During today’s Nintendo Direct, we saw some new gameplay for Pokemon Legends: Z-A, which showed off more footage of wild Pokemon, including wild Pokemon hanging out on rooftops, and a mysterious nighttime tournament called the Z-A Royale.
In the trailer, we learned that wild Pokemon don’t just appear within designated zones in the city, but can also appear outside of them, including on rooftops. So you may encounter wild Pokemon that you can capture or battle when you’re just wandering around Lumiose City.
More importantly, we learned a bit more about the cryptic tease at the end of the last Z-A trailer. At night, Lumiose City’s streets are flooded with trainers battling in a tournament called the “Z-A Royale”. You begin in the tournament at rank Z, and work your way up to rank A, with the promise of having a “wish granted” if you succeed.
With this feature, we got a look at more trainer battles, including the ability to “surprise attack” other trainers from behind to get an advantage in battle.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A was first announced at last year’s Pokemon Presents, with a cinematic trailer showing off a futuristic Lumiose City. At the time, we were given very few details: just that it would be coming to Nintendo Switch this year, and some light Pokemon teases. We have since gotten a longer look at the game in a Pokemon Direct earlier this year, including seeing many of the Pokemon that will be available, a number of new characters, and the protagonist running all over the rooftops.
Since then, fans have been piecing together little hints from the trailer and their own experiences with Pokemon Legends: Arceus and its unique spin on the Pokemon formula. While we can expect Legends: Z-A to have some similarities with Arceus, we’re hoping it’s a little more polished than both it and Scarlet and Violet when it launches later this year.
You can catch up on everything from today’s Nintendo Direct right here.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
