Pokemon Legends Z-A: How to catch Chespin, Froakie and Fennekin

While Pokemon Legends: Z-A puts the spotlight on Chikorita, Totodile and Tepig for the game's starter trio, anyone that played the original Pokemon X and Y might be wondering exactly how long it will take before they can add the original Kalos starter trio - Chespin, Froakie and Fennekin - to their team. The good news, is it doesn't take that long at all, and players can add each of them to their team with guaranteed additions as soon as you've unlocked Side Missions. Side Missions 7, 8 and 9 offer the player a Chespin, a Froakie and a Fennekin as part of their rewards respectively. As a nice bonus, each of these 3 Side Missions offer something new to engage with, too!

How to catch Chespin

This first Side Mission is also the most straightforward. Side Mission 7: A Feisty Chespin is what you'll want to look out for in order to catch one of your own. Approach the mission marker, and you'll find yourself a cutscene shwoing Chespin trying to get in a fight with a car; you can find the mission near Restaurant Le Wow, on Hibernal Avenue. Since Chespin can't really battle a car, it's up to you and your Pokemon to calm it down. This battle-loving Pokemon won't have had its fill until you've defeated it 3 times in a row, but once you do it will join your party, alongside 1,000 Poke Dollars, 3 EXP Candy XS, and 1 EXP Candy S. Nice and simple!

How to catch Froakie

While this mission is technically listed after Fennekin's, if you don't already have a Water type heading into it I would recommend doing Froakie's first. Side Mission 9: A Challenge from Froakie has nothing to do with combat; instead, Froakie has been doing runs on a Scaffolding Course, and is convinced no trainer can match his speed. Head to the Scaffolding Course East of Jaune Sector 8 to start the mission. Your first goal is to clear the Scaffolding Course within 30 seconds, then the second Scaffolding Course within 40 seconds, and then the final one within 50 seconds. Once you've successfully beat all of Froakie's PBs he'll join your team, alongside your reward of 1,800 Poke Dollars, 3 EXP Candy XS and an EXP Candy S.

How to catch Fennekin

This is by far the most in-depth of the Kalos Starter quests. Side Mission 8: Get Well, Fennekin starts by speaking with a woman standing next to a lethargic Fennekin in Magenta Sector 2. She's worried about it, but the Pokemon Center doesn't quite know what's wrong - she'll ask you to go visit the Herbalist marked on your map to ask his advice. Turns out that Fennekin tend to chew on Revitalizing Twigs in order to regain their energy; he used to keep stock of them, but his source is now part of a Wild Zone, making gathering them a bit trickier.

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to scour Wild Zone 5 for the Revitalizing Twig Fennekin needs. To that end, this is why I recommended handling this mission last - in order to reach the section of the Wild Zone where the twig resides, you'll need a Pokemon that can clear out piles of Toxic Sludge on the field. It just so happens that Water-type Pokemon moves are the perfect solution to this problem, and if you handled Froakie's quest before hand that ensures you'll have all the resources you need. Wild Zone 5 isn't that large, and as long as you know to follow the path of Toxic Sludge piles it won't be long before you find the section dotted with interactables. Eventually one of them will be the Revitalizing Twig you came looking for.

Return to Fennekin. Upon feeding it the Twig it will have its energy back, and as thanks it will join your party - along with the 1,200 Poke Dollars, 3 EXP Candy XS and 1 EXP Candy S reward.

Can you catch more than one of each Kalos Starter?

While it's all well and good that you can get a guaranteed Kalos Starter from each of these Side Missions, what if you wanted more? Thankfully, players do eventually unlock the ability to catch as many as they'd like much later in the game. Wild Zone 16 can spawn Froakie, Wild Zone 17 can spawn Chespin, and Wild Zone 18 can spawn Fennekin. They're relatively rare spawns, but if players did wish to hunt for the perfect one for them they'll be able to do so as they approach the end of the game's story. 

That's it! Personally speaking, I'm glad that the game both had engaging quests tied to getting the Kalos Starter Pokemon early, and that they still offered a relatively painless way to catch more by the end of the game. Whether you're in it for only one of each, or are planning to hunker down to Shiny hunt, best of luck - and have fun with your vacation in Lumiose City!