Mega News in the latest Pokémon Presents

The latest Pokémon Presents broadcast around the world last Thursday and with it has come a swath of new information. The reveals include updates to various mobile games, the announcement of a brand new Pokémon game and our first look at Pokémon Legends Z-A.

The presentation started off with the announcement of Pokémon Concierge season 2 coming to Netflix. For those unaware, Pokémon Concierge is a stop motion cartoon about Haru and her Psyduck taking care of all the Pokémon at a resort. Fans can watch season 1 on YouTube for free until Sunday March 9th, 2025.

We then got a lighting round of all the updates coming to various mobile Pokémon games. This includes:

• Cresselia and Darkrai coming to Pokémon Sleep
• Flapple and Appleton coming Pokémon Café ReMix
• Highlight of the current Unova event in Pokémon Go with a tease of an Urshifu themed event happening
• Suicune, Alolan Raichu and Alcremie coming to Pokémon Unite
• Shiny Primal Groudon and Shiny Primal Kyogre coming to Pokémon Masters Ex

We also got some updates concerning the Pokémon TCG. First an update to the mobile game Pokémon TCG Pocket, which is adding a new expansion called Triumphant Light. And it will focus on the mythical Pokémon Arceus. They also announced that Mega Pokémon will be returning to the TCG proper.

Next, they announced a brand new Pokémon game coming to Nintendo Switch and IOS/Android. Pokémon Champions appears to be a successor to Pokémon Stadium, a game that is dedicated entirely to Pokémon battles. It is set to include previous Pokémon gimmicks such as Mega Evolution and Terrastilization. It has been confirmed to feature Pokémon Home connectivity allowing you to battle using the Pokémon you've befriended in the mainline games.

Finally we got our first look at Pokémon Legends Z-A. As a first in the series the game will feature real time battles. Additionally the game has players explore the city and meet interesting characters, including the return of AZ. You'll find and catch wild Pokémon in newly added Wild Areas, as Lumiose City has transformed into a place where both humans and Pokémon live together in harmony. The Starter Pokémon of the game were revealed to be Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile, and we got our first look at the return of Mega Evolutions in the mainline games. The game is set to release in late 2025.

Credits:
Writing: NintenRob
Editing: @Zerp
Thumbnail Graphic: @Zerp

 

well I'm looking forward to Z-A

 

Something I find interesting is that it seems like Legends Z-A is not going to be taking place in the far past like Legends Arceus was; instead, it seems to be taking place directly after the events of XY. The game's aim to modernize Lumiose City from how its looked in XY, and AZ is clearly post-XY AZ due to his age and the fact that he is reunited with Floette.

 

I'm glad Kalos is finally getting some love again. I always felt that the region was robbed, it was the only region that never got a 3rd version, sequels, expansionary paired versions, expansionary DLC, or anything of that sort in its own generation, just the original X and Y and nothing else.

 

I'm glad Kalos is finally getting some love again. I always felt that the region was robbed, it was the only region that never got a 3rd version, sequels, expansionary paired versions, expansionary DLC, or anything of that sort in its own generation, just the original X and Y and nothing else.

It is highly suspected that a 3rd version (Pokemon Z) was planned at one point, but ultimately cut in favor of proceeding to Gen 7.
There is the Pokemon anime that has a saga called Pokemon The Series: XYZ, and Zygarde is heavily involved in both that series as well as the manga. In the game files in XY, Zygarde's signature moves Thousand Arrows and Thousand Waves are fully in the game complete with their effects and animations, but goes unused until Sun/Moon. There is also Zygarde in general, whose new forms are kind of shoved into Sun/Moon without any real story significance. It is quite clear that there was a grand scheme for a Pokemon Z game that was in the end completely dropped.

 

It is highly suspected that a 3rd version (Pokemon Z) was planned at one point, but ultimately cut in favor of proceeding to Gen 7.
There is the Pokemon anime that has a saga called Pokemon The Series: XYZ, and Zygarde is heavily involved in both that series as well as the manga. In the game files in XY, Zygarde's signature moves Thousand Arrows and Thousand Waves are fully in the game complete with their effects and animations, but goes unused until Sun/Moon. There is also Zygarde in general, whose new forms are kind of shoved into Sun/Moon without any real story significance. It is quite clear that there was a grand scheme for a Pokemon Z game that was in the end completely dropped.

While just speculation, my opinion is that Ash-Greninja was only created because Greninja didn’t get a Mega as a result of Pokemon Z being scrapped.

 

Something I find interesting is that it seems like Legends Z-A is not going to be taking place in the far past like Legends Arceus was; instead, it seems to be taking place directly after the events of XY. The game's aim to modernize Lumiose City from how its looked in XY, and AZ is clearly post-XY AZ due to his age and the fact that he is reunited with Floette.

Probably cause the war would be too depresing!

 

Probably cause the war would be too depresing!

The game didn't necessarily have to be placed at that point in time. When I saw the reveal trailer a year ago I thought that the game would be based more on the 1800s renovation of Paris. So that'd put PLZA well after the war and around the same time as Legends Arceus.