ZA Move until I found a virtually unbeatable strategy

Pokemon Legends: ZAs fresh take on the series' gameplay definitely takes some time to click, even for a veteran player like myself. Dealing with the cooldowns on my team's moves feels more like I'm playing an MMO than a traditional one Pokémon game, but this also opens the door for new strategies to take hold. While I think Pokemon Legends: ZAs overall shift from turn-based combat to active combat is a fun fight for a series that has started to stagnate in recent years, there's bound to be some frustration with how certain moves have been reworked to accommodate this change.

As an avid competitor Pokémon player, I know all too well the value of having Protect on my mons. Being able to strategically negate damage is a game changer that can help turn the tide of battle even in a casual playthrough. However, Pokemon Legends: ZAs combat mechanics had me pulling my hair out over this move for the longest time, but once I found the sweet spot, I realized that Protect is one of the best moves in the game when used correctly.

Pokemon Legends: ZA's changes to protect take some getting used to

Accessing TM for Protect is fairly simple; all it takes is to reach rank 4 in Mable's Research i Pokemon Legends: ZA. I reached this point within the first few hours of playing and immediately taught TM to each of my party members. I fully expected to use it in my first ZA Royale promo match, but when my attempts to use Protect to block Zach's Pikachu from doing super effective damage to my Totodile failed, I was annoyed by the move and decided the game wanted me to prioritize offense over a defensive playstyle.

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How Protect has changed in Pokemon Legends: ZA's

Type: Normal
Category: Status
Cooldown: 15
Effect: The user takes a protective stance that prevents incoming attacks from landing.

Historically, Protect functioned as a priority move-in Pokémons turn-based combat that allowed the user to negate all incoming damage from their opponent that turn. The downside of this move's effect was that it had a very high chance of failing if the player used it multiple times in a row. While Pokemon Legends: ZA removes the clause for Protect to fail if used multiple times in a row, it has a fairly long cooldown of 15 seconds to prevent players from spamming the move.

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Instead of guaranteed protection against damage that flips, Protect now offers the user a small window of invulnerability to prevent incoming attacks from dealing damage. This is where it got tricky for me; timing the use of Protect correctly meant that I had to pay attention to when the opponent's Pokemon would attack so that I could activate the move within that protection window. Finding where this window is and anticipating the opponent's attacks took a lot of getting used to, but I'm glad I stuck with it in the end as I've found Protect to be invaluable in Pokemon Legends: ZAlate match.

Detect is another move that offers protection against incoming attacks. However, fewer Pokemon can learn it, and the move has a shorter window of protection than Protect, as well as a shorter cooldown.

With the right strategy, Protect becomes a must in Pokemon Legends: ZA

Dealing with the cooldown of Protect, along with the timing of its protection window, may have been frustrating for me at first. But what I eventually realized is that keeping an eye on your opponent's Pokemon when the move they're about to use appears above their head is the key to success. Most Pokémon have a short window between when that move appears and when the move actually follows through, where activating Protect can block that move entirely. With enough practice I was able to find that sweet spot and have used Protect to bail my Pokémon out of some tough situations in both the main story and Pokemon Legends: ZAs online ranked battles too.