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This Pokemon Legends Z-A walkthrough will walk you through the “Reaching Rank A” main story mission in the game.
Pokemon Legends Z-A’s story is one full of twists and turns, but nothing you’ve seen before can prepare you for the rollercoaster that is the “Reaching Rank A” mission. This main story mission dives into the past of AZ and how he is responsible for the events plaguing Lumiose City. The mission greatly expands on the game’s cast of characters, and you come out of this mission with a greater appreciation for each and every one of them.
That said, “Reaching Rank A” is a long quest and a difficult one to play through. If this quest is giving you any trouble, we’re here to help. In this guide, we shall walk you through the entire quest and help you make it to the finish line and to the coveted Rank A.
How To Reach Rank A in Pokemon Legends Z-A
Gain Intel from Emma
After you’re done defeating all the Rogue Mega Pokemon, you’ll be transported to the hotel and will have to watch a cutscene involving Team MZ. During this cutscene, you’ll be notified of a promotion match, with your opponent being Grisham. It all seems fine and well, except nobody really knows who Grisham is. He has no profile photo, and his face has managed to remain a secret all the way up to Rank B.
The only way to find and fight Grisham for the Rank A promotion is to identify him first. Emma will help you with that, so the Looker Bureau is where you need to go. Head to Rouge Sector 5 and enter the bureau. Talk to Emma and inquire about Grisham, and she’ll challenge you to a battle. You then have to fight Emma. She uses the following Pokemon in battle:
- Ampharos
- Mawile
- Lucario
- Lopunny
- Malamar
You can use something like an Excadrill or a Camerupt for the first half of the fight, while switching to an Emboar in the second half. Be wary of Malamar’s transformation into Mega Malamar in the final stretch.
After you beat Emma, she’ll reveal that she had been investigating Team Flare five years ago, and someone named Grisham was a trainee that the team taught. She doesn’t know if this is the very Grisham you’re looking for, but she suggests asking Mable at the Pokemon Research Lab for more information.
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Chasing Leads on Grisham
Follow the intel Emma gave you and head to the Pokemon Research Lab. Enter the facility and head to the third floor to find Mable. Talk to Mable and ask her about Grisham. She’ll then reveal that she herself was a part of Team Flare and personally knew Grisham, or “Gris” as he was fondly called. She then directs you to Nouveau Cafe in Centrico Plaza, which is where you need to go. But before you do, make sure to drop by a Pokemon Center to heal your party.
Head to Nouveau Cafe and talk to the guy in the food truck. Select the “Order a meeting with Grisham” option, and the food truck guy will start laughing and reveal himself to be Grisham. His assistant, Griselle, will then threaten you, but Grisham will call for peace. She’ll then send you a location she suggests heading to if you wish to uncover the truth.
Read: Pokemon Legends Z-A: A Rogue Mega Froslass Walkthrough
A Battle With Griselle
Head to the location Griselle shared with you, which is just northeast of the Magenta Plaza. The location you’ll find yourself at is Lysandre Cafe, the base of the now-defunct Team Flare. However, Team Flare Noveau, Grisham’s new team, now uses this building as their base. As Grisham tells you about the base and its history, Griselle throws a tantrum and challenges you to a fight, so you have no choice but to go to battle.
Grisell uses the following Pokemon in battle:
- Talonflame
- Camerupt
- Aerodactyl
- Metagross
- Pyroar
All of these Pokemon, except Metagross, are weak to Water. Keeping this in mind, we suggest bringing Barbaracle, Simipour, or Starmie to battle. Metagross is weak to fire, so for him, we suggest bringing a Charizard. Use these Pokemon to defeat Griselle and progress ahead.
Read More: Pokemon Legends Z-A: How To Get Aron, Lairon, and Aggron
A Meeting with Team Flare Nouveau
After you defeat Griselle in battle, she’ll calm down and turn polite. Grisham will walk up to you and offer to reveal the truth about Team Flare and his goals if you’re willing to listen. Head inside Lysandre Cafe and talk to Grisham. Grisham will reveal that Team Flare had noble intentions. However, their leader, Lysandre, lost faith in humanity and decided to rectify the issue by reducing humanity’s numbers. Lysandre did so using a devastating weapon, but this weapon was AZ’s creation. AZ was just as responsible for what happened to Kalos, according to Grisham.
Grisham, of course, understands that it isn’t easy to believe what he just revealed. To make the truth easier to digest, he has something he wishes to show you. He’ll open a secret door in a wall nearby, and this path leads to Lysandre Labs. This is where AZ built the weapon Lysandre used, and Grisham wants you to see it for yourself.
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Lysandre Labs
When you enter Lysandre Labs, you’ll find an elevator before you. To use this elevator, you need an Elevator Key. Proceed to the eastern side of the labs and fight the Pokemon along the way. You’ll find a glowing red console past the Houndoom you fight. Use this console to power up the lab and use the warp zone in front of you to warp to the next area.
Once you’re in the next section, it’s a linear hallway. Pass through this hall and you’ll enter a room with a Manectric. Defeat the Manectric and pick up the Lab Key Card A from the computer desk nearby. With the keycard, head back to the elevator area. You’ll find the lab next to this elevator. Use the keycard to enter the lab.
The lab has no power, so you’ll have to make your way to the northwestern end to find the power console. Activate the console to power up the warp zones, and use the one nearby to head to a small room. You’ll find another warp zone here, which you have to use to get to the next area.
As soon as you spawn into this area, pick up Lab Key Card B and climb the debris to your right to proceed ahead. You’ll find a locked door in the next hall, which you can open using the keycard you just picked up. Enter this section of the lab and head north till you find a power console. Use this console to power up the lab and use the warp zone nearby to get to the next area.
Finding the Elevator Key Card and Floor B3F
In the next area, you have to follow a series of warp zones to progress deeper into the labs. These warp zones will lead you into a large hall where you’ll find an Alpha Arbok surrounded by several Ekans. Defeat these Pokemon and pick up Lab Key Card C on the computer desk in this hall. Head east and you’ll find the door where you can use the keycard.
Unlock the door, and you’ll find a linear path that leads right to an Alpha Aegislash. Defeat the Alpha Aegislash and the two Honedge by his side to progress ahead. You’ll find the Elevator Key Card in the room right past this boss.
Head back to the elevator and use the keycard to access it. You then have the option of going to Floor B2F and Floor B3F. Head to Floor B3F. You can go to Floor B2F if you want EXP Candy L, but that area emerges as a dead end.
On Floor B3F, you’ll find a computer that has files going over AZ’s connection to Team Flare. View all four files and you’ll learn the truth. You’ll then be interrupted by L, and after a short cutscene full of exposition, you have to head back to Lysandre Cafe.
Also Read: Pokemon Legends Z-A: To Keep The World In Balance Walkthrough
Challenging Grisham
Talk to Grisham again, and he’ll ask you to steal AZ’s Floette and give it to him. Head back to Hotel Z and talk to AZ. You’ll then have a lengthy cutscene where AZ goes over his past sins and what drove him to create the ultimate weapon. He’ll tell you about Ange and the Prism Tower, and how he is behind the Rogue Mega Evolutions plaguing Lumiose City. Now, the tower must be stopped from going berserk, and the first step is to beat Grisham. To do so, you have to acquire 45000 Ticket Points to get a Challenge Ticket to fight Grisham in a Promotion Match. Acquire the points needed and then head back to Nouveau Cafe to challenge Grisham.
Fighting Grisham
Grisham uses the following Pokemon in battle:
- Pangoro, which is a Fighting/Dark-type.
- Malamar, which is a Psychic/Dark-type.
- Pyroar, which is a Fire-type.
- Tyranitar, which is a Rock/Dark-type.
- Salamence, which is a Flying/Dragon-type.
- Charizard, which is a Fire/Flying-type.
As you can see, this is quite a diverse roster, so you can’t bring in any one type to deal with them all. We recommend Pokemon such as Gardevoir, Altaria, or Slurpuff to deal with Pangoro, Malamar, and Salamence. Then, we suggest bringing Excadrill or Camerupt for the rest. Defeat Grisham to complete the quest and reach Rank A.
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