It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call Pokemon Legends: Arceus one of the best Pokemon games in recent memory – if not even among the series’ finest outings ever, period – so it’s no surprise that Pokemon Legends: Z-A has been turning heads the way it has been, even though details on it have been scarce since its announcement. Of course, recently, that changed with The Pokemon Company, Nintendo, and Game Freak providing a new look at the upcoming action RPG, and in the process showcasing its first gameplay footage. Plenty has emerged on Pokemon Legends: Z-A as a result, so here, we’re going to go over the ten most crucial newly revealed details that you should know about the game.
SETTING
Upon its announcement last year, it was confirmed that Pokemon Legends: Z-A would be set entirely in the Paris-inspired Lumiose City in the Kalos region, and more details have now emerged on that front. For starters, yes, the game is set entirely within the city, which means we won’t be exploring the entirety of Kalos again- just Lumiose itself, which is going to have to be larger and more fleshed out than any Pokemon city has been in a game to date. Crucially, unlike Pokemon Legends: Arceus, which was set in past Sinnoh, Z-A will take place in the present day. Clearly, Game Freak isn’t just following a formula laid down by Arceus.
STORY
Pokemon Legends: Z-A will see Lumiose City in the midst of what’s been dubbed an urban redevelopment plan, the goal of which is to make the city a space where people and Pokemon can co-exist and thrive together in total harmony. As the game begins, players will find themselves in Lumiose City during their travels, though how you become part of this redevelopment plan remains to be seen. Your base of operations throughout your journey in the thriving city will be Hotel Z, run by someone Pokemon X and Y fans will find familiar. Meanwhile, the mysterious legendary Pokemon Zygarde will also be involved, though exactly in what capacity is- well, appropriately enough, it’s a mystery.
CHARACTERS
Several characters who will play a central role in Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s story have also been revealed. Depending on whether you choose to play as a male or female trainer, you’ll meet either Taunie or Urbain, who are Pokemon Trainers who work at Hotel Z to help support the hotel’s owner. The owner, incidentally, is AZ, who was a key character in Pokemon X and Y. For those unfamiliar, he is more than 3,000 years old, the former king of the Kalos region, and was a key figure in an ancient war that was once fought in this part of the Pokemon world. AZ’s Pokemon partner, Floette, will also appear. Meanwhile, there’s also Jett, who’s the CEO of Quasartico, the corporation driving the Lumiose City urban redevelopment plan, Vinnie, who is Jett’s secretary.
STARTERS
“Who are the starters?” is the one question that everyone invariably asks any time a new Pokemon game is unveiled, and sure enough, the trio of pocket monsters who will serve as Pokemon Legends: Z-A have also now been revealed. Like its predecessor, it will bring mix and match starter Pokemon from previous regions, and like its predecessor, none of the three are from the region that it’s set in. Two of Johto’s starters are coming back in the form of Totodile and Chicorita (sorry, Cyndaquil, but this is what you get for Typhlosion’s many crimes), while the Unova region’s Tepig is also returning.
WILD ZONES
With Pokemon Legends: Z-A being set entirely in Lumiose City, there’s going to be a lit of urban environments, which is obviously going to be a big change from Arceus– but what does that mean about wild Pokemon battles? Scattered throughout the city, players will find a number of Wild Zones, which are chunks of Lumiose that have been cordoned off and designated exclusive habitats for wild Pokemon. This is where we’ll encounter, battle, and catch wild Pokemon, though exactly how many of these Zones there are in Lumiose City hasn’t been confirmed.
CITY EXPLORATION
Of course, as mentioned, you can expect plenty of city exploration- more so than in any other Pokemon game, in fact. Set entirely within the boundaries of the Kalos region’s biggest city, Pokemon Legends: Z-A will feature plenty of dense, urban environments for players to traverse. The newest footage for the game shows glimpses of some interesting traversal mechanics – from riding elevators to rooftops that seem fully explorable to double jumping across chasms between structures – though whether any of Arceus’ open world traversal mechanics will come back remains to be seen.
COMBAT
This is the one biggest piece of info about Pokemon Legends: Z-A, and it’s easy to see why. It’s hugely significant. For the first time in series history, battles in the game will not be turn-based. Real-time battles will now see both Pokemon and Trainers moving around freely, while attacks will also now be dodgeable. Different attacks will have different attributes like range and area of effect, and how and when you choose to unleash your attacks will be crucial to the flow of fights. Based on the footage shown (including the on-screen UI), each of your active Pokemon’s four moves will be assigned to a face button each, with each attack running on a cooldown.
MEGA EVOLUTIONS
From Z-Moves to Dynamax to Terastrallization, Pokemon has tried to replicate the success of Mega Evolutions with new gimmicks every generation, but none have come close to matching that first effort. The fan favourite gameplay feature was confirmed to be be coming back in Pokemon Legends: Z-A when it was announced last year, and its newest showing offered new looks at what it’ll look like. Using Key Stones and Mega Stones in combination, certain (but not all) Pokemon will temporarily mega evolve into super powerful versions of themselves, which will not only afford them new and explosive moves, but might might even grant them completely new types.
CONFIRMED MEGAS
In the footage that’s been revealed for Pokemon Legends: Z-A so far, several Mega Evolutions have been confirmed already. Officially confirmed to be in the game are Mega Evolutions for Gyarados, Kangaskhan, Absol, Gardevoir, Sableye, Altaria, Ampharos, Lucario, and both Mega Evolutions for Charizard. Presumably, we can probably also expect Mega Evolutions for Feraligatr, Meganium, and Emboar for the first time ever, seeing as they’re the the evolutions for our starters this time- though that hasn’t yet been officially confirmed.
LAUNCH
So when exactly can we get our hands on the game? Well, we don’t know the exact release date still, though The Pokemon Company and Nintendo have, at the very least, narrowed down its release window. Pokemon Legends: Z-A is officially due out in late 2025, with its Japanese trailers mentioning a Fall launch- which means we’re probably looking at a November release, which is a Fall month in the latter stages of the year. The game will be available on Nintendo Switch, though there’s no word yet on whether Nintendo intends to release it as a cross-gen title for the Nintendo Switch 2 as well. If nothing else, Switch 2 owners will be able to play the game via backward compatibility, so there’s that.
