Pokémon Legends: Z-A (Coming 2025)

[NegaMix]

Just now, Lorekitten said:

First off, Paldean Wooper says hi.

Oops, I genuinely forgot. No idea why I failed to remember him, given that Clodsire's one of my favourite Paldea mons.

3 minutes ago, Lorekitten said:

Second, while I do hope that we get new Mega Evolutions, I'd also like to see new regional forms (and perhaps even more lookalike forms like Toedsool and Wiglett) because unlike Mega Evolutions, these forms won't all get shelved once they leave Kalos behind. Even if we retain the status quo of not every Pokemon makes it into each game, at least regional forms have much more of a chance at returning for the next gen than gimmick forms.

I feel like it's just a tad early to say for sure if Mega Evolution won't continue beyond Z-A. If it doesn't conflict with whatever Gen 10 has as its own gimmick, I could maybe see it come back as a post-game thing or something, like how Gen 7 did it.

That said, though, I do think it would be cool to see some more regional forms or divergent species too. I just feel like Kalos may not be the region to do so in any major capacity, at least in regards to regional forms specifically.

[Salamander]

Paldea threw open the doors in general to all sorts of weird Pokemon variants - regional forms, regional evolutions, cross-gen evolutions, convergent species, Paradox Pokemon.  There were very few of each particular category (Paradoxes aside), but I took it as a kind of general affirmation that they were no longer placing arbitrary rules on how they developed new spins on past species (whereas it's clear that in Gen VI Mega Evolutions displaced cross-gen evos, in Gen VII regional forms displaced Mega Evos etc.).

With that said, I still wouldn't be surprised if Z-A featured only new Mega Evolutions and no other kind of variant.  I don't know if I think it's likely, though.  Though I will say for my part that games like Z-A and indeed Go embracing Megas sort of puts the lie to the idea that any one Pokemon or form is ever permanently "shelved", but I also don't really think it's a problem if something only appears in a single game, either.  Things don't need permanence to be worthwhile.

[Sonictrainer]

If we get Mega Alolan Exeggutor, Mega Sirfetch’d, or Mega Clodsire, I am using them on my team 

[Lorekitten]

2 minutes ago, Sonictrainer said:

If we get Mega Alolan Exeggutor, Mega Sirfetch’d, or Mega Clodsire, I am using them on my team 

We don't yet have Megas for regional variants... but those would be really cool! I imagine Mega Alolan Exeggutor would just have its head so high up that it's surrounded by clouds and we never actually see it...

[SadVlad]

Not so much as a screenshot in the trailer. Just a 30 second name reveal and the mega evolution reveal. I'm still excited, and to me, this felt like the only good part of the entire direct...

[Zaysho]

14 hours ago, Salamander said:

I actually wouldn't be surprised if the starters were just the classic XY trio of Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie.  Those three have been waiting for their second innings for over ten years now, and whatever the starters would be then they're less likely to get new regional forms than they are to get Mega Evolutions, so it really just makes sense.  Though the XY trio will be getting new Megas regardless of whether they're still the starters or not.

A part of me is hoping the Kalos trio will be available with their own Battle Bond forms (we already have one for Greninja, so Chesnaught and Delphox need their due) while whatever starters we get will be whichever ones didn't already have Mega Evolutions or were repped in the last Legends game. I'm not sure how likely that is since gen 9 got rid of Greninja's transformation and made Battle Bond just a solid stat boost but I can dream...!

[Lorekitten]

If ZA takes place in the past, then that could explain why Battle Bond Greninja was retconned not to change form in Gen 9 -- they probably wouldn't want to leave Battle Bond Greninja out of ZA entirely, but Ash wouldn't be born yet in this era, and having Battle Bond have two different effects in the same gen would be weird.

Granted, the first Legends game had exactly one ability, and it was Regigigas' Slow Start...

Edited March 1 by Lorekitten

[Zaysho]

If you go with what the anime did, the bond phenomenon existed well before Ash was born. His Greninja just happened to be the first one in a long time to do it, so I don't think it'd be too weird to keep it around and just call it something else. It seems more like TPC wanted to straight up forget the form existed because it was removed from flashbacks in the JN episode Greninja returned. Which is lame, honestly.

[ZinogreVolt]

I think the Kalos starters are probably either getting past/future forms or Megas, maybe both. If Ash Greninja does come back, at best it'll be through aspects of its design getting incorporated into Mega Greninja. Between JN and Battle Bond having it's effect completely changed in Gen 9, I think those kinds of transformations are probably off the table for now. It does make me wonder what made them pull back though, the series hasn't had such a blatant retcon in a long time.

 

Edited March 1 by ZinogreVolt

[Salamander]

With Battle Bond Greninja losing its unique form, it could be a few things...  The form was really tied to a specific era in the anime that's not really relevant, for one thing.  There are other unique individual Pokemon which haven't carried forwards, like Cosplay Pikachu and a couple of weird Pichu.  More than anything else, it might just be one more bit of cruft that they don't care to carry forwards unless they really like it.

Honestly, I think Pokemon could stand to retcon things more often.  I originally went on at length here but it's kind of off-topic, but there's a ton of cruft I would pare down.

[Sonictrainer]

On 2/27/2024 at 3:43 PM, Sonictrainer said:

Here's a Map of Lumiose City from X & Y

Quote

Pokémon US Twitter: The Urban Redevelopment Plan for Lumiose City is underway

 

[Salamander]

So, given that Mega Evolution is returning... do we think they'll tweak it?  Later games' power boost gimmicks learnt something from Mega Evolution's criticisms, like giving all Pokemon access to some level of boost, and not requiring held items (let alone Pokemon-specific ones).  Do we think these kinds of changes will inform a new version of Mega Evolution?  Or will it just be the bad old Mega Evolution, with all that implies - only a small handful of Pokemon getting to play with the new toy, and only when the game gives you the one specific Mega Stone that Pokemon needs?

If nothing else, I'm wondering if there'll be some kind of reconsideration of Mega Evolution design principles for new Mega Evolutions.  Specifically, having any kind of common visual language at all.  The original Mega Evolutions were an absolute grab-bag - some Pokemon just got cooler and edgier (usually the ones which were already cool and edgy), some were just straight-up evolutions, some were more like weird alternative forms; choices which look weird now that we have cross-generation evolutions and weird alternative forms again.

[SadVlad]

On 2/27/2024 at 9:22 AM, Sonictrainer said:

On February 27th, 2024 (Pokémon Day/the 28th Anniversary of Red/Green in Japan), they announced that we're getting another Legends game.

At the moment, the only information we know is that it will take place in the Kalos Region and revolve around renovating Lumiose City.

This will probably take place in the future since the first one took place in the past. Maybe they will explain where all the time rifts came from in Legends and tie the two games together.