Efficient Money and EXP Farming in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, progression is all about efficient farming—whether you're looking to level up your Pokémon, gather resources, or rack up some serious cash. As you advance through the game, you'll need a constant supply of money and experience points (EXP) to buy items, evolve your Pokémon, and prepare for tougher battles. Fortunately, there are optimal methods to farm both money and EXP at the same time, allowing you to maximize your time in the game. Here's a breakdown of the best ways to farm both in one go, so you can quickly get the most out of your gameplay.

Early Game: Money and EXP Farming

To start with, you'll need to focus on acquiring three specific canary plush items: red, gold, and pink. These items are crucial for optimizing both your EXP and money farming. The red canary plush increases the amount of EXP you gain, the gold plush boosts your earnings, and the pink plush maximizes the amount of mega shards you collect. You can obtain these plush items by collecting colorful screws around Lumio City. Once you've maxed them out, they’ll significantly improve your farming efficiency.

How to Catch Key Pokémon for Farming

When you're in the early stages of the game, head over to Wild Zone 2 to find an alpha Magikarp, a key Pokémon for your farming strategy. Catching an alpha Magikarp guarantees you a Pokémon with 252 HP EVs and three perfect IVs, making it a prime candidate for evolving into Gyarados. If the Magikarp you catch doesn't have an Adamant nature, you can head over to a vendor in Rouge Sector 1 to buy an Adamant Nature Mint.

Once you’ve evolved your Magikarp into Gyarados, it's time to dive into the ZA Royale. At rank W, all trainers in the ZA Royale will have Pokémon at level 20, so your newly evolved Gyarados can easily defeat them. Aim for a consistent number of battles, ideally over 30 per night, to maximize your coin multiplier and boost your rewards. For example, after completing 28 battles, I earned 72,000 Poké Dollars and leveled up my team by 27 levels.

Mid Game: Strengthening Your Strategy

Once you reach rank F, you'll unlock Mega Evolution, allowing you to spend mega shards collected around Lumio City. One of the most effective ways to farm money and EXP at this stage is by purchasing small experience candies using mega shards. These candies can be used to quickly level up your Pokémon, especially for key farming Pokémon like Gyarados or Dratini.

If you’re looking to farm even more efficiently, catch an alpha Dratini in the Blue Sector 9. Dratini is another essential Pokémon for this farming method due to its EV bonuses and high potential. After catching Dratini, you'll want to evolve it into Dragonite by using mega shards to buy small candies. Additionally, complete side mission 28 to acquire the Silk Scarf item, which boosts the power of normal-type moves.

Late Game and Post Game: Optimizing Your Setup

In the late game, once you’ve trained your Dragonite and optimized its moveset (including Extreme Speed and Earthquake), you can continue farming money and EXP in the ZA Royale. At rank F, trainers will have Pokémon around level 34, and your Dragonite, now at level 55, should easily sweep through them.

By the time you reach the post-game, you’ll have access to additional features like EV and IV training, allowing you to maximize the effectiveness of your Dragonite. To remove unwanted EVs, visit the Rust Syndicate building and speak to an NPC who can reset EVs for just five mega shards. After resetting, you can purchase items like HP Ups and Proteins to maximize Dragonite’s stats.

Furthermore, by completing the post-game side mission 109, you’ll unlock the Lucky Egg, which provides an EXP boost for any Pokémon holding it. Equipping this to a Pokémon like Greninja while running through the ZA Royale can give you impressive EXP gains. For example, after completing 39 battles with Dragonite, I received 183,000 Poké Dollars, and my Greninja leveled up by 23 levels.

Key Farming Tips

Maximize Your Coin Multiplier: Aim to win over 30 battles in one night to reach the maximum coin multiplier of 3x.

Buy Shiny Pokémon Efficiently: Once you’ve accumulated enough coins, you can buy shiny Pokémon for your team from trusted sources like U4GM.

Optimize Your Pokémon Setup: Keep evolving and leveling up your Pokémon for maximum efficiency in farming both EXP and money.

This farming method combines multiple aspects of gameplay, allowing you to level up your Pokémon and farm money in the most efficient way possible. Whether you're early in the game or approaching the post-game, these strategies will help you become a formidable force in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.