Despite being only the second game to adopt the “Pokemon Legends” name, Pokemon Legends: Z-A seems to be making some dramatic changes from its predecessor, Pokemon Legends: Arceus. One of the biggest changes Pokemon Legends: Z-A is making from Legends: Arceus is the setting, taking place in modern-day Lumiose City rather than a hundred years in the past. This change could allow Legends: Z-A to be the sequel to Pokemon X and Y that fans have been craving, but it may also mean that one type of character from Legends: Arceus won’t be present.
So far, Pokemon Legends: Z-A has revealed just a handful of the characters players will encounter as they embark on their journey to revitalize Lumiose City. Newcomers like Jett and Vinnie seem primed to play major roles in the game’s plot, and the return of AZ is a good sign that Legends: Z-A will follow up on the lore introduced in X and Y. However, the modern-day setting of the game could mean that players won’t get to see another character like Legends: Arceus‘ Ingo.
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Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Apparent Setting May Rule Out Another ‘Ingo’ Character
Ingo Was Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ Most Surprising Character
Pokemon Legends: Arceus introduced a wide cast of characters for fans to meet, including the members of the Galaxy Expedition Team, those in the Diamond and Pearl Clans, and the residents of Jubilife Village. Out of all the characters in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, fans quickly gravitated toward the Pearl Clan Warden Ingo, who looked suspiciously familiar to fans of the Gen 5 games. When it was revealed that the Ingo in Pokemon Legends: Arceus is the same as the one in Pokemon Black and White—having been transported back in time similarly to the protagonist—the door opened for future Legends games to feature a similar character.
However, the fact that Pokemon Legends: Z-A takes place not in the past, but in a current-day version of Lumiose City could upset this trend. While the game could feature some type of time or space-traveling character, it wouldn’t make as much sense as it did in Legends: Arceus given the nature of that game’s plot. As such, Pokemon Legends: Z-A may not be able to repeat the feat that Legends: Arceus did with its inclusion of an underrated character from a previous generation like Ingo, and give their character more depth and intrigue.
Ingo is one of the two leaders of the Battle Subway in the Gen 5 Pokemon games, whereas he is the warden for Sneasler in Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
How Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Modern Setting Can Make Up for a Lack of ‘Ingo’ Character
Even without a character plucked from a different time, Pokemon Legends: Z-A still has plenty of room to bring back an underdeveloped character from the franchise and give them a glow-up. The strongest candidate for this treatment is AZ, who has already been confirmed to be the owner of Hotel Z in Legends: Z-A. While this role may seem like a far cry from AZ’s past as an ancient king of Kalos, there could potentially be more to his character in Legends: Z-A than meets the eye.
Another option Pokemon Legends: Z-A could opt for is to simply bring a character from another modern region over to Kalos for the events of this game. Pokemon Sun and Moon‘s inclusion of cameos from Unova faces like Colress and Grimsley shows that this type of appearance isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Characters like the Frontier Brains from Pokemon Platinum‘s Battle Frontier would be great candidates for a cameo like this, as they are mechanically important in their home games, but feature very little character development, which Legends: Z-A could use to its advantage.
