Pokemon Legends Z-A marks a major moment for the franchise. As the first iteration released on Nintendo Switch 2, it showcases the graphical fidelity and performance capable on the platform, while the new battle system highlights where the franchise could go in terms of active combat.
While Pokemon rarely struggles to entice its audience, Legends Z-A seems to be pulling out all the stops to make for an exciting spin-off title, and after going hands-on with the game, it’s easy to see why fans should be excited.
Pokemon Legends Z-A Has Three Main Gameplay Pillars
As with previous hands-on previews of Pokemon Legends Z-A, this gameplay demo offered a look at the three main gameplay pillars of the title. Its Wild Zones act as opportunities to level up Pokemon, fine-tune battle strategies, and collect items for the road ahead. Battle Zones are nighttime areas where the player can challenge other trainers and earn points towards ranking up, starting first at rank Z and working their way to A. And finally, the Rogue Mega Evolved Pokemon act as boss fights, if you will, where the player’s skills will be put to the test in a showdown with some epic Pokemon.
In a special event that took place in the Paris’s Eiffel Tower – which serves as the inspiration for Lumiose City and its Prism Tower – I was able to jump back into the world of Pokemon Legends Z-A and experience these three pillars in greater depth than ever before. I came away excited by how dynamic the combat system seems and intrigued by the small bits of story that were peppered throughout the hands-on experience. This is a reinvigorated twist on the familiar Pokemon formula - an opportunity to take the core concepts that the franchise has relied on for 30 years and tweak them in order to feel new.
Wild Zones Allows Players To Explore While Also Testing Out The Battle System
Pokemon Legends Z-A's Wild Zones feel the most familiar to what fans know and love. With recommended levels attached, these gated areas give the player an opportunity to explore a portion of Lumiose City and encounter wild Pokemon. While the preview did not include opportunities to catch Pokemon within these Wild Zones, there were plenty of chances to test out the new combat system.
As mentioned in our hands-on preview from Pokemon Worlds, the Legends Z-A battle system boasts a more active, dynamic approach. The trainer can move around the area at their leisure, and their summoned Pokemon will reposition as a result. With the active movement, you can help your Pokemon avoid attacks or position them for higher damage rear attacks, for example. In some ways, it’s merely moving around for moving around’s sake, but when facing off against stronger Pokemon, the ability to move and reposition is crucial.
At any point during a Pokemon battle, you can call or recall a Pokemon using the D-Pad, allowing you to take advantage of the weaknesses of the Pokemon you are fighting. However, there is a cooldown period when switching Pokemon, which prevents you from getting an instantaneous hit right off the bat. If needed, you can also jump into your Satchel to use items to heal Pokemon or remove debuffs like Poison.
Despite the new approach, longtime Pokemon fans won’t be lost in this new battle system. You’re still using the face buttons to select different moves to either directly attack the opposing Pokemon, debuff them, or buff your friendly Pokemon. Besides the repositioning and trainer movement, you are still selecting moves from a list and watching as they play out in real time.
For the most part, this Wild Zone preview section was focused on introducing us to the battle system. However, there were a few, more challenging Pokemon hanging out in the area that required greater strategy and hinted at what Legends Z-A will offer in the upper tiers. A roaming Houndoom, for example, put my Pokemon team to the test, forcing me to consider positioning and typing more than the low level Houndour that was wandering nearby. There is still an element of luck that is at play in the harder fights, but it also felt like I had more opportunities to give my Pokemon team the upper hand.
When fighting multiple Wild Pokemon at a time, you can use positioning to hit them all with a single attack.
Pokemon Legends Z-A's Battle Zone Pits Players Against Other Trainers
In the Battle Zone, the challenge shifts from fighting Wild Pokemon to Trainers. Here, you are tasked with defeating rival Trainers in exchange for points, and once you earn enough points you can participate in a rank up match. The loop is fairly straightforward in these zones – you see a rival trainer, you fight them, you win, collect points, and move on. As opposed to Wild Zones, though, you are usually going up against a Pokemon team, so switching Pokemon based on strengths and weaknesses is crucial for success.
Pokemon Legends Z-A takes advantage of the free roam of its combat system to allow you to sneak attack a trainer’s Pokemon by getting close enough for your Pokemon to attack without being detected. Doing so gives you the upper hand in the battle and, in some cases, will even one shot the Pokemon. Outside of that, though, you are mostly just walking up to a Trainer, attacking their Pokemon, and jumping into battle.
Battle Zone Pokemon fights are where positioning becomes even more important, allowing your Pokemon to completely avoid attacks. Where the turn-based combat of earlier games used dice rolls and behind the scenes stats to determine a miss, in Pokemon Legends Z-A you can make an attack miss through positioning. Again, it’s a fun little wrinkle that gives you more agency in a battle.
Legends Z-A will even encourage switching up your approach through different Objectives, like defeating a Pokemon in one hit using a Flying Pokemon or using a Normal Move while sneaking up on a Trainer. These objectives won’t significantly change up the gameplay of Pokemon Legends Z-A's competitive zones, but they do encourage you to switch up your strategy from fight to fight. And if you complete them, you’ll earn greater rewards.
When you have acquired enough points from the Battle Zone, you will transition to a rank up battle. The stakes are obviously higher, so you want to be more mindful of strengths, weaknesses, and positioning, but the general idea of the fight is the same as in the Battle Zone. Defeat the rival Trainer’s team and claim victory, only with higher stakes.
Because the goal was to see the entire rank up process including a victory, the challenge was minimal, so it’s unclear what happens if you don’t win your rank up match or how tough they can get. Presumably, the day would start again and the cycle of Wild Zone –> Battle Zone –> Rank Up Match would refresh, but it’s also possible you can simply restart should you lose.
Rogue Mega Evolved Pokemon Battles Are Legends Z-A's Most Challenging Gameplay Pillar
The closest thing that Pokemon Legends Z-A seems to have to boss fights are Rogue Mega Evolved Pokemon showdowns. In our hands-on preview at Pokemon Worlds, we saw a Rogue Mega face-off with Absol, but this time our opponent was the recently-revealed Victreebel. What was different this time around was that we had a full team to work with instead of just a single Pokemon.
In these fights, you use your Pokemon to damage the Rogue Mega which, in turn, knocks Mega Energy off them. Picking up Mega Energy charges up a meter in the bottom right of the screen that, when full, allows you to Mega Evolve any Pokemon that are capable of a Mega Evolution. However, you can also use a smaller portion of that Mega Energy to supercharge specific Pokemon abilities/attacks for extra damage.
For these Rogue Mega fights, positioning was paramount because the Victreebel would occasionally use a stronger attack that filled the battle arena with sludge. Both the Trainer and its Pokemon needed to avoid the sludge so that neither would take damage. It becomes an interesting challenge - trying to reposition Pokemon to keep them safe and dodging attacks yourself.
Your trainer can faint in any fight where they can take damage, forcing a restart of the encounter.
Rogue Mega Evolved Pokemon fights seem to be the highlight of Legends Z-A, and the encounters were certainly the best part of the hands-on preview. It packaged everything I’d learned from the Wild and Battle Zone and was the most active of the experiences on offer. Having to consider both the Trainer’s and the summoned Pokémon’s safety helps set this combat system apart from anything that’s come before.
Pokemon Legends Z-A already has a lot of anticipation behind it, but the combat system and the three pillars are enough to solidify this as a major leap forward for the whole franchise. There are obviously still familiar elements in each part of the game, but the new wrinkles make everything feel fresh and exciting. On top of that, Pokemon Legends Z-A runs smoother with quicker loads on the Nintendo Switch 2.
While 2026 is sure to be a huge year for Pokemon, Legends Z-A seems is setting the tone for a new era of Pocket Monsters by showing how the concepts that were established 30 years ago can evolve and feel fresh without abandoning their foundations. The trip back to Lumiose City has so much going for it that it’s impossible not to be excited, and after going hands on with Pokemon Legends Z-A several times now there are plenty of reasons to think this is going to be a mega hit.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 79 /100 Critics Rec: 66%
- Released
- October 16, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak, Creatures Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
WHERE TO PLAY
LIVE THE LIFE OF A POKÉMON TRAINER IN THE STREETS OF LUMIOSE CITY
Whether you’re a die-hard Pokémon fan or about to toss your first Poké Ball, the Pokémon Legends: Z-A game has plenty to offer for Trainers of all types. Experience classic gameplay with modern twists that are sure to revolutionize your Pokémon RPG experience.
CATCH, BATTLE, AND MEGA-EVOLVE—ALL IN REAL TIME!
Step onto the battlefield and command your Pokémon directly—there are no turns! For the first time in the Pokémon RPG series, Trainers and their Pokémon can both move around in real-time battles, and your Pokémon will unleash their moves when you tell them to. Strategically swapping out your Pokémon and accounting for each move’s timing and area of effect will greatly help you in this new style of battle.
HARNESS THE POWER OF MEGA EVOLUTION
When Trainers have a strong bond with their Pokémon, a Key Stone worn by the Trainer resonates with a Mega Stone held by their Pokémon, allowing Mega Evolution to take place.
ROGUE MEGA EVOLUTION
Rampaging Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon are threatening Lumiose City. These Pokémon are extra tough to beat, but if you do manage to defeat them, you'll receive valuable Mega Stones as a reward.
RISE THROUGH THE RANKS OF THE Z-A ROYALE
You’re invited to join the Z-A Royale, a competition for Pokémon Trainers to test their skills and determine who’s strongest.
Each night, a battle zone for the competition will appear. Prepare yourself by spending the day in wild zones, catching and training Pokémon, then venture into the battle zone and take on other Trainers.
Be strategic and complete bonus card challenges as you battle to speed up your climb from Rank Z to Rank A. Can you climb the ranks and reach the top?
WELCOME TO LUMIOSE CITY
Visit shops, restaurants, and more, all centered around Prism Tower. An urban redevelopment plan is underway to shape the city into a place that belongs to both people and Pokémon.
BATTLE WITH TRAINERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
With a Nintendo Switch Online membership*, you can battle up to three other Trainers at once, locally or online, in frenetic real-time battles!
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Pokemon
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
- October 16, 2025
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
- October 16, 2025
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
Pokemon Legends Z-A releases October 16, 2025 for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. The Best War Games was provided travel and lodging for this preview event.