Learn how to unlock fast travel in Pokemon Legends Z-A. Complete Main Mission 4, earn a Challenger’s Ticket, and navigate Lumiose City efficiently with our guide.
Lumiose City is massive. We’re talking multiple districts, vertical layers with rooftops and sewers, Wild Zones scattered around the perimeter, and countless landmarks spread across the urban landscape. Walking everywhere on foot gets old fast, especially when you’re backtracking to Pokemon Centers, revisiting Wild Zones, or hunting down specific NPCs for side quests.
Enter fast travel—the quality-of-life feature that transforms Lumiose City from “intimidatingly large” to “conveniently navigable.” But here’s the catch: fast travel is locked at the start of the game. You’ll spend the first few hours hoofing it everywhere until you hit a specific story milestone.
Let me show you exactly when fast travel unlocks, how the system works, and the best ways to use it efficiently as you explore Pokemon Legends Z-A.
When Does Fast Travel Unlock?
Fast travel isn’t available from the beginning. The game deliberately makes you explore Lumiose City on foot during the early story missions, forcing you to learn the layout and understand the vertical navigation mechanics before handing you a teleportation system.
The Unlock Requirements
Story Mission: Main Mission 4: Battling In The Z-A Royale
Specific Objective: Complete your first real Battle Zone and earn a Challenger’s Ticket
What you need to do: Defeat three trainers in the Battle Zone to accumulate enough points for the Challenger’s Ticket
Clarification: This is NOT the Battle Zone you escape from at the very beginning of the game (that’s a tutorial section). This is your first actual ranked Battle Zone experience where you’re actively participating in the Z-A Royale system.
Timeline Expectations
How long until unlock? Most players reach this point approximately 2-3 hours into the game, depending on how much side content they explore and how quickly they progress through early missions.
Can you rush it? Yes, if you focus purely on main story objectives, you can unlock fast travel faster. However, exploring early areas thoroughly helps you discover Travel Spots that become fast travel points once the system unlocks.
Is it missable? No. Fast travel unlocks automatically as part of mandatory story progression. You can’t accidentally skip or miss it.
The Unlock Sequence
Here’s exactly how it happens:
- You enter your first Battle Zone for Main Mission 4
- You defeat three trainers to earn sufficient points
- You earn a Challenger’s Ticket
- You’re directed to the Pokemon Center to find Zach (your first Promotion Match opponent)
- A tutorial pop-up appears explaining fast travel basics
- Fast travel is now permanently unlocked
From this point forward, you can fast travel freely throughout Lumiose City to any discovered locations.
How Fast Travel Works: Two Methods
Once unlocked, Pokemon Legends Z-A gives you two ways to fast travel. Both accomplish the same thing—instant teleportation to a Travel Spot—but they differ in interface and convenience.
Method 1: Map Cursor Selection (Direct Selection)
This is the visual, exploratory method:
Step 1: Open your Map (check your controls for the map button)
Step 2: Move the cursor across the map until it hovers over a Travel Spot marker (these are clearly marked icons at major landmarks)
Step 3: Confirm your selection (typically pressing A or equivalent)
Step 4: Instant teleportation to the selected location
When to use this method:
- When you know exactly where you want to go visually
- When you’re exploring the map and spot a nearby Travel Spot
- When you prefer visual navigation over menu lists
Method 2: Travel Spots Menu (List Selection)
This is the faster, menu-driven method:
Step 1: Open your Map
Step 2: Press Y to open the Travel Spots sub-menu
Step 3: A complete list of all discovered Travel Spots appears
Step 4: Scroll through the alphabetized list
Step 5: Select your destination
Step 6: Instant teleportation
When to use this method:
- When you know the name of your destination but not its map location
- When you want to quickly scroll through options
- When you’re teleporting to frequently visited spots (Pokemon Centers, shops)
Pro tip: The Travel Spots list is your friend when you’re hunting for specific locations like the Stone Emporium on Vernal Avenue (where you buy evolution stones for Pokemon like Pikachu evolving to Raichu).
Understanding Travel Spots: What Counts?
Not every location in Lumiose City serves as a fast travel point. The game designates specific landmarks as Travel Spots, and you need to understand which locations qualify.
What Qualifies as a Travel Spot
Almost every major landmark functions as a Travel Spot:
- Pokemon Centers – Every Pokemon Center is a Travel Spot (extremely convenient for healing and restocking)
- Wild Zone entrances – Each Wild Zone gate has a Travel Spot marker
- Cafes and shops – Major commercial locations like Cafe Cyclone, Nouveau Cafe (Truck No. 2), Stone Emporium
- District landmarks – Significant structures and gathering points throughout sectors
- Story locations – Places tied to main missions and important side quests
- Hotel Z – Your home base serves as a Travel Spot
Some exceptions exist: Not literally every building or intersection is a fast travel point. Minor locations without significant gameplay relevance don’t get Travel Spot status.
The Discovery Requirement (Important!)
You cannot fast travel to undiscovered locations. This is critical to understand.
How it works:
- You must physically visit a location at least once
- Walking within range of a Travel Spot “discovers” it
- Once discovered, it appears on your Travel Spots list and map
- You can then fast travel to it anytime afterward
Practical implication: Early-game exploration pays dividends later. Every time you discover a new Travel Spot, you’re investing in future convenience. When a quest sends you to a distant location you’ve already discovered, you can fast travel instead of walking.
Strategic tip: Make a habit of exploring each district thoroughly when you first visit. Discover all Travel Spots in an area before moving on to the next. This front-loads exploration but saves massive time later in the game.
Strategic Fast Travel Usage
Fast travel isn’t just about convenience—it’s a strategic tool that, when used intelligently, dramatically improves your efficiency in Pokemon Legends Z-A.
Wild Zone Optimization
The scenario: You’re completing Wild Zones systematically, and you need to visit multiple zones in succession.
Without fast travel awareness: Walk from zone to zone, wasting time navigating streets
With fast travel strategy:
- Complete Wild Zone 2
- Fast travel directly to Wild Zone 3 entrance
- Complete that zone
- Fast travel to Wild Zone 4 entrance
- Repeat for all zones
Time saved: Substantial. You’re eliminating all inter-zone travel time.
Day/Night Cycle Efficiency
The scenario: You need to change time from day to night to catch nighttime-exclusive Pokemon.
The strategy:
- Fast travel to the Pokemon Center nearest your target Wild Zone
- Use the bench right outside the Pokemon Center to change time
- Enter the Wild Zone immediately
- No wasted walking time between bench and destination
Example: For Wild Zone 2’s nighttime-exclusive Staryu, fast travel to the nearest Pokemon Center, change time at the nearby bench, then walk directly into Wild Zone 2.
Resource and Shop Runs
The scenario: You need evolution stones, Poke Balls, healing items, or other purchasables.
The strategy:
- Fast travel to Stone Emporium for evolution stones
- Fast travel to Pokemon Center for Poke Balls and medicine
- Fast travel to Hotel Z to drop off items or rest
- Fast travel back to your exploration area
Why this matters: Shopping runs are frequent in Pokemon games. Fast travel turns what would be a 5-minute round trip into a 30-second teleport sequence.
Side Quest Efficiency
The scenario: You’re completing side quests that send you all over Lumiose City.
Without fast travel: Follow quest markers on foot, spending minutes navigating between objectives
With fast travel: Teleport directly to quest locations if they’re near discovered Travel Spots
Example: The Pan-Tastic Pot of Tea quest sends you to specific rooftops. Fast travel to Nouveau Cafe (Truck No. 2) puts you immediately near the scaffolding you need to climb.
Emergency Pokemon Center Access
The scenario: Your team is badly hurt mid-exploration, and you need healing immediately.
The strategy: Fast travel to the nearest Pokemon Center, heal your team, then fast travel back to where you were (if that location has a Travel Spot).
Why this beats walking: Prevents your weakened team from encountering aggressive trainers or wild Pokemon on the way to healing.
Integration With Other Game Systems
Fast travel connects to several other mechanics in Pokemon Legends Z-A:
Rooftop Exploration
When you’re exploring rooftops (which you should be—they have exclusive Pokemon spawns and items), fast travel gets you to ground-level landmarks quickly. From there, you navigate upward to rooftops.
Example: Fast travel to a district landmark, then climb to rooftops to hunt for rare Pokemon like Cleffa, Swirlix, or Riolu mentioned in our beginner tips guide.
Crafting Material Farming
If you’re farming specific materials like Colorful Screws or Clear Purple Sludge, fast travel lets you quickly revisit known spawn locations.
Strategy: Mark mental notes of high-density material spawn areas, then fast travel to nearby Travel Spots for efficient farming loops.
Treasure Hunting
Gold sparkles that contain Tiny Mushrooms and other treasures respawn over time. Fast travel enables quick routes to high-treasure areas.
Money-making loop:
- Fast travel to treasure-dense area
- Collect all sparkles
- Fast travel to Pokemon Center
- Sell treasures
- Repeat
Alpha Pokemon Hunting
If you’re hunting Alpha Pokemon with specific spawn locations, fast travel lets you quickly check spawn points and reset if needed.
Team Building Convenience
When you’re building a team with specific Pokemon and need to revisit Wild Zones for catches or evolution items, fast travel makes team assembly far less tedious.
Example: You want to add Eevee and plan evolutions, which requires evolution stones. Fast travel to Stone Emporium, purchase stones, fast travel to Wild Zone to test your new evolution in battle.
Common Fast Travel Questions
Yes! You can open your map and fast travel from almost anywhere, including inside shops, cafes, and Pokemon Centers. The few exceptions are during active story cutscenes or specific mission moments.
No. Fast travel is completely free and unlimited. Use it as much as you want without worrying about costs.
Yes, but you’ll first appear at the Wild Zone entrance (the Travel Spot), not inside the zone itself. You still need to walk through the entrance.
No. You must be out of active combat to access the map and fast travel. If you’re in a trainer battle or wild Pokemon encounter, you need to finish or flee first.
No. Once discovered, a Travel Spot remains on your map permanently. You never lose access to locations you’ve already found.
Yes. Time of day doesn’t restrict fast travel. You can teleport freely during both day and night cycles.
Functionally, no difference in travel mechanics. However, Pokemon Centers are strategically valuable Travel Spots because they offer healing, shopping, and often have benches nearby for time-changing.
Tips for Maximizing Fast Travel Benefits
1. Prioritize Pokemon Center Discovery
Pokemon Centers are the most valuable Travel Spots because they’re multi-functional. Make discovering all Pokemon Centers in Lumiose City a priority.
2. Use the Travel Spots List for Speed
The Y button menu is faster than cursor navigation once you know location names. Memorize frequently visited spots for instant selection.
3. Combine Fast Travel With Benches
Fast travel to locations near benches when you need to change time, since benches and Travel Spots often overlap in positioning.
4. Don’t Hesitate to Teleport for Small Tasks
Some players avoid fast travel for “short” distances, thinking it’s wasteful. It’s not. Teleporting even short distances saves time and energy. Use fast travel liberally.
5. Plan Quest Routes Around Travel Spots
When planning side quest completion, group quests by proximity to Travel Spots. Knock out all quests near one Travel Spot before moving to the next area.
6. Explore Systematically to Unlock Everything
Work through each district methodically, discovering all Travel Spots. An hour of thorough exploration early saves dozens of hours of walking later.
Fast Travel and Story Progression
As you progress through Pokemon Legends Z-A’s story, more areas of Lumiose City unlock, and with them, more Travel Spots.
Early game: Limited Travel Spots, mostly Pokemon Centers and major districts
Mid game: Most of Lumiose City accessible, Travel Spots covering all major areas
Late game: Complete network of Travel Spots spanning the entire city
Post-game: All Travel Spots unlocked, including any areas tied to post-story content
The number of available Travel Spots grows with your progression, making late-game navigation significantly easier than early-game exploration.
Comparison to Other Pokemon Games
If you’ve played previous Pokemon games, here’s how Pokemon Legends Z-A’s fast travel compares:
Traditional Pokemon games: Fly HM required, could only fly to visited Pokemon Centers
Pokemon Legends Arceus: Fast travel to camps and major locations
Pokemon Legends Z-A: Most refined system yet—teleport to almost any major landmark, no HM required, available after just a few hours of gameplay
Pokemon Legends Z-A’s fast travel is more generous and accessible than most entries in the series, which makes sense given how large and vertically complex Lumiose City is.
Final Thoughts: Your Most Important Tool
Fast travel in Pokemon Legends Z-A isn’t just a convenience feature—it’s essential for efficient gameplay. The city is too large and complex to navigate entirely on foot, especially when you’re juggling multiple objectives, revisiting Wild Zones, and completing side quests.
Key takeaways:
✓ Unlocks after Main Mission 4 (defeating three trainers in Battle Zone)
✓ Two methods: Map cursor selection or Y button Travel Spots list
✓ Must discover locations first before fast traveling to them
✓ Completely free and unlimited usage
✓ Works from almost anywhere except active combat
✓ Pokemon Centers are priority Travel Spots for healing and shopping access
The best advice? Embrace fast travel immediately upon unlock. Don’t fall into the trap of walking everywhere out of habit. Your time is valuable, and fast travel respects that by letting you focus on catching Pokemon, battling trainers, and completing objectives instead of spending minutes navigating streets you’ve already explored.
Now that you know how fast travel works, use it to explore Lumiose City efficiently and make the most of your Pokemon Legends Z-A adventure!
For official Pokemon Legends Z-A updates and information, visit the Pokemon Legends website or purchase the game from the Nintendo Store.
