Highlights

  • Pokemon Legends Z-A explores the Kalos region's Lumiose City, offering potential insight into Mega Evolutions and Legendary Pokemon lore.
  • The game may feature the Aura Trio of Kalos: Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde, each representing different aspects of nature and power.
  • AZ, the immortal king of Kalos tied to the ultimate weapon, and Mega Evolutions could play vital roles in the upcoming Legends installment.

Pokemon Legends Arceus took players into the feudal version of the Sinnoh region, which was then called Hisui by the locals. The time-traveling protagonist witnessed how the relationships between people and Pokemon had changed since this bygone era. The newly announced Pokemon Legends Z-A offers another opportunity to dig into the past, and perhaps the future, of how Pokemon shape the world.

Fans have been waiting to return to Kalos for a long time. After the release of Pokemon X and Y in 2013, players were expecting a third installment called Pokemon Z to tie off loose ends and follow in the footsteps of Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. Pokemon Legends Z-A is not precisely Pokemon Z, but it will take place entirely within the streets of Lumiose City, the Kalos equivalent of a Pokemon Paris. While further details are scarce at the moment, fans should be assured that the Kalos region has much to offer by way of history, lore, and Mega Evolutions.

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What the Kalos Region Could Look Like in a Pokemon Legends Game

It's uncertain if a Pokemon Legends subfranchise would ever approach Pokemon X and Y's Kalos, but it would make a solid entry if so.

The Kalos Aura Trio: Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde

The Legendary Pokemon of the Kalos region are Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde, collectively known by fans as the "Aura Trio." Legendary Pokemon typically serve as foils to one another, each representing a certain element or aspect of nature or the world. In the Sinnoh region, for example, Dialga represents time, Palkia represents space, and Giratina represents antimatter. In Kalos, Xerneas represents life because of its ability to give life, Yveltal represents death or destruction because that's what follows in its wake, and Zygarde is the guardian of the environment or "Order Pokemon" that keeps the aforementioned two in check.

Usually, Xerneas and Yveltal are sleeping. They hibernate, Xerneas in the form of a tree and Yveltal in a cocoon, for thousands of years at a time. Zygarde does not sleep, and is instead split into parts called cells and cores that are scattered across Kalos. In this way, Zygarde is able to keep an eye on the environment. If the balance it protects falls into disarray, then it might emerge from its cave and transform into its mighty Complete Forme which is reputed to be stronger than even Xerneas and Yveltal.

Zygarde has three forms: a dog-like 10% Forme, a serpentine 50% Forme, and the ultimate Complete Forme.

Pokemon Legends Z-A might be the perfect opportunity for Zygarde to shine. The rumored, but never released Pokemon Z would have given the limelight to this Legendary Pokemon, which was previously overshadowed by Xerneas and Yveltal. Therefore, the upcoming Legends title is the ideal stage for a Zygarde-centric story. That said, it is still likely that the other two members of the Aura Trio will be featured in some shape or form in the forthcoming adventure. The powers of life and death, and their connection to the ultimate weapon, are too significant to ignore.

AZ and the Ultimate Weapon

The Kalos region once played host to a horrible war some 3,000 years before the events of Pokemon X and Y. There were many casualties, including a cherished Floette that had belonged to the king of Kalos. Legend says that this king created an ultimate weapon in Kalos, which just so happens to look like a Floette flower, that not only resurrected his Pokemon, but also granted him immortality as a side effect. He then used the weapon to fire upon the Kalos region, destroying both sides of the war and stopping the conflict altogether. Since the ultimate weapon harnessed the power of Xerneas or Yveltal, it took the life force from many Pokemon in order to work. With the knowledge of this sacrifice, the now-immortal Floette left the king.

The bodies of the Pokemon sacrificed in order to activate the ultimate weapon were petrified. Their graves line Route 10 in the original Pokemon X and Y.

Players meet this undying king, the nine-foot-tall AZ, on Route 13 in the Lumiose Badlands outside the city in Pokemon X and Y. Nothing has been officially said, yet, about his inclusion in the upcoming Pokemon Legends Z-A, but considering the game's name and his influence on the history of Kalos, fans have assumed his inclusion is a given. His sad story comes to a happy end after he battles with the newly crowned Champion player. He is reunited with Floette, who sensed his change of heart during the battle.

AZ and his Floette could be included in Pokemon Legends Z-A regardless of when the game takes place. They are, after all, immortal and have been hanging around Kalos for the last 3,000 years. Likewise, the ultimate weapon has incredibly destructive and restorative power and thus is likely to make an appearance.

At the end of Pokemon X and Y, the ultimate weapon was buried in a crater under Geosenge Town. Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon briefly resurrect the weapon due to the actions of Team Rainbow Rocket, but the player is able to deactivate it after defeating an alternate-universe version of the Team Flare boss Lysandre. He was also left buried under Geosenge Town, but could possibly make a comeback for the new game.

Mega Evolutions

Pokemon X and Y are notable for many reasons, but the introduction of Mega Evolutions was a new twist that took the world of Pokemon by storm. In the Kalos region, even fully evolved Pokemon can unlock untold powers and temporarily evolve into a new, more powerful form. This can only be done through the use of Mega Stones, mysterious stones that are theorized to have previously been regular Evolution Stones. When AZ used the ultimate weapon, the power of Xerneas or Yveltal (depending on which version of the game one is playing) spread throughout Kalos and irradiated these stones.

A legend from the Hoenn region claims that Rayquaza is actually the first Pokemon to ever have Mega Evolved, rather than the Lucario that evolved via Lucarionite in Kalos lore. Regardless of which came first, it will be exciting to see how Mega Evolution will be explored in the new title. There are currently 48 different Mega Evolutions, and fans are clamoring for more. Pokemon Legends Z-A has a great opportunity, perhaps even a responsibility, to give some solid answers to the mysterious origins of Mega Evolution. The trailer for the game gave a special tease of the mechanic at the very end of the announcement, so it is safe to say that Mega Evolution will be central to Pokemon Legends Z-A gameplay.

In order to Mega Evolve, the player must be holding a Key Stone and their Pokemon must be holding their Mega Stone. For example, a Gengar must hold Gengarite to Mega Evolve.

The new game promises a trip back to Kalos; home of Mega Evolution, the immortal king AZ, and the terrifying Aura Trio of Legendary Pokemon. If Pokemon Legends Z-A is anything like Pokemon Legends Arceus, then players will be treated to a new perspective on the old legends of Kalos, as well as a nostalgic trip to Lumiose City. The Pokemon Legends series makes great use of already-explored regions of the Pokemon world, giving them new life and, hopefully, some new Pokemon.