Season two of Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s Ranked Battles began on November 5, and players all over the world are noticing an increase in the use of Xerneas, a Fairy-type Legendary Pokémon that looks like a deer. Since almost every competitive player uses Xerneas, Japanese players have taken to calling the arena location “Nara Park”.
Eligible Pokémon for Ranked Battles Season 2 include numbers 1-229 in the Lumiose Pokédex. It doesn’t matter what level your Pokémon are, as all of them will be automatically set to 50 when entering the mode. Regional forms are allowed, but only one Pokémon of each species and one Legendary Pokémon can be used in battle. That last rule is the cause of the recent Xerneas boom.
Currently, there are three Legendary Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Z-A: Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde. While Yveltal and Zygarde are no slouches, Xerneas’s high HP, attack, and special attack stats, along with its 680 base stat total, have made it the go-to choice for Ranked Battles players. In previous titles, the Pokémon was so strong that it was banned for many of Pokémon Sword and Shield’s Ranked Battles seasons.
As for the meme’s name, Nara Park is a real location in Nara City, Japan, and is home to approximately 1,300 wild deer. The deer are often drawn to crowds that feed them with special deer crackers sold at nearby stalls.
While there has yet to be an official count on the number of Xerneas that are being used in Ranked Battles season two, the Pokémon’s abundance certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed. It has gotten to the point where Steel-type Pokémon like Mega Metagross, which are naturally strong against Fairy-types like Xerneas, have started to become more prominent.
Trainers who reach Rank S for season two will receive Delphoxite – the Mega Stone used to evolve Delphox into Mega Delphox. Likewise, Greninjite – the Mega Stone that evolves Greninja into Mega Greninja – serves as the reward for reaching Rank Y. Given that these Mega Stones cannot be obtained through normal gameplay, it’s understandable why some players would want to sweat out Ranked Battles and pick the most meta Pokémon. The full list of Ranked Battle season two rewards can be found on the official Pokémon webpage.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is available on the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.
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