We’re Getting a New ‘Pokémon Legends’ Game!

February 27 is Pokémon Day, a day that celebrates the original release of Pokémon Red and Green in Japan in 1996. This year, Pokémon Day came with one major announcement: the next Pokémon Legends game.

The previous Pokémon Legends game, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, played around with Pokémon‘s tried and true game formula to bring fans something fresh, new, and exciting. Players traveled back in time to the Hisui region, which later became known as Sinnoh, and became part of a society only just beginning to learn how to coexist with Pokémon. New game mechanics and new regional variants were introduced—all in all, the game was a massive success, having sold over 14 million copies globally by March 2023.

Now, before Pokémon Day 2024’s official Pokémon Presents presentation, speculation had grown rampant over what might be announced. Most, myself included, figured that the next Pokémon Legends game would be tied to the Unova region, the region introduced in the 5th generation of Pokémon games, Pokémon Black & White. Instead, The Pokémon Company threw us a curveball: we’re getting Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Get ready to return to the Kalos region. More specifically, Lumiose City.

What is Pokémon Legends: Z-A?

Few details have been released thus far, but we know the next Legends game is set to release in 2025 on the Nintendo Switch. Judging by the cinematic trailer, players will travel back to a time when Kalos’ grandest city, Lumiose City, was only just being built, imagined as a haven for both people and Pokémon. The trailer shows plenty of familiar 6th-generation Pokémon, including Pyroar, Furfrou, Flabébé, Aegislash, Talonflame, Sylveon, and more. We expect this game will introduce a few new regional variants, too, though, at this time, we can only guess as to which Pokémon will get that kind of makeover.

We don’t know why The Pokémon Company has decided to skip the 5th generation with this Legends game. Perhaps they’re planning a full-fledged remake of Black & White instead. Though we’d love to see more of Unova, we couldn’t be more excited to return to Kalos, too, especially as the trailer teases the return of Mega Evolution, as well, one of Pokémon’s most compelling battle gimmicks. It hasn’t been used in the mainline games since Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! You can, however, encounter and use Mega Evolution in Pokémon GO.

Hopefully, this means that we’ll get to see some new Mega Evolutions, too. The Kalos starters, perhaps? Will Legends: Z-A reference what happened to Ash Ketchum’s Greninja in the Pokémon anime?

If you’re dying to know more about Pokémon Legends: Z-A, you can watch the official trailer released during the Pokémon Day 2024 Pokémon Presents below. Keep an eye out for more updates!

(featured image: Edited by El Kuiper/The Pokémon Company/Game Freak)