Revealed during the Pokémon Presents presentation, Game Freak officially revealed Pokemon Legends Z-A, the next game in the long-running monster collecting series.
Returning to Kalos, the region found in the series’ debut 3D entries, this latest entry follows on from the gameplay systems of Pokemon Legends
A short trailer featured a redevelopment project for the iconic Luminous City, the main hub area of Pokémon X and Y. While not much was shown in the game, we do see a much bigger city than what’s found in the 3DS entries.
At the end of the trailer, Game Freak teases the return of mega evolution, a feature not seen since Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
The Kalos region was always one ripe for expansion, and the first region to not receive a follow-up. While Pokémon Z was expected to release, Game Freak instead created Pokemon Sun and Moon. With Pokemon Legends Z-A, fans will finally get to see an expanded version of the European-inspired region with all new graphics, gameplay features and more.
Curiously, Game Freak’s new game was confirmed as releasing “simultaneously” in 2025, despite only being announced as one game. This means that the game could be one of the first ever launch titles for the Nintendo Switch 2, a system that’s release date has been penned as March 2025.
“Pokémon Legends: Z-A, an ambitious new entry to the Pokémon video game series, will launch on Nintendo Switch systems in 2025,” reads the official trailer description.
The recent pokemon Presents presentation didn’t touch on previously reported rumors surrounding the series. For example, no Pokemon Let’s Go Johto games or even the leaked Black and White remakes from the Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl team were revealed.
Nevertheless, a return to the Pokemon Legends formula is exciting, especially if the game can release on new hardware. Furthermore, with extra development time following the disappointing technical issues of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, we might actually get a cutting edge entry in the series for the first time in years.
Alongside the reveal of Pokemon Legends Z-A, other Pokemon projects were revealed. There’s new content coming for Pokemon Go as well as a brand new digital version of the Pokemon TCG dubbed Pokemon TCG Pocket.