Summary
- New gameplay footage for Pokémon Legends: Z-A appeared at today’s Nintendo Direct.
- Nighttime in Lumiose City will focus on battling.
- Pokémon Legends: Z-A is set to release in late 2025.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A made a surprise appearance at today’s Nintendo Direct, showing off more of Lumiose City and introducing Z-A Royale, the city’s nighttime battling culture.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is expected to be a launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2 but will also be released on the original Switch hardware, as evidenced by its appearance at the non-Switch 2 Direct.
Legends: Z-A brings us back to Lumiose City and the Kalos region from Pokémon X and Y. The entirety of Legends will occur within Lumiose, which has been expanded significantly since its X and Y days.
The gameplay footage displayed in today’s Nintendo Direct showed off Lumiose City at night. While wandering the city at night, you’ll be challenged to battles by various trainers. Game Freak is trying to paint a contrast between Lumiose during the day, where the focus is on catching Pokémon, and during the night, where the focus is battling.
The City Comes Alive at Night
It’s already been confirmed that the beloved mega evolution mechanic is returning in Legends Z-A. Before Z-A, there were 46 different Pokémon capable of mega evolution. The mechanic debuted in Pokémon X and Y and returned in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the generation three remakes. Legends Z-A is set to introduce several more mega evolutions. However, Game Freak has yet to announce which Pokémon are going to be receiving these new forms.
The last Pokémon Direct introduced Legends Z-A’s starter Pokémon: Chikorita, Totodile and Tepig. Leakers have suggested that no new regional forms are included in Legends Z-A, a departure from the game’s predecessor, Legends Arceus, which introduced sixteen Hisuan forms. The focus of Legends Z-A is squarely on the new mega evolutions.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is expected to release during 2025, but Game Freak has yet to confirm a specific release date.
