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News Pokémon Legends Z-A announced for Nintendo Switch, releasing in 2025

I feel like GameFreak understood people like seeing Pokemon interact with people and integrating into the world around them. With Pokemon Concierge and the shorts being popular.
And this will be the game where they put some focus on that.
 
RochHoch said:
Excuse me, what the fuck happened to Unova
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Just realized

This could mean the return of roller skates

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This probably means Mega Evolutions, huh? I wonder how those will factor into Legends-style gameplay. Definitely hope they rethink the battle mechanics, make the sidequests more interesting, add more activities, etc. I'd also wish for the "catch everything" gameplay loop to go, but that's probably staying in.
 
So, thoughts on potential starter first partner Pokemon? Excluding the following region's starters:
  • Kanto (already in XY's regional dex)
  • Johto (Cyndaquil in Legends Arceus)
  • Unova (Oshawott in Legends Arceus)
  • Kalos (XY original first partner Pokemon)
  • Alola (Rowlet in Legends Arceus)
  • Paldea (newest generation)
I think we could see Pokemon from Hoenn, Sinnoh (I know we had Legends Arceus, but I'd still rule out the other regions first), and Galar. And if I had to pick a trio...
  • Treeko (Sceptile could use a dual type like Blaziken and Swampert)
  • Piplup (Empoleon is named for Napoleon in EN and JP, feels appropriate)
  • Scorbunny (Gotta throw in one popular one, I suppose)
I could see swapping the water/fire combo between Sinnoh and Galar, though.
 
meatbag said:
This probably means Mega Evolutions, huh? I wonder how those will factor into Legends-style gameplay. Definitely hope they rethink the battle mechanics, make the sidequests more interesting, add more activities, etc. I'd also wish for the "catch everything" gameplay loop to go, but that's probably staying in.
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ye the mega logo was at the end of the presentation.
 
Magic-Man said:
Oh come on, this is completely different. The 3DS had 3D graphics, so cross-gen with the DS wouldn't be easy. The Switch was a completely different kind of system from the 3DS, so cross-gen never made sense there either. This is different. It's a successor system with very little game altering changes to the hardware itself. All Game Freak has to do is optimize some settings.
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"Just optimise some settings"
Yeah good that they did that for Gen 9 lol.
Or any Gen after 5, because from Gen 6 onwards they all had issues.

Like, either this is designed for Switch 1 and a Switch 2 port would be kinda useless for the most part apart form very small bells and whistles.
Or for some reason they just say fuck Switch 1 and just make it run good on Switch 2 while still releasing on Switch 1 but with issues.
I don't believe there is an inbetween with a crossgen release.

So I think this will just be Switch 1 and run through BC on the successor.
 
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I wouldn't be surprised if the starters are just the normal Kalos ones, since it doesn't seem to be set in the past.
VolcanicDynamo said:
So, thoughts on potential starter first partner Pokemon? Excluding the following region's starters:
  • Kanto (already in XY's regional dex)
  • Johto (Cyndaquil in Legends Arceus)
  • Unova (Oshawott in Legends Arceus)
  • Kalos (XY original first partner Pokemon)
  • Alola (Rowlet in Legends Arceus)
  • Paldea (newest generation)
I think we could see Pokemon from Hoenn, Sinnoh (I know we had Legends Arceus, but I'd still rule out the other regions first), and Galar. And if I had to pick a trio...
  • Treeko (Sceptile could use a dual type like Blaziken and Swampert)
  • Piplup (Empoleon is named for Napoleon in EN and JP, feels appropriate)
  • Scorbunny (Gotta throw in one popular one, I suppose)
I could see swapping the water/fire combo between Sinnoh and Galar, though.
Click to expand...
Sceptile already has a mega. I would assume whatever the starter trio is they'll all get megas this time, which is part of why I think it's just going to be Chespin, Froakie and Fennekin again.

Honestly it's weird that the X/Y starters didn't have access to the regions defining gimmick.
 
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Tye said:
Unova, done dirtiest?! Unova is probably the one region that has gotten the best treatment outside of Kanto. It got fucking sequel games, which no other region got! Plus it just featured heavily in Scarlet/Violet’s DLC. And it’ll still get its remake in time, and there’s no reason it can’t get a Legends game, either, since they don’t seem to be going in any particular order for those.

Kalos needs a Legends game much more than Unova, anyway. If you’re talking about regions that were done the dirtiest, Kalos is number one, lol.
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France sucks

There I said it
 
pinetree said:
Could you even call it Legends if you took that out?
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People are speculating it's more focused on fighting because of the Megas so maybe?
The Legends moniker seems to be more tied to them exploring different time frames of regions we saw in the main series.
We had the past in Sinnoh, now we get the 1800s or potentially the future in Kalos.
 
I'll say this: If we ever get something Unova again (Which obviously we will at some point), I want it to be Black and White 3. Not a remake, not a singular Legends game. The fact that Black and White have numbered plot sequels is one of the defining aspects of that generation to me.
 
pinetree said:
Could you even call it Legends if you took that out?
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The Pokemon world is Game Freak's Cloyster. Legends can be whatever they want

VolcanicDynamo said:
So, thoughts on potential starter first partner Pokemon?
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Maybe they'll pick the ones without Mega Evolutions yet? So maybe Snivy, Litten and Grookey.

Tab said:
If we ever get something Unova again (Which obviously we will at some point), I want it to be Black and White 3
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This would be nice, but we're probably getting straight remakes
 
SirArthur said:
As someone who was feeling nostalgic for Kalos a couple of days ago, this is fantastic news lol.
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I honestly disliked Gen 6 on release, but with how the recent games lowered my expectations I feel like I will actually really enjoy the games on a replay.
And I like France as a setting.
 
AllEchse said:
People are speculating it's more focused on fighting because of the Megas so maybe?
The Legends moniker seems to be more tied to them exploring different time frames of regions we saw in the main series.
We had the past in Sinnoh, now we get the 1800s or potentially the future in Kalos.
Click to expand...

Sure but now that it's a series they'll keep the core of the gameplay consistent, which to me means the gameplay loop around catching and action gameplay for bosses.
Like, Rangers was also just a moniker "about Pokémon Rangers" but that doesn't mean it would make sense to give up on the spinning top capture.
 
pinetree said:
Could you even call it Legends if you took that out?
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I think it might be a mistake to assume that legends means exactly that kind of gameplay instead of "a Pokemon game that takes place during a legendary event/era and is not limited by having to conform to traditional Pokemon gameplay, allowing for more experimental gameplay."
 
The Gen 6 starters got done dirty in their own game because Sycamore gives out the OGs from Kanto and also their Mega Stone, so the player has a cool starter that can do a neat party trick and then also a second, loser starter that sucks

Keep the Kalos starters, give them a gimmick, and save any other starters for postgame
 
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Haven’t been this hyped for a Pokemon announcement since 2016. This is the best timeline. A new Legends game AND we’re getting Z and they’re releasing in 2025 so more time to cook
 
pinetree said:
Sure but now that it's a series they'll keep the core of the gameplay consistent, which to me means the gameplay loop around catching and action gameplay for bosses.
Like, Rangers was also just a moniker "about Pokémon Rangers" but that doesn't mean it would make sense to give up on the spinning top capture.
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The whole catch-and-discard style of gameplay goes directly against the narrative of the mega evolution and it representing the bond you have with a given Pokemon.

They are the complete opposites of each other.
 
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prediction for starters
  • Snivy's gotta be a lock, it absolutely screams France
  • Popleo could turn into some kind of Cirque du Soleil performer
  • I'm thinking either Chimchar or Scorbunny, but I'm not really sure what they could do with either
 
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meatbag said:
The Pokemon world is Game Freak's Cloyster. Legends can be whatever they want
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Puikko said:
I think it might be a mistake to assume that legends means exactly that kind of gameplay instead of "a Pokemon game that takes place during a legendary event/era and is not limited by having to conform to traditional Pokemon gameplay, allowing for more experimental gameplay."
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Well, I guess we'll see. I'd be very surprised if they didn't maintain the gameplay identity of the series.
 
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pinetree said:
Sure but now that it's a series they'll keep the core of the gameplay consistent, which to me means the gameplay loop around catching and action gameplay for bosses.
Like, Rangers was also just a moniker "about Pokémon Rangers" but that doesn't mean it would make sense to give up on the spinning top capture.
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I mean sure there has to be some consistency in a series, but until this game comes out out we won't really know what the core gameplay concepts are that they are gonna keep.
I'm sure they won't deviate too much otherwise they could have just called this something else, but different entries in a series can emphasise different parts of the gameplay, that's just how things are.
A series can evolve even if it's a subseries like here.
 
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Random thought: what if Z-A releases early 2025 and then Pokémon Day 2025 reveals Gen 10 for early 2026? They could shift their release schedule to earlier in the year. They wouldn’t have the holiday season anymore, but clearly they’ve been willing to try new things in the past (re: BDSP/PLA/SV within a year)
 
VolcanicDynamo said:
So, thoughts on potential starter first partner Pokemon? Excluding the following region's starters:
  • Kanto (already in XY's regional dex)
  • Johto (Cyndaquil in Legends Arceus)
  • Unova (Oshawott in Legends Arceus)
  • Kalos (XY original first partner Pokemon)
  • Alola (Rowlet in Legends Arceus)
  • Paldea (newest generation)
I think we could see Pokemon from Hoenn, Sinnoh (I know we had Legends Arceus, but I'd still rule out the other regions first), and Galar. And if I had to pick a trio...
  • Treeko (Sceptile could use a dual type like Blaziken and Swampert)
  • Piplup (Empoleon is named for Napoleon in EN and JP, feels appropriate)
  • Scorbunny (Gotta throw in one popular one, I suppose)
I could see swapping the water/fire combo between Sinnoh and Galar, though.
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Give me my boy Cyndaquil as a starter, and I will never complain again.

Until the next Pokemon game is announced, at least.
 
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meatbag said:
Maybe they'll pick the ones without Mega Evolutions yet? So maybe Snivy, Litten and Grookey.
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We got two grass starters in there. Maybe Sobble instead?
switchum said:
Random thought: what if Z-A releases early 2025 and then Pokémon Day 2025 reveals Gen 10 for early 2026? They could shift their release schedule to earlier in the year. They wouldn’t have the holiday season anymore, but clearly they’ve been willing to try new things in the past (re: BDSP/PLA/SV within a year)
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I wouldn't mind just...giving Gen 10 a holiday 2026 release date. Let Z-A have its legs, give Gen 10 as much development time as possible while still hitting the 30th anniversary time frame.
 
switchum said:
Random thought: what if Z-A releases early 2025 and then Pokémon Day 2025 reveals Gen 10 for early 2026? They could shift their release schedule to earlier in the year. They wouldn’t have the holiday season anymore, but clearly they’ve been willing to try new things in the past (re: BDSP/PLA/SV within a year)
Click to expand...
Sadly I think it's more likely that we'll just get both in 2025.
 
It supposedly being entirely in the city doesn't sound appealing to me. Moving around that place in X was awkward. It'll be better in this new game, I'm sure, but it wasn't my favorite place to be in the gen 6 games. I don't think this game will be for me, but I'm looking forward to seeing how they go about this. How do you have a pokemon game with no wilderness and such? Maybe they'll put a big park in there somewhere.
 
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Only entering this thread just now.

Wowie Zowie, amazing redemption of the Pokemon Presents.

I entirely forgot about the X&Y games though, what were the highlights of that generation beyond mega evolutions again?
 
Can't wait to see the first gameplay footage and the responses after.
 
Gen 6 isn't the worst gen because Gen 4 exists. However, Kalos WAS done dirty since it never got an expansion release that fixed its problems like Platinum did for D/P. It's the only gen that doesn't have anything like that, so this is cool to see.

However they should leave mega evolution in the closet. It's the worst generation-exclusive mechanic. If it can't be used by every Pokemon then it's genuinely kinda awful.
 
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Yavga said:
I entirely forgot about the X&Y games though, what were the highlights of that generation beyond mega evolutions again?
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Quality of life features is all I can come up with

They were the easiest games, first attempt at 3D so it was UGLY, and had such weaker characters in terms of writing compared to what we got in Gen V.

Ash-Greninja in the anime carried the whole region
 
VolcanicDynamo said:
So, thoughts on potential starter first partner Pokemon? Excluding the following region's starters:
  • Kanto (already in XY's regional dex)
  • Johto (Cyndaquil in Legends Arceus)
  • Unova (Oshawott in Legends Arceus)
  • Kalos (XY original first partner Pokemon)
  • Alola (Rowlet in Legends Arceus)
  • Paldea (newest generation)
I think we could see Pokemon from Hoenn, Sinnoh (I know we had Legends Arceus, but I'd still rule out the other regions first), and Galar. And if I had to pick a trio...
  • Treeko (Sceptile could use a dual type like Blaziken and Swampert)
  • Piplup (Empoleon is named for Napoleon in EN and JP, feels appropriate)
  • Scorbunny (Gotta throw in one popular one, I suppose)
I could see swapping the water/fire combo between Sinnoh and Galar, though.
Click to expand...
Grass: Chikorita or Snivy
Fire: Scorbunny or Litten
Water: Popplio or Totodile
 
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TurtleRock said:
This may be a “Switch” game but it’s going to launch day and date with the new hardware. Willing to put money on that. They’d be foolish not to promote this as a cross gen title with enhanced features.
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The Pokémon company doesn't give a shit about pushing new hardware for Ninte do and literally never has. They've not once in the companies history released a Pokémon RPG on the new hardware in the first year, and several times just made one for the older platform instead.
 
Linkstrikesback said:
The Pokémon company doesn't give a shit about pushing new hardware for Ninte do and literally never has. They've not once in the companies history released a Pokémon RPG on the new hardware in the first year, and several times just made one for the older platform instead.
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Nintendo could try and leverage something here imo, having a Pokemon game at launch sounds like a great idea to sell new Switches. Didn't those offices move closer to each other recently?

I think this could really benefit both parties.
 
The gameplay loop of Legends Arceus made sense for developing the 'first Pokedex' in a region where humans and Pokemon lived apart.

The trailer conveys the opposite of that with humans and Pokemon living in harmony. It also comes off as modern/futuristic.

I like the idea of them pushing the Legends subseries and this game being a heavy contrast to Arceus. One single, highly detailed city. Maybe with five 'biomes'.
Hocot8 said:
why?
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Some people are more invested in the 'meta-discussion'.
 
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