A brand new Pokemon Legends title is on the way and it’s already kicked up a lot of debate in the community. But why is it called Pokemon Legends Z-A?
It’s always an exciting day for Pokemon fans when a brand-new game gets announced. Pokemon Legends Z-A was introduced to the world on Pokemon Day 2024 and it’s been a hot topic in the community ever since.
It has caused some confusion for fans due to the name, though. Many are asking – why is it called Pokemon Legends Z-A? We don’t have a confirmed answer for this yet, but some solid theories and concepts are going around the internet right now that could explain it.
Why is the new Pokemon game called Legends Z-A?
While we don’t have an official answer at the time of writing, Pokemon Legends Z-A appears to get its name from Zygarde, AZ from Pokemon X & Y, or a combination of the two.
There is no official explanation for the name in the Pokemon Legends Z-A trailer, but there are plenty of clues and hints that we can use to make an informed guess.
First of all, let’s talk about Zygarde. The use of the letter Z and the color scheme on the lettering point to Zygarde playing an important part in the game.
This would make sense – Zygarde should have, theoretically, played a much bigger role in the Pokemon X & Y era than it did. This new game takes place in Lumiose City, which is a location that players originally got to explore back in Pokemon X & Y.
We can go deeper than this, though. It’s believed by many fans that Z-A is actually AZ’s name inverted. If you didn’t play either of the X & Y games, AZ is a character that played a significant role in the story.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
He was the former King of Kalos who built the Ultimate Weapon in an attempt to revive his deceased Floette. The revival worked – but at a cost – and AZ ended up becoming immortal. AZ was an instrumental part of the X & Y story.
Speaking of the Ultimate Weapon, some fans believe that the A in Z-A looks very similar to the Ultimate Weapon. This could be another hint that AZ is involved. He has a tragic and intriguing story, so it would be great to see him in the mainline games again.
AZ’s story didn’t feel finished in X & Y, though. Based on the name of the game, likely that we could see AZ returning, regardless of when it’s set – AZ is thousands of years old, after all. If AZ is in the new Legends game, it’s possible that we could see some time-travel mechanics.
Time travel is a fairly common theory in the Pokemon community right now. Fans recently spotted a nod to Pokemon X & Y in the opening sequence of Pokemon Legends Arceus which is adding fuel to this particular fire. Some fans believe that the Legends games will be interlinked.
All in all, it’s hard to say with absolute certainty why the name Z-A was chosen, but the presence of Zygarde and/or AZ seem like the most logical options for now. As soon as we learn more about this game and the name choices, we’ll be sure to update this article.
For more Pokemon Legends Z-A content, check out our other articles below:
Does Pokemon Legends Z-A have Mega Evolution? | Where does Pokemon Legends Z-A take place? | Every Pokemon in the Pokemon Legends Z-A trailer confirmed