Published Mar 7, 2026, 6:00 AM EST
Derek's love of games came at an early age when his parents first brought home the Nintendo Entertainment System. From then on, countless nights were spent hunting ducks, stomping turtles, exploring far off planets, and combing through dungeons with a trusty sword and shield. Originally growing up exclusively with Nintendo products, Derek's perspective grew to include other platforms ranging from Sony, to Microsoft, the PC, and more. As his views and opinions grew, so did the desire to connect with other players and video game fans. In 2011, his writing adventure began on his personal blog, eventually joining up with the GameRant crew in 2015. He currently covers everything from features and guides, to the latest breaking video game news.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A is giving players a chance to add a free alpha version of a classic starter, though there are a few things necessary in order to make it happen. Despite just releasing a few months ago back on October 15, 2026, Pokemon Legends: Z-A has already given players another whole expansion to play through with Mega Dimension, adding another whole questline with even more Pokemon and Mega Evolutions to add to the PokeDex.
Recent Pokemon titles are no stranger to giving away free rewards to players through the Mystery Gift system after connecting online. Pokemon Legends: Z-A follows this pattern, having handed out a number of goodies to players since it launched late in 2025. Including some pre-order bonuses, Pokemon Legends: Z-A has given out a Ralts holding a Gardevoirite Mega Stone, Mewtwonite X and Mewtwonite Y, Diancite, and even items like Max Revives, Ultra Balls, and Full Restores. Commonly, players would need to go to the Link Play option to connect to the internet and then claim the items from the Mystery Gift option, though with this latest giveaway, players will need to connect to a different option entirely.
A Pokemon Legends: Z-A event is introducing a brand-new Mega Evolution to the game, giving fan-favorite Pokemon Garchomp a fearsome new form.
For this latest free giveaway, Switch and Switch 2 players will need to connect their Pokemon Legends: Z-A game with the mobile version of Pokemon HOME. For those unaware, Pokemon HOME is essentially a cloud service that allows players to transfer and store Pokemon between connected games. It's worth noting that at the time of publication, the functionality for transferring Pokemon from Legends: Z-A to HOME isn't yet available, and there isn't a date for when that option will be turned on, so it's almost like players will be preparing their game for when it is enabled.
However, even if the transfer process isn't live yet, players will get a reward for making the connection in the form of a free, level 5 Alpha version of Generation 2 Pokemon starters Totodile and Chikorita, as well as the Pokemon Black and White fire starter Tepig. While all three can be found in Lumiose City, players have to rely on a little bit of spawn luck to find them after finishing the main campaign. Specifically, Mission 38 will first need to be completed and then players will need to hunt in very specific zones of Wild Area 20 in Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Again, while more than possible, earning Alpha versions of these three by simply connecting to HOME is a much easier and faster method.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Alpha variants were originally introduced in Pokemon Legends: Arceus and represent stronger and more powerful versions of what players would typically come across. Wild Alpha Pokemon can be seen in Pokemon Legends: Z-A with red eyes and are typically much larger, not hesitating to attack players on sight. Confined to Wild Areas, players will start seeing them spawn after finishing the "A Big Ol' Bunnelby" side mission, which is required to progress the story, so it can't be missed. From there, players visiting Wild Areas will commonly see an Alpha version patrolling the grounds, with different types typically seen during the day and night.
There's another reason for this push to connect to Pokemon HOME, however. With the launch of Pokemon Champions in April, players will be able to use their storage in HOME to transfer their creatures from Legends: Z-A to get a head start on the competitive action. In fact, there's another special event involving HOME, Legends: Z-A and Champions. Players need to send a caught Chesnaught, Delphox, Greninja, or Eternal Flower Floette from Legends: Z-A to Champions once it launches using HOME to also be able to use their Mega Stones in the upcoming mobile title.
