Z-A could be the series’ answer to Dark Souls

If you’re anything like me, you can’t wait to get your hands on Pokémon Legends: Z-A and travel back to the Kalos region. As the second title in the spin-off Legends series, it’s got a lot to live up to after Legends: Arceus’ success, but based on first impressions from the Pokémon World Championships 2025, this game has a lot of potential.

The Pokémon Company and Nintendo offered journalists and some lucky trainers the chance to try out the Pokémon Legends: Z-A demo at Worlds 2025 in Anaheim, California, this weekend, and my social media timeline is flooded with early impressions. The demo, which is split into two parts, showed off the game’s new real-time trainer battle style, as well as Rogue Mega Evolution battles, which are the Kalos equivalent of Pokémon Legends: Arceus noble Pokémon battles.

We’ve known since before Nintendo revealed the Pokémon Legends: Z-A release date that this game’s battle system involves a lot of movement, but the Rogue Mega battles really emphasize its importance, as, according to Serebii, the boss targets “you more than your Pokémon.” X user Etchy tried out the demo and said that a Nintendo employee working at the booth compared the combat to games like Dark Souls, which is certainly a first for the series.

If you love the world of Pokémon but hate turn-based RPGs, Legends: Z-A might be the game for you. You can move around during trainer battles, instructing your partner Pokémon to dodge attacks just like in the anime, and your move selection is based on a cooldown system. Pokémon Legends: Z-A even shakes up the established mega evolution mechanic from the 3DS games, letting you collect energy orbs to fill your gauge, so you can theoretically stay mega evolved for an entire battle, or mega evolve multiple times.

I loved Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and it’s widely regarded as one of the best Pokémon games of all time, thanks to its departure from the established formula, but I wasn’t particularly skilled at the noble battles. I’m a little scared that my poor reaction times will make Z-A’s battle system a lot harder for me, but every other aspect of the game excites me so much that I’m remaining optimistic. According to CentroLeaks, the game is “considerably more difficult than previous entries,” so it might bring back some long-time fans who like to complain about the series’ challenge level. Guys, it’s a game for children.

There are only a few months to go until we can set foot in Lumiose City ourselves, so why not take a trip down memory lane and replay all the Pokémon games in order? Alternatively, check out our Pokémon Go codes, Pokémon Unite codes, and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet mystery gift codes pages to grab some freebies from Worlds.