Taunie: The Lumiose Friend Who Keeps the Rejected Starters

She walks away with the two Pokémon the player didn't want. Taunie lives at Hotel Z, in Lumiose City, and serves as the gateway to Team MZ in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Helpful to the point of making it a full-time job, assertive as soon as battling comes up, she ends up fielding the most powerful team a non-player character has ever thrown at the player in the core series, battle facilities aside.

Contents

• A Hotel Z Resident Who Only Exists in One Playthrough out of Two
• Team MZ and the Investigation into Rogue Mega Evolution
• Three Starters Offered, Two Kept
• Infinite Z-A Royale: A Fixed Opponent, Then a Random Draw
• A Name Built on the City, a Family in Two Lines
• Taunie at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

A Hotel Z Resident Who Only Exists in One Playthrough out of Two

Taunie lives at Hotel Z, in Lumiose City, in the Kalos region, and that's where the player meets her. The game doesn't leave her as a mere background extra: she quickly goes from neighbor to friend, a status the story explicitly gives her.

Her portrait comes down to two traits. She's helpful to the point of making it a way of life, with Pokémon as much as with people — first and foremost AZ, who runs the hotel. She's also assertive, and clearly gifted at Pokémon battles.

Then there's a quirk in how she's built: Taunie has a male counterpart, Urbain. Choosing to play as the male protagonist removes Urbain from the story, so the two never coexist — a single role, written once, with two faces depending on the playthrough.

Team MZ and the Investigation into Rogue Mega Evolution

Taunie is a member of Team MZ, a group that has taken on the task of protecting Lumiose City. It isn't an organization whose door you have to force: once you've met, she's the one who brings the player into the group.

The investigation they carry out together has a precise target: Rogue Mega Evolution, a dangerous phenomenon erupting right in the city. So from the outset, the game sets up a relationship between teammates, not rivals.

That nuance matters for understanding the character. Many of the series' companions exist only to be beaten at regular intervals; Taunie first and foremost serves as the entry point into the plot, and she battles the player as early as Vert Sector 8, long before the Infinite Z-A Royale.

Three Starters Offered, Two Kept

The adventure opens with a choice she puts to the player herself: Chikorita, Tepig or Totodile. So it's a friend, not a lab figure, who hands out the starter Pokémon.

The detail that matters comes right after: she keeps the two species left on the sidelines. Her team becomes the exact negative of the player's decision, and two different playthroughs don't give her the same partners.

The device isn't new to the series, but it takes on particular weight here, since she stays by the player's side throughout the adventure. Your friend constantly carries the trace of what was turned down, and every battle quietly replays the first decision of the game.

🔥 The adventure's three starters have their own section: check out our Pokémon starters.

Infinite Z-A Royale: A Fixed Opponent, Then a Random Draw

The competition eventually puts her back in front of the player. Taunie is the opponent in the 15th match of the Infinite Z-A Royale, at a fixed rank the progression doesn't let you get around.

After that point, her status changes: from the 21st match onward, she joins the pool of possible opponents. She stops being a set milestone and becomes an encounter that can come up again in any round.

That's where her reputation is made. An expansion of the game raises her entire team to level 100 — Urbain's as well as her own — which makes it the most powerful lineup held by a non-player character in the core series, battle facilities aside.

A Name Built on the City, a Family in Two Lines

Her French name, Cety, comes from "city," and every localization keeps this urban thread. The Japanese タウニー Taunī and the English Taunie point to "townie," a town dweller; the German, Spanish and Italian versions play the same card.

Her personal records, meanwhile, come down to two mentions: a late mother and a maternal grandmother, Jett. The game develops neither one, and the character's profile stops there — a biography kept in reserve, as the series often does for its supporting cast.

Taunie at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Taunie in Pokémon Legends: Z-A?
  A Trainer who lives at Hotel Z, in Lumiose City. She becomes the player's friend, belongs to Team MZ, and is the one who brings the player into the group.
• Which starter Pokémon does Taunie offer?
  Chikorita, Tepig or Totodile. Once the choice is made, she keeps the two species the player left behind, so her team depends on the playthrough.
• What's the difference between Taunie and Urbain?
  Urbain is her male counterpart. Choosing to play as the male protagonist removes him from the story: the two characters never coexist in the same playthrough.
• Where do you battle Taunie?
  Several times, and not just in tournaments: the player first battles her twice in Vert Sector 8, then at Centrico Plaza. In the Infinite Z-A Royale, she's the opponent in the 15th match, then, from the 21st onward, she can be among the opponents drawn from the pool.
• Why is her team considered the strongest?
  Because an expansion of the game raises all her Pokémon to level 100. It's the most powerful team belonging to a non-player character in the core series, battle facilities excluded.

In short

Taunie brings together in a single character three roles the series usually spreads across several figures: the one who gives you your starter, the one who opens the door to a group, and the opponent who keeps coming back. Her name ties her to the city, her team to the player's first choice, and her very existence depends on the protagonist you pick. A friend by circumstance who ends up building the highest wall in the core series.