What Does Speed Do in Pokemon Legends Z-A

Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s new combat system flips the board on multiple established systems familiar to Pokemon fans. In order to balance the real-time battle system, Game Freak has had to rework multiple core systems, one of which is the Speed stat.

Speed has long been considered the most impactful stat in competitive Pokemon battling, as the ability to move before an opponent can be the difference between victory and defeat. Entire battle strategies have been built around manipulating Speed, the chief example being Trick Room teams. With Pokemon Legends: Z-A, the format has completely changed, and Speed has changed along with it.

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By Hamza Haq

How Does the Speed Stat Work in Pokemon Legends: Z-A?

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Speed reduces the cooldown of Pokemon moves in Pokemon Legends: Z-A. The higher the Speed stat, the less time it will take for a Pokemon’s move to come off cooldown after it is used. The Speed stat does not appear to impact movement speed, attack animations, or recovery timings after performing moves, but the actual cooldown of the move itself.

The in-game cooldown timer displayed when changing moves appears to be static, and does not change to display these changes and how a Pokemon’s Speed affects it.

In-game description of Speed stat states:

The higher a Pokemon’s Speed is, the sooner it will be able to use moves—in other words, this stat shortens the cooldown time between moves.

We carried out a test using two Espurr, one at level 7 with 15 Speed and another at level 27 with 47 Speed. Cycling through the same moveset on both Espurr, the one with lower Speed had its moves come off cooldown slightly slower compared to the one with higher Speed.

Priority moves like Quick Attack, Bullet Punch, and Extreme Speed have near-instant cast animations.

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Does Speed Make Pokemon Move Faster in Pokemon Legends: Z-A?

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Speed does not improve overworld movement speed, i.e., how fast a Pokemon moves when walking, running, or flying. Those animations appear to be different for each Pokemon and depend on the Pokemon’s anatomy.

A Mega Alakazam, for example, will not move faster than a Talonflame when walking from point A to point B, even if the Mega Alakazam’s Speed stat happens to be higher. This is because Alakazam uses the floating animation, whereas Talonflame uses the flying animation. The latter is always faster than the former.

Flying-type Pokemon have, in general, much faster movement speed compared to other Pokemon in Legends: Z-A. They can also fly up to reach high-up Mega Shards more easily, making them an excellent choice to have with you while exploring.

Interestingly, Agility, a move that traditionally raises a Pokemon’s Speed stat directly, does not do so in Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Instead, Agility increases a Pokemon’s movement speed, speeding up their walking, running, and flying animations.

The Paralysis status condition decreases a Pokemon’s movement speed (instead of impacting their Speed stat), whereas Drowsy (Sleep) increases move cooldowns, indirectly reducing the Speed stat.

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By Hamza Haq

Is Speed Worth It in Pokemon Legends: Z-A?

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The Speed stat is less important in Pokemon Legends: Z-A than in any of the previous games in the series. Without the turn-based combat, the ability to move first matters less when battles are so hectic. In Ranked Battles, the 0.1-second faster recovery time matters less than how much HP a Pokemon has or how high its defenses are. In PLZA, tanky bruisers are king.

Nature-changing Mints can be used to increase Speed.

That said, the Speed stat is not useless, just less impactful than other stats. Pokemon like Greninja, Alakazam, and others will still want to invest in Speed EV training in the late game. This is because these Pokemon are glass cannons by nature, and no amount of investment into defenses will make them significantly tankier. It’s best to play to their strengths.

Pokemon moves all have different ranges at which they can be used. Using a long-range attack like Thunderbolt, followed by a close-range attack like Thunder Fang will require the Pokemon to move from one spot to another, which takes time. To maximize impact and efficiency, it’s best to stick to one type of attack (long range or short range) on a Pokemon’s moveset.

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