So you chose Tepig? Building the perfect Pokémon Legends: Z-A team around your starter

So, you chose Tepig as your starter for Pokémon Legends: Z-A? Great choice. Tepig might not have been around as the other two starter options, but that doesn’t make it any less adorable. Plus, having a Fire type right at the start of the game is very helpful, but we’ll get into that later. Ultimately, there is no wrong choice when it comes to picking your starter. They are all great in different ways. But if you are looking for some suggestions on how to best support your starter choice, this guide should lend a helping hand.

Which Pokémon should you add to your team to support your starter, Tepig?

There are potential spoilers ahead for Pokémon Legends: Z-A. I’ll do my best to avoid any story spoilers, but if you consider discovering what Pokémon you can find part of the experience, this may not be the article for you. Be cautious when reading ahead. Also, if you’ve already started your journey of climbing the ranks of the Z-A Royale or dealt with a few of those Rogue Mega Evolutions, you may have some good teammates already. However, no matter what point you are at in the game, there will be some tips and tricks below that will be helpful in determining which teammates can provide the best support for your starter choice.

If you’re looking for guides on teambuilding with Chikorita or Totodile, we have guides for those starters as well.

• Which Pokémon should you add to your team to support your starter, Tepig?
• Strengths & Weaknesses
• Early Game Partners
• Tepig’s Final Evolution (Spoilers Ahead)
• Conclusion

Strengths & Weaknesses

Tepig is a Fire-type Pokémon. This typing is somewhat rarer than Water or Grass, so that can be a great reason to choose this starter. Fire types have three weaknesses: Water, Ground, and Rock. Fire types also have a surprising amount of resistances, including Grass, Fire, Bug, Ice, Steel, and Fairy. Your Fire-type moves will be super effective against Grass, Bug, Ice, and Steel, while Water, Fire, Rock, and Dragon will resist those same attacks.

So, what makes a good partner for a Fire-type Pokémon like Tepig? Interestingly, both the other starter options would be great partners, because both Grass and Water have a lot of synergy with Fire. Grass in particular covers a lot of Fire’s weaknesses. Grass-types resist all three of Fire’s weaknesses and hit those same types with super effective damage. Fire can return the favor by dealing super effective damage to Grass, Bug, and Ice types that Grass-type Pokémon struggle against. Water is also a great teammate, though, because it also deals super effective damage to threatening Ground and Rock types. Fire then, in turn, deals with the Grass types that would otherwise threaten a Water type.

Tepig does stand out a little compared to the other starters, as when it evolves, it gains a secondary typing of Fighting. This introduces weaknesses to Flying and Psychic, but thankfully, Fire resists Fairy, which would otherwise also be super effective. Fighting does complement Fire in some ways, as it is super effective against Rock-types and provides a resistance to neutralize Fire’s weakness.

Now that you have an understanding of how Tepig’s typing works and what types complement it, it’s time to consider some actual examples.

Early Game Partners

Fortunately, there are plenty of Water and Grass types available in the early parts of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. If you keep an eye on the trees, you should be able to find the elemental monkey Pokémon hanging around. This trio is a great way to patch up any missing types you might have in the early game. The Water-type Panpour and the Grass-type Pansage are great Pokémon to consider adding to your team.

Staryu can be a great Water-type teammate.Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Developer: Gamefreak

If you don’t want both monkeys on your team, there are other options as well. Once you reach Wild Zone 2, you can find Magikarp and Staryu, which are both great Water types to add to the team. Staryu stands out in particular, but that’s something that becomes more apparent later in the game. You’ll also find the Grass-type Budew in Wild Zone 2, and Skiddo in Wild Zone 3. Both can be great early-game partners for handling the Water, Ground, and Rock-types that will threaten Tepig.

Once Tepig evolves into Pignite at level 17, you’ll have another type to consider. This is when a partner like Staryu will start to shine a little more than the average Water type. When Staryu evolves into Starmie, it gains a secondary Psychic typing, which means it will be able to resist incoming super-effective Psychic-type attacks that threaten Pignite.

But there is a Pokémon that provides an even better solution to this secondary type’s weaknesses: Honedge. The Steel-type is inarguably the best defensive type in the game, boasting ten resistances and one immunity. But the key here is that Steel resists both Psychic and Flying, which now threaten Pignite as a Fighting-type. Honedge’s secondary typing, Ghost, also gives it an advantage over Psychic-types, giving Honedge the ability to hit them for strong super-effective damage. Honedge also appreciates Pignite’s newly acquired resistance to Dark-type attacks that are otherwise super effective against Honedge’s Ghost type.

Honedge is a great partner for Tepig and its evolultions.Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Developer: Gamefreak

You can find Honedge in Wild Zone 4, but only at night. Also, while Honedge is a great partner, it does share a Ground weakness with Fire-types, so make sure to also have one of the above Grass types to help cover that weakness.

Tepig’s Final Evolution (Spoilers Ahead)

Tepig gains its secondary typing fairly early, so by later in the game, it should be something you start to get used to. When it eventually reaches its final form, Emboar, it will remain a Fire and Fighting-type. But there is one potentially spoiler-heavy topic we should discuss, so if you don’t want to have anything spoiled about what to expect in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, now is the time to stop reading.

Tepig’s final stage, Emboar, gets a Mega Evolution in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Fortunately, for the purpose of this guide, it doesn’t introduce a new type combination. Mega Emboar remains a Fire and Fighting-type and is ultimately just a stronger version of its base form.

Many of the Pokémon mentioned earlier will remain great partners. Gogoat is a great option for a Grass-type. But while Budew’s evolutionary line is still solid, it has the secondary Poison type, meaning it shares the Psychic type weakness with Emboar. Unfortunately, there are a bunch of Grass types that share this Poison problem. But there are two interesting options in Phantump and Pumpkaboo. These Grass and Ghost types share some similar synergies as Honedge, but ideally, you don’t want to have multiple Ghost types on the same team. You can find Phantump in Wild Zone 13 and Pumpkaboo in Wild Zone 15.

Phantump doesn't show up until later in the game, but it's still a great Grass-type teammate.Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Developer: Gamefreak

But, if those Grass and Ghost types sound appealing, you could swap Honedge out for other Steel types. Excadrill can be a great option, as well as Skarmory, which notably avoids the shared Ground weakness by being a Flying type. Scizor can also be a great option, but both Skarmory and Scizor aren’t typically available until later in the game.

Conclusion

So that’s that! Hopefully, some of the advice in this guide is helpful in crafting your perfect Pokémon team around your flaming pig starter. Keep in mind that these are just suggestions. There’s no wrong way to play Pokémon Legends: Z-A. You could create a team of six from nothing but your favorite designs, and you’ll still have a great time with this game.

Good luck climbing the ranks of the Z-A Royale!

Pokemon Legends: Z-A

October 16, 2025

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