Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Pokémon Legends: Z-A; Pokémon LEGENDS Z-A
	; English boxart of Pokémon Legends: Z-A
Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition; Pokémon LEGENDS Z-A Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
	; English boxart of Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Basic info
Platform:	Nintendo Switch (enhanced for the Nintendo Switch 2 via upgrade pack)
Category:	Action RPG
Players:	1-4 players simultaneous
Connectivity:	Wireless, Nintendo Switch Online
Developer:	Game Freak
Publisher:	Nintendo/The Pokémon Company
Part of:	Generation IX core series
Ratings
CERO:	A
ESRB:	E10+
ACB:	PG
OFLC:	PG
PEGI:	7
GRAC:	ALL
GSRR:	6+
Release dates
Japan:	October 16, 2025
North America:	October 16, 2025
Australia:	October 16, 2025
Europe:	October 16, 2025
South Korea:	October 16, 2025
Hong Kong:	October 16, 2025
Taiwan:	October 16, 2025
Websites
Japanese:	Pokémon.co.jp
English:	Pokémon.com
	Japanese boxart ; Japanese boxart of Pokémon Legends: Z-A ; Japanese boxart of Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

Pokémon Legends: Z-A^{[note 1]} (Japanese: Pokémon LEGENDS Z-A(ゼットエー) Pokémon LEGENDS Z-A) is the third Generation IX core series game and the second "Pokémon Legends" game, after Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

The game was announced worldwide on February 27th, 2024, at 14:00 UTC, through a Pokémon Presents. It was released worldwide on Nintendo Switch on October 16, 2025. A Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, known as Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, released at the same time as both a physical release and a downloadable upgrade pack. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition features enhanced resolution and frame rates compared to the base version. All copies of the game are playable in ten languages: Japanese, English, German, European Spanish, Latin American Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. It is the first core series game with a Latin American Spanish translation.

The Mega Dimension DLC was revealed during a Nintendo Direct on September 12, 2025.

Plot

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

The game is set entirely in Lumiose City, five years after the events of Pokémon X and Y.^[1] A large corporation called Quasartico Inc. leads an urban redevelopment plan for Lumiose City, aiming to make it a city where humans and Pokémon can live in harmony.

Six months prior to the events of the game, the first instance of Rogue Mega Evolution, a phenomenon where Pokémon undergo Mega Evolution without a Trainer, occurs in Lumiose City. In the aftermath, Quasartico Inc., following words of advisement from AZ, creates the Z-A Royale in order to find the strongest Mega Evolution user.

The player arrives in Lumiose City and is immediately introduced to Urbain/Taunie, who allows them to choose a first partner Pokémon, guides them through a night of Z-A Royale, and leads them to Hotel Z, where the player officially becomes part of Team MZ. As the player rises through the ranks of Z-A Royale, they also are tasked with dealing with the instances of Rogue Mega Evolutions popping all throughout Lumiose City.

After the player and Urbain/Taunie reach Rank A, Team MZ attempts to quell Ange, a special device built by AZ 2,000 years ago inside of Prism Tower, which was improperly activated due to the previous usage of the ultimate weapon. Urbain/Taunie Mega Evolves Eternal Flower Floette in order to control Ange, but this works only momentarily, as the device turns into Hyperrogue Ange Floette, destroying Prism Tower in the process. The player, assisted by other Trainers they met in the Z-A Royale and Zygarde Complete Form, finally stop Ange, protecting Lumiose City from the threat of Rogue Mega Evolution.

After the credits, AZ is revealed to have died moments after Ange had been stopped. Quasartico Inc. carries out the combined wishes of the player and Urbain/Taunie, which also had been asked by AZ, and allow for the Z-A Royale to exist indefinitely through the Infinite Z-A Royale. The player works out with Mable and Team Flare Nouveau in order to track down and catch Xerneas and Yveltal, which were attracted to Lumiose City by Ange, and then is recognized as worthy by Zygarde, who allows them to catch it. After Urbain/Taunie becomes the CEO of Quasartico Inc., they gift Eternal Flower Floette to the player.

	Spoilers end here.

Features

Battle mechanics

Main article: Pokémon battle (Legends: Z-A)

Unlike other core series games, which use a turn-based battle system, Pokémon Legends: Z-A uses a real-time combat system where Trainers and their Pokémon can move around a 3D space which adapts various gameplay features from Pokémon UNITE.

The similar features presented here along with new mechanics include precise timing of when to swap out Pokémon or use their moves, moves hitting specific areas of the field, and a cooldown feature in place of PP, with a different length of time for each move. The moves now use precise button commands with the A, B, X, or Y buttons when locked on to a target, which can be customized.

Status moves that affects stats are now only limited to a one level change and will wear off after a short time, which the aura that it represents disappearing once the time limit is reached.

Unlike in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, held items, including Berries, are present in the game.

Catching Pokémon

Wild Pokémon can be encountered throughout Lumiose City. Many of them appear in "wild zones", areas of the city specifically designated as places for Pokémon to live. Similar to Pokémon Legends: Arceus, players can attempt to catch Pokémon without having to battle them, though battling them and lowering their HP will improve the odds of a successful catch.

A new mechanic is featured where if the wild Pokémon runs out of HP, it will become briefly stunned, allowing the player a few seconds to catch it before it vanishes. If the catch fails, the wild Pokémon will vanish.

Friend

Either Urbain or Taunie will appear as the player's friend depending on the appearance chosen for the player character at the beginning of the game. Players with a male appearance will meet Taunie, while players with a female appearance will meet Urbain. The player's friend works at Hotel Z, where they support the hotel's owner, AZ.

The game features Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile as first partner Pokémon. The player's friend will use both of the Pokémon that the player did not choose as their first partner.

Later in the story, Taunie/Urbain will invite the player to join Team MZ, who aim to protect Lumiose City and have been tasked with battling the Rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon running wild around the city.

Rogue Mega Evolutions

Main article: Rogue Mega Evolution

The battles against the Rogue Mega Evolutions use a similar system as the noble Pokémon battles from Pokémon Legends: Arceus. The player has to dodge attacks from Rogue Mega Evolution Pokémon in real time and launch attacks to deplete the Rogue Mega Evolution Pokémon's health bar and cause them to drop orbs of Mega Power. Gathering Mega Power will fill its meter and allow the player to induce Mega Evolution on their own Pokémon. The meter will then slowly drain, but the player is able to gather more Mega Power to keep the meter from draining; the meter will enter a cooldown mode once it has been drained.

Z-A Royale

The Z-A Royale is a competition held at night in Lumiose City. Participating Pokémon Trainers start at Rank Z, and can rank up by defeating other Trainers in promotion matches to progress to Rank A. It is said that Trainers who reach Rank A may have one wish granted.

New Pokémon and forms

Eternal Flower Floette is available for the first time. Additionally, 26 Pokémon gained new Mega Evolutions, those being Clefable, Victreebel, Starmie, Dragonite, Meganium, Feraligatr, Skarmory, Froslass, Emboar, Excadrill, Scolipede, Scrafty, Eelektross, Chandelure, Chesnaught, Delphox, Greninja, Pyroar, Eternal Flower Floette, Malamar, Barbaracle, Dragalge, Hawlucha, Zygarde Complete Forme, Drampa, and Falinks.

Pokémon mechanics

Mega Evolution returns for the first time in a core series game since Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.

Wild alpha Pokémon make their return from Pokémon Legends: Arceus, behaving and looking similarly to as they did in that game.

Abilities, breeding, and Eggs are not available in this game.

Connectivity

The game is planned to receive Pokémon HOME compatibility at some point in 2026. However, Pokémon caught or transferred to Pokémon Legends: Z-A cannot be sent to previous Nintendo Switch titles. Similar to previous Pokémon titles on the Nintendo Switch, only Pokémon available in this game can be transferred into it.

Reception

The game sold 5.80 million copies in its launch week.^[2]

Staff

Main article: Staff of Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Version history

The game file size for the download version is dependant on the system that the game is downloaded on, irrespective of the edition owned. In other words, downloading the Nintendo Switch version of the game on a Nintendo Switch 2 will still consume the same amount of storage space as the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. The Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade pack only consumes approximately 3 MB of additional space.^[3]

Version	Release date	Game file size	Official note	More information
1.0.0	Original release	4.0 GB 7.7 GB	N/A	Initial release. This version is officially playable using a physical Game Card in a Switch whose internet connection remains off.
1.0.1	October 9, 2025	4.0 GB 7.7 GB	Added data required to use online features.	Initial version when downloading from Nintendo eShop.
1.0.2	November 5, 2025	4.0 GB 7.7 GB	Fixes Applied for the Following Issues If your Pokémon Boxes became full before the first Rogue Mega Evolution battle and the Boxes menu had not been opened at any point prior to being filled, Pokémon catch attempts would always fail. Additionally, if a side mission that allows you to receive Pokémon was attempted under these conditions, the mission would be completed without granting the Pokémon. In certain side missions, if the time of day switched between daytime and nighttime at the exact moment that a move hit its target, it became impossible to hit the target afterward, rendering the side mission incapable of being progressed further. In Trainer battles, if the opposing Trainer switched Pokémon and the player simultaneously activated Mega Evolution, the game may have become unplayable because the opposing Trainer failed to send out a new Pokémon. Other minor issues have also been fixed. Ranked Battles Balance Adjustments To prevent points from decreasing based on match outcomes, points awarded according to ranking have been adjusted. Battle rewards have been partially increased and added to the rewards received after each match.
1.0.3	November 27, 2025	4.0 GB 7.7 GB	Fix Applied for the Following Confirmed Issue: Players were unable to claim the Mega Stone reward in Ranked Battles Season 2, even after reaching the rank required to receive it. For Players Who Were Unable to Receive the Season 2 Mega Stone Reward Players affected by this issue will be able to claim the rewards by accessing the Ranked Battle screen after the update is released.
2.0.0	December 10, 2025	6.0 GB 11.2 GB	DLC contents added Players who purchased the DLC will now be able to enjoy adventures in the Mega Dimension Additional Pokémon For Trainers who have not purchased Mega Dimension, additional Pokémon may appear via local or online communication modes. Several unspecified issues have been fixed.

If the physical Nintendo Switch version is played on a Nintendo Switch 2, then the patch downloads will also contain the data for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Upgrade Pack, resulting in extra data being downloaded. If the physical Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is inserted into the Switch 2 console instead, then the Upgrade Pack contents will not be downloaded.

Gallery

Logos

English, Japanese, and Korean logo
Simplified Chinese logo
Traditional Chinese logo
French logo
German logo
Italian logo
Spanish logo

Trivia

This is the first core series game:
- To be rated E10+ by the ESRB.
- To use real-time combat.
- To include letters from the Latin alphabet in its official Chinese name, as Pokémon X and Y were never officially translated to Chinese.
- To have its DLC be revealed before the release of the base game and also the first instance of core series DLC releasing in the same calendar year as the base game.
- In which there is no way for the player to travel directly across water, such as Surf or Poké Ride.
- In which the main rival gets both first partner Pokémon that the player does not pick.
- Released for the Nintendo Switch family of systems to not give or get a save data bonus.
- In which a Pokémon can legitimately exceed level 100.
- In which Mewtwo is present without Mew.
- In which weather is a mechanic, but no weather-setting move is available.
  - It also is the first core series game to only feature one weather condition in battle, namely rain.
- To completely exclude the Psyduck evolutionary family.
This is the first original core series game since Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 to not introduce any new Pokémon species at the time of its release, and the second overall.
This is the first Pokémon game to receive an upgrade pack and accompanying Nintendo Switch 2 Edition.
All Pokémon introduced in Generation VI are in the base game of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. No new Pokémon introduced in Generation IX appear in the game until the release of the Mega Dimension DLC.
With the release of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, every Pokémon from the National Pokédex is present in at least one of the Nintendo Switch core series games.
- Before this game, the Patrat evolutionary line, the elemental monkeys, and Furfrou were the only remaining Pokémon to have not been present in a Nintendo Switch core series game.
- Despite this, the National Pokédex in Pokémon HOME still cannot be completed using the Nintendo Switch games alone, since Spinda cannot be moved in or out of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl due to the spot pattern glitches and therefore has to be transferred from Pokémon Bank.

In other languages


Language		Title
Japanese		Pokémon LEGENDS Z-A^[b]
Chinese	Cantonese	寶可夢傳說 Z-A^[j]
Chinese	Mandarin	寶可夢傳說 Z-A^[i] 宝可梦传说 Z-A
French		Légendes Pokémon : Z-A^[c]
German		Pokémon-Legenden: Z-A^[d]
Italian		Leggende Pokémon: Z-A^[e]
Korean		Pokémon LEGENDS Z-A^[h]
Spanish	Latin America	Leyendas Pokémon: Z-A^[f]
Spanish	Spain	Leyendas Pokémon: Z-A^[g]

Notes

↑ "Z-A" is pronounced as the two letters Z and A separately, according to the pronunciation of those letters in each language.^[a]^[b]^[c]^[d]^[e]^[f]^[g]^[h]^[i]^[j]

Subnotes

↑ "Z-A" is pronounced in English as /zi eɪ/ in the February 27, 2025 Pokémon Presents, the April 2, 2025 Nintendo Direct, and other trailers. The same American English voice-over is used in UK English and Asian English videos, pronouncing the letter Z as zee /zi/, even though it would normally be pronounced as zed /zɛd/ in those regions. According to a social media post by Pokémon UK on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Threads, the Z in Pokémon Legends: Z-A is pronounced in the UK as zee /zi/. The American English pronunciation is also used in trailers in Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, and European Portuguese, despite the names of these letters being different in these languages.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 "Z-A" is pronounced in Japanese as ゼットエー zetto ē.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 "Z-A" is pronounced in French as zède a /zɛd a/ in a trailer released on August 17, 2025.
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 "Z-A" is pronounced in German as Zett A /tsɛt a/ in a trailer released on August 17, 2025.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 "Z-A" is pronounced in Italian as zeta a /dzɛta a/ in a trailer released on August 17, 2025.
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 "Z-A" is pronounced in Latin American Spanish as zeta a /seta a/ in the February 27, 2025 Pokémon Presents and in a trailer released on August 17, 2025.
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 "Z-A" is pronounced in European Spanish as zeta a /θeta a/ in a trailer released on August 17, 2025.
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 "Z-A" is pronounced in Korean as 제트에이 jeteu ei.
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 "Z-A" is pronounced in Mandarin as /zi eɪ/ in a commercial released on October 31, 2025.
↑ ^10.0 ^10.1 "Z-A" is pronounced in Cantonese as /sɛːt ei/ in a commercial released on October 31, 2025.

References

↑ NPC: "The incident with Team Flare five years ago sent shock waves through the whole of Kalos." (Pokémon Legends: Z-A)
↑ Pokemon Legends: Z-A Has Super-Effective Start, Already Selling 5.8 Million Copies - GameSpot
↑ https://ec.nintendo.com/AU/en/aocs/70050000058351