No, Pokemon Legends: Z-A Did Not Leak Starters Via a Pokemon TCG Holiday Pack
Fans spotted what they thought was a Pokemon Legends: Z-A leak, but it's just cards.
Some Pokemon fans are speculating that an upcoming TCG Advent Calendar has leaked the identities of Pokemon Legends: Z-A's starter Pokemon, but that rumor is missing some key context. Copies of the annual Pokemon TCG Advent Calendar are hitting stores this week, and Pokemon fans are already cracking it open to see what's inside. While the Advent Calendar does contain Pokemon cards, many are included in "fun packs" that contain 3 cards instead of 10 and also uses new wrappers. In this year's Advent Calendar, there are fun packs featuring cards from the Temporal Forces expansion set. The wrappers for those Temporal Forces packs feature Turtwig, Litten, and Totodile, which some believe is a clue for the upcoming Pokemon Legends: ZA release.
The 2022 Advent Calendar included Astral Radiance fun packs, which included images of Rowlet, Cyndaquil, and Oshawott, the starters of Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Some players believe that there's a connection between the two wrappers, given the similar collections of Starter Pokemon, but there are two key differences. The first is that Astral Radiance was released after the release of Pokemon Legends: Arceus and was a set specifically meant to tie into that game. The other is that Temporal Forces set includes the three Pokemon featured on the fun pack wrapper, which is the reason for their inclusion, and that Temporal Forces has no ties to Pokemon Legends: Z-A whatsoever.
Fans might have to wait longer than expected for news about Pokemon Legends: Z-A, as it appears that the game won't be released until later in 2025. The Pokemon TCG is already starting to tease out its 2025 plans with no mentions of Mega Evolution or new mechanics tied to that game, instead announcing the return of Trainer's Pokemon, an early gimmick from the game that hasn't been featured in years.
