During the opening ceremony of the Pokémon World Championships 2025, players were given their very first chance to try Pokémon Legends: Z-A. The short demo, around ten minutes long, provided a look at both the exploration side of Lumiose City and the new battles.
If this small demo is anything to go by, Z-A is mixing the action-focused style of Legends: Arceus with a bit more modern mechanics from Scarlet & Violet. It also adds the Mega Evolutions at the very center of the adventure.
The same demo will also appear at Gamescom 2025 (August 20-24). If you want a first look, you can watch the video from Austin John Plays:
Exploring Lumiose City
The demo takes place in Lumiose City. You can freely explore town, collect items, and interacting with the environment. You can pick up items such as useful materials, Medicines, Berries, Poké Balls, or even more unique rewards like Mega Shards, TMs, Treasures, and Key Items.
Pokémon companions also play a role in exploration. They are able to automatically gather items for you, similar to Scarlet & Violet’s Let’s Go system. Unlike Legends: Arceus, the Trainer does not have a dodge-roll ability here, but you can still sprint around the map. Direct damage to the Trainer is still possible, especially in dangerous encounters, adding a little sense of risk.
New Battle Systems
The demo revealed a Battle Zone, where players test skills against other Trainers and bosses.
- Rogue Mega Pokémon
- Boss fights feature wild Mega-Evolved Pokémon that are out of control, such as Mega Absol.
- Combat mechanics:
- Lock-on targeting and real-time move selection (mapped to A/B/X/Y).
- Cooldowns prevent spamming the same move.
- Some attacks have added effects (e.g., Rock Smash lowering Defense).
- UI shows gauges and icons for Attack, Defense, and other status changes.
- Your Bag is also restricted by cooldown timers during fights.
Mega Evolutions
Mega Evolution is more than just a feature in Legends: Z-A. It is linked directly to story progression. Early in the demo, AZ and Lucario give you a Mega Ring. From there, the system revolves around gathering Mega Orbs dropped during battle to fill up a Mega Gauge. Once charged, pressing the right stick allows your Pokémon to Mega Evolve right away.
Defeating a Rogue Mega Pokémon also reward you with its Mega Stone (e.g., Mega Absol rewards the Absolite). Some Mega Stones can also be obtained by trading in Mega Shards found in the city.
Rewards & Progression
- Battles reward you with points, medals, and promotions.
- The demo shows that you need around 6000 points for Rank V.
- Rogue Mega battles reward exclusive Mega Stones, and some others come from shard collection.
- After defeating Mega Pokémon, they join the player willingly, having been freed from their berserk Mega state.
Even with only ten minutes of gameplay, the Pokémon Legends: Z-A demo gave a clear picture of what The Pokémon Company is aiming for. Exploration feels closer to Legends: Arceus but with some new improvements. Battles are a mix of real-time action and strategy, with Mega Evolution becoming more important.
And yet, despite all this information, the demo leaves us with questions.
- How common are Rogue Mega Pokémon?
- How will progression through ranks work in the full game?
- What role will characters like AZ and Emma play in the larger story?
On top of that, a lot of players are not really sold on the graphics or how the game looks, saying it is nowhere near what it could be. Even die-hard Pokémon fans are staying skeptical, wondering if Game Freak actually cares about the game. Given the game will also come out on Switch 2, many players think that they could have done better.
One thing is certain! The road through Lumiose City won’t be easy! We will be sharing updates as soon as they drop, so check back often!
