You know, the sheer hilarity of just how freaking blindsided we were to Legends Z-A is that Pokemon fans have been speculating on a return to Kalos for years now. When Gen 8 was revealed to be set in Galar, a region based on England, everyone thought we'd see a return to Kalos because France was close to England. But that didn't happen. Then when Gen 9 gave us Paldea, a region based around the Iberian peninsula, everyone thought, "Okay, NOW we're going to Kalos, because the Iberian peninsula is right next to France." But that didn't happen either. So when Pokemon Day 2024 arrived, everyone was expecting either Johto or Unova to get something new because patterns (and information from certain 'leakers,' the most prominent of whom has taken several L's within the current gen), THAT was when Game Freak decided to say, "Heck with it, here's your stinking Kalos region!"

And the entire internet collectively lost their minds.

When Pokemon Legends Z-A was first announced, one of the most surprising things about it (other than the fact that it even existed to begin with) was that it was a Pokemon game set entirely within a single city, that being Lumiose City. While there's nothing objectively wrong with this format, and I'm looking forward to seeing how Z-A expands on the Lumiose we know (even if I'm probably gonna get lost in the endless alleyways yet again if I even decide to buy the game, which isn't guaranteed because after the dumpster fire that was ScVi, I have absolutely zero plans to buy any more Pokemon games day one until Game Freak visibly gets its act together), the fact is that Kalos has no shortage of interesting locations that I would have loved to revisit in a past era. So I made a list of places I would've wanted to see included in a Legends Kalos game and why I want to see them, the latter mainly in the form of questions I want answered.

Camphrier Town. What did the manor look like in its heyday? Who were the ancestors of the current lord of the manor? What was their relationship to the royals of Parfum Palace?

Parfum Palace. We get some hints as to what life was like for AZ and his castle staff from exploring the palace and talking with visitors in the present day, but what was it like during the Kalos War? What happened to the palace after AZ abdicated his throne? Did the palace fall into disrepair, and if so, how was it brought back to its past glory by the time of XY?

Geosenge Town. This is where the Ultimate Weapon was constructed; was there even a town there at the time? How exactly was the UW built, anyway? Where did AZ get the materials, and how did he know how to transfer/manipulate Infinity Energy from Xerneas and/or Yveltal the way he did?

Shalour City. How did the Tower of Mastery come to be? Who was the original Lucario trainer that 'discovered' Mega Evolution?

Laverre City. This place is built around an enormous, ancient tree said to be over 1,500 years old. While this is hardly outside the realm of possibility -- we have redwoods in the real world that make that tree look like a youngster -- I am curious as to how the town looked back when the tree was a sapling.

Anistar City. Where DID that weird sundial come from, anyway? Was it created by Diancie, or did it really come from outer space? Why did we never get any closure on this, and why the heck does no one ever bring it up on lists of unexplained things in Pokemon XY that should've been answered in Pokemon Z?

Chamber of Emptiness. Okay, this is a big one that no one ever talks about, even on lists of abandoned plot hooks that should've been covered in Pokemon Z, and honestly, I wish it got brought up once in a while. Why does this entirely empty cavern even exist? Was it originally planned to be important to the plot, but whatever was going to be in it was cut from the game entirely and they didn't want to remove it entirely, so they just chucked a Spooky Plate and a Banettite in there so players would at least get something out of going there? I would ask why no one ever says anything about this place, but I know the answer: because it's literally the most boring place in Kalos and nobody cares. Which is a real shame, because the mystery of why this place exists within the game and even has its own name is already getting my lore senses tingling... was there a scrapped legendary Pokemon that was going to reside here? Was this location going to be important to the plot? Tell me!

Kalos Power Plant. In stark contrast to the Chamber of Emptiness, the Kalos Power Plant is probably the most talked about region in Kalos because of how many parts of it are entirely inaccessible. But if we had the opportunity to return to them in a Legends game set in the past, we might get to witness how they were created and what sorts of technologies and Pokemon were used to get them together.

Lost Hotel. Found an abandoned wreck in XY, it would be interesting to see this place in its full glory before it was abandoned, or even learn why it was abandoned in the first place. Granted, there's already a hotel in Lumiose City in the present day that the player can visit and even work at, so one could easily argue that revisiting this one is a tad redundant... but still.

Scary House. This one is more of a joke than anything else, but I just want to know if the 'horde of faceless men' ever actually existed. Were they a reference to the background of the Gen 6 wifi battles or something? Because I seem to remember those had an 'audience' without faces... RIP 3DS WiFi, we miss ya.