Pokemon Legends: Z-A Reveals New Trailer, Release Window, and Additional Details

Today is Pokemon Day, and The Pokemon Company once again celebrated with a special Pokemon Presents livestream. While the video had a few things for fans to get excited about, the biggest was new information related to Pokemon Legends: Z-A. As we learned last year, the next mainline entry in the Pokemon franchise will be coming to Nintendo Switch in 2025. Unfortunately, we still don’t have an official date, but we now know that Pokemon Legends: Z-A will be released in late 2025, which probably implies a November release window. That’s still a little while away, but hopefully the wait will prove worth it.

Last year’s announcement trailer for Pokemon Legends: Z-A offered a stylized approach, and did not feature any actual gameplay. This Pokemon Day was significantly different, showcasing multiple minutes of footage, including both cutscenes and actual gameplay. We also learned that the starters will include Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile. The new trailer can be found below.

From today’s Pokemon Presents, it appears that Pokemon Legends: Z-A will build on elements from Pokemon Legends: Arceus, bringing back things like the ability to catch Pokemon without battling them. Pokemon battles are seeing some big changes, largely based on what we saw from Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Players and their Pokemon will be able to move around the field of battle, and the range of attacks will play into the battles. Players will also be able to help their Pokemon dodge them!

Obviously, one of the big differences between Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Pokemon Legends: Z-A is the setting and time period. While Pokemon Legends: Arceus took place in the ancient past, Legends: Z-A is much more modern. The game seems to take place entirely within Lumiose City which is undergoing huge changes. The location was first introduced in Pokemon X and Y, and players will get to revisit it in this new game. One of the big hooks in that particular Pokemon generation is that it introduced Mega Evolutions. During today’s Pokemon Presents, Mega Evolutions were showcased, but no new ones.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A is looking like it will be one of the final Nintendo published games on the current Switch hardware, alongside Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Nintendo Switch 2 is set to be released at some point this year, and it stands to reason that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company will begin to shift focus moving forward. Today’s Pokemon Presents did not offer any kind of look at the next full Pokemon generation, which suggests we might not see it until 2026, in time for the franchise’s 30th anniversary.

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So far, Pokemon Legends: Z-A looks very promising. Pokemon Legends: Arceus is often held up as one of the best Pokemon games of the Switch era, so it will be interesting to see if fans feel as positively about this game. It remains to be seen what kind of reception there will be to Pokemon Legends: Z-A, but fans are hoping that Game Freak has managed to avoid the performance problems that plagued Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Pokemon Legends: Z-A could offer an opportunity to end the Switch era on a high note.

Are you excited for the release of Pokemon Legends: Z-A? How are you feeling about the new trailer? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!