Pokemon Legends: Z-A (Nintendo Switch / Switch 2)

Title	Pokémon Legends: Z-A Pokémon LEGENDS Z-A
Platforms	Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 – Game Card and Nintendo eShop download; the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is sold boxed or as an upgrade pack for Switch copies
Developer	Game Freak
Publisher	The Pokémon Company (Japan) / Nintendo (elsewhere)
Director	Haruka Tochigi, with Shigeru Ohmori as senior director
Producers	Katsuhiko Ichiraku, Akira Kinashi, Shinya Saito, Toyokazu Nonaka, Takanori Sowa, Kenji Endo and Keita Imamura
Scenario	Toshinobu Matsumiya
Art	Yosuke Uematsu, Satoshi Baba and Suguru Nakatsui; concept and visuals supervised by Ken Sugimori
Series	The second Pokémon Legends game, after Pokémon Legends: Arceus (2022)
Players	1; up to 4 in Link Battles and Ranked Battles, locally or online (online play needs Nintendo Switch Online)
Generation	Generation IX – the generation’s last core game, after Scarlet & Violet; set entirely in Lumiose City, Kalos
Pokémon	Lumiose Pokédex of 232 (230 needed to complete it); 26 new Mega Evolutions, and 19 more (22 counting forms) in Mega Dimension, whose Hyperspace Pokédex lists 132
DLC	Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Mega Dimension: on sale from 16 October 2025, story added on 10 December 2025
Languages	Ten, including Latin American Spanish for the first time in a core game
Predecessor	Pokémon Legends: Arceus (previous core release: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet)
Successor	Pokémon Winds and Waves (Generation X, announced for Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027)
Released	16 October 2025 worldwide – Japan, North America, Europe, Australia and South Korea on the same day
Latest update	Version 2.0.2 (18 March 2026)
Rating	CERO A · ESRB E10+ (Everyone 10+) · PEGI 7 · PG (Australia)
Bundles	A Nintendo Switch 2 console bundle in Japan; a boxed Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Mega Dimension bundle, due on 29 October 2026
Sales	13.09 million (30 June 2026), 3.99 million of them boxed Switch 2 Edition copies

Overview · Quick Answers · Story · Lumiose & the Wild Zones · The Z-A Royale · Mega Evolution · Anime · Trading Card Game · What’s new · After the credits · Mega Dimension · Places · Can I catch them all? · Characters · Promotion matches · Final battles · Glitches · Videos · Trivia · Legacy · Sales & Reviews · Media

Overview

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is the second Pokémon Legends game, a core-series role-playing game from Game Freak released worldwide on 16 October 2025 for the Nintendo Switch and, as the enhanced Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, for Nintendo Switch 2. Where Legends: Arceus went back to Hisui’s distant past, Z-A is set in the present day and never leaves a single city: Lumiose, the capital of Kalos from Pokémon X & Y, five years after Team Flare’s plot.

You arrive as a tourist and fall in with Team MZ, a small crew based at Hotel Z, the old hotel kept by the 3,000-year-old AZ. The company Quasartico Inc. is redeveloping Lumiose so that people and Pokémon can share it, with fenced Wild Zones where wild Pokémon live among the streets, and after dark its Z-A Royale turns the city into a ranked battleground: everyone starts at Rank Z, and whoever reaches Rank A is promised a wish. At the same time, wild Pokémon have begun Mega Evolving on their own, and the Rogue Megas rampaging through the districts lead back to a secret inside Prism Tower.

It plays unlike any core game before it. Battles unfold in real time on the streets, with no separate battle screen: moves run on cooldowns instead of PP, positioning matters, and in Rogue Mega fights you have to dodge attacks yourself. There are no Gyms, no Pokémon League, no Abilities and no breeding, and Mega Evolution returns for the first time since Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!, with 26 new Mega Evolutions in the base game.

Nintendo counted 13.09 million copies sold by 30 June 2026, after a reported 5.8 million in the first week. The paid Mega Dimension DLC added Hyperspace Lumiose and 19 more new Mega Evolutions in December 2025, Pokémon HOME support followed in April 2026, and a boxed Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Mega Dimension bundle is due on 29 October 2026.

Quick Answers

The questions people ask most about Pokémon Legends: Z-A, answered first and explained further down the page.

Is Pokémon Legends: Z-A a Switch or a Switch 2 game, and what’s the difference?

Both. It launched on 16 October 2025 on Nintendo Switch and as a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. The content, updates and DLC are identical; the Switch 2 Edition simply runs at a higher resolution with smoother frame rates. Switch owners who move to Switch 2 can buy an upgrade pack that keeps their existing save. More →

Is it open world, and is it set only in Lumiose City?

It is set entirely in Lumiose City, the Paris-inspired capital of Kalos, with no routes or other towns. You explore its boulevards, avenues, plazas, passages and sewers on foot, and wild Pokémon live in 20 fenced Wild Zones around the city. The Mega Dimension DLC adds Hyperspace Lumiose, an otherworldly version of the city. More →

How do the real-time battles work?

Battles play out in the city itself, with no separate screen. Trainer and Pokémon move freely; you lock on to a target and fire off moves with the face buttons. PP is gone: each move has its own cooldown. Attacks hit specific areas, so positioning and timing matter, and in Rogue Mega battles you dodge attacks aimed at you. More →

What is the Z-A Royale?

A ranked contest run by Quasartico Inc. that takes place after dark in red-fenced Battle Zones around Lumiose. Everyone starts at Rank Z. Beating Trainers and completing bonus cards earns points towards a Challenger’s Ticket, which unlocks a promotion match. Whoever reaches Rank A is granted one wish, and after the story it continues as the Infinite Z-A Royale. More →

What are the new Mega Evolutions?

The base game adds 26, among them Mega Meganium, Mega Emboar and Mega Feraligatr for the starters, Mega Chesnaught, Mega Delphox and Mega Greninja, plus Mega Floette, Mega Dragonite, Mega Victreebel, Mega Starmie and Mega Zygarde. Mega Dimension adds 19 more (22 counting forms), including Mega Raichu X and Y, Mega Darkrai and Mega Zeraora. More →

What are Rogue Mega Evolutions?

Wild Pokémon that have Mega Evolved without a Trainer after soaking up too much Mega Power from Prism Tower. They are boss battles in a circular arena: they mostly attack you, so you dodge, gather the Mega Power orbs they drop and use Plus Moves to break through. Sixteen appear in the story, each yielding its Mega Stone. More →

How many Pokémon are there in the Lumiose Pokédex?

The Lumiose Pokédex lists 232 Pokémon, from Chikorita at No. 001 to Mewtwo at No. 232, and 230 are needed to complete it. Every Generation VI Pokémon is included, but nothing from Generation IX appears until the DLC. Mega Dimension brings in 130 more species, listed in a Hyperspace Pokédex of their own. More →

What’s in the DLC, and do you need it?

Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Mega Dimension is a paid expansion whose story arrived on 10 December 2025. Played after the credits, it sends Team MZ into Hyperspace Lumiose with Ansha, Hoopa and Korrina, and adds 130 Pokémon, 19 new Mega Evolutions and 81 side missions. The main story is complete without it. More →

Does it connect to Pokémon HOME, Legends: Arceus and Scarlet & Violet?

Yes, since 2 April 2026. Through Pokémon HOME you can bring species from the Lumiose and Hyperspace Pokédexes into Z-A from games such as Legends: Arceus and Scarlet and Violet. The move is one-way: once a Pokémon is in Z-A it cannot return to an older game, though it can go on to Pokémon Champions. More →

Is it connected to Pokémon X and Y and AZ’s story?

Directly. It is set five years after X and Y, in the aftermath of Team Flare’s plot. AZ, the 3,000-year-old former king who built the ultimate weapon, now runs Hotel Z with his Floette; Lysandre returns as the amnesiac “L”; and X and Y faces such as Emma, Mable and, in the DLC, Korrina are back. More →

Plot / Story

Five years after Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, Lumiose City is being remade by Quasartico Inc., whose CEO, Jett, wants a city shared by people and Pokémon; fenced Wild Zones now let wild Pokémon live among the streets. Six months before the story opens, the first Rogue Mega Evolution struck, as wild Pokémon began Mega Evolving without any Trainer. On AZ’s advice, Quasartico created the Z-A Royale, a night-time ranked contest to find the strongest Mega Evolution user, with a wish for whoever reaches Rank A.

The player arrives at Gare de Lumiose as a tourist and is helped by Urbain or Taunie (which of the two you meet depends on the player character you choose), who recovers their bag, offers a first partner (Chikorita, Tepig or Totodile) and guides them through a first night of the Royale. Home becomes Hotel Z, an old hotel run by AZ and his Eternal Flower Floette, where the player takes Room 202 and joins Team MZ with Lida, a dance student, and Naveen, a budding fashion designer.

When a Rogue Mega Absol rampages through the Jaune District, AZ lends the player his Lucario; afterwards Absol joins the team and the player receives a Mega Ring. Fed intelligence by Jett’s secretary Vinnie, Team MZ tames sixteen Rogue Megas across the city, from Mega Slowbro to Mega Starmie, while the player climbs the Royale through promotion matches against Vinnie, the streamer Canari of DYN4MO, Ivor of the Fist of Justice, Corbeau of the Rust Syndicate, Jacinthe of the Society of Battle Connoisseurs and Grisham of Team Flare Nouveau. Emma, now head of the Looker Bureau, and Mable, acting director of the Pokémon Research Lab, help piece things together, and a hooded man calling himself L, really Lysandre with his memory faded, appears with a weakened Zygarde to warn of a coming crisis.

Ange, Zygarde and the end of the story

Once the player and their friend reach Rank A, AZ reveals the truth. Inside Prism Tower lies Ange, a device he built long ago to watch over the city; Team Flare’s use of the ultimate weapon threw it off balance, and the Mega Power it now leaks is what drives Pokémon to Rogue Mega Evolution. Urbain or Taunie Mega Evolves AZ’s Floette to take control of Ange, but only briefly: Ange breaks loose, fuses with Mega Floette into Hyperrogue Ange Floette and brings Prism Tower down. As Rogue Megas erupt across Lumiose, the Trainers from the Royale rally to defend the streets, and with the Cells L gathered, Zygarde reaches its Complete Forme and fights alongside the player to stop Ange.

After the credits, Urbain or Taunie finds that AZ has died peacefully. His will leaves Hotel Z and Floette in Team MZ’s care, and his grave stands in Dormez Bien Cemetery. The two friends spend their Rank A wish on keeping the Royale going, which AZ had already asked for, and Quasartico launches the Infinite Z-A Royale. Jett discovers that Urbain or Taunie is her grandchild. With his memories back, L asks the player to catch Xerneas and Yveltal, drawn to the city by Ange, with Mable and Team Flare Nouveau helping. Finally Zygarde tests the player in Wild Zone 20 and agrees to join them, and L hands over the Zygarde Cube before leaving to find a better path.

Twenty things Legends: Z-A does differently

• The whole adventure takes place inside a single city, Lumiose, rather than across a region of routes and towns.
• Battles are fought in real time in the overworld, a first for the core series, instead of turn by turn.
• PP has been removed; every move runs on its own cooldown timer.
• Abilities, breeding and Eggs are absent, although held items, including Berries, remain.
• Stat-changing moves only shift a stat by one stage, and the change wears off after a short time.
• There are no Gyms or Pokémon League: progress comes from climbing the Z-A Royale’s ranks from Z to A.
• Mega Evolution returns for the first time since Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!, now powered by a timed gauge, and a Pokémon can Mega Evolve more than once in a battle.
• Rogue Mega Evolution boss fights take the place of Legends: Arceus’s Noble Pokémon battles, with the player dodging attacks while their own Pokémon fights.
• Wild Pokémon live in fenced Wild Zones inside the city instead of in open countryside.
• At night, Battle Zones let Trainers ambush one another; catching an opponent off guard gives a surprise attack with a critical hit.
• There is no Surf or ride Pokémon, unlike Legends: Arceus, so the city is explored on foot and water cannot be crossed directly.
• Unlike Legends: Arceus, set in the distant past, Z-A is set in the present day, five years after X and Y.
• The rival takes both of the first partner Pokémon the player passes over, rather than just one.
• The first partners are Chikorita, Tepig and Totodile, from Johto and Unova, rather than Kalos’s own trio.
• Alpha Pokémon return from Legends: Arceus.
• A style rating from 0 to 255, earned through activity around the city, lowers prices and opens extra shops and services.
• It is the first core series game rated E10+ by the ESRB.
• Its DLC was revealed before the base game launched and released in the same calendar year, both series firsts.
• In the DLC’s Hyperspace Lumiose, Pokémon can go beyond level 100, though the extra levels do not carry over back to the city.
• Pokémon HOME transfers are one-way: Pokémon brought into Z-A cannot be sent back to earlier games.

Urbain, Taunie and every major battle

Your friend Urbain or Taunie takes the two first partners you pass over, and Team MZ’s Lida and Naveen test you too. Every major battle of the story, roughly in the order you fight them, then the post-game:

• Urbain or Taunie (first battle, Hotel Z): the two first partners the player did not choose, both Lv. 5.
• Naveen (Main Mission 7, Hotel Z): Spinarak Lv. 16, Sableye Lv. 16, Scraggy Lv. 17.
• Lida (Main Mission 8, Vert District): Clauncher Lv. 22, Vanillite Lv. 22, Staryu Lv. 23.
• Rogue Mega Absol (Main Mission 9, Jaune Sector 6, Lv. 25), fought with AZ’s loaned Lucario; the player earns the Mega Ring and Absol joins the team.
• Urbain or Taunie (second battle, Hotel Z): three Pokémon at Lv. 25–26, ace Mega Manectric Lv. 26.
• Vinnie, special promotion match to Rank F (Main Mission 10): Houndoom Lv. 30, Sharpedo Lv. 30, Buneary Lv. 30, Mega Drampa Lv. 32.
• Rogue Mega Slowbro (Aymlis Park), Rogue Mega Camerupt (Jaune Sector 3) and Rogue Mega Victreebel (Magenta Sector 9), all Lv. 34 (Main Missions 11–13).
• Naveen (Main Mission 14, Hotel Z): Ariados Lv. 33, Sableye Lv. 33, Scraggy Lv. 33.
• Canari of DYN4MO, promotion match to Rank E: Heliolisk Lv. 37, Ampharos Lv. 38, Stunfisk Lv. 38, Mega Eelektross Lv. 39.
• Rogue Mega Beedrill (Vert Sector 5), Rogue Mega Hawlucha (Magenta Sector 3) and Rogue Mega Banette (Jaune Sector 9), all Lv. 41 (Main Missions 16–18).
• Ivor of the Fist of Justice, promotion match to Rank D: Heracross Lv. 45, Medicham Lv. 46, Machamp Lv. 46, Mega Falinks Lv. 47.
• Rogue Mega Mawile (Magenta Sector 6), Rogue Mega Barbaracle (Bleu Sector 5) and Rogue Mega Ampharos (Rouge Sector 6), all Lv. 48 (Main Missions 21–23).
• Corbeau of the Rust Syndicate, promotion match to Rank C: Arbok Lv. 50, Gyarados Lv. 51, Roserade Lv. 51, Mega Scolipede Lv. 52.
• Lida and Naveen (Main Mission 25, Vert District), after AZ gives them Mega Rings: Lida’s Clawitzer Lv. 46, Vanillish Lv. 46, Emolga Lv. 47, Staryu Lv. 48; Naveen’s Ariados Lv. 48, Sableye Lv. 48, Krookodile Lv. 49, Mega Scrafty Lv. 50.
• Rogue Mega Froslass (Aymlis Park), Rogue Mega Altaria (Magenta Sector 4) and Rogue Mega Venusaur (Jaune Sector 8), all Lv. 53 (Main Missions 27–29).
• Jacinthe of the Society of Battle Connoisseurs, promotion match to Rank B (Hotel Richissime): Carbink Lv. 57, Mawile Lv. 58, Aurorus Lv. 58, Gardevoir Lv. 58, Mega Clefable Lv. 59.
• Rogue Mega Dragonite (Vert Sector 3), Rogue Mega Tyranitar (Jaune Sector 4) and Rogue Mega Starmie (Bleu Sector 9), all Lv. 59 (Main Missions 32–34).
• Emma (Main Mission 35, Reaching Rank A): Ampharos, Mawile, Lopunny and Lucario at Lv. 57, Mega Malamar Lv. 58.
• Grisham of Team Flare Nouveau, promotion match to Rank A (Centrico Plaza): Pangoro Lv. 61, Malamar Lv. 61, Pyroar Lv. 61, Tyranitar Lv. 62, Salamence Lv. 62, Mega Charizard X Lv. 63.
• Urbain or Taunie, Rank A match (Centrico Plaza): Meowstic, Goodra, Avalugg, Manectric and the final forms of the two unchosen first partners, Lv. 62–64, with one first partner Mega Evolving as the ace.
• The Ange crisis: Rogue Mega Pokémon at Lv. 62 across the city (Main Mission 37), then Hyperrogue Ange Floette, stopped with Zygarde in its Complete Forme.
• Post-game: Urbain or Taunie with Mega Floette at Quasartico Inc. (Lv. 70–72) in the Infinite Z-A Royale reward matches, which earns the player Floette and the Floettite.
• Post-game: Zygarde (Main Mission 42, To Keep the World in Balance, Wild Zone 20, Lv. 84) in its 10% and Complete Formes; win, and it lets itself be caught.
• Post-game: L at Hotel Z: Pyroar Lv. 78, Florges Lv. 78, Sableye Lv. 78, Noivern Lv. 79, Garbodor Lv. 79, Mega Gyarados Lv. 80.

AZ, the king who stayed

AZ is the 3,000-year-old former king of Kalos from X and Y, who built the ultimate weapon to revive his Floette and ended an ancient war with it. Now he runs Hotel Z with Floette at his side, spending most of the game resting behind the reception desk. He warned Quasartico about Ange and the need for a Mega Evolution user to stop it, lent the player his Lucario for the first Rogue Mega battle and, once Team MZ reaches Rank A, finally reveals what lies inside Prism Tower. Soon after Ange is stopped he dies peacefully, leaving the hotel to Team MZ and asking them to care for Floette and the people of Lumiose.

Zygarde, Ange and the Eternal Flower

Zygarde is the legendary at the heart of the story. Five years earlier it shielded Lysandre from the ultimate weapon’s blast and exhausted its strength, so as “L” he has been collecting its Cells to prepare it for the threat of Ange. The player first meets it in its 10% Forme; in the climax the gathered Cells let it reach its Complete Forme and stop Hyperrogue Ange Floette alongside the player. After the credits it battles the player in Wild Zone 20 and lets itself be caught, and the Zygardite unlocks the new Mega Zygarde. Ange itself is AZ’s creation, bound up with his ultimate weapon and his Eternal Flower Floette, who gains a Mega Evolution of her own. Xerneas and Yveltal, drawn to Lumiose by Ange, become catchable post-game.

Lumiose City redevelopment & the Wild Zones

Legends: Z-A never leaves Lumiose. The whole game is one city, being rebuilt around a plan for people and Pokémon to live side by side, and that plan shapes everything from where you catch Pokémon to what the streets look like after dark:

The redevelopment plan

Five years after Team Flare’s plot, Quasartico Inc. and its CEO, Jett, are remaking Lumiose as a city that belongs to people and Pokémon alike. Compared with the city of X and Y there is far more greenery and a crop of modern facilities; the old gates out to the routes have been closed, the station Gare de Lumiose has replaced the Route 4 gate, and the Gogoat Shuttle is gone. The biggest change is the Wild Zones: fenced pockets of wilderness built into the city itself.

A style rating from 0 to 255 rises as you get involved in city life, and a higher rating cuts prices and opens extra shops and services.

A city shaped like a wheel

Lumiose is laid out like a spoked wheel. North Boulevard and South Boulevard form the rim, four seasonal avenues run in as the spokes, and Centrico Plaza, with Prism Tower at its centre, is the hub. Between the spokes lie five districts – Vert, Bleu, Magenta, Rouge and Jaune – each divided into numbered sectors, while covered passages such as the Passage de la Félicité, the Passage du Palais and the Galerie de la Lune, the Coulant Waterway and the Lumiose Sewers lead off into quieter corners. You explore it all on foot: there is no Surf and no ride Pokémon, so the waterways can’t be crossed directly. The districts and Wild Zones are described one by one further down.

The Wild Zones

Wild Zones are fenced areas built with advanced technology to give wild Pokémon a home inside the city, and they are where you find, battle and catch them. Six open as soon as you choose your first partner and more open as you climb the Z-A Royale from Rank F to Rank A, until there are 20; the last opens at Centrico Plaza, on the ruins of Prism Tower. Every zone has its own mix of species, from the Bug types and birds of Wild Zone 1 beside the Pokémon Research Lab to Wild Zone 20, where the Kanto first partners and the game’s own three turn up among the rarities, and Alpha Pokémon return from Legends: Arceus.

Day and night

Lumiose runs on a day-night cycle that splits the game in two. By day you explore, take on missions and catch Pokémon in the Wild Zones; after dark the red-fenced Battle Zones go up and the Z-A Royale runs until dawn, and the city looks quite different under its lights. Spot another Trainer in a Battle Zone before they spot you and you can open with a surprise attack that lands a critical hit.

Living in Lumiose

Where you live, what the locals ask of you and who keeps the records:

Hotel Z and Team MZHotel Z, an old hotel run by AZ, is the player’s base: AZ hands over the key to Room 202 at the start. Team MZ, founded by Urbain or Taunie and joined by Lida and Naveen, began as a way to drum up business for the hotel before Quasartico recruited it to deal with Rogue Megas. Teammates partner the player in Rogue Mega battles and Multi Battles, and gain Mega Rings partway through the story. After the credits, AZ’s will leaves the hotel to Team MZ.

Side missionsAlongside the numbered main missions, Lumiose’s residents offer side missions, from small favours to multi-part stories for the supporting cast, such as the personal stories of Lida and Naveen. The Mega Dimension update adds 81 more, for 200 in all, and there are also special EX missions, such as the search for Diancie and the DLC’s battle with a Rogue Mega Zeraora. Some side missions award Pokémon, including the Magearna given by Jett, and many reward items, money or new battles.

The Lumiose Pokédex and researchMable, acting director of the Pokémon Research Lab on South Boulevard, asks the player to help fill the Lumiose Pokédex as she investigates the sudden rise in Pokémon numbers in the city. It holds 232 species, 230 of them needed to complete it, and a separate Mega Evolution Pokédex section records Mega forms. Mega Dimension adds a Hyperspace Pokédex for the Pokémon of Hyperspace Lumiose.

The Z-A Royale

The Z-A Royale is the backbone of the game and takes the place of the Gym challenge. Quasartico Inc. set it up on AZ’s advice after the first Rogue Mega Evolution struck, to find the strongest Mega Evolution user in Lumiose, and the prize for reaching Rank A is a wish. Each night, from dusk to dawn, red-fenced holographic Battle Zones appear around the city; beating the Trainers inside and completing bonus cards earns Ticket Points, and enough points buy a Challenger’s Ticket and a shot at a promotion match.

Ranks run from Z to A, and the points needed rise with each one. The first promotion matches are against ordinary Trainers, until Vinnie’s special match sends you from Rank V straight to Rank F; after that, each rank is guarded by the leader of one of the groups chasing a wish of their own. Every promotion match, with teams and rewards, is listed under the promotion matches further down.

After the story the contest carries on as the Infinite Z-A Royale: everyone becomes Rank ∞, three Battle Zones open each night instead of one, and Challenger’s Tickets buy reward matches at Quasartico Inc.

Quasartico Inc., Jett and Vinnie

Quasartico Inc. is the company behind both the redevelopment and the Royale, run from its headquarters on Autumnal Avenue in the Magenta District. Its CEO, Jett, wants a Lumiose that brings people and Pokémon closer together; she greets new arrivals on a screen at the station, and later you and Corbeau protect her from the Lumiose Safety Group. Her secretary Vinnie, busy and efficient, feeds Team MZ intelligence on Rogue Mega outbreaks, runs the Rogue Mega Evolution Simulator 3000 and fights you himself in the special match to Rank F, and it is Vinnie who reveals that AZ wished for the Royale to go on. After the credits, Jett learns that her estranged late daughter was the mother of Urbain or Taunie, and in Mega Dimension she gives you Magearna.

The groups chasing Rank A

Z-A has no villainous team in the usual sense. Instead, several groups enter the Royale with agendas of their own, and the real threat turns out to be Ange, the device inside Prism Tower, with Lysandre’s old plan in the background:

• DYN4MOThe fan club of the Lumiose streamer Canari, run by her doting grandfather Tarragon.
• The Fist of JusticeIvor’s group, based at the Justice Dojo, which wants the Wild Zones torn down.
• The Rust SyndicateA shady but locally popular outfit that says it wants to protect the city; the jobs it sets you to clear Urbain or Taunie’s debt turn out to be good deeds.
• The Society of Battle ConnoisseursAn upper-class society whose Lumiose branch Jacinthe leads.
• Team Flare NouveauYoung Trainers raised to be Team Flare’s next generation, led by Grisham with Griselle from Nouveau Café, who want their old team’s name cleared.

Mega Evolution & the Rogue Megas

Mega Evolution is back for the first time since Let’s Go, and Z-A builds its whole story around it: 26 new Mega Evolutions in the base game, 19 more in Mega Dimension, and boss battles against Pokémon that have Mega Evolved with no Trainer at all.

How Mega Evolution works

The player gets a Mega Ring after the first Rogue Mega battle. A Pokémon holding its Mega Stone can Mega Evolve once the Mega Gauge is full, by clicking the right stick. The gauge fills as your Pokémon lands moves and as you pick up Mega Power orbs dropped by Mega-Evolved opponents. Mega Evolution lasts only for a limited time, which more orbs can extend, and a Pokémon can Mega Evolve more than once in a battle. Mega Power can also turn a move into a stronger Plus Move.

• Z Mega Evolution – Mega Dimension adds Z forms for Absol, Garchomp and Lucario, which burn Mega Power twice as fast but launch their moves with no wind-up.
• X and Y – Mega Raichu X and Mega Raichu Y make Raichu the third Pokémon, after Charizard and Mewtwo, with both an X and a Y Mega Evolution.
• Eternal Flower Floette – only AZ’s Floette can become Mega Floette, and it can never evolve into Florges.
• Mega Stones – each story Rogue Mega leaves its stone behind, the Kalos first partners’ stones were Ranked Battle season rewards, and Mystery Gifts have delivered the Gardevoirite, the Diancite, both Mewtwonites and the Garchompite Z.
• Returning favourites – Mega Dimension also brings back Mega Sceptile, Mega Blaziken, Mega Swampert, Mega Latias, Mega Latios and Mega Rayquaza, along with Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre.

The 26 new Mega Evolutions

Every Mega Evolution introduced in the base game, in National Pokédex order. Several are the aces of the Royale’s promotion opponents, and most of the rest are fought as Rogue Megas or found with their Pokémon in the Wild Zones:

The 19 Mega Dimension Megas

Mega Dimension adds 19 more, or 22 counting the Original Color Magearna and the three Tatsugiri forms. Mega Baxcalibur is counted with the DLC, although its stone can be earned without it:

Rogue Mega Evolutions

Rogue Megas are wild Pokémon that have Mega Evolved without a Trainer after exposure to excessive Mega Power. You fight them in a circular arena, usually alongside a Team MZ ally, with your party healed and Mega Power reset. They have far more HP, take much less damage from ordinary moves and mostly target you, so you dodge, collect the orbs they drop, Mega Evolve and use Plus Moves, which can also interrupt their devastating attacks. Each victory yields that Pokémon’s Mega Stone.

The sixteen Rogue Megas of the main story, in order. Each is fought alongside a member of Team MZ, apart from the first:

* New Mega Evolutions in Z-A. After the credits, Zygarde is fought the same way in Wild Zone 20, though it drops no Mega Power when stunned. Mega Dimension’s Rogue Megas, in story order:

In the anime and movies

Pokémon Horizons timed its Mega Evolution push to match Z-A. Mega Evolution became central to the series from April 2025, a three-part special took Roy to Lumiose City to meet the game’s Emma just as Z-A launched, and later episodes brought in several of the game’s new Megas.

In the anime

The anime season which ties in with Pokémon Legends: Z-A (Mega Evolution, Lumiose City and Emma):

Horizons Season 3: Rising Hope2025–2026The Mega Voltage arc, from April 2025 in Japan, puts Mega Evolution at the centre, led by Roy’s shiny Mega Lucario and Ult’s Mega Sableye, and Ult also uses Mega Dragonite, one of Z-A’s new forms. The Rising Again arc, from 31 October 2025, adds Friede’s Mega Starmie and Master Mayonnaise’s Mega Hawlucha, plus the DLC’s Mega Lucario Z for Roy.

Pocket Monsters Episode: Mega Evolution (2025)A three-part flashback mini-arc of Pokémon Horizons made to coincide with Z-A’s launch, shown weekly on TV Tokyo from 10 to 24 October 2025. Set in Lumiose City, it follows Roy and Ult as the armoured Master Mayonnaise teaches them Mega Evolution, and features Emma, the detective from the game, and her Mega Ampharos. In the UK, all three episodes arrived on BBC iPlayer on 27 February 2026.

Mega Evolution in Horizons

The Horizons episodes with the strongest links to the game:

• HZ101Terastallization vs. Mega Evolution! – Roy’s Lucario Mega Evolves against Nemona’s Terastallised Pawmot (Japan 27 June 2025; US 6 January 2026).
• HZ112Mega Evolution – Roy – Roy arrives in Lumiose City, meets Ult and receives a Mega Ring from Master Mayonnaise (Japan 10 October 2025; UK 27 February 2026).
• HZ113Mega Evolution – Ult – Emma Mega Evolves her Ampharos and recalls how she met Ult and became a detective (Japan 17 October 2025; UK 27 February 2026).
• HZ114Mega Evolution – Bonds – Ult’s Sableye Mega Evolves for the first time and the shiny Lucario known as the Yellow Flash chooses Roy (Japan 24 October 2025; UK 27 February 2026).
• HZ134One Step Closer – Roy’s Mega Lucario Z battles Chalce’s Mega Medicham, whose Mega Evolution wears off mid-battle for the first time in the anime (Japan 17 April 2026; UK 20 July 2026).

In the Trading Card Game

The Trading Card Game’s Mega Evolution era began with the Mega Evolution expansion on 26 September 2025 (10 October in the UK and the rest of Europe), three weeks before Legends: Z-A launched. Mega Evolution returns through Mega Evolution Pokémon ex, which are played and evolved like ordinary Pokémon ex but hand over three Prize cards when Knocked Out; unlike the M Pokémon-EX of the X & Y era, evolving into one no longer ends your turn. The series also brought in Mega-themed rarities such as Mega Hyper Rare. Z-A’s own content arrived with the special set Ascended Heroes in January 2026, which added the starters’ new Megas and Supporters for Urbain and Canari, followed by Perfect Order and Chaos Rising with Mega Zygarde ex, Mega Floette ex, Jacinthe, Naveen, Emma and AZ’s Tranquility. Pitch Black, released in July 2026, draws on the Mega Dimension DLC through Mega Darkrai ex, and Delta Reign follows on 6 November 2026.

The Mega Evolution series sets

Every English set of the Mega Evolution Series so far, and how closely each one ties in with Lumiose, each with its own page on the site:

Mega EvolutionReleased 26 September 2025The series opener arrived three weeks before Legends: Z-A and made Mega Evolution the card game’s central mechanic again, a role it last held in the XY series. Its ten Mega Evolution Pokémon ex are returning forms rather than Z-A’s new ones, led by Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex, with Mega Manectric ex, a Mega that Urbain uses in the game.Phantasmal FlamesReleased 14 November 2025Released a month after Z-A launched, this set has no Lumiose characters of its own. Instead it keeps the Mega revival going with Mega Charizard X ex as its headline card, backed by Mega Gengar ex, Mega Lopunny ex, Mega Heracross ex, Mega Sharpedo ex and the Mythical Mega Diancie ex.Ascended HeroesReleased 30 January 2026The first special set of the series and the first built around Legends: Z-A. It debuts cards for Z-A’s new Megas, among them Mega Meganium ex, Mega Emboar ex, Mega Feraligatr ex, Mega Dragonite ex, Mega Froslass ex, Mega Eelektross ex, Mega Hawlucha ex and Mega Scrafty ex, and adds Supporters for Urbain and Canari plus a Boss’s Orders showing Corbeau.Perfect OrderReleased 27 March 2026The first main set based on Z-A, centred on Mega Zygarde ex with Mega Starmie ex, Mega Clefable ex and Mega Skarmory ex in support. Lumiose itself appears as the Lumiose City Stadium and the Lumiose Galette Item, while Supporters depict Jacinthe, Naveen and Tarragon, the grandfather of streamer Canari.Chaos RisingReleased 22 May 2026The second main set drawn from Z-A brings Kalos to the fore with Mega Greninja ex, Mega Floette ex, Mega Pyroar ex and Mega Dragalge ex, plus a returning Mega Gallade ex. AZ appears in the Supporter AZ’s Tranquility, joined by detective Emma and the Rust Syndicate’s Philippe, and Prism Tower becomes a Stadium card.Pitch BlackReleased 17 July 2026Based on the Mega Dimension DLC, with Mega Darkrai ex as its centrepiece and Mega Zeraora ex alongside base-game Megas such as Mega Chandelure ex, Mega Excadrill ex and Mega Delphox ex. Its Supporters include Quasartico’s Jett, the Ghost-type specialist Gwynn, whose partner is Chandelure, and a Rust Syndicate Grunt.30th CelebrationReleased 16 September 2026A special set for the franchise’s 30th anniversary rather than a Z-A tie-in. It sits within the Mega Evolution series and mixes new cards with a Classic Collection of reprints, including the XY-series M Gardevoir-EX, so its link to Lumiose is limited to that nod to Mega Evolution’s first spell in the card game.

Lumiose on the cards

Twelve cards that tie straight back to the game:

Mega Meganium exAscended Heroes · 010/217Chikorita’s final form, which Mega Evolves for the first time in Z-A with the Meganiumite.Mega Emboar exAscended Heroes · 031/217Tepig’s final form, the Unova first partner given a new Mega Evolution through the Emboarite.Mega Feraligatr exAscended Heroes · 043/217Totodile’s final form, which becomes a Water/Dragon type when it Mega Evolves.Mega Dragonite exAscended Heroes · 152/217One of the game’s headline new Megas, fought as a Rogue Mega in Vert Sector 3.Mega Zygarde exPerfect Order · 047/088The centrepiece of the first main set based on Z-A, built around the Legendary at the heart of the story.Mega Floette exChaos Rising · 035/086AZ’s Eternal Flower Floette in its new Mega form; Floette joins you after the credits.Mega Greninja exChaos Rising · 022/086The Kalos Water-type first partner’s new Mega, whose stone was a Ranked Battle season reward.Mega Darkrai exPitch Black · 048/084The Mega Dimension story boss, at the heart of the set based on the DLC.UrbainAscended Heroes · 214/217Your friend and rival, the founder of Team MZ, as a Supporter.CanariAscended Heroes · 185/217The streamer behind DYN4MO, who guards Rank E with a Mega Eelektross.AZ’s TranquilityChaos Rising · 076/086The ancient king turned hotelier, owner of Hotel Z, where Team MZ live and work.Lumiose CityPerfect Order · 077/088The whole setting of the game, as a Stadium card.

Promos tied to the game

Black Star Promos from the MEP line with a Z-A link:

• MEP 034 Mega Meganium ex: Mega Meganium ex Box (on sale from 24 April 2026, with a jumbo copy) and Ascended Heroes tins
• MEP 035 Mega Emboar ex: Mega Emboar ex Box (jumbo) and Ascended Heroes tins
• MEP 036 Mega Feraligatr ex: Mega Feraligatr ex Box (jumbo) and Ascended Heroes tins
• MEP 046 Chikorita, MEP 048 Totodile and MEP 050 Tepig: First Partner Illustration Collection Series 2
• MEP 069 Chikorita: Perfect Order Triple Pack Blister
• MEP 071 Mega Zygarde ex: Mega Zygarde ex Premium Collection (jumbo)
• MEP 072 Mega Clefable ex: Mega Moonlit Tins (alongside MEP 073 Mega Gengar ex)
• MEP 080 Fennekin: Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box (Pokémon Center edition included)
• MEP 081 Mega Greninja ex: Mega Greninja ex Premium Collection (jumbo)
• MEP 089 Mega Zeraora ex, MEP 090 Mega Darkrai ex and MEP 091 Mega Dragonite ex: Mega Forces Tins

Z-A products

Boxes, tins and collections built around the game’s new Megas:

• Ascended Heroes, the special set themed on Legends: Z-A: Elite Trainer Box (with an N’s Zekrom promo), Premium Poster Collection, First Partners Deluxe Pin Collection, Tech Sticker Collections (Mega Charizard Y and Mega Gengar) and tins
• Mega Meganium ex Box, Mega Emboar ex Box and Mega Feraligatr ex Box: one for each Z-A starter’s new Mega Evolution, each built around a jumbo Black Star Promo of that Mega
• Mega Zygarde ex Premium Collection (Perfect Order era)
• Mega Moonlit Tins featuring Mega Clefable ex or Mega Gengar ex
• Mega Greninja ex Premium Collection (Chaos Rising era)
• Mega Forces Tins featuring Mega Zeraora ex, Mega Darkrai ex or Mega Dragonite ex
• Elite Trainer Boxes and Build & Battle Boxes for Perfect Order, Chaos Rising and Pitch Black, with Pokémon Center editions of each Elite Trainer Box

What’s new in Legends: Z-A

Away from the city and the Royale, the way you battle and catch Pokémon has been rebuilt too. The biggest changes, then the online side and the choice of console:

Real-time battles

Battles unfold in real time on the field, with no separate battle screen, borrowing ideas from Pokémon UNITE. Your Pokémon and its opponent move freely; you lock on to a target and trigger moves with the A, B, X and Y buttons, which can be remapped. PP is gone, replaced by a cooldown of its own for each move, and attacks land on specific areas, so positioning and timing matter. Stat-changing moves shift a stat by only one stage and wear off after a short time, Abilities don’t feature at all, and a Pokémon can Mega Evolve more than once in the same battle.

Catching

Poké Balls are thrown straight into the field, as in Legends: Arceus, and if the Pokémon doesn’t pop back out, it’s caught. Knocking a wild Pokémon out leaves it stunned for a few seconds, a short window to throw a ball before it recovers. Alpha Pokémon are back from Hisui too.

The Z-A Battle Club

Multiplayer runs through the Z-A Battle Club, with Nintendo Switch Online needed for internet play. Link Battles put up to four players into the same real-time battle, locally or online, and Ranked Battles run in three-week seasons whose rewards have included Mega Stones (see after the credits). Version 1.0.2 rebalanced the points awarded in four-player Ranked Battles, from 30/10/-10/-30 to 30/20/10/0. Mystery Gift handles distributions, and Pokémon HOME has been supported since April 2026.

Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2?

The original Nintendo Switch version is the complete game, with the same city, story, Wild Zones, Royale, online battles, updates and DLC as the Switch 2 Edition. It runs on every Switch model and on Nintendo Switch 2 through backward compatibility, but it is the weaker way to play: Nintendo Life scored it 6/10 against 7/10 for the Switch 2 Edition, and its Metacritic average is 70 against 78.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition launched on the same day with the same content, but at a higher resolution and a smoother frame rate, and reviewers consistently praised how it ran. It is sold boxed, or as a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack, a download of around 3 MB that turns an existing Switch copy, physical or digital, into the enhanced version and keeps the save. Mega Dimension works with both. At launch the game took up 4.0 GB on Switch and 7.7 GB as the Switch 2 Edition, growing past 6 GB and 11 GB with the DLC updates.

If you own a Switch 2, get the Switch 2 Edition: it looks sharper, runs more smoothly and reviewed better. On an original Switch the standard version is the full game, and the upgrade pack lets you move up later without starting again. From 29 October 2026 a boxed bundle will add Mega Dimension.

After the credits

The credits roll once Team MZ has defeated Ange in the battle that leaves Prism Tower in ruins, but Lumiose City is far from finished. AZ’s death shortly afterwards sets the epilogue in motion: his letter hands the player his Lucario, his will passes Hotel Z to Team MZ, and his final wish turns the Z-A Royale into a permanent nightly contest, the Infinite Z-A Royale. Mable then sends the player after Xerneas and Yveltal, and a last main mission ends with Zygarde in Wild Zone 20. Beyond that lie online Ranked Battles with seasonal Mega Stones, free Mystery Gift missions for Diancie and Mewtwo, and the paid Mega Dimension story.

AZ’s farewell

Soon after the climax, AZ dies of natural causes, and Team MZ, joined by Lysandre, pay their respects at his grave in Dormez Bien Cemetery. Back in Room 202 of Hotel Z, the player finds a Poké Ball and a letter: AZ leaves them the Lucario that helped calm the Rogue Mega Absol, and reveals that Korrina was its original Trainer. His will hands the hotel over to Team MZ and asks them to look after his Floette and the people of Lumiose.

The Infinite Z-A Royale and AZ’s Floette

With both the player and their partner at Rank A, they ask Jett and Vinnie to keep the tournament running, and Vinnie reveals that AZ had wished for exactly that. Every Trainer is now Rank ∞, three battle zones open each night instead of one, and Challenger’s Tickets buy reward matches at Quasartico Inc. The first 20 reward matches have fixed opponents, among them Griselle, Lebanne, Emma, Corbeau, Jacinthe and Vinnie; after that, challengers are drawn at random. Prizes include Exp. Candy and random items, with a slim chance of a Master Ball.

Main Mission 39 ends with the 15th Infinite Z-A Royale reward match, in which the player’s partner battles with the Floette they took in after AZ’s death. Win, and they hand over both Floette and its Floettite, giving the player the Eternal Flower Floette at Lv. 72 and access to Mega Floette. This Floette can never evolve into Florges, but its Mega Evolution more than makes up for it. Clearing the 20th reward match then opens a further side mission.

Xerneas, Yveltal and Zygarde

After Main Mission 38, Mable explains Lysandre’s old ambitions and links the swelling Mega Power in Lumiose to Xerneas, the Pokémon that gives life, and Yveltal, the one that takes it. In “The One That Gives”, the player first has to defeat alpha Steelix, Gallade and Pangoro (all Lv. 70) in Wild Zones 3, 5 and 9, then battle and catch Xerneas at Lv. 75 in Wild Zone 11. “The One That Takes” follows, with Yveltal, also Lv. 75, waiting in Rouge Sector 2.

Main Mission 42, To Keep the World in Balance, ties off the story. Zygarde, which fought beside the player against Ange, decides they are worthy and battles them at Lv. 84 in Wild Zone 20, around the remains of Prism Tower, in its 10% and Complete Formes. Win, and it lets itself be caught, before L hands over the Zygarde Cube and leaves to find a better path.

Diancie and Mewtwo

Two free side missions arrived by Mystery Gift for players who have seen the credits. From 6 November 2025, “Shine Bright like a Gemstone” (EX1) came with a Diancite: Mimi the Espurr at the Looker Bureau starts the hunt, which ends with Diancie at Lv. 70 in Magenta Sector 8. From 2 December 2025, “Project M” (EX2) added both Mewtwonite X and Mewtwonite Y and a battle with Mewtwo, also Lv. 70, deep inside Lysandre Labs. Both are claimed with Get via Internet.

Ranked Battles and seasonal Mega Stones

Online Ranked Battles, found under Link Play and needing Nintendo Switch Online, put four players into one real-time battle as they climb from Rank Z towards Rank A over three-week seasons. The first seven seasons each offered an exclusive Mega Stone: the Kalos first partners’ Chesnaughtite, Delphoxite and Greninjite in the first three, then Baxcalibrite, Sceptilite, Swampertite and Blazikenite. Since Season 8, which began on 12 March 2026, earlier stones have come back as rank-up prizes, and Season 18 runs from 8 to 29 October 2026.

Mystery Gifts and early-purchase bonuses

Pokémon Legends: Z-A hands out gifts through the Mystery Gift option in the Link Play menu, either by code or password or through Get via Internet, and Nintendo Switch Online is not needed to claim them. Launch brought a run of retailer and early-purchase bonuses, among them a Ralts holding a Gardevoirite and several item bundles, all of which have now closed. The most important gifts since then are free side missions: Diancie with its Diancite, then Mewtwo with both of its Mega Stones, followed for Mega Dimension owners by a hyperspace distortion that leads to Garchompite Z. An Alpha Charizard was available by password over the 2025 festive season, while Pokémon Center stores in Asia gave out Slowpoke and Birthday Audino codes. Mega Stones also rotate through each Ranked Battle season.

• Ralts with a Gardevoirite – an early-purchase bonus by Get via Internet, one per save, 16 October 2025 to 28 February 2026 (ended).
• Pre-order and download bonuses – the Adventure Set of 20 Super Potions, 5 Revives, 3 Full Heals and a Rare Candy; a Trench Coat & Pants Set in colours not sold in the game; 100 Poké Balls for buying the download version before 28 February 2026; and, for early Mega Dimension buyers, a Luxurious Poké Ball Set of Fast, Lure, Level and Heavy Balls. All of these codes expired on 10 March 2026.
• Diancie (Lv. 70) – with the Diancite and side mission EX1, Shine Bright like a Gemstone, by Get via Internet once the credits have rolled, from 6 November 2025 (no end date announced).
• Mewtwo (Lv. 70) – with Mewtwonite X, Mewtwonite Y and side mission EX2, Project M, by Get via Internet after the credits, from 2 December 2025 (no end date announced).
• Alpha Charizard (Lv. 36) – a password shown in the Mega Dimension release trailer, one per save, 9 December 2025 to 21 January 2026 (ended).
• Garchompite Z – for Mega Dimension owners, through a one-star unknown hyperspace distortion delivered by Get via Internet, from 27 February 2026.
• Items – the password PREPAR1NG, first sent out with a Nintendo newsletter, gives 5 Max Revives, 10 Full Restores and 10 Ultra Balls until 31 March 2027.
• Slowpoke and Audino – serial codes from Pokémon Center stores: a Slowpoke at Pokémon Center Kagawa (24 October to 30 November 2025, ended) and a Birthday Audino in Japan, Singapore and Taiwan during your birthday month, until 31 October 2026.
• 100 Mega Shards – a Pokémon HOME code for entrants to the video game event of the 2026 Pokémon Japan Championships (7 June to 30 September 2026, ended).

Version updates

Legends: Z-A has had six updates so far, the latest of them version 2.0.2 in March 2026:

• Version 1.0.1 (15 October 2025) – Day-one update adding the data needed for online features; the first version sold on the Nintendo eShop. Version 1.0.0 on the Game Card plays offline without it.
• Version 1.0.2 (5 November 2025) – Fixed catches always failing if the Boxes filled up before the first Rogue Mega battle without the Boxes menu ever being opened, side mission rewards not being given, targets becoming unhittable after a day-night change, and a freeze when an opponent switched as the player Mega Evolved. Ranked Battle points changed from 30/10/-10/-30 to 30/20/10/0 and some rewards were increased.
• Version 1.0.3 (27 November 2025) – Fixed players being unable to claim the Season 2 Ranked Battle Mega Stone; affected players can claim it from the Ranked Battle screen.
• Version 2.0.0 (10 December 2025) – Added the Mega Dimension story for DLC owners, let players without the DLC see the extra Pokémon through local or online play, fixed the tongue colour of shiny Greninja and other bugs. Download size grew to 6.0 GB on Switch and 11.2 GB on Switch 2.
• Version 2.0.1 (21 January 2026) – Berries can be bought several at a time, and from Nouveau Café’s Truck No. 3 once the DLC story starts; the Mega Shard limit rose from 999 to 9,999; fixed several Mega Dimension bugs, including shiny Pokémon missing from the Mega Evolution Pokédex and side mission 188 “Start Special Scanning!” not completing.
• Version 2.0.2 (18 March 2026) – General bug fixes (“Several issues have been fixed.”); no other changes listed.

Mega Dimension

Mega Dimension is the paid expansion for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, sold separately on the Nintendo eShop and playable with either the Nintendo Switch version or the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. It went on sale on launch day, 16 October 2025, when buyers received a first wave of content, the Holo-X and Holo-Y Apparel Sets, unlocked about an hour into the main story. The story itself arrived with the version 2.0.0 update on 10 December 2025 and carries on once the main story is complete: on the roof of Hotel Z, a young donut chef named Ansha asks Team MZ for help, and her Hoopa opens the way into Hyperspace Lumiose. A boxed Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Mega Dimension bundle follows on 29 October 2026.

Into Hyperspace Lumiose

With Lumiose City rebuilt after Ange’s defeat, Team MZ meets Ansha, who bakes donuts for her friend Hoopa. When a distortion opens at Coulant Waterway, Hoopa’s Hyperspace Hole carries her, the player and Team MZ into Hyperspace Lumiose, a dreamlike copy of the city. Soon a vast black distortion hangs over the ruins of Prism Tower, and Pokémon from other regions start appearing in the streets, at risk of turning into Rogue Megas. Corbeau of the Rust Syndicate, working with Quasartico Inc., hires the player to survey the dimension, and because only three people can safely enter at once, Korrina, the Mega Evolution successor, joins the party after testing the player in battle. The trio calms Rogue Megas in five hyperspace arenas and learns that Ansha is the daughter of Diantha, the Kalos Champion, and hopes to give her mother a Rayquaza. As the two cities begin to merge, the search narrows to a single Pokémon: Darkrai, which had been resting on Prism Tower when Ange’s Mega Power leaked out. Operation Mega Donut powers up Hoopa, a vision of AZ and Floette bids the team farewell, and in Hyperspace Newmoon Nightmare they catch Rogue Mega Darkrai, halting the spread. Rogue Primal Groudon and Kyogre then yield the Red and Blue Orbs, opening Hyperspace Sky Pillar and a final clash with Rogue Mega Rayquaza. In the end, Ansha decides to wait until she is a Trainer herself and leaves Rayquaza in the player’s care.

• Mega Dimension was announced in the Nintendo Direct of 12 September 2025, making it the first core-series DLC revealed before its base game had launched.
• It was also the first core-series DLC to arrive in the same calendar year as its base game, less than two months after launch.
• The DLC adds 19 new Mega Evolutions, or 22 counting the Tatsugiri and Magearna variants, and is the first DLC to add new Mega Evolutions to a game after release.
• The Hyperspace Pokédex lists 132 Pokémon, from Mankey to Zeraora (131 are needed to complete it), and the DLC adds 130 species that were not available in the base game.
• In Hyperspace Lumiose, Pokémon take on temporary hyperspace levels of up to 200, far above the usual cap of 100.
• The DLC brings 81 new side missions, for 200 in total, and TMs 108 to 160, taking the TM count to 160.
• The Mythical Pokémon it brings into the game include Hoopa, Genesect, Volcanion, Magearna, Marshadow, Meltan, Melmetal and Zeraora, and Latias, Latios, Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, Keldeo and Meloetta appear through special scans.

Hyperspace Lumiose and its arenas

Hyperspace Lumiose is a shifting mirror of Lumiose City, born when Darkrai’s nightmare power mixed with Mega Power leaking from Ange and shaped by dreams and wishes; some of its pockets even resemble places from other regions. Hoopa’s Hyperspace Hole opens its distortions, rated from one to five stars, while Ansha’s donuts keep Hoopa’s energy up. Inside, Pokémon reach temporary hyperspace levels of up to 200, survey tasks earn Hyperspace points, and wild zones, battle zones and Rogue Mega arenas are marked by different coloured icons.

• The Rogue Mega Arenas – Five arenas host the DLC’s first Rogue Mega bosses, most of them shaped by the inner world of the Pokémon waiting there: the Hyperspace Disaster Arena (Absol), Hunting Grounds (Staraptor), Sushi Paradise (Tatsugiri), Second-Sight Arena (Meowstic) and Infernal Arena (Heatran). Each Rogue Mega is battled as part of the Hyperspace Lumiose surveys. After the story, rare five-star Rogue Mega Arena distortions let the player rematch defeated Rogue Megas at Lv. 200, one per day-night cycle.
• Hyperspace Newmoon Nightmare – Darkrai’s lair, reached through the giant black distortion that forms over Prism Tower in Wild Zone 20. Getting there takes Operation Mega Donut, in which the Rust Syndicate, Quasartico Inc. and Team MZ feed Hoopa a donut charged with Mega Evolution energy, the Bad Dreams Cruller, and use their Key Stones to send the trio through. Rogue Mega Darkrai waits inside, and catching it stops Hyperspace Lumiose from swallowing the real city.
• Hyperspace Desolate Land and Primordial Sea – Two pocket dimensions bound to the minds of the super-ancient Pokémon. In “A Ruby-Red Legend”, the team faces Rogue Primal Groudon in Hyperspace Desolate Land, and in “A Sapphire-Blue Legend”, Rogue Primal Kyogre in Hyperspace Primordial Sea. Calming them earns the Red Orb and the Blue Orb, the keys Ansha needs before Rayquaza will show itself, and both Legendary Pokémon can be caught.
• Hyperspace Sky Pillar – The last stop of the DLC story. Inspired by a storybook about the super-ancient Pokémon, Ansha has to call the tower into being inside hyperspace, and once she bakes a Delta Old-Fashioned Donut, the team can make the climb. At the top waits Rogue Mega Rayquaza, and catching it in “The Greatest Gift” brings Ansha’s wish to an unexpected close.

Hoopa and Operation Mega Donut

Hoopa, Ansha’s Mythical partner, is a Psychic/Ghost Pokémon whose only known move is Hyperspace Hole. Ansha’s donuts restore its strength and awaken its power to turn distortions into doorways to hyperspace; the Mega-charged Bad Dreams Cruller even lets it take on its Unbound form to reach Darkrai. After the story, “The Djinn Unbound” pits the player against its Unbound form, after which Hoopa joins them and Ansha asks them to keep it away from the Prison Bottle.

Ansha, Korrina and the rest of the cast are in the characters below, and the DLC’s nineteen new Megas are pictured with the others above.

After the DLC: the Mega Rogue Rush

Owners of the Mega Dimension DLC get a much tougher endgame. Once its story is finished, Z-A Royale Trainers field teams at Lv. 80 to 100, Korrina joins the Infinite Z-A Royale pool, and Corbeau and others offer stronger rematches at Quasartico Inc. Catching Zeraora and beating every Rogue Mega Evolution unlocks the Mega Rogue Rush, a boss rush against every Rogue Mega, both Rogue Primals and Zygarde, with only three heals allowed between battles.

How to get it

Mega Dimension is sold separately on the Nintendo eShop and works with both the Switch version and the Switch 2 Edition. It came in two waves: the Holo-X and Holo-Y Apparel Sets on launch day, 16 October 2025, then the story with version 2.0.0 on 10 December 2025, an update that also let players without the DLC see its extra Pokémon in local and online play. A boxed Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Mega Dimension bundle is due on 29 October 2026.

Lumiose City

Lumiose is the capital of Kalos, the Paris-inspired city at the heart of Pokémon X & Y, and in Z-A it is the whole world. Five years on, its five colour-named districts, two great boulevards and Centrico Plaza have gained Wild Zones, a railway station and a crop of new cafés, boutiques and restaurants, and Prism Tower is under construction as part of the redevelopment. Mega Dimension adds a dreamlike copy of the city, Hyperspace Lumiose.

Where the story takes you

Eleven places that define Z-A’s Lumiose: its landmarks, the five districts and three of the twenty Wild Zones.

Prism Tower & Centrico Plaza

TowerRank A

Centrico Plaza is the hub of Lumiose’s spoked-wheel layout, and Prism Tower, the city’s landmark, rises from its centre. At the start of the game the tower is under construction as part of the redevelopment, but it hides a secret: Ange, the device AZ built, whose leaking Mega Power drives Pokémon to Rogue Mega Evolution. In the climax, Hyperrogue Ange Floette brings the tower down, and the damaged site later becomes Wild Zone 20. The plaza is also where the player faces Grisham for Rank A and then Urbain or Taunie in the Rank A match.

Pokémon of note: Zygarde, Eternal Flower Floette, Malamar, Lucario, Dragalge. Items: TM104 Flare Blitz (Grisham’s reward).

Hotel Z

HotelTeam MZ

Hotel Z is an old hotel owned by AZ, who spends most of the game resting behind the reception desk with his Eternal Flower Floette. The player stays in Room 202, and the hotel doubles as the headquarters of Team MZ, whose members work there in return for room and board. It is where the player’s first battles with Urbain or Taunie and with Naveen take place, and Jacinthe even marks out a “Jacinthe zone” there. After AZ dies, his will leaves Hotel Z to Team MZ, and L waits there for a post-game battle.

Pokémon of note: Eternal Flower Floette, Lucario, Gyarados (L’s ace). Items: the key to Room 202 (AZ’s gift), Lucario’s Poké Ball (after the credits).

Gare de Lumiose & the boulevards

BoulevardPokémon Research Lab

You arrive at Gare de Lumiose, the station that has replaced the old Route 4 gate, where Jett’s welcome plays on a screen and Urbain or Taunie comes to the rescue after your bag goes missing. South Boulevard, the city’s southern rim, is home to the Pokémon Research Lab, where Mable works beside Wild Zone 1, along with Restaurant Le Nah, Racine Construction, Café Introversion, Café Soleil and Coiffure Clips. North Boulevard, the northern rim, holds the Lumiose Museum, Café Ultimo, Café Action!, Café Bataille and the grand Hotel Richissime, Jacinthe’s stage for the Rank B match. The gates out to the old routes stay closed on both sides.

Pokémon of note: Chikorita, Tepig, Totodile, Skiddo (Jett’s partner), Clefable (Jacinthe’s ace). Items: your first partner (Urbain or Taunie’s gift), TM020 Play Rough (Jacinthe’s reward).

Vert District

DistrictWild Zones 1, 2, 11 and 17

The green-named district holds Wild Zones 1, 2 and 17, and shares Wild Zone 11 with the Jaune District. Vert Street has a Pokémon Center, Nouveau Café and the way to the Coulant Waterway, the canal where the DLC story begins. Lida’s first battle with the player happens here, and so does the Main Mission 25 clash in which Lida and Naveen show off their new Mega Rings. Rogue Mega Beedrill attacks in Vert Sector 5 and Rogue Mega Dragonite in Vert Sector 3.

Pokémon of note: Pidgey, Fletchling, Mareep, Skarmory, Pyroar, Chespin. Items: Beedrillite (Rogue Mega Beedrill), Dragoninite (Rogue Mega Dragonite).

Bleu District

DistrictWild Zones 5, 10, 12 and 16

The blue district contains Wild Zones 5, 10, 12 and 16, and Bleu Street offers a Pokémon Center and the entrance to the Passage de la Félicité. Lida, the team’s Water-type specialist, partners the player against Rogue Mega Barbaracle in Bleu Sector 5 and against Rogue Mega Starmie in Bleu Sector 9, the last of the story’s sixteen Rogue Megas, during which she finally evolves her Staryu.

Pokémon of note: Abra, Bellsprout, Staryu, Barbaracle, Falinks, Froakie. Items: Barbaracite (Rogue Mega Barbaracle), Starminite (Rogue Mega Starmie).

Magenta District & the Lumiose Sewers

DistrictWild Zones 7, 9, 14 and 18

The Magenta District has Wild Zones 7, 9, 14 and 18, the Quasartico Inc. headquarters on Autumnal Avenue and the Electrical Substation, home to Wild Zone 14. Magenta Street leads down into the Lumiose Sewers, where one of Corbeau’s Rust Syndicate jobs has the player clearing growths of Mega Crystal. Autumnal Avenue also has the Poké Ball Boutique and Restaurant Le Yeah. Rogue Megas hit the district four times: Victreebel in Sector 9, Hawlucha in Sector 3, Mawile in Sector 6 and Altaria in Sector 4.

Pokémon of note: Floette, Carbink, Mawile, Excadrill, Emolga, Fennekin. Items: Victreebelite (Rogue Mega Victreebel), Hawluchanite (Rogue Mega Hawlucha), Mawilite (Rogue Mega Mawile), Altarianite (Rogue Mega Altaria).

Rouge District & Dormez Bien Cemetery

DistrictWild Zones 3, 4 and 13

The red district contains Wild Zones 3, 4 and 13. Rouge Street offers Sushi High Roller, a Pokémon Center, the Looker Bureau, which starts out as an empty shop and becomes Emma’s detective agency, and entrances to the Passage du Palais and Galerie de la Lune. Wild Zone 4 lies by Dormez Bien Cemetery, where AZ is laid to rest after the story. Rogue Mega Ampharos strikes in Rouge Sector 6.

Pokémon of note: Pikachu, Litleo, Flabébé, Gastly, Honedge, Heracross. Items: Ampharosite (Rogue Mega Ampharos), Pyroarite (for Pyroar, which evolves from the Litleo of Wild Zone 3).

Jaune District

DistrictWild Zones 6, 8, 11, 15 and 19

The yellow district holds Wild Zones 6, 8, 15 and 19, and shares Wild Zone 11 with the Vert District; Jaune Street has just a Pokémon Center. It sees more Rogue Megas than anywhere else in the city: the very first, Mega Absol in Sector 6, where AZ lends the player his Lucario and the player earns the Mega Ring, followed by Camerupt in Sector 3, Banette in Sector 9, Venusaur in Sector 8 and Tyranitar in Sector 4. Its Wild Zones mix Ground-types such as Sandile and Gible with Ghost-types such as Haunter and Pumpkaboo.

Pokémon of note: Absol (the first Rogue Mega), Gible, Larvitar, Eevee, Drampa, Kangaskhan. Items: Mega Ring and Absolite (Rogue Mega Absol), Cameruptite and Banettite, Venusaurite and Tyranitarite.

Wild Zone 1

Wild ZoneOpen from the start

One of the six Wild Zones open from the moment the player picks a first partner, Wild Zone 1 sits beside the Pokémon Research Lab off South Boulevard. Its fenced grassland is stocked with the classic early-game crowd: Bug-types, Normal- and Flying-type birds, a baby Electric-type and Kalos’s digging rabbit. It is the natural first stop for building a team before the first nights of the Z-A Royale and the Rogue Mega Absol, and several of its residents grow into Pokémon that can Mega Evolve later in the story.

Pokémon of note: Weedle, Pidgey, Pichu, Mareep, Bunnelby, Fletchling. Items: Beedrillite (for Beedrill, which evolves from the Weedle found here), Ampharosite (for Ampharos, which evolves from the Mareep found here).

Wild Zone 16

Wild ZoneOpens at Rank C

Opening in the Bleu District once the player reaches Rank C, Wild Zone 16 gathers several Pokémon with new or returning Mega Evolutions, which makes it a key stop for Mega hunters. Here the player can find Falinks and Barbaracle, whose Megas are new to Z-A, alongside Starmie, Medicham, White Flower Florges and Froakie, the Kalos Water-type first partner whose final form gains Mega Greninja. Flaaffy rounds out the zone. Two of their stones, the Barbaracite and the Starminite, come from the story’s Rogue Mega battles, while the Greninjite was a Ranked Battle reward.

Pokémon of note: Falinks, Barbaracle, Starmie, Medicham, Florges, Froakie. Items: Falinksite (for Falinks), Barbaracite (for Barbaracle), Greninjite (for Greninja, a Ranked Battle reward).

Wild Zone 20

Wild ZoneAfter Rank A

The last Wild Zone opens on the ruins of Prism Tower at Centrico Plaza once the player has reached Rank A and the Ange crisis is over. It is home to the widest spread of rare Pokémon in the base game, including Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle, Chikorita, Tepig and Totodile, Lucario, Gardevoir, Aggron, Scrafty, and Malamar and Dragalge, both new Megas in Z-A. It is also where Zygarde battles the player in Main Mission 42, To Keep the World in Balance.

Pokémon of note: Zygarde, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Lucario, Gardevoir. Items: Malamarite and Dragalgite (for Malamar and Dragalge).

Can I catch them all?

Legends: Z-A’s Lumiose Pokédex has 232 entries, and as there is only one version, there are no version exclusives to trade for. Not every Pokémon is in it, though: species outside the game’s data can’t be caught or brought in from Pokémon HOME, and Mega Dimension adds a Hyperspace Pokédex on top.

The Lumiose and Hyperspace Pokédexes

The Lumiose Pokédex has 232 entries, running from Chikorita at No. 001 to Mewtwo at No. 232; 230 count towards completion, as Diancie and Mewtwo are left out. Every Generation VI Pokémon is in the base game, along with favourites from other generations, including the Kanto and Kalos first partners, who turn up in late-game Wild Zones. There are no Generation IX Pokémon until the DLC, the Psyduck family is missing entirely, and Mewtwo appears without Mew. A separate Mega Evolution Pokédex tracks Mega forms. Mega Dimension adds 130 Pokémon in a Hyperspace Pokédex, among them Hoopa, Volcanion, Goodra, Avalugg and Hisuian Sliggoo. Since 2 April 2026, Pokémon HOME can bring in any species from either Pokédex, and HOME’s mobile app has its own 230-entry Lumiose Pokédex for Pokémon from Z-A.

The other first partners

The Kanto first partners and the Kalos trio live in the Wild Zones too: Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle are among the rarities of Wild Zone 20, Froakie lives in Wild Zone 16, and the final forms of all three Kalos partners gain new Mega Evolutions.

• Bulbasaur#001
• Charmander#004
• Squirtle#007
• Chespin#650
• Fennekin#653
• Froakie#656

Added by Mega Dimension

A few of the DLC’s 130 newcomers, with the first Generation IX Pokémon in Z-A among them:

• Hoopa#720
• Volcanion#721
• Goodra#706
• Avalugg#713
• Hisuian Sliggoo#705
• Tatsugiri#978
• Scovillain#952
• Glimmora#970

What Legends: Z-A adds

• 26 new Mega Evolutions – From Mega Clefable to Mega Falinks, including Megas for all three first partners and for the Kalos trio.
• 19 more in Mega Dimension – Including Mega Raichu X and Y and the faster-burning Z Mega Evolutions of Absol, Garchomp and Lucario.
• Mega Floette – AZ’s Eternal Flower Floette, the only Floette that can Mega Evolve, joins you after the credits.
• Alpha Pokémon – Oversized wild Pokémon return from Legends: Arceus.

Starter Pokémon

Urbain or Taunie offers the three first partners when you arrive in Lumiose, and takes the two you don’t choose. All three final forms gain a new Mega Evolution, pictured here on their Special Illustration Rare cards from Ascended Heroes:

• Chikorita: Grass type; evolves into Bayleef and then Meganium, which gains the new Mega Meganium (Grass/Fairy). It is No. 001 in the Lumiose Pokédex.
• Tepig: Fire type; evolves into Pignite and then Emboar, both Fire/Fighting, and Emboar gains the new Mega Emboar, which keeps those types. The Unova Fire-type first partner.
• Totodile: Water type; evolves into Croconaw and then Feraligatr, which gains the new Mega Feraligatr (Water/Dragon). The Johto Water-type first partner.

Legendary, Mythical and event Pokémon

• ZygardeWild Zone 20
• XerneasPost-game
• YveltalPost-game
• DiancieMystery Gift
• MewtwoMystery Gift
• HoopaMega Dimension
• DarkraiMega Dimension
• GroudonMega Dimension
• KyogreMega Dimension
• RayquazaMega Dimension
• MagearnaMega Dimension
• ZeraoraMega Dimension
• LatiasMega Dimension
• LatiosMega Dimension
• CobalionMega Dimension
• TerrakionMega Dimension
• VirizionMega Dimension
• KeldeoMega Dimension
• MeloettaMega Dimension
• GenesectMega Dimension
• VolcanionMega Dimension
• MarshadowMega Dimension
• MeltanMega Dimension
• MelmetalMega Dimension

Zygarde – Lv. 84, Wild Zone 20. Main Mission 42, To Keep the World in Balance: after the credits it battles you in its 10% and Complete Formes and then lets itself be caught.

Xerneas – Lv. 75, Wild Zone 11. Drawn to Lumiose by Ange and caught after the credits in The One That Gives, once you have beaten Alpha Steelix, Gallade and Pangoro in Wild Zones 3, 5 and 9.

Yveltal – Lv. 75, Rouge Sector 2. Caught in The One That Takes, straight after Xerneas.

Diancie – Lv. 70, Magenta Sector 8. Side mission EX1, Shine Bright like a Gemstone, arrives by Mystery Gift with the Diancite, and Mimi the Espurr at the Looker Bureau starts the hunt. It isn’t needed for the Pokédex.

Mewtwo – Lv. 70, Lysandre Labs. Side mission EX2, Project M, arrives by Mystery Gift with both Mewtwonites, and Mewtwo waits deep inside Lysandre Labs. It isn’t needed for the Pokédex either.

Hoopa – Mega Dimension. Ansha’s partner, which joins you once you have beaten its Unbound form in The Djinn Unbound, after the DLC story.

Darkrai – Hyperspace Newmoon Nightmare. Caught after the Rogue Mega Darkrai battle that stops Hyperspace Lumiose swallowing the real city.

Groudon – Hyperspace Desolate Land. Battled as a Rogue Primal and then caught; it leaves the Red Orb.

Kyogre – Hyperspace Primordial Sea. Battled as a Rogue Primal and then caught; it leaves the Blue Orb.

Rayquaza – Hyperspace Sky Pillar. Caught after the Rogue Mega Rayquaza battle at the end of the DLC story; Ansha leaves it in your care.

Magearna – Lv. 80, Quasartico Inc. headquarters. A gift from Jett, with the Magearnite, after Side Mission 195, Restarting Magearna.

Zeraora – Hyperspace Lumiose. Side Mission EX3, Raging Lightning, a Rogue Mega battle alongside Korrina and Emma. Z-A is the first core game in which Zeraora can be had without a limited-time event.

Latias, Latios, Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, Keldeo and Meloetta – Hyperspace Lumiose. Can appear in the Unknown zones of five-star hyperspace distortions.

Genesect, Volcanion, Marshadow, Meltan and Melmetal – Mega Dimension. Also brought into the game by the DLC.

Missing from Lumiose

Not every Pokémon made the cut. There are no Generation IX Pokémon in the base game, Mewtwo appears without Mew, and one family is missing entirely:

• Psyduck#054
• Golduck#055

Pokémon HOME can only send in species that are in the Lumiose or Hyperspace Pokédex, so anything else has to stay in HOME.

Gift Pokémon

Pokémon you are simply handed:

• Chikorita, Tepig or Totodile – Lumiose City, at the start of the story. The player’s first partner, chosen with Urbain or Taunie on arrival.
• Absol – Jaune Sector 6. Joins the player after the Rogue Mega Absol battle in Main Mission 9, along with the Absolite.
• Lucario – Hotel Z, Room 202. Left by AZ in a Poké Ball after the credits; it originally belonged to Korrina.
• Eternal Flower Floette – Quasartico Inc., after the credits. AZ’s Floette, handed over by Urbain or Taunie with the Floettite after the 15th Infinite Z-A Royale reward match, which completes Main Mission 39.
• Magearna – Quasartico Inc. (Mega Dimension). Lv. 80, with the Magearnite, from Jett after Side Mission 195, Restarting Magearna.
• Alpha Chikorita, Alpha Tepig and Alpha Totodile – Pokémon HOME (mobile app). Mystery Gifts unlocked by depositing Pokémon caught in Z-A into the Nintendo Switch version of Pokémon HOME.

Event Pokémon such as Diancie and Mewtwo are listed with the Mystery Gifts above.

Pokémon HOME and connectivity

Z-A links to other games only through Pokémon HOME, which has supported it since 2 April 2026, and the move is one-way: Pokémon brought into Z-A can’t go back to older games.

Online play needs a Nintendo Switch Online membership: the Z-A Battle Club offers Link Battles for up to four players over local wireless or the internet, and Ranked Battles run in seasons whose rewards include Mega Stones. Mystery Gift delivers distributions such as the Garchompite Z of February 2026, and version 1.0.3 fixed claiming the Season 2 Mega Stone. Since 2 April 2026, species in the Lumiose and Hyperspace Pokédexes can come in through Pokémon HOME from Pokémon Bank, Pokémon GO, Let’s Go, Sword and Shield, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Legends: Arceus, and Scarlet and Violet. Transfers are one-way, so Pokémon in Z-A cannot return to earlier games, though some can move on to Pokémon Champions. Linking uses the Switch version of HOME, transferred Pokémon arrive knowing their four most recent level-up moves, and the Switch version and the Switch 2 Edition share all of these features.

Characters

The people of Lumiose. AZ is covered with the story above, Jett and the groups in the Royale with the Z-A Royale, and Vinnie, Canari, Ivor, Corbeau, Jacinthe, Emma and Grisham with their promotion and final battles further down.

The player

The player is a tourist who arrives in Lumiose at Gare de Lumiose, as a boy or a girl whose looks can be customised. A chance meeting with Urbain or Taunie brings a first partner, a room at Hotel Z and a place in Team MZ. After taming the Rogue Mega Absol with AZ’s Lucario, the player earns a Mega Ring, worn on the left wrist, then climbs the Z-A Royale from Rank Z to Rank A, stands with Zygarde against Ange and, after the credits, inherits Hotel Z with the rest of Team MZ.

Urbain & Taunie

Urbain and Taunie are counterparts, and which of them you meet depends on the player character you choose. They came to Lumiose looking for their grandmother, wearing a jacket that belonged to their late mother, a former member of Team Flare. Emma helped them, and AZ gave them room and board at Hotel Z in return for work. After beating a Rogue Mega Pidgeot with AZ’s Floette, they began receiving Quasartico intelligence from Vinnie and formed Team MZ. After the credits, Jett learns that they are her grandchild.

Lida

Lida is a dance student from Hoenn who came to Lumiose on a scholarship to become a professional dancer. When her roommate moved out and she could no longer afford the rent, Urbain or Taunie invited her into Team MZ and AZ let her live at Hotel Z. She partners the player on the first night of the Royale and against Rogue Megas from Main Mission 10. AZ gives her a Mega Ring and Starminite, and she finally evolves her beloved Staryu with a Water Stone from Philippe.

Naveen

The only Lumiose native in Team MZ, Naveen joined in exchange for studio space after his grandmother, who disapproved of his sewing, threw out his supplies. Formal, private and full of dry remarks, he slowly warms to his teammates, sews gifts such as the team flag and is a devoted fan of Canari’s streams. He is no keen battler, but helping Rogue Mega victims stiffens his resolve. AZ gives him a Mega Ring and Scraftinite, and Mega Scrafty becomes his signature.

Mable

One of Team Flare’s five scientists in X and Y, Mable was taken into custody and given a plea deal that made her acting director of the Pokémon Research Lab, under close government watch and unable to leave Lumiose freely. She studies the city’s surge in Pokémon numbers and asks the player to fill the Lumiose and Mega Evolution Pokédexes. She identifies Grisham, explains Lysandre’s interest in Xerneas and Yveltal and helps the player catch both, then aids the Rust Syndicate’s hyperspace research in Mega Dimension.

L (Lysandre)

Team Flare’s former boss returns white-haired and bearded, with a glowing blind left eye, a worn hooded jacket and little memory of his past, going only by “L”. Zygarde shielded him from the ultimate weapon’s blast and charged him with gathering its Cells against the threat of Ange. He still dreams of a more beautiful world but admits his methods were wrong. After the credits he asks the player to catch Xerneas and Yveltal, battles them with a Mega Gyarados, gives them the Zygarde Cube and leaves.

Ansha

A small, well-mannered girl and gifted donut chef, Ansha is the daughter of Diantha, the Kalos Champion and film star. Like her mother’s, her Japanese name comes from a word for carnation. She befriended Hoopa with a donut about six months before the DLC and dreams of presenting her mother with Rayquaza. She becomes a full member of Team MZ but, unusually for a friend character, never battles.

Korrina

The Mega Evolution successor returns from X and Y, called to Lumiose by Corbeau to help Team MZ. She joins the hyperspace trio after battling the player at the Rust Syndicate Office, carries bandoliers of Mega Stones, and wears her hair styled after the Mega Evolution symbol. Her Lucario uses the new Mega Lucario Z, and it was Korrina who once gave AZ the Lucario he later left to the player.

The promotion matches

The Z-A Royale takes the place of the Gym challenge. Each rank ends in a promotion match against a fixed opponent, bought with a Challenger’s Ticket, and from Vinnie’s special match onwards every opponent Mega Evolves their ace; from Canari on, each one leads one of the groups chasing Rank A. The match for Rank A, against Grisham, is with the final battles below.

The first four gatekeepers are ordinary Trainers with Pokémon from the early Wild Zones: Zach, a driver, with Slowpoke, Pidgey and Pikachu; Yvon, an office worker, with the Fairy types Spritzee and Swirlix and the Kalos butterfly Vivillon; Xavi, a young schoolchild and the first opponent with four Pokémon (Venipede, Roselia, Kadabra and Furfrou); and Rintaro, a waiter, with Unova’s elemental monkeys Simisage, Simipour and Simisear. All four come back among the fixed opponents of the post-game reward matches.

From Rank Z to Rank A – every promotion match in order, with the opponent’s speciality and the reward for winning:

1. Rank Z → YZach · DriverSlowpoke, Pidgey, Pikachu₱540
2. Rank Y → XYvon · Office workerMainly Fairy types₱960
3. Rank X → WXavi · SchoolchildFour Pokémon, mixed types₱1,260
4. Rank W → VRintaro · WaiterGrass, Water and Fire₱1,140
5. Rank V → FVinnie · Quasartico Inc.Mixed · ace Mega Drampa₱2,048 · TM051 Safeguard
6. Rank F → ECanari · DYN4MOElectric · ace Mega Eelektross₱2,808 · TM066 Volt Switch
7. Rank E → DIvor · Fist of JusticeFighting · ace Mega Falinks₱3,384 · TM011 Bulk Up
8. Rank D → CCorbeau · Rust SyndicateMainly Poison · ace Mega Scolipede₱3,744 · TM100 Gunk Shot
9. Rank C → BJacinthe · Battle ConnoisseursFairy · ace Mega Clefable₱4,248 · TM020 Play Rough
10. Rank B → AGrisham · Team Flare NouveauDark and Fire · ace Mega Charizard X₱4,536 · TM104 Flare Blitz

Rank F to Rank B

Rank F match: Vinnie

Mixed · Quasartico Inc. · Main Mission 10

Jett’s busy, efficient secretary keeps a Key Stone in his left palm and wears Buneary and Pancham accessories on his hair bun. Once you have proved yourself against a Rogue Mega, he offers a special match that skips Ranks U to G and sends the winner straight to Rank F.

Team: Houndoom Lv. 30, Sharpedo Lv. 30, Buneary Lv. 30, Drampa Lv. 32 (ace; Mega Evolves)

It is the first promotion match against a Mega Evolution: Drampa becomes the new Normal/Dragon Mega Drampa, so bring Fairy- or Fighting-type moves. Vinnie is also the 20th fixed opponent of the post-game reward matches. Reward: ₱2,048 and TM051 Safeguard.

Rank E match: Canari

Electric · DYN4MO · Rank F to Rank E

Canari is a Lumiose gamer and streamer who loves falling-block puzzle games far more than battling and throws spectacular tantrums when she loses. Her grandfather Tarragon, who runs DYN4MO, handles her public appearances by pretending to be her, and Naveen’s fan knowledge helps you track her down for the match.

Team: Heliolisk Lv. 37, Ampharos Lv. 38, Stunfisk Lv. 38, Eelektross Lv. 39 (ace; Mega Evolves)

Ground-type moves are the obvious answer, and Mega Eelektross stays a pure Electric type. Reward: ₱2,808 and TM066 Volt Switch.

Rank D match: Ivor

Fighting · Fist of Justice · Rank E to Rank D

The loud, fist-first leader of the Fist of Justice trains at the Justice Dojo and wants the Wild Zones taken down so that people and Pokémon can coexist on his terms. Hot-headed but a capable teacher, he cares deeply for his sister Gwynn, who manages his Royale affairs. His drive goes back to a childhood defeat by Lebanne.

Team: Heracross Lv. 45, Medicham Lv. 46, Machamp Lv. 46, Falinks Lv. 47 (ace; Mega Evolves)

Flying- and Fairy-type moves hit his whole team, and Mega Falinks is one of Z-A’s new Mega Evolutions. Reward: ₱3,384 and TM011 Bulk Up.

Rank C match: Corbeau

Mainly Poison · Rust Syndicate · Rank D to Rank C

Corbeau took over the Rust Syndicate from Philippe, who stood aside out of admiration for him. Intimidating, quick to anger and not above extortion, he still follows a personal code of honour, cares about Lumiose and is well liked by its people; he idolises Lysandre and disdains Jacinthe. After a run of Syndicate jobs he invites you to a promotion match, and in the final act he forms a human ladder to reach Zygarde.

Team: Arbok Lv. 50, Gyarados Lv. 51, Roserade Lv. 51, Scolipede Lv. 52 (ace; Mega Evolves)

Psychic-type moves hit Arbok, Roserade and Scolipede, and an Electric type deals with Gyarados. In Mega Dimension he hires you to survey Hyperspace Lumiose. Reward: ₱3,744 and TM100 Gunk Shot.

Rank B match: Jacinthe

Fairy · Battle Connoisseurs · Hotel Richissime

The graceful, wealthy head of the upper-class Society of Battle Connoisseurs sees herself as a mentor to the city’s Trainers, but her ego knows no limits: she tries to buy Prism Tower and dreams of renaming Lumiose “Jacinthe City”. She takes the player on at the grand Hotel Richissime, and her ace becomes the new Fairy- and Flying-type Mega Clefable.

Team: Carbink Lv. 57, Mawile Lv. 58, Aurorus Lv. 58, Gardevoir Lv. 58, Clefable Lv. 59 (ace; Mega Evolves)

Steel-type moves hit four of her five Pokémon; save Fire or Ground for Mawile. After the story, Side Mission 119 brings you back to Hotel Richissime for another bout. Reward: ₱4,248 and TM020 Play Rough.

Rank A and the final battles

Three hard battles bring the Royale to a close. Emma tests you as you close in, Grisham of Team Flare Nouveau guards the final promotion, and once you and your friend both hold Rank A, Urbain or Taunie challenges you at Centrico Plaza to settle which of you is stronger.

The climax itself is no Trainer battle: as Rogue Megas erupt across Lumiose, you take on Hyperrogue Ange Floette with Zygarde, in its Complete Forme, fighting at your side. After the credits, L waits at Hotel Z for one last battle, led by a Mega Gyarados; every battle is in the full list above.

Emma and Grisham, then Urbain or Taunie

Emma, head of the Looker Bureau

Main Mission 35, Reaching Rank A

Five years after X and Y, the girl once known as Essentia has taken over the Looker Bureau from her former guardian Looker and is considered the best detective in Lumiose. She wears her Expansion Suit without its helmet under a beige cropped trench coat, with a Key Stone set into its chest. She teaches the player about Mega Evolution with her Ampharos, battles them for intelligence on Grisham and joins later Multi Battles, including the fight against Rogue Mega Zeraora. Her ace is Mega Malamar.

Team: Ampharos Lv. 57, Mawile Lv. 57, Lopunny Lv. 57, Lucario Lv. 57, Malamar Lv. 58 (ace; Mega Evolves)

Her Mega Malamar is one of Z-A’s new Mega Evolutions, a Dark/Psychic type that Bug- and Fairy-type moves cut through.

Grisham, boss of Team Flare Nouveau

Rank A promotion match · Centrico Plaza

Raised as part of Team Flare’s next generation, Grisham never got to use his talents before the team collapsed, and he resents both its disgrace and AZ, whom he blames for the ultimate weapon. Calm, courteous and quiet, he runs Nouveau Café with the more hot-headed Griselle and leads Team Flare Nouveau, which wants to help the city’s downtrodden and restore Team Flare’s honour. At first he and Griselle refuse to battle, but you finally face him at Centrico Plaza in the first promotion match against a full team of six, and once beaten he accepts you as the strongest Mega Evolution user.

Team: Pangoro Lv. 61, Malamar Lv. 61, Pyroar Lv. 61, Tyranitar Lv. 62, Salamence Lv. 62, Charizard Lv. 63 (ace; Mega Evolves into Mega Charizard X)

Fairy-type moves cover Pangoro, Malamar, Tyranitar and Salamence, and Ground- or Dragon-type moves handle Mega Charizard X. Rewards: Rank A, ₱4,536 and TM104 Flare Blitz.

Urbain or Taunie, Team MZ

The Rank A match · Centrico Plaza

Once you both hold Rank A, Urbain or Taunie challenges you at Centrico Plaza to settle who is stronger. The result doesn’t change the story, but it is the toughest test yet, with a full team built around the two first partners you passed over.

Team: Meowstic, Goodra, Avalugg, Manectric and the final forms of the two first partners you didn’t choose, Lv. 62–64; one of the two partners is the Mega Evolving ace.

Winning pays ₱5,120. Your friend returns with Mega Floette in the post-game reward matches, and at Lv. 100 once Mega Dimension is done.

Glitches, exploits and oddities

Most of Z-A’s launch bugs were fixed within weeks by versions 1.0.2 and 1.0.3, and Mega Dimension needed a clean-up of its own. One exploit has never been patched:

Wild Zone Escape glitch

If the player leaves a Wild Zone while a wild Pokémon is in the middle of a move that makes it briefly untouchable, such as Dig, Fly or Phantom Force, the Pokémon follows them out of the fence and keeps attacking for a while. If the player then wanders too far away, it tries to return to its zone and cannot; after saving and reloading, it treats wherever it ended up as its new home. Repeating the trick lets players move wild Pokémon to almost anywhere in the city and catch them there, giving them met locations that should be impossible.

Full-Box catching bug

At launch, players whose Boxes were completely full before the first Rogue Mega Evolution battle, and who had never opened the Box screen, could find that their Poké Balls simply failed to catch anything. The same condition could also let a side mission be completed without the player ever receiving the Pokémon it was supposed to award. Both problems were fixed in version 1.0.2 on 5 November 2025, one of the first post-launch updates, alongside a rebalance of Ranked Battle points.

Day-night side mission lock

One side mission could become impossible to finish if the clock switched between day and night at exactly the moment a move hit, leaving the mission stuck with no way to continue. Because the day-night cycle governs so much of Z-A, from Wild Zone visits to the Z-A Royale, the timing was easier to hit than it sounds. Version 1.0.2, released on 5 November 2025, corrected the problem as part of a wider batch of launch fixes. It was one of four specific bugs named in that update’s notes.

Mega Evolution switch freeze

In the launch version, the game could fall into a state where it could no longer be played if an opponent switched Pokémon at the same moment as the player activated Mega Evolution. As both Trainers act in real time, with no turns to keep commands apart, the two actions could overlap mid-battle. The fix arrived in version 1.0.2 on 5 November 2025, alongside other minor corrections and a rebalance of Ranked Battle points and rewards. In Z-A, Mega Evolution is triggered by clicking the right stick once the Mega Gauge fills, so it can happen at any moment of a fight.

Season 2 Mega Stone reward bug

During the second Ranked Battle season, some players were unable to claim the Mega Stone they had earned as a season reward. That was a serious problem, as the Kalos starters’ new Mega Stones were handed out through Ranked Battles. Version 1.0.3, released on 27 November 2025, fixed the issue, and affected players could then collect the missing stone from the Ranked Battle screen. It was the headline fix of that small update, which left the install sizes unchanged at 4.0 GB and 7.7 GB.

Mega Dimension launch issues

Version 2.0.0, which delivered the Mega Dimension story on 10 December 2025, also corrected the colour inside Shiny Greninja’s tongue. Version 2.0.1 on 21 January 2026 then tackled a batch of DLC problems: movement direction, weather, Shiny Mega Evolutions failing to register in the Pokédex, mission images and a survey-point mission. The same update let players buy several Berries at once from food stalls and from a Nouveau Café truck after starting the DLC, and raised the Mega Shard limit from 999 to 9,999.

What no longer works

Everything above except the Wild Zone Escape glitch has been patched. Version 1.0.2 (5 November 2025) fixed the full-Box catching and side-mission reward bugs, the day-night side mission lock and the Mega Evolution switch freeze. Version 1.0.3 (27 November 2025) fixed Season 2 Mega Stone claims. Version 2.0.0 (10 December 2025) corrected Shiny Greninja’s colouring, and 2.0.1 (21 January 2026) addressed the first wave of Mega Dimension faults. Version 2.0.2 (18 March 2026) brought further unspecified fixes. No fix for the Wild Zone Escape glitch has been announced.

Videos & media

Presentations and trailers for Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Mega Dimension, from the first gameplay showing in February 2025 to Mega Garchomp Z a year later.

The 27 February 2025 Pokémon Presents, with the first look at Z-A’s gameplay and real-time battles.

The July 2025 Pokémon Presents, introducing more characters and the story and revealing Mega Dragonite.

The September 2025 Nintendo Direct that showed the Kalos starters’ Megas and revealed Mega Dimension.

The UK launch trailer for the Mega Dimension DLC, released in December 2025.

The February 2026 Pokémon Presents, featuring Mega Dimension’s Mega Garchomp Z.

Trivia & facts

• The district names are colour words in French – Vert, Bleu, Magenta, Rouge and Jaune – and only the Bleu and Magenta obelisks from X and Y still stand, now painted white.
• AZ’s grave in Dormez Bien Cemetery describes him as a man who mastered both creation and destruction, who found faithful friends in Lumiose and was reunited with his most beloved Pokémon.
• The Gogoat Shuttle of X and Y has been withdrawn, because the city’s wild Pokémon make the Gogoat skittish.
• Rain is the only weather that appears in battle, and no move can set the weather.

Further trivia

• Mega Venusaur is the only Kanto first partner among the sixteen Rogue Megas of the story.
• Z-A is the first core series game with a Latin American Spanish language option.

Legacy

What came after

• Announcement – 27 February 2024. Revealed at the Pokémon Day Pokémon Presents for a 2025 release on Nintendo Switch, with Mega Evolution’s return confirmed.
• First gameplay shown – 27 February 2025. The Pokémon Day Pokémon Presents introduced new characters and the real-time battle system, and narrowed the window to late 2025.
• Nintendo Switch 2 Edition confirmed – 2 April 2025. Confirmed in the Nintendo Switch 2 Nintendo Direct alongside other upgraded Switch games.
• Release date set – 28 May 2025. 16 October 2025 confirmed for both versions, with a Pokémon Presents promised for July.
• Pokémon Presents – 22 July 2025. New trailer with more characters and Mega Dragonite; the early-purchase Ralts with Gardevoirite and the 100 Poké Balls bonus were announced.
• World Championships demo – August 2025. A playable demo was offered to attendees of the 2025 Pokémon World Championships in Anaheim.
• Mega Dimension announced – 12 September 2025. Nintendo Direct reveal of the paid DLC and Mega Raichu X and Y, alongside Mega Chesnaught, Mega Delphox and Mega Greninja, later confirmed as Ranked Battle rewards.
• Pocket Monsters Episode: Mega Evolution begins – 10 October 2025. The three-part Horizons special, set in Lumiose City, starts its weekly run on TV Tokyo.
• Worldwide launch – 16 October 2025. Released on Nintendo Switch and as the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition; Mega Dimension went on pre-sale and Ranked Battles Season 1 began.
• First-week sales – reported on 24 October 2025. More than 5.8 million copies sold worldwide in the first week; Famitsu counted 1.48 million in Japan in the first four days.
• Version 1.0.2 and Mega Dimension date – 5–6 November 2025. A bug-fix and Ranked Battle balance update on 5 November was followed on 6 November by the DLC release-date trailer and the free Diancie mission.
• Mega Dimension released – 10 December 2025. Version 2.0.0 adds the DLC story, Hyperspace Lumiose and 19 new Mega Evolutions.
• Version 2.0.1 – 21 January 2026. Quality-of-life changes and Mega Dimension bug fixes; a further fix-up, version 2.0.2, followed on 18 March 2026.
• Mega Garchomp Z revealed – 27 February 2026. The Pokémon Day Pokémon Presents showed Mega Garchomp Z as Garchompite Z went out to DLC owners; Pokémon HOME connectivity was announced the same day.
• Sales update – 31 March 2026. 12.79 million copies: 8.85 million on Switch and 3.94 million boxed Nintendo Switch 2 Edition copies.
• Pokémon HOME support – 2 April 2026. Pokémon HOME version 4.0.0 linked Z-A, letting Lumiose and Hyperspace Pokédex species in; Pokémon in Z-A can’t go back to earlier Switch games but can move on to Pokémon Champions.
• Pokémon Champions launch – 8 April 2026 (7 April in North America). The new battle game launched with Mega Evolution, including many of Z-A’s new Megas, and became the official VGC game from late May 2026, including the 2026 World Championships.
• Latest sales figure – 30 June 2026. 13.09 million copies across both versions, 3.99 million of them boxed Nintendo Switch 2 Edition copies; Nintendo’s next figures are due in early November 2026.
• Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Mega Dimension bundle announced – 30 September 2026. The boxed bundle is due in shops on 29 October 2026, including in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Where to play Legends: Z-A today

As of October 2026, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is on sale for Nintendo Switch and as the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, on Game Card or download, and Switch owners can move up with the upgrade pack. Version 2.0.2 is the latest update, Mega Dimension is on the Nintendo eShop, and a boxed Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Mega Dimension bundle arrives on 29 October 2026. Ranked Battles continue in Season 18, and Pokémon HOME links the game to Pokémon Champions.

How Legends: Z-A was made

Pokémon Legends: Z-A was developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, with Haruka Tochigi as director and Shigeru Ohmori as senior director; Toshinobu Matsumiya wrote the main scenario and Ken Sugimori supervised concept and visuals. It is the second Legends game after Legends: Arceus (2022), but where Arceus looked back to Hisui’s distant past, Z-A confines itself to one modern city, the Paris-inspired Lumiose, framed by an in-story urban redevelopment plan. Its biggest change is to battles, which play out in real time for the first time in the core series, with positioning, timing and dodging all mattering. Announced on Pokémon Day 2024 for a 2025 release, it was confirmed at the April 2025 Nintendo Direct as one of the games getting a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, becoming the first Pokémon game sold with a Switch 2 upgrade pack. Mega Dimension, revealed about a month before launch, was the first core-series DLC announced before its base game came out.

Legends: Z-A in other media

Pokémon ChampionsThe Pokémon Works’ battle game launched on Nintendo Switch on 8 April 2026 and on mobile on 17 June 2026. It supports Mega Evolution, gives several of Z-A’s new Mega forms fresh Abilities, such as Mega Sol for Mega Meganium and Dragonize for Mega Feraligatr, and accepts Pokémon from Z-A through Pokémon HOME. From the Indianapolis Regional Championships in late May 2026, it replaced Scarlet and Violet as the official video game of the VGC circuit, through to the 2026 World Championships.

Sales & reviews

Sales figures

Legends: Z-A sold a reported 5.8 million copies worldwide in its first week on sale. In Japan, Famitsu counted 1.48 million copies in its first four days, with the Switch and Switch 2 versions taking the top two places on the weekly chart.

Nintendo’s own figures put it at 12.3 million by the end of 2025, 12.79 million by 31 March 2026 and 13.09 million by 30 June 2026. Of those, 3.99 million are boxed Nintendo Switch 2 Edition copies, third on Nintendo’s list of best-selling Switch 2 games; Nintendo counts download copies of the Switch 2 Edition under the Switch version. Its next figures, to 30 September 2026, are due in early November.

• 13.09mworldwide, June 2026
• 5.8mfirst week (reported)
• 3.99mboxed Switch 2 Edition
• 1.48mJapan, first four days

Review scores

Z-A split critics more than most core Pokémon games: the real-time battles won praise, the one-city setting left several feeling hemmed in, and the Switch 2 Edition reviewed better than the Switch version. Some of the verdicts:

• Jordan Middler of Video Games Chronicle gave it full marks, 5/5, and VG247’s Lottie Lynn (4/5) and TechRadar’s Hamish Hector (4.5/5) were nearly as keen.
• Rebekah Valentine of IGN gave it 8/10 and Catherine Lewis of GamesRadar+ 4/5, with Jake Dekker of GameSpot a notch lower at 7/10.
• Alana Hagues of Nintendo Life praised the battles and how smoothly the Switch 2 Edition runs, but found Lumiose restrictive and the visuals flat: 7/10 on Switch 2 and 6/10 on Switch.
• Chris Tapsell of Eurogamer (3/5) saw a promising proof of concept rather than a full return to form.
• Dexerto pointed to limited exploration and thin side content, and The Jimquisition’s 4/10 was the lowest score of the lot.

Taken together, the reviews describe a game whose new battle system impressed more than its scope. The real-time battles and the performance of the Switch 2 Edition drew the most praise, and British outlets were among the game’s most enthusiastic supporters. Confining the adventure to one city was the main complaint, with reviewers pointing to limited exploration, thin side content and flat visuals. The Switch 2 Edition averaged eight points higher than the Switch version on Metacritic, and the Mega Dimension DLC had a cooler reception than the base game on OpenCritic.

Awards and honours:

Media & artwork

• Box art & covers for Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Further reading

Other links on the site for the games, anime and cards around Legends: Z-A: