Pokémon Legends: Z-A Arrives July 15 With Major Ranked Battles Update
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is preparing a major Ranked Battles shake-up, arriving on July 15. Even with some backlash around its launch in October 2025, the title has proven to be a strong way to revisit Kalos—complete with a fresh narrative that also functions as a follow-up to Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. A sizable DLC landed in December 2025, and since then the game has kept broadening what players can do through a steady stream of updates.
Historically, new updates in Pokémon Legends: Z-A tend to alter the Ranked Battles format, but the roster and payout changes are usually modest. There have been exceptions. Season 8, for instance, limited participation to Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution, which drastically reshaped the competitive meta and effectively forced players to skip any non-Mega Stone held items. With Season 14 beginning on July 15, 2026, the expected impact looks even larger than that earlier Mega-centric rule set.
Players will also be able to claim fresh items through Mystery Gift. The update doesn’t spell out every detail here, but the items are said to be useful once the Mega Dimension DLC goes live.
Season 14 arrives July 15—and it’s built around “Sky Battles”
- Season 13 ends on July 15, 2026 at 6:59 pm PDT / 9:59 pm ET
- Season 14 starts on July 15, 2026 at 11:00 pm PDT / July 16, 2026 at 2:00 am ET
Mega Evolutions remain a major pillar of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, especially in Ranked Battles, and they finally returned to the core mainline format after years away. That said, Season 14 isn’t simply “another Mega season.” Mega Evolution still matters, but the broader rules point toward a more restrictive, gimmick-driven battlefield.
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Eligible Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Z-A Season 14
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Lumiose Pokedex:
- Fletchling
- Fletchinder
- Talonflame
- Pidgey
- Pidgeotto
- Pidgeot
- Gyarados
- Swablu
- Altaria
- Dragonite
- Charizard
- Delibird
- Scyther
- Emolga
- Hawlucha
- Noibat
- Noivern
- Aerodactyl
- Skarmory
- Salamence
- Yveltal
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Hyperspace Pokedex:
- Farfetch’d
- Rotom (Fan Rotom only)
- Flamigo
- Rookidee
- Corvisquire
- Corviknight
- Starly
- Staravia
- Staraptor
- Squawkabilly
- Zubat
- Golbat
- Crobat
- Rayquaza
- Fletchling
- Fletchinder
- Talonflame
- Pidgey
- Pidgeotto
- Pidgeot
- Gyarados
- Swablu
- Altaria
- Dragonite
- Charizard
- Delibird
- Scyther
- Emolga
- Hawlucha
- Noibat
- Noivern
- Aerodactyl
- Skarmory
- Salamence
- Yveltal
- Farfetch’d
- Rotom (Fan Rotom only)
- Flamigo
- Rookidee
- Corvisquire
- Corviknight
- Starly
- Staravia
- Staraptor
- Squawkabilly
- Zubat
- Golbat
- Crobat
- Rayquaza
Within these options, players can only choose one between Yveltal and Rayquaza, since both are restricted Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Oddly, the allowed list doesn’t include every Flying-type option—Vivillion is left out. Meanwhile, notorious “in the sky” Pokémon like Latios and Latias are also prohibited.
Because the list even includes pre-evolution forms that likely won’t perform well under Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s Ranked Battles environment, the real pool of viable picks is much smaller. The usable roster is:
- Talonflame (cannot Mega Evolve)
- Pidgeot (can Mega Evolve)
- Gyarados (can Mega Evolve)
- Altaria (can Mega Evolve)
- Dragonite (can Mega Evolve)
- Charizard (can Mega Evolve)
- Delibird (cannot Mega Evolve)
- Scyther (cannot Mega Evolve)
- Emolga (cannot Mega Evolve)
- Hawlucha (can Mega Evolve)
- Noivern (cannot Mega Evolve)
- Aerodactyl (can Mega Evolve)
- Skarmory (can Mega Evolve)
- Salamence (can Mega Evolve)
- Yveltal (cannot Mega Evolve)
- Fan Rotom (cannot Mega Evolve)
- Flamigo (cannot Mega Evolve)
- Corviknight (cannot Mega Evolve)
- Staraptor (can Mega Evolve)
- Crobat (cannot Mega Evolve)
- Rayquaza (can Mega Evolve)
Among the above, the strongest possibilities are likely Dragonite, Fan Rotom, Skarmory, and Rayquaza. The reasoning is straightforward: Dragonite brings strong stats and typing, plus access to a wide set of coverage moves to handle the rest of the allowed roster. It also has a Mega Evolution option, but it can choose to skip it and lean into physical pressure instead. Fan Rotom naturally resists Flying attacks and can hit most of this group hard with Electric moves that benefit from STAB. Skarmory, meanwhile, has repeatedly proven itself as one of the top performers in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, whether it’s using Mega tech or not.
Finally, Rayquaza isn’t just about stats and movepool—it can Mega Evolve without needing a held item. To obtain Mega Rayquaza in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, players will have to complete the DLC, but the payoff is having a ready-to-use powerhouse. To Mega Evolve it, players only need to teach it Dragon Ascent. Yveltal is also powerful, but if it must share the restricted slot with Rayquaza, the latter is more likely to become the meta-defining threat.
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Why Season 14’s rules matter: fewer Pokémon, one Sky Battles gimmick
This is the first time Pokémon Legends: Z-A has narrowed its Pokedex down to only a small handful of Pokémon for Ranked play. Even in Season 8, players could still pick from about twice as many options. And there’s another difference: this list includes not only fully evolved Pokémon, but also partially evolved forms—where Season 8’s restrictions didn’t.
For context, Pokémon Legends: Z-A banned 25 Pokémon in Season 13, yet Season 14 bans far more. The label “Sky Battles” is the key, because it’s a gimmick introduced in Pokémon X and Pokémon Y and then never returned in later entries. Under Sky Battles, players could only bring Flying-type Pokémon or Pokémon with Levitate. A quirky side effect follows from that older design: Haunter was allowed due to Levitate, even though Gengar couldn’t be used because its ability is Cursed Body.
Another oddity comes from how Rotom forms behave in this format. In Gen 6, Rotom forms were all allowed in Sky Battles because they naturally have Levitate. In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, however, the game’s ability rules are trimmed down, meaning only Fan Rotom ends up being eligible.
Throughout Gen 6, Sky Trainers could initiate Sky Battles, though those matches were optional. In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Sky Battles are also optional in theory, but in practice they are the only available way to play Ranked Battles during Season 14.
- Season 1: All base game Pokémon allowed, minus Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde.
- Season 2: All base game Pokémon allowed, minus Zygarde and Mewtwo.
- Season 3: All base game Pokémon allowed. One restricted Pokémon per team. Diancie counted as a restricted pick.
- Season 4: Most Legendary and Mythical Pokémon banned, including restricted Pokémon.
- Season 5: Restricted Pokémon not allowed. Most Legendaries and Mythicals became usable for the first time.
- Season 6: All Pokémon eligible, but only one restricted Pokémon allowed.
- Season 7: All Pokémon eligible, but only two restricted Pokémon allowed.
- Season 8: Only Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution allowed.
- Season 9: Most Legendary and Mythical Pokémon banned.
- Season 10: Restricted Pokémon not allowed.
- Season 11: All Pokémon eligible, but only one restricted Pokémon allowed.
- Season 12: All Pokémon eligible, but only two restricted Pokémon allowed.
- Season 13: All Legendary and Mythical Pokémon banned.
Ranked Season 14 rewards: feathers instead of the usual big-ticket items
Season 14 runs from Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 11:00 pm PDT / Thursday, July 16 at 2 am ET to Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at 6:59 pm PDT / 9:59 pm ET. As usual, Season 15 begins on the same day Season 14 ends.
Compared to last season, Season 14’s rewards differ, but this time the changes aren’t tied to special Poke Balls or rare item drops. Instead, the emphasis is on a single consumable-style currency: Pretty Feather.
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Rank A
- 300x Pretty Feather
-
Rank B to E
- 200x Pretty Feather
-
Rank F to R
- 100x Pretty Feather
-
Rank S and below
- 50x Pretty Feather
- 300x Pretty Feather
- 200x Pretty Feather
- 100x Pretty Feather
- 50x Pretty Feather
This structure is a noticeable downgrade compared to typical Ranked season rewards, which can include items like Gold Bottle Caps and Nuggets. The comparison becomes clearer at the top end: if players reach Rank A, they receive the equivalent of 150,000 PokeDollars. Normally, Rank rewards include two Gold Bottle Caps, three Bottle Caps, two Seeds of Mastery, and two Nuggets. While those items may be worth less if your plan is simply to sell them, the overall package tends to be more valuable in practical terms.
All Ranked-exclusive Mega Stones from Pokémon Legends: Z-A are also returning again. The Mega Stone rewards by rank are:
- Rank Y – Greninjite
- Rank X – Delphoxite
- Rank W – Chesnaughtite
- Rank V – Baxcalibrite
- Rank U – Sceptilite
- Rank T – Swampertite
- Rank S – Blazikenite
Players can expect a mix of Feathers when moving up ranks, but the exact reward breakdown hasn’t been fully detailed yet. As usual, your rank will reset to Rank Z at the end of the season. Players who took part in Season 13 will be able to redeem their end-of-season Ranked rewards from the Ranked Battles screen.
