Pokémon Legends Z-A announced, releasing 2025 on Nintendo Switch

[Ara63]

There needs to be a word invented to encapsulate the "get-badges-and-defeat-the-Champion" style of game.

Then you could say "the mainline Pokémon games, made up of the 'whatever' games, and the Legends games (and the Let's Go games if you consider them separate)" and all the debate about mainline vs spin-offs would cease.

 

[Pancracio17]

A pokemon game set entirely within a city is such an exciting concept. A great opportinity to explore people living their daily life with Pokemon.

 

[xpownz]

There needs to be a word invented to encapsulate the "get-badges-and-defeat-the-Champion" style of game.

Then you could say "the mainline Pokémon games, made up of the 'whatever' games, and the Legends games (and the Let's Go games if you consider them separate)" and all the debate about mainline vs spin-offs would cease.

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"Linear" is the word you're looking for

 

[Saucycarpdog]

The description of the city sounds interesting. A place where both people and Pokemon live.

So like that city in Detective Pikachu?

 

[Kenai]

I mean, it's 'Pokemon Z' in name only, and not even really that. This isn't a director's cut version of Gen 6.

It's a new Legends game seemingly with the same exact structure to the last one. Lumiose will be the one major developed area, and we are tasked with helping expand the city. The trailer showing the blue sketch of the city and Lumiose Tower and so on are the 'town plans'.

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If Z ever came back at this point we couldn't really expect it to be anything else, we are talking about an unreleased third version of (imo) the weakest gen in the series. Several of my favorite Pokemon games are in the "spin-off" category too. They tend to be a lot more creative in them regarding gameplay structures. Compare Arceus to BDSP and I know which one I had more fun with.

 

[Lady Bow]

I definitely sense the vibe that there might be some time travel aspect where you switch between past and future Lumiose. It's the only way I see the "Legends" aspect gameplay working or making sense in this; where past Lumiose is more open-plains and similar to PL:A while future Lumiose is the one we remember from X&Y but way bigger.

 

[Jindujun]

That would be neat, also Mykel Ryan did an entire Norse Pokedex:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is0FfSbAOFI

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While TOTALLY awesome, they don't really add anything new or innovative and some feel like pure copies... Though that might be me being very harsh. Though I AM intrigued by the mosquito pokemon and the Nikklaws but something like that would never EVER appear in a Pokemon game. Catlantic should have been a Perch/Pike pokemon to be more aligned with the Scandinavian theme, same thing with the Redda which should have been more inspired by the European Adder.
So as a scandinavian myself I find myself liking the Pokedex but it's not really screaming "scandinavia" to me... Oh and since we have an icecream pokemon the scandinavian region should ABSOLUTELY have included Rød pølse inspired pokemon!

 

[Kinsei]

"Linear" is the word you're looking for

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But Scarlet/Violet is open world and still clearly a mainline game.

 

[udivision]

I definitely sense the vibe that there might be some time travel aspect where you switch between past and future Lumiose. It's the only way I see the "Legends" aspect gameplay working or making sense in this; where past Lumiose is more open-plains and similar to PL:A while future Lumiose is the one we remember from X&Y but way bigger.

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That sounds like it'd work. Going to the past to catch mons and resolve issues that will fix things in the future. It would also also there to be more trading/battling in the future with actual trainers which is something the original PLA lacked.

 

[Steamy Manatee]

C'mon now...you don't really think that do you? If there's a gen 5 remake/Legends, it's on the back of a bar napkin at most right now.

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I can wait, megas are back

 

[TheGamingNewsGuy]

Make Megas competitively viable again would be so funny for competitive players

 

[Jintor]

I thought this was a city builder lol. But fuck it, legends is a cool system

 

[kyo2004]

Fuck yeah!!! The best region is back. Kalos was the game who reignited me with Pokemon love so glad to have another game and finally Zygarde have the game it deserves.

Also the best power-up (Megas) are back in business... My Mega-Mawile will be happy to return to competitive form.

 

[Cantaim]

But Scarlet/Violet is open world and still clearly a mainline game.

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Arceus is also more linear than it as you had to do its challenges in a set order lol.

 

[HotsauceDragon]

For a game set entirely in a city, Game Freak should rip off Like a Dragon games, just like RGG Studio ripped off Pokemon games.

 

[Truno]

I'm thinking this'll be Legends with a focus on trainer battles

 

[Hikari]

Pokémon Legends Zygarde looks really interesting based off the trailer. It might be about King AZ in the past? I wonder what Zygarde has to do with this considering we've already seen its perfect form. Megas are back? I guess it was only a matter of time.

 

[jankuza]

https://twitter.com/nintendoeurope/status/1762507890336690603?s=46

NoE doesn't say this "entirely in city" stuff. So probably it was a mistake by NoA? I can't really see how you would do the legends gameplay in a urban city…

It will probably be just like Legends Arceus but with a bigger hub.

You go out in a number of different mini open-worlds to catch Pokemon for the redevelopment project and over time the city will grow because of your actions.

The only thing I could see is that it would work "only in a city" ist that it starts as a small settlement and the city is build over time in the eras that you explore. So you slowly destroy the untouched nature with a big dirty city.

 

[Galava]

So I guess this is going to be based on the 18th 19th century Paris urban planning and renovation plans right

 

[Delaney]

Honest reaction after finishing a long day at work and seeing this… girl… what the hell is this 😭

 

[ze_]

https://twitter.com/nintendoeurope/status/1762507890336690603?s=46

NoE doesn't say this "entirely in city" stuff. So probably it was a mistake by NoA? I can't really see how you would do the legends gameplay in a urban city…

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Because you probably won't. New setting, new gameplay. The PLA style fit the format of that game, with its emphasis on an untouched wilderness surrounding a small hub town, and a general lack of knowledge regarding Pokémon. This is all about the "urban redevelopment project," where a modern Lumiose is updated to better accommodate Pokémon.

This is the official press blurb:

An exciting new adventure awaits players within Lumiose City, where an urban redevelopment plan is underway to shape the city into a place that belongs to both people and Pokémon.

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[Lotus]

There needs to be a word invented to encapsulate the "get-badges-and-defeat-the-Champion" style of game.

Then you could say "the mainline Pokémon games, made up of the 'whatever' games, and the Legends games (and the Let's Go games if you consider them separate)" and all the debate about mainline vs spin-offs would cease.

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I just say "traditional"

 

[McNum]

I wonder what they'll do for a final, final encounter.

Because the first legit Arceus encounter, but with a rather massive glow-up and with Vs. Arceus at full blast, it's going to be really, really hard to beat, let alone reach.

Zygarde is neat and all, but that was Arceus. THE Arceus, showing why it spells its title of God with a capital G.

 

[Atheerios]

It doesn't introduce a new generation of Pokémon

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Ah yeah, Pokémon crystal, emerald, platinum, heart gold, black 2, my favorite spin offs

 

[Loan Wolf]

Unhealthy Pokémon discourse devolving from which gen is superior to semantics of what is a mainline game is pretty funny

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

I can't believe we're going back to Kalos, so much for all the speculation on BW Remakes.

Did anyone see this coming? I thought they'd hold off since Mega evolution was dropped from new games.

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the only examples I've seen of people guessing Pokemon Z were joke/shitposts. All of the leakers were completely blindsided here.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

There needs to be a word invented to encapsulate the "get-badges-and-defeat-the-Champion" style of game.

Then you could say "the mainline Pokémon games, made up of the 'whatever' games, and the Legends games (and the Let's Go games if you consider them separate)" and all the debate about mainline vs spin-offs would cease.

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I have a feeling that down the road this is going to be like the split between MegaTen and Shin Megami Tensei

 

[Deleted member 8750]

I'm looking forward to it but I wish they had announced it later. 2025 is so far away. :(

 

[Faiyaz]

I wonder what they'll do for a final, final encounter.

Because the first legit Arceus encounter, but with a rather massive glow-up and with Vs. Arceus at full blast, it's going to be really, really hard to beat, let alone reach.

Zygarde is neat and all, but that was Arceus. THE Arceus, showing why it spells its title of God with a capital G.

Click to shrink...

Facing off against the Zygarde 100% form would be pretty cool spectacle-wise I think.

 

[Arkanim94]

I wonder what they'll do for a final, final encounter.

Because the first legit Arceus encounter, but with a rather massive glow-up and with Vs. Arceus at full blast, it's going to be really, really hard to beat, let alone reach.

Zygarde is neat and all, but that was Arceus. THE Arceus, showing why it spells its title of God with a capital G.

Click to shrink...

200% zygarde

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

I wonder what they'll do for a final, final encounter.

Because the first legit Arceus encounter, but with a rather massive glow-up and with Vs. Arceus at full blast, it's going to be really, really hard to beat, let alone reach.

Zygarde is neat and all, but that was Arceus. THE Arceus, showing why it spells its title of God with a capital G.

Click to shrink...

Zygarde transforms into a Megazord, I'm sure GF can manage.

 

[MattB]

Facing off against the Zygarde 100% form would be pretty cool spectacle-wise I think.

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Zygarde 100% origin form mega evolution

 

[Dogo Mojo]

I recall a lot of interesting lore dumps on the history of the Unova region when Arceus was released so I was kind of hoping that it would be the setting for the next Legends game. That being said, Arceus has been my favorite Pokemon game in a long time so I'm very interested to see what they do with this.

 

[BirdoFan87]

I'm just thinking of the story potential here. There must be a reason why we can't leave Lumiose City. Don't forget, Kalos was involved with war, and perhaps in the future, Kalos got into another war and most, if not, all of Kalos is so war-torn and damaged that its too dangerous for anyone to leave, thus making Lumiose City the untouched hub of Kalos where Pokemon and humans can live in safety. Perhaps there is a secret underground hub where Pokemon live and trainers can catch them and battle like normal.

Or perhaps what if Lysandre's plan worked up until a point in time where everything was wiped out except Lumiose City, and those that survived are required to move there after their town or city gets destroyed.

Kalos might have some really interesting lore in Z-A and I am all here for it.

 

[SpongeVizio]

Man they skipped Unova…
But Pokemon Z finally lives so I guess that makes up for it

 

[Hikari]

Will the creepy Lumiose ghost woman return and will we finally know her deal?

 

[Joule]

Oh I am gonna play Arceus now

 

[DPT120]

I can't believe we're going back to Kalos, so much for all the speculation on BW Remakes.

Did anyone see this coming? I thought they'd hold off since Mega evolution was dropped from new games.

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No one knew but it was obvious in hindsight. Xerneas/Yveltal/Zygarde are absent from SV DLC when you can catch the other legendaries. Furfrou stayed in XY and that remains that only game to this day (until Legends ZA comes out) where you can catch hit. Maybe some people predicted Legends Kalos but I doubt anyone thought Z was a possibility.

 

[Lotus]

I wonder what they'll do for a final, final encounter.

Because the first legit Arceus encounter, but with a rather massive glow-up and with Vs. Arceus at full blast, it's going to be really, really hard to beat, let alone reach.

Zygarde is neat and all, but that was Arceus. THE Arceus, showing why it spells its title of God with a capital G.

Click to shrink...

Granted I haven't beaten Legends yet so I don't know how hard that fight is or what the presentation is like, but this is funny for me to read because the ship sailed a long time ago for me personally. Back when Arceus was first revealed, I remember thinking damn, how can they top this, they literally made the God of all Pokemon. But of course lol, they just kept it moving, and Arceus doesn't feel as special to me nowadays as a result

 

[Richietto]

I can't believe we're going back to Kalos, so much for all the speculation on BW Remakes.

Did anyone see this coming? I thought they'd hold off since Mega evolution was dropped from new games.

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Make no mistake BW Remakes ARE coming. As for Megas? It seems like a perfect idea to bring it back for Legends, that way you don't have to for regular entries. I just hope that once again they don't give Megas to Pokémon that just need regular evos.

 

[Knight613]

The time period is probably going to be based on this right?

Haussmann's renovation of Paris - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Saturday]

unova games too originally good to announce remakes too early. megas back is great. 2025 is great because i'm sure 2024 can be dedicated to raising the fps by 1

 

[Jave]

I skipped on Legends Arceus and Scarlet/Violet but if this game makes Mawile relevant again I will get this.

 

[RingoGaSuki]

Man, Kalos is just anti-hype. Could not care less about Zygarde. My Unova legends… Watch the elemental monkey lines just never get brought up again lol

I'm curious at least though, Sinnoh was my second least liked region ahead of only Kalos and Legends Arceus managed to be one of my favourite games ever. If they take the same approach here with some improvements, this could be great.

At least I'll be able to bring my shiny Furfrou forward I guess

 

[TokiDoki]

Arceous was awesome hoping for the best. Just improve upon it.

 

[Charlie0108]

Does anyone else really not like the logo? loool

 

[Lady Bow]

I'm getting a lot of entertainment from people in reaction videos slowly realizing it's not Unova but in fact Kalos lol

Some caught it quick with the Pyroar and Furfrou but I didn't realize it until Prism tower was in the background in the river scene.

 

[RochHoch]

I wonder what they'll do for a final, final encounter.

Because the first legit Arceus encounter, but with a rather massive glow-up and with Vs. Arceus at full blast, it's going to be really, really hard to beat, let alone reach.

Zygarde is neat and all, but that was Arceus. THE Arceus, showing why it spells its title of God with a capital G.

Click to shrink...

Instead of fighting Zygarde, you're controlling him. Mecha battle time, right in the middle of the city.

 

[McNum]

Instead of fighting Zygarde, you're controlling him. Mecha battle time, right in the middle of the city.

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I would be up for a Kaiju fight in not-Paris, yes. That would be fun.

 

[DemonCarnotaur]

I just cant wrap my head around a Legends game set only in a city