Happy Pokemon Day, everyone! We here at The Outerhaven hope it is a wonderful day for you all, regardless of whether you play a Pokemon title during it. Obviously, with such a day, there was bound to be something big, and that took place in the form of a Pokemon Presents. In it, The Pokemon Company discussed many things, and that included doing small updates on their LARGE array of mobile titles. We won’t get into those because they aren’t the biggest pieces of news. So, we’ll skip right to the good parts.
First, there was an all-new game announced in the form of Pokemon Champions. The combat-focused title will be on the Nintendo Switch and mobile platforms and will feature players battling other trainers from all over the world. In other words, you’ll have nothing but Pokemon battles in this title. So, if that’s your thing, you’ll love this game. Furthermore, you’ll be able to bring in Pokemon from Pokemon Home, Gen 9, and other titles to help build up the number of Pokemon you’ll have access to. No release window has been given for the game at this moment.
The big thing that everyone wanted to hear more about, though, was Pokemon Legends Z-A. Thankfully, the Pokemon Presents did show a mostly in-depth look at the title, and there are things to be happy about. Key among them is the game’s beautiful look and how it’s recreated Lumiose City via its “redevelopment plan.” We even get connections to the original Gen 6 titles via the return of AZ himself.
Your Pokemon starter options are Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile, and you’ll use them in not just Pokemon battles but also ventures into the city’s “wild zones,” where you never know who you might meet. There were more teases to be had within the trailer, including new people you’ll meet and “Promotional Battles” that you’ll get to do. However, the biggest disappointment of the entire Pokemon Presents is that Pokemon Legends Z-A isn’t coming out until “Late 2025!” That definitely isn’t the news that fans were hoping to hear. True, it more than likely means it’s dropping on the Nintendo Switch 2 later this year, but that’s not what many were focused on.
To that end, the presentation as a whole was pretty lackluster. The mobile games once again took up a lot of time, and while Champions and Z-A were good reveals and looks, neither has a release date, so it felt more like “treading water” than anything else.
You can watch the whole presentation below.
