"Pokémon" will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2026.
The familiar phrase "Gotta catch 'em all!" along with encounters with various series and new Pokémon, has inspired countless trainers to embark on their own adventure journeys.
The gameplay of the released titles has also varied, with familiar RPGs like "Pokémon Red and Green," as well as various genres such as Pokémon Pinball and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon.
For the 25th anniversary of the Pokémon series, Pokémon LEGENDS: Arceus, the first action RPG in the Pokémon series, combining action and RPG elements, was announced.
The latest installment in the Pokémon LEGENDS series, "Pokémon LEGENDS: Z-A," will be released on Thursday, October 16, 2025. Before its launch, a media preview event was held.
This time, accepting the challenge from The Pokémon Company, the Saiga NAK editorial department immediately headed to Lumiose City, the setting of the story!
(NOTE: This article is a translation of a Pokémon LEGENDS: Z-A preview experience held in Hong Kong.)
Infiltrating the Experience Event!
Upon entering the venue, the Pokémon LEGENDS: Z-A game trailer greeted us.
The atmosphere of this title, a mix of tension and excitement, was palpable, and the "Mega Evolution" scenes are always cool to see!
As usual, the protagonist starts their adventure by choosing a partner Pokémon at the beginning of the story.
The three starter Pokémon in this game are Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile!
These are familiar Pokémon!
Lumiose City, a City Aiming for Coexistence Between People and Pokémon, is the Stage
The setting for the adventure in Pokémon LEGENDS: Z-A is "Lumiose City," which also appeared in Pokémon X and Y.
Similar to previous series, you can choose the protagonist's gender, and at the beginning of the story, you meet rivals of the opposite gender (Urbain, Taunie)!
"Lumiose City" is even more vividly rendered compared to Pokémon X and Y.
Explore Lumiose City by Day! Challenge the Z-A Royale at Night!
Lumiose City has different features during the day and night!
During the day, you can catch Pokémon and raise strong partners in the Wild Zone, and at night, you can challenge the Z-A Royale to battle and aim for higher ranks.
In Z-A Royale, you start from Z-rank and can be promoted to A-rank by challenging other trainers and accumulating victories!
The Long-Awaited, Highly Anticipated All-New Battle System! Exhilarating Real-Time Battle
The battle system in Pokémon LEGENDS: Z-A differs from the traditional turn-based system.
Both during daytime exploration and nighttime Z-A Royale, the "real-time battle" system has been adopted in place of turn-based combat!
Even though it's called "real-time battle," it's not entirely freeform and retains some characteristics of turn-based combat.
In the "real-time battle" system, after using an item to heal, you must wait approximately 10 seconds before you can heal again!
And only one Pokémon can be healed at a time.
If you keep healing constantly, the battle might never end.
A trick I learned from actually playing was to heal a Pokémon as soon as its HP drops by half!
This way, you can effectively utilize the waiting time, so don't hesitate to heal!
Ambush Pokémon during the Day!
During the day in Lumiose City, you can catch and raise Pokémon in the Wild Zone.
Of course, exciting battles are a highlight of Pokémon, but catching them is also a major thrill.
I couldn't wait and immediately tried out Lumiose City during the day, exploring to find wild Pokémon!
In this game, there are also ways to hide behind objects or approach from behind without being noticed to catch them.
Boom!!
I successfully launched a surprise attack on a wild Pokémon when it was off guard!
Pokémon are easier to catch when their HP is low or they have a status condition, so I chipped away at its health until it was barely hanging on.
With just a tiny bit of HP left for the wild Pokémon, Go! Poké Ball!
Will I catch it...?
My heart was pounding in this atmosphere of tension and anticipation...
A clink sound echoed, and I caught it!
The gameplay was so immersive that I almost shouted "Gotta catch 'em all!" It truly felt like being a trainer.
Daytime Lumiose City is perfect for getting used to the real-time battle system!
Catch plenty of wild Pokémon here and hone your skills!
...And then, I suddenly encountered an Alpha Pokémon, larger than regular Pokémon!
Next to the Alpha Pokémon were several smaller Pokémon!
Wait a minute... this is supposed to be a fair Pokémon battle.
Isn't it supposed to be one-on-one?!
Since there were many opponents, this battle was extremely difficult, but thanks to the abundance of items, I was able to revive multiple times.
First, I defeated the surrounding Pokémon, and then pursued the Alpha Pokémon!
Gyarados!! Go!!!
With my excited shouts, I successfully defeated the boss!
Players Can Also Take Damage!
In "real-time battles," players must also dodge Pokémon attacks.
If the player's HP reaches zero, the battle is considered a defeat, so you need to pay attention to both your Pokémon and your trainer.
If you happen to take damage, you can only wait for time to pass and for natural recovery.
Dodge!
Just like Pokémon, trainers also dodge incoming moves.
It's quite difficult to pay attention to both Pokémon and the trainer simultaneously, and sometimes I took hits!
Until now, defeat in Pokémon battles meant all your Pokémon fainted, and the trainer's vision went dark, but when the trainer's HP actually ran out and I lost the battle, it was a surprising new experience.
Until I got used to the battle system, I was very flustered, healing and dodging attacks as the player.
However, for people who usually play TPS games, I felt it might not be so difficult to get used to the controls!
Challenge the Z-A Royale to Become the Strongest Trainer!
At night, you can challenge the Z-A Royale.
In Z-A Royale, the difficulty changes according to your rank, so you can gradually get used to the system.
Every new beginning has its challenges, but players accustomed to turn-based combat might need to pay attention to dodging Pokémon attacks as the player, and to the immediate healing of Pokémon!
Of course, you also need to pay attention to type matchups.
The path to becoming a Pokémon Master still seems long, but let's constantly hone our skills and aim for A-rank promotion!
What Happened Suddenly!? A Rampaging Mega Victreebel Appears
The final challenge was Mega Victreebel, a Mega Evolved form of Victreebel, newly introduced in this game.
It looks like corrosive liquid is about to overflow from its mouth at any moment.
The battle takes place in a fantastical space from the start, and players can freely roll to dodge attacks.
However! You can't let the player endure all the attacks alone!!
Let's quickly send out a Pokémon to fight back!
The Pokémon I chose this time was Gardevoir.
I'll try to finish it off with Psychic-type moves!
However, I was mostly preoccupied with deftly dodging the majority of attacks.
Ah!!
Heal, heal!! Revive, revive!
While dodging moves using rolling, I collected Mega Energy on the field.
Just a little more until I can Mega Evolve!
Suddenly, the rampaging Mega Victreebel unleashed a powerful move!
Oh no...!
Lots of poison gas spread out.
As the intense offense and defense continued, it seemed I had finished collecting Mega Energy, and the gauge was full.
When I pressed the button...!?
Mega Evolution was successful with a very graceful evolution animation!
Go! Mega Gardevoir!
While enduring Mega Victreebel's attacks, the player also successfully dodged most of the attacks.
Using Mega Gardevoir, I achieved a safe victory!
It was quite a struggle, but I won in one attempt, so I'd say it was pretty good.
It's a battle system with a different kind of exhilaration than RPGs, so winning is very refreshing!
Pokémon LEGENDS: Z-A, Full of Anticipation, Releases October 16!
The excitement of real-time battles, the impact of Mega Evolution, and the charm of Lumiose City, which changes appearance between day and night, all begin on Thursday, October 16, 2025.
Are you ready to embark on this adventurous journey into the future?
The release of a new "Pokémon" series title always brings back nostalgic feelings, like a long-awaited reunion with my childhood self, and makes my heart pound.
Let's wait for the release date while getting the latest information from the Pokémon LEGENDS: Z-A official website and official X (@Pokemon)!
