Pokemon Legends: Z-A lets you move around mid-battle, Champions revealed
Z-A aims to build on what Arceus experimented with, and Champions allows you to connect with Pokemon Home. #pokemon #pokemonlegendsza #pokemonchampions
Pokémon Legends: Z-A follows up on Pokémon Legends: Arceus by experimenting with turn-based mechanics. Photo: The Pokémon Company.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A, the second title in the Legends lineup of Pokemon games, was originally announced in February 2024 through a teaser trailer. As part of Pokemon Presents 2025, The Pokemon Company has given us more information about the game, set to release later this year, as well as a new trailer.
Just to recap, the previous game Legends game, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, had a new take on the franchise's iconic turn-based system by blurring the barrier between exploration and the battle sequence. Some interesting mechanics included sneaking up on Pokemon to capture them and having Pokemon respond differently to being approached. It also hammered in the exploration aspect that Pokemon games usually have, being more akin to an open-world game. Read our review of it here to see what we thought of that.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A looks to keep that experimental spirit the Arceus had, but is changing up the setting massively. Arceus was set in a past version of the Hisui region and had players collecting Pokemon in near-complete wilderness. Z-A, however, takes place Lumiose City, a Paris-inspired urban environment. Take a look at the city in more detail in this trailer here:
Zygarde, a Gen VI Legendary Pokémon, is set to be an important figure, connected to Lumiose City's development as a Pokemon-human urban space.
Z-A also looks to make battling more dynamic, with the trailer showcasing how you can move around and change positions to avoid attacks in the middle of the battle sequence. It's not particularly apparent how it integrates with the usual turn-based mechanics however, such as when you can move and how many times you can do so in a turn.
It'll also be interesting to see how important positioning will be in battles, such as whether you can move around to set-up attacks.
Mega Evolutions also makes a return from Pokémon X & Y (which also featured Lumiose City as a setting), and the starter Pokemons are Chikorit, Tepig and Totodile.
A map of Lumiose City in Pokélingo, marked by various Wild Zones where Pokémon thrive. Photo: The Pokémon Company
Additionally, The Pokemon Company also announced Pokemon Champions, a multiplayer PvP battle simulator that is compatible with Pokemon Home, meaning that Pokemon you've collected in main line titles and Pokemon GO will be usable. Check out the trailer for that here:
However, there's a catch, as the Pokemon you can send to Champions are limited to the ones that Champion supports. Pokemon originally obtained in Champions also cannot be deposited into Pokemon Home, so it seems that it's not a two-way street.
How the Pokémon Champions-Pokémon HOME system will work. Note the disclaimers. Photo: The Pokémon Company.
Pokemon Champions doesn't have a release date yet, but we know that it will be available for Nintendo Switch as well as iOS and Android. As for Pokemon Legends: Z-A, it's set to release on the Nintendo Switch in autumn of this year. Both games are developed by Game Freak.
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