We’ve finally gotten a good, long (ish) look at Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the second entry in the Pokemon Legends series and Game Freak’s major Pokemon release for the year (after surprisingly skipping 2024). In a brand new trailer, we got a first look at what it will be like to freely run along the rooftops of Lumiose City, which Pokémon will join us when we do it, and some of the changes to Mega Evolutions and battle mechanics.
This time around, players can choose between Totodile, Tepig, and Chikorita to be their starter monster as they explore Lumiose City with upgraded visuals and a few major gameplay tweaks. Specifically, new mechanics will allow players to hop to the city’s rooftops and see life in the Pokémon world from a new perspective. Gameplay for the Latest Legends title also reveals that we’ll be going back to the more traditional visual style the series has established over the last few years, too.
Today’s Pokémon Day 2025 Pokémon Presents showcase gave fans a gameplay trailer to watch over and over again while we wait for that ever-elusive release date, but it also came with a more specific gameplay breakdown, too. Just like the Pokémon Legends: Arceus title that it follows, Pokémon Legends: Z-A shakes up the combat formula with a more-involved take on battles. Combat footage shows that players will be free to weaken monsters and catch them in Wild Zones littered throughout the town.
It wouldn’t be a first-look at Pokémon Legends: Z-A without a sneak peek at some of the Mega Evolutions and how they’ve been brought over to that refreshing Legends gameplay. Specifically, today’s breakdown video shows gameplay for creatures like Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Absol, and Mega Charizard X as well as the “new level of power” each brings to the table.
Although the Pokémon Legends: Z-A gameplay breakdown doesn’t exactly tell us how rooftop running works in the late 2025 Nintendo Switch title, it does introduce us to some of the faces we’ll meet on our journey. New friends include the option to meet either Urbain or Taunie, a potential rival, and players can also expect to get to know Quasartico CEO Jett and her secretary, Vinnie. We also got to see the return of Lumiose City’s tallest friendly face, AZ, and his Pokémon partner, Floette, who run the hotel players will be staying at.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A was first announced at last year’s Pokemon Presents, and it’s been quiet on the news front ever since. At the time, all we saw was a cinematic trailer revealing it would be set entirely in Lumiose City from Pokémon X and Y, and that it would be coming to Nintendo Switch in 2025. We also saw a tease of a few Pokémon, a futuristic setting, and the Mega Evolution symbol.
Other than that, for the last year, fans have been piecing together guesses on what the game might entail based on that trailer and Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which introduced new Pokémon capturing mechanics to the franchise and an open zone format that resonated well with players, even if certain elements of the game felt drab and incomplete, especially in the back half. With no Pokémon game released last year, it seems like Game Freak may have gotten an extra year to really give Legends Z-A the polish that Arceus and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet simply didn’t receive. Let’s hope it pays off.
For everything else revealed today, you can see our Pokémon Presents February 2025 highlight roundup here.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Article by:Source – Rebekah Valentine
