Let me start off by writing I was not expecting Pokémon: Legends: Z-A to be announced in the latest Pokémon Presents. Going by hints that were officially given about a potential Johto game being revealed and heavier official hints towards Unova games, along with rumors, I felt like the most logical games to be announced were Black and White remakes and RBY and GSC on NSO, Johto remakes or a Pokémon Legends game set in Johto. I disregarded the idea of a Legends Unova game, because I thought Game Freak or another company handling them would eventually want to take advantage of people’s nestalgia and remake BW, and someday, take advantage of people’s nestalgia again and remake BW2. I was thinking that if there was a Legends game that took place in Unova along with BW and BW2 remakes on Switch, it would be too much Unova.
I mean I forgot about this before watching the Presents, but if GF spaced the releases of these Unova games an acceptable margin between other Pokémon game releases, then I wouldn’t feel like I’m getting too much of the region. It would be a long wait before getting BW2 remakes if that plan were to be executed. OK, actually, I’ll admit, a Pokémon Legends Unova game wouldn’t have been a far-fetched theory for a new game to be announced in the Presents.
That said, when I saw Pokémon Legends: Z-A be revealed live in the Pokémon Presents, I was excited for it after the complete logo made itself visible. This is a new game! Gone are the days where between new Pokémon games we would get nothing but remakes and third-versions.
I think ever since the reveal of Pokémon Sword and Shield DLC, it has been almost unpredictable to predict what Pokémon game would come out the pipeline. And the games I never expected to get revealed, discluding DLC and remakes, ended up being banger titles to me!
And I would say from what I know about Pokémon Legends: Z-A so far and what will likely be in the game, makes me think this game will be another innovative take on the franchise and go for another fantastical like concept that’s amazing!
It also just goes to show how Nintendo and the developers of Pokémon always try to insert new ideas into their franchises while keeping what we know and love about them. These developers don’t even just call it a day and deliver ideas to their new games, from already established IPs, that makes those games different enough to wanna play. In this time that we are living in, in the current entertainment world they are the innovators and creators of almost-ultimate exciting experiences when it comes to bringing joy to people.
Before I talk about what the theme of Pokémon: Legends: Z-A could be, I want to point out the themes of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Pokémon X and Y. I find it a necessity to do so.
The theme of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl was to explore those games’ region and discover the lore that inhabits it, and as a result, find the meaning of the games’ world the player’s in. I wrote an article about that here.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus, in a very unique way, followed those themes of Diamond and Pearl.
In Legends there isn't a lot of lore to discover in the main game, but the player character is trying to learn about Pokémon, sees what it means to have people and Pokémon together, and tries to unite the two. It was the player character leaving an impact on Hisui - creating lore and a legacy for the region. What the game did overall was genius.
In Pokémon X and Y the theme, according to Junichi Musuda - the games’ director, was bond, beauty and evolution. The bond and evolution aspects were seen in the games with the likes of Mega Evolution. The games themselves had a slightly more futuristic appearance to Pokémon’s modern-day-like aesthetics, showing things like holographic signposts in routes, the Holo Caster and the Super Training minigames where you shoot soccer balls at, again, holographic Pokémon to EV train your Pokémon. The evolution part to me also appears to imply the series transition to 3D and, well, just look at what else was advertised of the games back then below.
That’s not all I have to say about the games’ ideas of beauty and evolution though. Because in the games there was the goal of Lysandra wanting the world to be more beautiful, AKA perfect.
This wasn’t shown in X and Y, but fascinating enough, there is a Pokémon short from Pokémon Generations, a mini series focused on untold stories from the main game franchise, that is centered around Lysandre’s goal to want to create a better world. I won’t go into further details of the short itself, but basically the short gives a better idea of Lysandra and his company as inventors who want to bring people and Pokémon closer and make the world better. Though not all of their attempts of accomplishing so align with what’s good to do.
Lastly, there’s the four friend characters of the player in X and Y. They and the characters are suppose to represent friendship. And friendship itself in real life is something of a gem if you ask me.
Now, for Pokémon Legends: Z-A the idea may be to take X and Y’s themes and do something innovative to them. Just like Legends: Arceus taking inspiration from Diamond and Pearl and using its core ideas differently.
Z-A could take place in the future where an improved construction and technology of Lumiose City brings people and Pokémon closer. This game would have a greater focus on friendship between the two than in other Pokémon games. The evolution of the city would be more of a utopia to the Pokémon world. And that’s an idea I could see myself liking very much.
I also think the game’s new story isn’t gonna be a completely perfect future for Lumiose City. I’m sure the new setting for the game, in the lore, was very hard to create. Something that the characters will think or say, “This is how far we have gotten to create a better world for people and Pokémon.” and “What can we do to secure perfect harmony for the future.” And then you have Xerneas, Yveltal and Zygarde which represent life, destruction and order. I don’t know how much of a role Xerneas and Yveltal will have, but I’m sure Zygarde will be a part of the story, however small.
I don’t know how far in the future this game is suppose to take place. I can’t see it being so far out in the future that we’ll see Paradox Pokémon. But it has had me think are we gonna see characters from X and Y or modern ancestors of them? How long does it take for this part of the Pokémon world to advance anyway?
I can see AZ being in the game though. Actually, my sister brought this to my attention once and I forgot about reading this in-game, but N in BW or BW2 says he believes someday people and Pokémon will trust each other and not have to rely on Poké Balls. In case anyone reading this article is unaware, this is a character that’s able to read what Pokémon are thinking and see the future.
Now I’m sure Z-A isn’t gonna be that far off in the future, but can you imagine how intriguing it would be to have N in the game? There would be potential eye-openers for Pokémon lore.
As of this time of writing, I didn’t think of this until yesterday, but beyond Pokémon Legends: Z-A I can’t imagine Game Freak releasing a new Pokémon game in a long time.
Let me explain. You see, GF is also developing another game alongside Z-A, but it’s not Pokémon related. You can learn about it here.
This game doesn’t look like it's gonna be a small indie game to play, it looks like it's gonna be a full-blown AAA game. That’s why I actually can’t see GF releasing a new Pokémon entry until a long time. Not even for Pokémon’s 30th anniversary in 2026. They would have too much on their hands if they were told to launch another Pokémon game in whatever years.
Any new Pokémon game to come out past Z-A would have to be made by a developer other than Game Freak. I don’t think it would be a game with a new region and Pokémon personally. It also doesn’t have to be another remake. It can be something else that’s a different experience.
If Z-A has a lot of things to do other than the main story, and is an overall amazing game, then we should be fine waiting for the next Pokémon title.
I don’t see Z-A using any of the existing starter Pokémon for the player’s first Pokémon in the game. One of the reasons I think that is due to Legends: Arceus having done that - it feels like an overused idea by now. But I also can’t think of any choices left for starters for Z-A that feel iconic, and put together as three that make sense.
And I don’t see GF making new Pokémon for the starter selection or regional variants of past beginning Pokémon. Whatever they do, they would have to be creative with the choices. One idea I came up with, which I would like personally, is if they made regional variants of Pokémon that are not starters. By going with this idea, there would also be new Pokémon added to the roster of all starter Pokémon.
It does look like so far the game is a combination of catching, battling and people and Pokémon going about their every day lives. I think in order for a game like this to work, there would have to be sections of Lumiose City that have people with their Pokémon, and sections that have wild Pokémon for the player to battle and catch. And I do think that’s the way it’s gonna be in the game too. I can’t see the game running well if there were sections that had both kinds of characters on screen at once.
There’s gonna have to be a balance to be struck though. You want enough people in the city so it doesn’t feel like a ghost town, and disregard the idea of a place that’s populated with the bond between people and Pokémon. Added to that, you also want plenty of wild Pokémon so there’s enough for the player to catch.
Rumor has it that GF is taking performance seriously for the next Pokémon game. Let’s see if they can pull it off.
I’m gonna go off-topic before writing about Z-A, but Synchro Machine was a feature in the Indigo Disk where you control your Pokémon. In case anyone is unaware, it is only available to use in the Terarium of Blueberry Academy. The lore explains what goes on when you’re controlling your Pokémon with Synchro Machine:
A device that synchronizes your mind and feelings with your Pokémon's so that you can work as one.
Other than using your Pokémon to battle Pokémon in the wild, there wasn’t much else to do with the feature. To me it feels like Game Freak threw the idea in the DLC and wanted to experiment with it, and see if they can use it again in another Pokémon game with the idea further developed. I would say a new Pokémon Mystery Dungeon game could take advantage of the latter, or be used for a new kind of mainline Pokémon game.
When it comes to how the feature can be used in a Mystery Dungeon game, I think of a world somewhat like Digimon where there are kids that live in their own world and venture off into a world inhabited by Pokémon, where the kids are Pokémon. I also had an idea of this game going back and forth between the kids in the world inhabited by Pokémon, and the world where they are going about their everyday lives as humans.
I can also see the feature being used for a new manline Pokémon game. A game that’s another title that breaks away from series traditions, like Legends: Arceus. Like a world where trainers compete against each other and are better in sync with their Pokémon in battles. I could see Game Freak wanting to make a new kind of Pokémon game in the future, whether or not they use the feature. Because by making a new kind of Pokémon game, you help keep the series from someday feeling stale and be more fresh. I do think the franchise in the long run wouldn’t feel new if new games that were added to the series were just remakes and titles with new regions to explore.
Those are the possibilities I have on what game that feature will be used again. But what about being able to use Synchro Machine in Pokémon Legends: Z-A? Well, I can’t see that being an option to use personally.
The game’s trailer showed a girl commanding her Sylveon to attack an Aegislash in a Pokémon Battle, so it does look like Trainer battles are in Legends: Z-A. Synchro Machine feels like it’s suppose to be a Trainer having better control of their Pokémon, thus it feels superior to how we usually see Trainers battle. When one form of battling is better than the other, it would feel unfair lore-wise to include both those ways of battling in Z-A.
I can understand why Brilliant Diamond and Shinning Pearl were released before Pokémon Legends: Arceus. By playing DP, Platinum or BDSP before Legends: Arceus you can better appreciate the theme the later is going for. I think without playing any of the former games first, Legends: Arceus would be a good story, but would not be recognized fully for what it is.
I’m sure we’ll get Pokémon Black and White remakes this year because of the strong official hints, along with rumors from people that are usually true about what they’re saying. Because of that, I doubt we’ll get Pokémon X and Y remakes or remasters on Switch.
It’s strange though. I would think Game Freak would wanna release X and Y before Legends: Z-A with the same intention I’m sure they had with BDSP and Arceus. I’m guessing they think they don’t need to do that for people to fully enjoy Z-A. And I can see the game being enjoyable for its overall concept without having to play X and Y.
Though because it looks like X and Y is not gonna be on Switch, does that mean we won’t get a lot of or any returning characters in Z-A? I mean, funny enough, I know people don’t like it when there’s a new entry of a long running franchise that has returning characters they hardly know anything about. If this game will have any past characters from X and Y, I would say we will have a small number of them or we’ll just have AZ as the only character from said games. Since it has been stated in the 3DS games AZ has lived for 3,000 years. Actually, I don’t even know if he’ll be alive in Z-A.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A I’m sure will have a main story for the player to progress through. What you can do between the main story, or after finishing it I can see potential for very fun ideas! This is gonna be a game with an emphasis on, what I’ve been writing about in this article, friendship between people and Pokémon. Think about all the fun ideas you can put into a game like this with that foundation - ideas where you can interact with your Pokémon and use them in different activities.
It would be amazing if Game Freak went with that approach. I can also see less ideas like that, and more single-player like content we got in Legends: Arceus.
When it comes to post-game content in Pokémon games, I think that area is best done when it feels like you’re interacting with the world of Pokémon - that being hanging out with them, using them in competitive battles and whatever else. Stuff like post-game story and completing the Pokédex are welcoming too, but doing things with your Pokémon is something, to me at least, has more replay value.
Not trying to diminish the idea of having more post-game story, completing the Pokédex, and other content. I would be pleased to have more of all of that. I just like the idea of feeling like I want to interact with the world of Pokémon endlessly.
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