Pokemon Legends: Z-A – Everything we know

Pokemon Legends: Z-A is one of the most anticipated Nintendo games of the coming months, with plenty of excitement inspiring rumours, speculation, and chatter. We already know much about the game – its setting, characters, and new features – but there’s still ample mysteries surrounding it.

Will it connect to fellow Kalos games, X&Y? Will it tie into Pokemon Legends: Arceus? Only time and patience will help to answer these questions – but in the meantime, we can dive into what’s been revealed.

Here’s what we know about Pokemon Legends: Z-A so far.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A – Platforms and Release Date

Pokemon Legends Z-A is currently targeting launch in 2025. Given the lead-up to its announcement, we can assume the window refers to early 2025, but Nintendo hasn’t confirmed that yet.

What’s more important to note is the company has recently announced the Nintendo Switch 2, and Z-A could very likely be a launch game for this upcoming console, as its trailer revealed it will release “simultaneously” in 2025.

Read: Nintendo Switch 2: Predicting all the major launch titles

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 Nintendo Switch 2 and the original Nintendo Switch. Again, this hasn’t been confirmed by Nintendo, but it feels safe to assume as much.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A – Will the story connect to X&Y?

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.”

Read: The Pokemon Center has landed in Australia and New Zealand

“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.

Is Pokemon Legends: Z-A linked to 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

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.

What are the Pokemon starters in Legends: Z-A?

For now, Nintendo has not confirmed which starters will be included in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, but we can assume they will be native to the Kalos region, based on the setting of this upcoming game. There has been some speculation that Turtwig, Totodile, and Litten could be the starters, based on assumptions about a recent Pokemon TCG pack – but this does feel a bit unlikely.

With Lumiose City the focus of this adventure, Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie could return – but any combination of Kalos-native Pokemon could be included as starters.

Mega Evolutions will 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?

There are two likely points in time we’ll learn more about Pokemon Legends: Z-A. The first is the next major Pokemon Day – which is held annually on 27 February. Typically, The Pokemon Company will hold a special “Pokemon Presents” showcase on or around this date, with new game reveals included. This year’s celebrations have not been announced, but we anticipate more news soon.

The second likely point we’ll see more of Pokemon Legends: Z-A is on 2 April 2025, the day currently designated for the major Nintendo Switch 2 reveal. Given we anticipate this game will be a launch title for the new console, we assume (and hope) new details will be revealed during the showcase.

For now, we don’t know for sure when we’ll see more of this upcoming game, but it’s always good to stay hopeful, and to keep an eye on the horizon.

Stay tuned to GamesHub for the latest news and updates for Pokemon Legends: Z-A.