In a flash of yellow, a lone Pikachu runs across the streets of a luminous blue wireframe metropolis full of colorful people and Pokémon. At the center of the city, a brilliant tower stands tall. 

As the camera pans out, the neon lights fade and are replaced by a more traditional-looking hand-drawn architectural map. The city is revealed to be Lumiose City, a location last seen in Pokémon X and Y. 

The city is based on Paris, set in a French-inspired region called Kalos.  

On Feb. 27, the Pokémon Co. released a trailer of its newest upcoming game “Pokémon Legends Z-A,” as part of its Pokémon Day celebration, a day dedicated to the release of the first Pokémon games Red and Green in 1996. 

The game is to be released worldwide in 2025, with the exact date yet to be announced. 

INITIAL THOUGHTS 

While definitely a flashy and welcome reveal, returning to Kalos seems to be quite a surprising move by Game Freak and The Pokémon Co. Much of the chatter online on YouTube and other social media sites leading up to the trailer was leaning toward returning to Johto or Unova. 

The trailer itself was coded to Johto, most likely in celebration of the region’s 25th anniversary. The Johto Pokémon Unown was seen throughout the trailer and the side game “Pokémon Unite” is having a Johto-themed event adding the Pokémon trainer Silver, a character based on the rival in “Pokémon Gold and Silver,” and his shiny Tyranitar. 

While it’s still possible we see a Johto-based game in the future, fans will have to remain patient. 

Another confirmed feature for “Pokémon Legends Z-A” is the return of the game mechanic known as Mega Evolution, first seen in “Pokémon X and Y,” which hasn’t been seen since “Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu!” and “Pokémon: Let’s go Eevee!” 

Mega Evolution is a battle mechanism in which the Pokémon in question uses items, referred to as a Mega Stone and Key Stone respectively, to transform into a more powerful form. 

The return of Mega Evolution is an exciting prospect as it opens the door for exciting possibilities. Previous Pokémon who did not receive a Mega Evolution in the past, such as Flygon, have the potential to receive new forms in this game. 

“Pokémon Legends: Arceus,” featured alternative regional variants – new forms given to a Pokémon adapting to a new regional environment.

It would be interesting to see if we will see new Kalos adapted Pokémon or if The Pokémon Co. will only focus on Mega Pokémon. 

PREDICTIONS

With any new game, it is also interesting to speculate on what is to come. Given that the trailer was so short, there are a number of things to consider about the upcoming game. 

Seeing that “Pokémon Legends Z-A” is set in Kalos, it would be safe to assume at the bare minimum we will see the original Pokémon introduced in Kalos as well those related to them, such as Eevee, the pre-evolution of the Kalos Pokémon Sylveon. 

This would bring the available Pokémon to a little less than 100. If you add all the Pokémon currently capable of Mega Evolution this would raise the total to around 200 Pokémon.

Considering this would make a less exciting game it is more likely they would include the full available Pokémon in X and Y, 457, plus the new forms and Mega Pokémon. A more appropriate estimate would be around 500 Pokémon. 

Another new thing to consider would be which Pokémon would be chosen as your starter Pokémon, also referred to as your first partner and the Pokémon you choose at the beginning of your journey. 

Based on the previous Pokémon Legends game, a good bet would be Pokémon that fit the theme of the region, being Kalos, and feature three Pokémon from different regions of the Pokémon world. 

So French-inspired Pokémon seem to be a likely bet. The first that comes to mind is Snivy, a grass-type snape Pokémon from the Unova region inspired by European knights and Lady Oscar from the “The Rose of Versailles.” This manga takes place around the French Revolution and features historical French figures such as Queen Marie Antoinette. 

Another candidate for a starter Pokémon would be Piplup, a water-type penguin Pokémon from Sinnoh. This fun and energetic Pokémon evolves into the much more intimidating Pokémon Empoleon, based on the French emperor Napoleon.  

This leaves the fire starter Pokémon, which unlike the other two is a little trickier as none of them scream French. However, it is not without any indication and after doing some digging two Pokémon stand out above the rest, Torchic and Scorbunny.

Torchic is a fire chick Pokémon originally from the Hoenn region. Torchic would make an intriguing starter choice because the rooster is a national symbol of France and has a long history of representation in the country.

Another good choice would be the Galar starter Pokémon Scorbunny. With Galar being based on England, it could be seen not too far off in land proximity from French-inspired Kalos, making it easy to see the fire bunny hop on over. 

Furthermore, Scorbunny and its final evolution Cinderace has a soccer theme, which was brought over to France from England during the renovation of the Paris era and is a popular sport in France today. These ties make Scorbunny a strong potential choice. 

Hopefully, in the near future we will get more information on the game but for the time being it is fun to speculate on the possibilities of what could be included.