“Pokemon Legends Z-A” is an Action Roleplaying game made by Game Freak and published by The Pokemon Company and Nintendo, released on the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, Nintendo Switch Oled, and Nintendo Switch 2 on October 16, 2025. The game is a sequel to the 2013 title, “Pokemon X and Y” and will be included with the paid Downloadable Content (DLC), Mega Dimensions releasing sometime in spring next year with a bundle included.

The game follows the unnamed protagonist moving to the Kalos region and after meeting their rival, they end up joining an organization named Team MZ and meet the members, The player’s rival, Urban or Taunie, depends on the gender choice for the player. The protagonist has three people who will assist them on their journey, Lida, an aspiring dancer partnered with her Staryu, Naveen who is an aspiring fashion designer accompanied by his Scraggy, and AZ, who is a three thousand year old man with his Eternal Floette. Team MZ is an organization at Hotel Z that will help the location of the game, Lumiose City, and will go on different missions helping citizens and the environment. 

At the start of the game, the protagonist will have the option to choose one of three Pokemon, Chikorita, Totodile, or Tepig with their rival having the other two starter Pokemon. Battle systems in the game have changed with the player now having the ability to dodge attacks and move in battle alongside their Pokemon. Moves now have cooldown effects during combat and removes the basic concept of the regular battle system. The player may also have an advantage while fighting if they strike their opponent first. 

A new battle mode has been announced called the Z-A Royale which involves the player having to go around Lumiose City at night battling trainers all around in order to advance from rank Z to A. The task will not be easy with the player advancing, as they will have to face strong ranked trainers like Corbeau, who specializes in poison type pokemon. 

Because this game takes place in the Kalos Region, the concept of Mega Evolution will return to the game. Many of these new forms have been featured on the Official Pokemon Youtube Account, some of these Pokemon include Dragonite, Victereebel, Hawlucha, Malamar, Chesnaught, Delphox, Greninja, and 2 new forms of Raichu. Mega Evolution will be obtained by gifts, in game shops, prizes, or a new feature in the game involving defeating rouge mega Pokemon terrorizing the Kalos region. Mega Evolution will slowly charge in battle with the more you attack but when a Pokemon transforms into their mega form, the player will have to collect orbs to keep their Pokemon in the form and continue having strong attacks. 

Wild Pokemon will now spawn in areas of Lumiose city called wild zones which are technological areas where wild pokemon can roam around. Some Pokemon will be calm and simply just look at you, some may run away and get scared, and some can get aggressive and will attack, according to Screen Rant. You can either throw a Pokeball at a Pokemon for a chance to be caught, but if failed you can have the chance to battle it and defeat the pokemon to catch it. Strong alpha Pokemon can also appear around Lumoise city that are bigger than regular Pokemon and more powerful to defeat.

The pre-order bonuses of the game will vary depending on the store you choose from, according to Yahoo. At Walmart you can receive one of three pins consisting of the three starter Pokemon of the game, at Best Buy you can receive a free desk mat, GameStop will give a tote bag that will be available at the midnight release as well as a code for an in game outfit, and at Target you can get a decal set.

My Review: 

When I first started the game, I was very confused about the new gamestyle and controlling the moves, but the more I played, I managed to get used to the battle mechanics. The game’s open world makes the city feel vibrant. The more I started to explore the environment I managed to understand the new system and learned that the game involves you having to have quick reflexes to prepare for battle.

Catching Pokemon in the game has completely changed and is much simpler and easier to control. Battling is much more interesting with the ability to switch Pokemon mid battle and continue fighting. 

Side Quest have helped me progress in the game a lot. Through playing I encountered many side missions allowing me to obtain certain Pokemon earlier and receive rewards that will help my Pokemon learn new moves or level up fast.

Overall, the game is a fun and unique experience that changes the format of the Pokemon series entirely and is a difficult but fun experience to play and if you love an open world or action experience, consider giving this game a try.