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After the announcement of Pokemon Legends: Z-A during Pokemon Presents 2024, fans had plenty of input on the prospects of the new title. While many trainers had suspected that a new Legends spin-off game might be in the works following the reception of Legends: Arceus, they weren't quite prepared for Z-A's announcement trailer, leaving Redditor u/conhound to remark:
"If this had been in a leak nobody would have believed it lol"
On a Reddit post by u/IcePopsicleDragon on the series' subreddit, fans had to admit they were surprised. Leaks had suggested that a Legends title might take place in the ancient Johto region. However, Pokemon Legends: Z-A's trailer showed it would occur in the Kalos region from the Pokemon X and Y games with a heavy focus on Lumiose City.
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Fans react to the announcement of Pokemon Legends: Z-A and what it might bring
Although prominent leakers had worked diligently in the past several months to head off any potential information leading up to Pokemon Presents 2024, trainers still were quite surprised by the official Legends: Z-A announcement. Moreover, excitement built to a high point over the confirmation in the trailer that Mega Evolution would be returning in this new entry of the Legends spin-off series.
While leakers and rumors had suggested a Legends game in Johto, remakes for the Black and White games, or even new Let's GO! titles, none of these suspicions came to pass.
Instead, Pokemon Legends: Z-A took most fans completely by surprise. This led plenty of fans to remind their fellow trainers that leaks aren't always reliable, but the user u/Kgameridkwhat learned their assumption was right.
Meanwhile, fans were particularly shocked by Nintendo of America's post on X that stated the entirety of Pokemon Legends: Z-A will take place in Lumiose City. This is a surprising development if their remark is accurate, as a single city (though Lumiose was quite large in Generation VI) making up the entire game map is highly unconventional for a Pocket Monsters game.
This left trainers with plenty of questions: If Lumiose is the entire game map, how interactive will it be? The official trailer for Legends: Z-A involves a "reconstruction plan," leaving fans wondering just what that means. Will Lumiose be rebuilt after the Kalos War in the timeline? Or is there something else at play that hasn't been revealed yet?
Much of Pokemon Legends: Z-A's trailer was quite futuristic in tone; it's possible that the new spin-off might not take place in the past like Legends: Arceus at all, or perhaps, as some fans have theorized, the ability to shift between the past in future might be at play.
If nothing else, it would certainly make Lumiose City more interactive since players could be exploring two different versions of the city.
Even after the announcement, some trainers in the Reddit thread shared their disbelief. A few remarked that it seemed too good to be true, while others simply thought that a Legends game in the Kalos region didn't fit Game Freak's title release methodology. Some even thought they were being trolled, which is understandable, given how many rumors/leaks ended up being untrue.
Despite fans' disbelief, the official 2024 anniversary presentation wasn't joking when it announced Legends: Z-A. The spin-off is slated for a worldwide release in 2025, so Pokefans have time to shake off their surprise as the game's release date approaches.
After the unveiling of Pokemon X and Y in 2013, many fans assumed a Z version in Generation VI was a certainty featuring Zygarde as its mascot. This never came to pass, but Legends: Z-A may be a close emulation of those hopes once thought to be lost over a decade ago.
