Bois the Heracross — Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s Most Valuable Team Member
October 23, 2025
It’s rare for a single Pokémon to ever become a unifying part of the player experience, but Bois the Heracross has cemented himself as an integral figure in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Available through one of the few mandatory Side Missions, Side Mission 002, Bois the Heracross joins in at an incredibly opportune time. Still in the early game, most players likely don’t have a set party. So when Bois joins, there’s almost always going to be room for him on the active team.
It takes little for Bois the Heracross to prove himself, an incredible asset from the very start. Though Bois isn’t quite irreplaceable, there’s nothing sensible to drive that change. He’s an ideal team member for so many different reasons, and that’s easy for players to see. It’s no accident that Bois ends up a stalwart of many Pokémon Legends: Z-A teams. He offers just about everything you could need.
Heracross Has Incredible Base Stats for an Early-Game Pokémon
Bois becomes available right around when most players’ best Pokémon is likely their starter’s middle-evolution. Heracross, in comparison, is significantly stronger. Not only is it more complete stats-wise, but Heracross is a whole tier of offense better than what players are likely to be used to by that point.
Heracross’ monstrous 125 base Attack stat is a threat to most Pokémon, not just the early-game ones. Bois will also always come with a Brave nature, which further amplifies his dominance over others. Speed is arguably the least important stat in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Sacrificing Speed for an even higher Attack stat is more than worth it for Bois.
Heracross is also surprisingly bulky, making Bois a solid switch-in for almost any situation. This holds up even in the late-game. Bois is capable of taking big hits, while doing plenty of damage himself. You really couldn’t ask for more. The only matchup that Bois will outright lose is against Flying-types.
Bois Has Great Move Variety
A lot of early-game Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Z-A are fairly one-note. Move coverage isn’t really a thing until more evolved Pokémon start becoming available in the wild zones. Early Mable’s Research TMs may even go wholly unused through that whole span of time. Bois the Heracross is a welcome exception to that reality.
Rock Smash and Shadow Claw are a pair of TMs that Bois can make great use of immediately. They pair well with Pin Missile and Aerial Ace in the early-game, which are already a part of his learnset. Bois ends up being a valuable flexible attacker, able to hit everything, at minimum, for neutral damage. And anything that Bois can hit for super effective damage won’t survive for very long.
Heracross has access to great late-game moves, as well, so Bois can easily thrive as a team member through the full length of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. His ability to deal with just about any Pokémon makes him hard to replace.
Bois Has An Easily Accessible Mega Evolution
Pokémon that can Mega Evolve undoubtedly have greater value in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Dealing with Rogue Mega Pokémon is so much easier when you have multiple Megas that you can cycle between. Plus Moves are a great feature and all, but nothing beats a proper Mega Evolution.
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Bois’ early availability sets him up to be an incredibly easy Mega Evolution to take advantage of. It definitely helps that the Heracronite is relatively cheap and easy to acquire, available for purchase at Quasartico once the story has been progressed enough. Since Bois is likely to already be on the team, that purchase is a no-brainer. For being one of the earliest Mega Evolutions that you can get, Mega Heracross is easily one of the most destructive forces in the game.
Bois’ legacy will live on forever. At this point, he’s already an iconic part of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. His unrivaled strength has earned him that much. Because, as some would say, "If nobody got me, I know Bois got me."
