are viable, but Rowlett won’t return. Primarina gets the nod as her musical nature ties her to French nobility and culture. They could very well gain a Marie Antoinette variation.

Gen 8:

Sobble and Grookey are too British to ever make their way to a France-inspired region. Scorbunny, however, finds a place in the quite amazing Football/Soccer scene that exists within the country. Scorbunny gets the nod.

Gen 9:

Too new and fresh, All out.

So we have our list of contenders.

Grass:

• Turtwig
• Snivy
• Chikorita

Water:

• Totodile
• Piplup
• Popplio

Fire:

• Litten
• Tepig
• Scorbunny

Grass starter:

Now, I’m going to start deep diving. In terms of grass, we are looking for a Pokémon who has fallen behind in cultural terms. Turtwig is still fresh from the last generation. Both in BDSP and Legends Arceus, so we’re gonna strike them out. For this reason, I have to remove Piplup. BSDP’s existence, while it didn’t add anything new, was enough to disqualify them. Chikorita and Snivy both have excellent arguments for their inclusion, but for Kalos, we’re going to bring in the second rule:

Snivy does not have much in the way of design to give them the attributes of a Kalos Pokémon. When we think of Kalos, we think of extravagant lights, design, and all-around beauty. Snivy and, by extension, Serperior, have tiny stubby arms, which leave little to work with for an extravagant Pokémon.

It’s for this reason that I dub Chikorita as the Legends A-Z grass starter. Meganium is often considered useless and needs the boost a new mega form would give. Meganium could easily turn their spores into Lights and become a Fairy-type Kalosian form. And finally, the company that brought us Lechonk will not pass up “Mega-Meganium.

Kalos Meganium – With elements from Vivillon, as a Grass/Fairy-type.

Water Starter:

Well, as I said earlier, Piplup is sadly out. BDSP just makes it too much for Piplup to come back again for this game.

Totodile sadly suffers from something I like to call “We are not in Unova right now”, as a Crocodile would be perfect for an American-themed region. I can imagine Feraligater getting its own Florida-style form. But as it is, I believe the most fitting starter is the beautiful Primarina that evolves from Popplio. I can see their singing becoming elegant and strong. Music is especially powerful in France, and her water could easily be inspiring and help mold the architecture of Lumiose City.

Kalos Primarina – With visual elements from Furfrou, as a Water/Electric-type

Fire Starter:

Well, I thought Scorbunny might have been a dead cert for this one. Tepig really doesn’t stand out to me as a French Pokémon however, the more I thought about it, the more I came to understand just how much Tepig fills this entire criteria I’ve set up. They’re underused and underappreciated. They’re a Fire/Fighting-type, making them follow in the footsteps of other starters, which I believe would be a prime candidate for a Kalosian type change. And finally, they have a very strong candidate in what their Kalosian form could bring.

Are you ready for this? Flying Pig. I fully believe that Tepigs fighting style could lend him the attributes of Hawlucha. Introduced in Gen 6, Hawlucha was one of the most popular Fighting-type Pokémon from Kalos. And if the pattern holds. I believe Tepig fits the bill immensely. Imagine Emboar but with flames that let them fly and perform body slams from the sky.

Kalos Emboar – With elements of Hawlucha as a Fire/Flying-type.

So, without a doubt, these are the Z-A starters:

• Chikorita
• Tepig
• Popplio

If you’re here after the actual reveal and I was completely wrong, come laugh at me in the comments, but if I was right well… give me a thumbs up! Au revoir mes amis!