Pokemon Day has come and gone, and in the wake of Pokemon's biggest stage for yearly announcements, fans have been left with a ton to look forward to for 2025 and beyond. The Pokemon Company announced some exciting developments in the gaming sector, with Pokemon Champions being revealed as the next generation of Pokemon Stadium-like battling, and Pokemon TCG Pocket having a new booster pack released the day of the presentation.
The crown jewel of the presentation, and what is likely the news many have been waiting for, was the in-depth look at Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Since the release of Legends: Arceus, The "Legends" brand of games has quickly found its way into the hearts of fans of the franchise, particularly due to their unique take on just what shape Pokemon games can truly take.
While Legends: Arceus did a great job of presenting new mechanics to the Pokemon video game franchise, Z-A seems ready to take these changes a few steps further to make the game even more unique and engaging than its predecessor. Let's take a look at some of the things that we can look forward to in this newest installment in the Legends line of games:
Upgraded immersion and customization options:
For any fan of true open-world games, immersion is often high on the list of aspects one takes into account when judging their experience in any given fantasy world. In past Pokemon games in this vein, be it Arceus or Scarlet and Violet, there have been lacking elements which, despite having a vast world, make it seem relatively devoid of actual life. Taking Arceus as an example, static NPCs in the main hub of the game, Jubilife Village, make the urban areas of the game seem rather lifeless even if there are numerous NPCs to interact with
The opening scenes of the in-depth look at Legends: Z-A seem to suggest that Pokemon have taken this into account this time, with NPCs and Pokemon alike freely moving about the vast metropolis that is Lumiose City. While it may seem like a small element at face value, for someone like myself who values immersion very highly in games I play, this simple fact is extremely exciting from the standpoint that this game may perhaps have the most interactive world in the franchise that we've seen to date. Ample NPCs also means the possibility of a strong roster of side quests aside from the main story, which will only enrich the experience players have with this title.
In addition to life-filled NPCs, Lumiose itself seems to be filled with various shops, cafes and structures for us to visit, which is something that Scarlet and Violet very much lacked. The cities were filled with buildings that players could not enter or explore, and the shops for the most part were loading screens. This, coupled with the limited customization options provided in the main-line games, was a step back from what we'd seen in the previous generation of Sword and Shield.
Because of the focus on urban environments that Z-A is set to have, it would seem that players will be very much able to explore more of these areas in the city, making it even more vast of a game than what we've seen so far. That, coupled with the numerous shops on display could mean that there will be an exceptional amount of customizable options for what players will be able to wear and use, making each character unique to every person's own play-through, which in itself is a sometimes underrated source of in-game immersion.
Pokemon-catching mechanics build on those implemented in Legends: Arceus
If you've ever played a mainline Pokemon game, the concept of Pokemon fainting has been around since the very beginning. In most games, the goal when catching a Pokemon has been to get it's health low enough to where it's easy to catch in a ball, while striking the balance of making sure it's HP does not hit zero, lest it faint and you lose the opportunity to snag it for yourself.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A seems to be taking a different approach. Within the contents of the trailer we see the player character battle a Flaaffy and reduce its HP to zero seemingly, leaving it dazed and confused, with the player character then throwing a Pokeball to catch it.
This new feature builds on the already returning features implemented in Legends: Arceus, where a player can freely throw Pokeballs at Pokemon outside of battle, be it blatantly or through sneaking up to their intended target. It is a simple yet crucial element in these games that makes the Legends games so beloved; catching Pokemon is an active, and not passive task.
Real-time Pokemon battles:
A feature that has been anticipated since the series' inception, real-time Pokemon battling will finally arrive in Legends: Z-A. Game Freak and Pokemon seem ready to deviate away from their turn-based formula, and Z-A will be the first setting where this will be tested in its initial capacity.
Trainer battles, as well as battles with wild Pokemon are set to include move cooldowns, area of effect moves, and moves of varying range. The trainer and Pokemon will be forced to move around the field to dodge attacks, making battles a far more active task. There will be far more pressure on the player to be strategic in their movements and when/ how they choose to swap Pokemon in battle. As much as the turn-based style is ingrained in the community
One question that remains regarding this feature is if Pokemon moves will be able to damage the trainer the way they were able to in Legends: Arceus.This added level of danger during encounters upped the stakes if a player wasn't careful, and it will be interesting to see if this element is retained in Legends Z-A as well.
The return of Mega Evolutions:
When it comes to battle gimmicks, Pokemon have really struggled to live up to the original; Mega Evolutions. Numerous gimmicks such as Dynamax,Terrastalization, and Z-moves have followed, but none have scratched that particular itch the same way mega evolution has been able to.
Originating in X and Y, mega evolution is set to make its return as the core mechanic through which players can bring out the most power out of their Pokemon partners. Through the use of key stones, Pokemon who have developed strong bonds with their trainers will be able to mega evolve, with many beloved forms such as Lucario and Charizard returning in Legends: Z-A. The designs linked with this gimmick are far more aesthetically pleasing and unique in my eyes than the different forms we’ve seen with gimmicks that have followed.
There is a general expectation that a few Pokemon which previously did not have mega evolutions may end up getting new forms, an exciting prospect to say the least. While we haven’t seen mega evolution in any main line game since the Let's Go series, the hope is that this new emphasis on the battle gimmick means that we will see more of it in the future.
A return to some of the franchise most interesting lore:
As with the release of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, the release of Legends: Z-A coincides with the question of “just what time period do we think these games will be set in?”. The answer, while not explicitly stated in the trailer, seems to be in a time period that takes place after the events of the original Pokemon X and Y main-line games.
The high tech nature of communication and re-development, along with the re appearance of AZ alongside his eternal Floette seems that the game will be building on the lore that the X and Y games initially exposed us to. In X and Y, AZ is a figure of legend that built a weapon to destroy two warring regions that cost the life of his Floette. He plays an important role in X and Y where the player character inadvertently reunites him with his Floette after 3,000 years.
Pokemon’s return to this storyline signifies a return to one of the most intense and well written epochs of the game franchise, adding a level of maturity and gravity to the story that the main line games have lacked to a degree. It will be very interesting to see which direction they look to take these characters and what role they will play in the events of Legends Z-A to come.