Nintendo and Game Freak announced Pokemon Legends: Z-A during the Pokemon Presents of February 2024, with a mysterious trailer hinting at a vast and exciting new adventure. Since this trailer, there’s been plenty of questions about what exactly Z-A is, and how it will tie into the mainline Pokemon games. Is it connected to Pokemon Legends: Arceus? Is it related to Pokemon X&Y? There’s plenty of mysteries worth exploring, so let’s dive in.
Here’s everything we know about Pokemon Legends: Z-A.
Table of Contents
Pokemon Legends: Z-A – Release Date and Platforms
As confirmed during the Pokemon Presents, Pokemon Legends Z-A is currently targeting launch in 2025. Given the year-long lead-up to its announcement, we can assume that’s early 2025, but Nintendo hasn’t quite confirmed that yet.
What’s perhaps more important to note is that the company is announcing its next console by March 2025, and new games will likely launch alongside it. Z-A is a likely launch game for the “Nintendo Switch 2” as its trailer revealed it will release “simultaneously” in 2025.
This wording is typically used to denote launches on multiple consoles (otherwise, Nintendo would’ve left it at “releases worldwide”) so we can assume Z-A will be coming to the next Nintendo console and the Nintendo Switch. Again, this hasn’t been confirmed by Nintendo, but it feels safe to assume as much.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A – Plot and X&Y Connections
The Pokemon Legends: Z-A trailer has confirmed this game is set within Lumiose City, which was first introduced in Pokemon X and Pokemon Y for Nintendo 3DS. Lumiose is one of the largest cities in the Kalos region, and operates as the heart of this location.
Per the game’s official description, Lumiose will be the only location featured in Z-A, so we can expect it will be significantly expanded from its appearance in X&Y: “A new adventure awaits within Lumiose City, where an urban redevelopment plan is underway to shape the city into a place that belongs to both people and Pokémon.”
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“Urban development” seems to be the key theme of this upcoming adventure, with Lumiose City in the midst of a major expansion. This is also hinted at by the “blueprint” style trailer which depicts Lumiose as a neon city in flux.
Beyond these clues, Nintendo and Game Freak are yet to fully expand on the plot and story of the upcoming game – although we can make further assumptions it will feature players learning more about Pokemon and exploring Lumiose City thoroughly.
Will Pokemon Legends: Z-A connect with Pokemon Legends: Arceus?
Pokemon Legends: Z-A and Pokemon Legends: Arceus don’t have a clear connection just yet, beyond sharing a subtitle. While there has been speculation that Arceus hinted at Z-A through clues hidden in clothing, these theories are fairly wild and unfounded.
For now, Nintendo and Game Freak haven’t drawn a parallel between these games, or explained what their shared “Legend” subtitle actually means. While we could certainly see them connect in future, as the vision for Z-A becomes clearer, for now, they do appear to be separate games.
Arceus is a game about Pokemon researchers charting a distant past (although the game’s protagonist comes from the future, and could be seen in Z-A). In Z-A, players will explore a future where Pokemon and humans are more connected.
Should Z-A take anything from Arceus, we do hope there’s some interrelation between the exploration and Pokemon-catching mechanics in these adventures. Pokemon Legends: Arceus introduced a brilliant Pokemon Go-style catching mechanic where you could directly throw Poke Balls at wandering creatures, and it worked brilliantly to streamline the action. Likewise, the game’s fully-explorable open world was a real joy, and allowed for a bright sense of freedom.
For now, we’ll have to wait to see gameplay from Pokemon Legends: Z-A to know whether it will borrow from the biggest successes of Arceus.
Why is Pokemon Legends: Z-A called that?
The title of Pokemon Legends: Z-A is currently very mysterious – but there are clues to its origins hiding in its official logo design. Looking at the “Z-A” it appears quite clear the logo is inspired by the colour palette and pattern of Zygarde, the Dragon/Ground Legendary Pokemon first introduced in Pokemon X&Y. The scales, colours, and leafy details match perfectly, and it makes sense that this would be the case.
The prior Pokemon Legends title was named after Arceus, another Legendary Pokemon, so we can assume the subtitle is meant to refer to Legendary Pokemon. If the “Z” of the title also stands for Zygarde, we could assume the “A” stands for Arceus, drawing a parallel between the two games, and perhaps interrelating them.
It’s also possible that Z-A is simply a placeholder name that could be replaced once Nintendo and Game Freak are ready to show more. Should the game stick to past naming conventions, it’s possible this game could be named Zygarde in future – but of course, that’s pure speculation.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A – Every confirmed Pokemon
So far, a range of Pokemon have been confirmed to appear in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, including many previously featured in Pokemon X and Pokemon Y. As spotted in early trailers, we know the following Pokemon will appear:
Pikachu, Pyroar, Floette, Litleo, Klefki, Furfrou, Flabébé, Fletchling, Dragonair, Gyarados, Emolga, Arbok, Absol, Hippopotas, Skrelp, Magikarp, Staryu, Hawlucha, Sylveon, Pinsir, Heracross, Talonflame, Onix, Bellsprout, Aegislash, Sandile, Krookodile, Pangoro, and Ariados. In addition, you can expect each of these Pokemon to have their evolutions present in the game, so add Eevee and its other Eeveelutions, Dragonite, Pancham, and so on, to the list.
Mega Evolutions are set to return in Pokemon Legends: Z-A
As a nice surprise, the Z-A trailer also revealed the return of Pokemon Mega Evolutions. While we haven’t seen any Mega Evolutions just yet, the rainbow logo for the power-up appeared briefly, as a teaser.
For now, we don’t know what role Mega Evolutions will play in the story, but given they’ve already been teased (ahead of any significant character or story reveals), we can assume they’ll be plot-relevant.
When will we learn more about Pokemon Legends: Z-A?
At this stage, Nintendo has not revealed future plans for a new Pokemon Presents or Nintendo Direct, so there may be a long wait to hear more about Pokemon Legends: Z-A. That said, the last Pokemon Presents was way back in February 2024, so there’s every chance a new showcase could happen soon.
It feels less likely we’ll get a new Nintendo Direct in the coming months, as these tend to be quite rare and the last one took place in June, but Nintendo has become very good at surprising fans – so it’s still possible. It’s also worth noting Nintendo plans to reveal its Nintendo Switch successor console by March 2025, so we could see more Z-A reveals tied to these launch plans.
Stay tuned to GamesHub for the latest news and updates for Pokemon Legends: Z-A.
