Before participating in a recent preview of Pokémon Legends: Z-A at the 2025 Pokémon World Championships, I had a lot of questions surrounding the game. Is this Pokémon’s pivot to real-time battle like the Final Fantasy series? Will active battle mechanics work in a Pokémon setting? And most importantly: Can you take a hit in the stead of your Pokémon, you know, like Ash Ketchum in Pokémon: The First Movie?
In this preview event, I played through two guided 10-minute sessions on a Nintendo Switch 2 — one where we battled trainers in a Battle Zone and another where we faced off against a Rogue Mega Absol. To aid me, I was provided a diagram that showed me the button layout, and lo and behold, Y was listed as the dedicated dodge button — implying that playing Z-A means you’re going to have to dodge something. Yes, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the previous entry in this spinoff series, had a dodging mechanic as well, but even Lucas’ and Dawn’s ancestors weren’t laying their lives on the line like Ash was.
During the first session, I had to face off against three trainers in a Battle Zone, which took place fairly early in the game. My party contained a Chikorita, Mareep, Fletchling, and Weedle, all of whom were around level 7 to begin with, and our goal was to simply defeat the three trainers in the area, getting a feel for the new active battle mechanics in the process. During the very first battle, I attempted my best Ash Ketchum impression and stepped in between the two battling Pokémon, only to see my opponent’s Pokémon’s attack… do nothing to me.
Naturally, I was pretty disappointed. You may recall a scene in the first Pokémon movie where, amid an all-out war between the Pokémon and their clones, Mew and Mewtwo hurl an attack at each other. Just before the beams collide, Ash steps in between them, turning into stone in the process. Witnessing the power of a trainer’s desire for peace, all of the Pokémon suddenly stop fighting. As a kid, this scene resonated with me, and has stuck with me into adulthood. Taking hits in the stead of your Pokémon isn’t exactly the same as Ash’s actions in the film, but the act nevertheless emphasizes the bonds a trainer builds with their Pokémon — and is something I’ve wanted to do in a game for a long time. Somewhat of a bummer that Legends: Z-A didn’t let me do so right away, but I quickly moved on as the real-time battle mechanics drew me in.
Moves are based on cooldowns, and the removal of turn order makes the battles feel a bit quicker. There’s nothing stopping your Pokémon from using all four of their moves in quick succession, other than the animations of those moves. Even early-game attacks like Growl and Tail Whip feel more impactful — compared to both the mainline games and to Legends: Arceus — as you lose little-to-no time using them and you modify your opponent’s stats.
But that’s only half the battle. Compared to Legends: Arceus, movement is now a key element in and out of battle. Sneaking up on other trainers — at least early on — made some fights obsolete, since you can use a move to initiate the battle and then immediately use it again at the start of battle. Movement makes you more engaged with battles too, as your Pokémon will follow you around the arena. It’s your job to direct your Pokémon to safety, so you will be doing a lot of sprinting, and if you stray a bit too far away, the targeting system lets you get right back into the heat of battle.
The first 10-minute session flew by, and it was time to move onto the second portion — a fight against a Rogue Mega Absol. Before we started, representatives from Nintendo America told attendees that we’d be facing off against a wild Pokémon. Trainer battles in Legends: Z-A feature trained Pokémon, and they’ll do what they’re told to do. Against wild Pokémon, however, anything is fair game — including you, the trainer.
So, naturally, the mission was back on. I started the battle determined, only to find the Mega Absol immediately lunging at me instead. I myself turned out to not be Ash Ketchum material: I sped out of harm’s way, and commanded Lucario to save my life. But after I recomposed myself, the fight went by fairly smoothly; Lucario has a typing advantage against Absol, and the large arena provided an ample amount of space to avoid attacks.
Additionally, by dealing damage against a Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon, they’ll drop Mega Orbs that will charge your Mega Ring, allowing you to Mega Evolve your Pokémon and seemingly become invulnerable as they’re transforming. Bobbing and weaving through the chaos to pick up Mega Orbs to evolve my Lucario made the combat even more thrilling, but the transformation itself felt a bit underwhelming. (There is a brief animation where the trainer activates the Mega Ring and the Pokémon enters a bubble that reveals its Mega Evolution, but it’s not catered to the Pokémon and it’s nothing to ooh and aah over.) Fortunately, a Mega-Evolved Pokémon deals more damage, so the fight became a bit more lopsided than it already was.
Success!
Unfortunately though, Lucario also took damage. Turns out, the trainer character in Legends: Z-A might be the Anti-Ash, since your Pokémon is like a dog who will follow you anywhere, even into the heat of battle — and even if it puts itself in harm’s way. The trainer itself doesn’t have a visible health pool on the screen, but a red border will appear indicating that you should probably stop walking into the line of fire, or else you might end up having to go to the hospital rather than the Pokémon Center.
Although this preview was fleeting, I’ll say this: I did not want to put the controller down. The combat felt fresh, and I was only able to see the beginning of it. I wanted to get right back into another epic battle. I wanted more. And this is all based on a relatively small representation of early-game hours. I can only imagine how much more engaging the combat will feel with a full party of Pokémon, all rocking fleshed-out movesets, as you go up against a formidable foe. All in all, there’s a lot of potential in the battles of Pokémon Legends: Z-A — as long as you’re not trying to become the next Ash Ketchum.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is coming to Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 on Oct. 16.
