Ever since Pokémon Legends: Z-A was announced, fans have been buzzing with theories about its timeline placement. While we always knew the game would be set entirely within Lumiose City, the vibrant hub of the Kalos region from Pokémon X and Y, the “Legends” title led many to believe it would dive deep into the distant future. After all, the previous entry, Legends: Arceus, transported us hundreds of years into Sinnoh’s past. Expectations were high for a similar grand time leap into Lumiose City’s far-flung future.
However, our predictions were completely off! We can now confirm the precise timing of the game, and it’s a much smaller jump than anticipated.
Having had hands-on experience with Pokémon Legends: Z-A for review, and with the embargo officially lifted, we can now share the exciting details. Through direct interactions with various characters (though specific dialogue and scenes must remain under wraps for now), it’s confirmed that Z-A is set a mere five years after the events of Pokémon X and Y. This isn’t a historical journey or a futuristic epic; it’s a direct continuation, providing fresh insights into familiar characters and ongoing situations from the original Kalos adventure.
Expect to reunite with some familiar faces! For example, the ancient figure AZ, a 3,000-year-old character central to X and Y’s lore, makes a return. Mable, formerly of Team Flare, now serves as the Pokémon professor, guiding you through diverse Pokémon-catching challenges. Many other beloved characters from X and Y reappear, some with surprising transformations, but we’ll keep those exciting revelations under wraps for you to discover.
The revelation that Pokémon Legends: Z-A is a direct sequel is quite significant for the franchise. Historically, the Pokémon universe has been somewhat ambiguous about the precise connections and timelines between its various games and regions. While direct continuations exist (like Gold and Silver following Red and Blue, or Black and White 2 expanding on Black and White), recent titles have introduced complexities such as time travel (Legends: Arceus) and alternate universes (Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire). It often felt like each game hinted at a shared world where all locations and creatures coexist, yet the canonicity of specific events remained fluid. Frankly, charting the Pokémon timeline has become an even more convoluted task than understanding the legendary Zelda chronology!
So, for those eager to know what became of the main characters from X and Y five years down the line, this game delivers a straightforward answer! Looking back, perhaps the “Z-A” title, following “X and Y”, should have been a clearer hint about its sequential nature.
Our initial impressions of Pokémon Legends: Z-A are available now in a review-in-progress, covering the first 24 hours of gameplay, with a complete review arriving next week. We’ve also explored interesting updates, such as the fact that the role of Nurse Joy in Z-A is no longer restricted to characters who are identical clones of the original, marking a significant change after 27 years.