Latest Pokemon Unite leak hints Zacian as the next license to be released

While Pokemon Day won't arrive until February 25, 2023, Pokemon Unite leakers seem to have unearthed an early surprise for the event. Specifically, it appears as though data miners have found images of the Galar region Legendary Pokemon Zacian in update 1.8.1.5's assets.

According to Unite leaker ElChicoEevee on Twitter, miners have found what appears to be in-game stickers for Zacian in its Crowned Sword form. Additionally, there were mentions of a "warm-up" to Pokemon Day event, which makes sense since Pokemon Day is still over a month away. Aside from the announcement of Zacian and mention of the warm-up event, little appears to be known about Zacian's defined role or gameplay.

However, if the data mining is true, Zacian should appear on the Public Test Server in short order.

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What Zacian's inclusion in Pokemon Unite may mean for its future

Zacian's debut in Pokemon Unite may mean good things for future legendaries (Image via The Pokemon Company)

While players have already been speculating as to what Zacian's role might be (Defender has been ruled out by most, as that seems to be more appropriate for Zamazenta) or how it will play, other players pointed out a particularly interesting implication. Zacian would be the first "box legendary" Pokemon released in Pokemon Unite. While Unite has other legendaries in the game such as Urshifu (and Mythical Pokemon like Mew, Zeraora, and Hoopa), none of them featured in the mainline series' box art.

The players responding to ElChicoEevee's tweet make a very good point. If Zacian is indeed introduced to Pokemon Unite, this could mean that future box legendaries could also be included down the line. Since box legendaries were prominent in many different generations of the mainline franchise, several options could presumptively be on the table for future inclusions, including:

• Lugia/Ho-Oh/Suicune
• Groudon/Kyogre/Rayquaza (Rayquaza has already appeared as a map Pokemon similar to Zapdos)
• Dialga/Palkia/Giratina
• Solgaleo/Lunala
• Reshiram/Zekrom/Kyurem
• Zamazenta
• Xerneas/Yveltal
• Koraidon/Miraidon

While it's probably fairly unlikely that every box legendary will make its way to Pokemon Unite, the prospect of Zacian's arrival has opened the potential for many of its counterparts to be considered in future updates. Obviously, The Pokemon Company and TiMi Studio Group don't want to flood the zone with too many legendaries, but the prospect is undoubtedly exciting for many fans of the MOBA title.

The developers have confirmed nothing so far, but simply placing a Crowned Sword Zacian sticker into the game on its own wouldn't make that much sense. Hopefully, future announcements via Pokemon Unite's official social media channels will shed light on exactly what Zacian will look like if it is indeed making its way to the MOBA game. Since Zacian is the sword-bearing counterpart to the shield-wielding Zamazenta, the mascot of Pokemon Sword may just be an offense-oriented Speedster, Attacker, or All-Rounder.

For the time being, Pokemon Unite players and fans will have to wait and see if the leaks will turn out to be true. Without official confirmation, fans are left solely to speculate. As Pokemon Day approaches, the warm-up event's information may be close at hand, and any confirmations or denials as to Zacian's status may very well arrive in tandem.