Summary
The annual Pokemon Day livestream has arrived, giving fans a look at the franchise’s future. Most of its announcements were updates for existingPokemontitles, followed byPokemon Trading Card Game Pocket, a mobile adaptation of thePokemonTCG, being revealed for a 2024 release. However, the star of the show was undoubtedly the finale, as a CG trailer unveiledPokemon Legends Z-A. There were a lot of rumors aboutPokemon’s next big game potentially being another remake or a sequel toPokemon Legends: Arceus, butPokemon Legends Z-Awas still a pleasant surprise.
Pokemon Legends Z-Ais expected to share an action-RPG approach with the originalPokemon Legends: Arceus. ThisLegendsinstallment will take place entirelyinsidePokemon XandY’s Lumiose City, a large departure from journeying to a differentPokemonregion’s past like fans expected. Jumping between different time periods and regions may prompt questions about whether thePokemon Legendstitle is just a catch-all term for experimentalPokemonspin-offs, butPokemon Legends Z-Aconfirms that it’s just a different type of mainline Pokemon game.
The Pokemon Universe Is Strengthened By Pokemon Legends’ Presence
One of the largest tiesPokemon Legendshas to majorPokemontitles likeGoldandSilverorSunandMoonis that they all take place in the same universe. While differentPokemonreleases and remakes havemade a comprehensivePokemontimelinedifficult to map out,Pokemon Legends: Arceustakes place in Generation 4’s Sinnoh region when it was called Hisui in the distant past. It demonstrates some early instances of Poke Ball technology and mass domestication of Pokemon, and also stars the implied ancestors of importantPokemoncharacters on top of Ingo directly representingBlackandWhite, soLegendscan’t be dismissed as a small side story either.
Legends Z-A Follows A Mainline Pokemon Naming Scheme
Pokemon Legends Z-Awill likely also explore aspects of the Kalos region thatPokemon XandYcould not, resurrecting a rumored mainline title that was always rumored in the process.Demand for aPokemon Zfocusing on the legendary Pokemon Zygarde was high, but it mysteriously never came. Zygarde’s Cell-collecting quest and full implementation were worked intoPokemon SunandMoon, leavingPokemon XandYas the only generation without an enhanced re-release attached to its core titles at the time. Even though it’s using theLegendsbranding,Pokemon Legends Z-A’s logo still has “Pokemon Z” in it for a reason.
Pokemon Legends Z-A Fills Several Functions For The Pokemon Franchise
If story and setting ties aren’t enough,Pokemon Legends Z-Ahas plenty of real-life attachments to the mainlinePokemonseries as well. One is thatPokemon Legendsreleases are spaced out similarly to other Game Freak-developedPokemontitles.Legends: Arceuswas released in 2022 likePokemon ScarletandViolet, but they were still almost a year apart and occupied different fiscal years. This courtesy was not extended to the outsourcedPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearl, which came out just a couple of months beforeLegends: Arceus. It’s likely thatPokemon Legends Z-Ais releasing in 2025to meet the alleged March 2025 launch of the next Nintendo console, so it could still be the 2024 fiscal year’s majorPokemonrelease.
The Pokemon Legends Games Are Part of Game Freak’s Pokemon Ecosystem
Unlike nearly everyPokemonspin-off, bothPokemon Legendstitles are developed by the corePokemonteam at Game Freak. This means thatPokemon HOMEcompatibility, which would allow future games to receiveLegends Z-A’s new Pokemon and possibly Mega Evolutions, is very likely. Benefiting directly from itsScarletandVioletpredecessors,Pokemon Legends Z-Acould introduce online multiplayer to thePokemon Legendsformat by inheriting Gen 9’s seamless co-op. There should be no question that thePokemon Legendsreleases hold the same weight as mainlinePokemontitles, andPokemon Legends Z-Ashould reinforce that when it launches.
Pokemon Legends Z-A
The sequel to Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Pokemon Legends: Z-A takes Pokemon trainers back to the Kalos region’s Lumiose City.
