#plza starters

[revalentinee]

Pokemon Legends Z-A: Starter Prediction (but it's actually about more than that)

Since the announcement of this surprisingly early return to Kalos, there's been a lot of speculation regarding the starters. Following the trend of Legends: Arceus, we're expecting the starters to be ones from other regions. Snivy and Piplup seem like really likely choices given their inspirations, with things more up in the air for the fire starter. However, I have a different Idea.

The starters for Legends: Z-A will be...

...Chespin, Fennekin and Froakie, the same starters pokemon X and Y had.

Why, you may ask? A couple reasons, or rather, one main one...

Mega Evolution will be making its grand return in ZA. When this feature was first introduced, it was a way to breathe new life into old designs, without having to commit to a new evolution-even accessiable to pokemon who already had a three-stage line. This idea for rejuvinating old pokemon has stuck around, but not in the same way.

Gen 7 decided to leave Megas as they were and brought along Regional Variants. Generation 8 cut megas entirely, but brought the variants back alongside new evolutions of those variants and Gigantamax Forms. Legends: Arceus continued the variant + evo angle, including the starters...

...and then, gen 9 only gave only two old pokemon variants, with Paradox Pokemon taking up the majority of the "revamp old designs" idea as well as the small amount of so-called "convergent" pokemon, or regional fakes. Quite a few old pokemon even got straight-up normal evolutions.

My point is, when Game Freak makes a new way to rejuvenate old designs, the old way is reduced or not used at all...could the same not be true when bringing back an old idea? To put it bluntly, The Kalos Starters will receive Mega Evolutions.

-Lack of Kalos Megas. Out of all the pokemon introduced in XY, only Diancie received a Mega Evolution. The reasoning apparently being to let these pokemon stand on their own first, but it's been long enough, hasn't it? Especially for these three.

A few reasons to back up why this could be the case:

-Limited Scope. Legends: ZA is stated to be taking place entirely within Lumiose City. and while we know little of the specifics, one big city as opposed to an entire region leaves a lot less room for possible regional variants. All the more likely the old gimmick will take most if not complete focus.

-Starter Saturation. Assuming Legends: ZA beings back all previous mega evolutions, both the kanto and hoenn sets of starters will be bouncing around Lumiose. With the Kalos starters included as well, that's three sets of starters for one game. Legends Arceus only had two, and as shown with that game's 240-ish amount of pokemon, Legends will likely have a more limited pokedex than the main series. Feels like too much to throw in a fourth set.

-Galarian Precedent. The Base game for Pokemon Sword and Shield did not give its starters Gigantamax forms, but the DLC for it did. It's likely the same idea, but for megas, was intended for whatever XY followup was scrapped back in the early 2010s.

-Once isn't a trend. Some might site Legend Arceus' use of other starters as a trope of the "Legends" series, but Legends Arceus was only one game. We have no idea how much or how little of that game's ideas will continue into this one.

And well...They're in one game! The complete set of Kalos starters only had one set of games to enjoy being those starters, while starters of previous and later generations had multiple sets, or at least DLC continuation, to be >your< first partner in. I think they need another shot while not competing with pokemon that have had more chances to be picked, like snivy or piplup.

And...yeah, as someone who loves regional variants, speculated on what variants of other starters could look like and even somewhat preferts variants to mega evolution as a concept...I might be a little bummed if this prediction comes true. But the more I thought about it, the more likely this seemed, and the true Kalos starters frankly deserve getting what the kanto and hoenn starters got. Besides...

look at him face :)

[reestallized]

game got me so hyped up idk what I'm doing at this point

[pyromaniac-cyndaquil]

Felt like playing some expanded sky on my phone so I downloaded melonDS, and the LCD filter it has makes pmd look soooooo pretty 💜💜💜💜

[imthepunchlord]

Assuming we are getting another shuffled up trio of starters, while I do like our chances for Snivy and Piplup, Torchic is probably the one I'm the most unsure of.

There is a possibility that instead of getting regional evolutions, we'll get megas for the starters instead (mindful, not impossible to get both), which Torchic already has. Mega Blaziken got it's debut in XY, and it came back to be apart of the Mega Hoenn starters. With megas returning, I'd think they'd want to do a trio of all new megas, instead of bringing Mega Blaziken back again for a 3rd time.

Torchic may join Charmander in having two different megas if Torchic is a starter (which I wouldn't be crazy about, I already didn't care for Charizard getting 2 megas); or maybe they'll just do regional evolutions but no megas (I would think megas would apply to the starters, but Kalos starters didn't get megas in XY so... hopefully they'll get them now).

So I think we could see a different fire starter instead of Torchic, with Litten and Scorbunny being the most popular speculated alternatives that I've seen so far. And between the two, I'd vote Scorbunny being more likely.

Scorbunny has a good standing by being regionally close to Kalos, and France I know has also really gotten into soccer/football as well; and between Snivy and Piplup, there is a theme of being based on French royalty/monarchy. And Cinderace does kinda have a crown on it's head, so it could back that regal theme, though idk what French royal it could echo.

Litten I think is less likely but not impossible, as it can echo that royalty theme, tigers, much like lions, are tied to royalty and are thought to be the king of beasts (though this is more in China); and from my research, tigers and lions do have a lot of similar themes in mythology, symbolism, and folklore (both tied to power, war, and leadership). Though, I also don't know what French royal Litten could be tied to.

Doing a quick check, I have found professional wrestling has been in France since the 1830s (which might be why Hawlucha is in Kalos), and assuming this upcoming game is based around Haussmann's renovation of Paris, which started in the 1853, wrestling has been apart of France for a while. So wrestler Incineroar could easily fit into Kalos.

Torchic is not an impossibility, I just do wonder how likely given we already have Mega Blaziken, assuming we get megas over regional evos (we could get both); Torchic could get a 2nd mega instead, but I'm not sure on that. I do think Scorbunny and Litten could have a potential standing as well for the fire starter.

Either way, I am very curious to see what we're going to get whenever they reveal a little more about Legends ZA.

We already know the starters to Legends Z-A.

Based on multiple factors, first of all being the pairings of the Hisuian starters with three other starters in this video back in August,

our starters are Snivy, Torchic, and Piplup.

But what really sold me on this, is the fact all three have in a way, ties to France.

Snivy's evolutionary line is based on Rose of Versailles, and Serperior is based on King Louis XIV.

Torchic has the weakest reasoning for ties, but Roosters are important to France, and also, Blaziken was the only Mega Evolution introduced in XY to NOT be in the Kalos Pokedex.

and Empoleon is most obvious, being based on Napoleon Bonaparte.

[jadeazora]

Since you couldn't transfer ORAS-only Megas to XY back in Gen6, I really have to wonder if they'll be available in PLZA. It feels like a waste to not include them.

(Also, if we're getting new Megas, like for the starters, both whatever our new ones are or for the Kalos starters since it was always weird they didn't get something special for their generation-specific mechanic like the Alola and Galar starters did. I mean, I know there was so much want for a Mega Flygon back in the day.)

[primesquib]

PLZA starter predictions.

[erazonpo3]

I think I'm gonna have my XY week prompts focus on Way Out-verse Serena and build up some of my headcanons for her character, and I'll start by sharing my current vision for her team. I will elaborate under the cut but I haven't decided on nicknames yet

Delphox is her starter because I usually associate it with Serena like I do with Dawn + piplup, though it's more to do with my own favourite picks than the anime I promise. In this verse her and Malva are also second cousins once removed (or something along those lines) and so her having the Fire type starter is a kind of serendipity.

Florges is there to represent the Fairy Type being added in gen 6, I felt I had to give Serena at least one and to me it's one of the more iconic Fairy Types that aren't particularly associated with any trainer. I think I'll give her the white version because of it's rarity but I'll think on it.

Furfrou is another iconic Kalos pokemon, and reflects Serena's interest in fashion and aesthetics. I really liked using Furfrou in my last XY run so I wanted to give it to her, and I also think it makes a cute pair with Shauna's Delcatty. I don't think it'd be in any one kind of trim, but Serena would style it in her own ways.

Zoroark .... I decided to give Serena Zoroark because while it's a gen 5 Pokemon, the XY games are the first time you're able to actually catch one so I kind of consider it honourary gen 6. I imagine it likes to use its illusions in a fun almost dress-up sort of way with Serena. And parallels to a certain someone

Aerodactyl is the only fossil pokemon you can get pre-nat dex that Diantha doesn't use, so I gave it to Serena as a sort of nod to that. I imagine it's not her main Mega-Evolution Pokemon (I have a bond phenomenon thing planned for her and delphox though fingers crossed it could get an official form in PLZA) but I figure she'd still try to work towards it anyway

Lapras is the sort of nod to the Kanto starters without actually giving Serena one of them (they're a little basic at this point sorry). Lapras is more fitting with her aesthetic, and is still an iconic Kanto pokemon (it also has a unique surf riding model in the games) that balances her team out.

It's subject to change but I'm pretty happy with this lineup I think

[shandit]

My Current Guesses on Legends: Z-A Starters

So with Pokemon Legends: Z-A being announced, since we now know from PLA that Pokemon will gain a special final evolution based on their new environment. I wanted to toss my hat into the ring of predictions for which 3 previous starters we're gonna get.

First off let me say which ones I'm sure we're not gonna get and why.

Gen 6 Starters

As with PLA, Gen 6's Starters will not be part of the starters in PLZA. More than likely, they will be caught in the wild just like the Gen 4 Starters were in PLA.

Gen 1 Starters

I think it's very safe to say the Gen 1 Starters are not going to be picked. But, let me explain my proper reasoning.

With the reintroduction of Mega Evolution, and the likely fact PLZA will have our Protag & Crew be the ones to discover Mega Evolution, it's very likely the Starters we get will gain Mega Forms. This said, It's very unlikely GameFreak will use Pokemon with existing Mega Forms, even if said mons get a regional form. Because of this, I can safely say Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur are not going to be on the roster, and same goes for...

Gen 3 Starters

Same thing here, with the fact these guys already have Mega Forms, I find it highly unlikely GF is going to give them both a new regional evo + a new Mega.

PLA Starters

This one's kind of a given. Pokemon isn't going to reuse any of the starters from PLA cause that would just be odd to keep giving starters other regional forms (That said I am sad at the loss of Mega Typhlosion :[ )

Gen 9 Starters

The simple answer to this is just, the Paldea trio are just, too new. While I don't think that entirely rules them out. I do think it makes them less likely to be chosen for the next mainline game.

Now with the obvious removals talked about, let's go down the line of who's left and talk about why or why not they're likely to be chosen.

Chikorita

I didn't originally have anything to say about Chikorita, since I felt their odds were snuffed out by the other grass types here, however upon doing some more research, specifically on Meganium, I learned the daylily (the flower theorized to be what Meganium's flower is based on) was actually brought to Europe around the late 1750's-early 1800's. And with France's Urbanization having occured around the mid 1800's (Which is the time period people are guessing PLZA will take place in) There actually is a good chance for Chikorita to be chosen as their plant actually fits with the location and time period! However I cannot think of what type changes would make sense for this, so I do have to dock some points for that.

Overall chances - 6/10

Totodile

Totodile sadly doesn't seem like a great fit for PLZA. It is essentially just what it is, a Crocodile. And, a quick google search will show you, that besides the barren ice land of Antarctica, Europe is the only continent to not natively have any form of Crocodile or Alligator. GameFreak would have to get very creative here with something of French history or folklore to make Feraligator work for this.

Overall Chances - 1/10

Turtwig

Now Turtwig is an interesting one. Not only is there the fact the extinct turtle species Torterra is based was discovered in North-West Europe (Though mostly Germany & Switzerland) but Torterra as a Pokemon has a lot of potential when it comes to regional forms, thanks in part to the tree on it's back. France's national tree is the Yew, specifically the European or Common Yew, it's an evergreen tree that sprouts red berries (these berries are also very poisonous, meaning we could get a change of typing here to Grass Poison). I could see a Kalosian Torterra having an Ancient Yew tree on their back sporting a great harvest of berries. But, potential put aside, I don't see Turtwig being here simply cause there's another Gen 4 starter that fits the bill of this game much, much more than them.

Overall Chances - 4/10

Chimchar

Chimchar is one I just can't vouch for out of the few fire types we have here. Their Sun Wukong relevance is way to impactful on who the mon is, and Sun Wukong, while being from a story of "Journey to the West" only went to India, and never actually went to the actual west of the world. I also once again have to toss them to the side because of the face there is one more Gen 4 Starter that only makes sense to be in this game, and it's not them.

Overall Chances - 1/10

Piplup

THIS, THIS RIGHT HERE IS A GUARANTEED PICK.

Piplup is absolutely going to be the Water Starter of PLZA, you cannot change my mind about this, and for those of you not in the know, I have one name that will explain why.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

Empoleon, as obvious as their name is, is in fact based on the Ex-emperor of France, General Napoleon Bonaparte. And, if we go back to the prediction of PLZA taking place in the mid 1800's... Guess what historical events seemed to also take place in the mid 1800's. Oh you know, just THE NAPOLEONIC WARS!

Piplup is my only and 100% has to be there guess, it would be a crime if they were not the chosen starter for this game. I legit would actually be angry if GameFreak missed this opportunity. As for potential typings... Water-Dark "could" make sense since Dark Type is just Evil type in Japan, and Napoleon is an evil dude in history. But I think Water-Fighting is much more likely, with Empleon probably going to take on much less of an Emperor Penguin look, and more of General Bonaparte, give him the Hat GameFreak, it would look funny.

Overall Chances - 10/10

Snivy

Snivy is also pretty much a guaranteed pick, and this is just from the simple fact of Serperior. Who is (supposedly) based on King Louis XVI of France & other European aristocrats, and that the fleur-de-lis, aka the French insignia used by many Noble families is visible in their design... Honestly, along with Piplup I would be flat out shocked if Snivy was not the grass starter for PLZA, like I would be baffled at how much of a lost chance that would be. As for potential regional typing, I could see it being Grass Ghost to represent the death of the French Monarchy... But that's it for my brain lmao

Overall Chances - 10/10

Tepig

Tepig is an odd one. On one hand, Snivy being basically guaranteed makes me obviously think another Gen 5 pick isn't going to make it into this group, but on the other hand...

Nah, I got nothing. Tepig is based way too much Chinese Culture and the tale of Zhang Fei to really fit into French culture. Just like Chimchar's inspiration from Journey to The West, it would feel wrong to change Tepig for the exact same reasons.

Overall Chances - 1/10

Litten

This one was more of a wildcard pick here for me, simply cause none of the fire types left had any real connections to France like Water and Grass had, I just found the idea of a regional form for Incineroar to be interesting. Though I had no idea how they would change a professional wrestler into something more fitting for early 1800's France... THAT IS UNTIL I DID SOME RESEARCH BABY!

So French Wrestling is actually really interesting, while it started in the 1830's, their style of wrestling, titled Graeco-Roman, was invented by a soldier FROM THE NAPOLEONIC WARS! Not only that, but it's even named "Classic Wrestling" meaning there actually is a good chance for Incineroar to be based on this style of wrestling for their Regional form! What better thing for the Wrestler Starter to use what is to many people the first style of wrestling that was used in the First ever Olympics! As for typing, Fire Normal could make some sense... I just really don't want it to be Fire Fighting, I think a lot of people would be disappointed if it somehow got the infamous Fire Starter typing.

Overall Chances - 9/10

Popplio

What can I even say about Popplio? I mean I guess maybe the fact Sirens originate from Europen folklore? But even then it's mostly Greek origins for that. There's nothing really tying Popplio in to fit the bill here, they're outclassed by a certain penguin of french origins.

Overall Chances - 2/10

Grookey

I think the Galar Starters are going to be the hardest to even justify, really the only thing any of them have going for them is the fact they come from Galar, which is based on Great Britain, a country that was France's rival in the war to own the world.

However none of that has anything to do with Grookey, the drummer monkey really doesn't have anything to offer! Rillaboom could maybe play a different instrument, but I don't think going from a pair of drum sticks to a bugle is probably gonna work out well. Perhaps though I'm just not putting my mind into it well enough.

Overall Chances - 3/10

Scorbunny

Again, I've got nothing. Realistically I guess you could make a pun here and have Cinderace being a French foot soldier. Though French hares are a common animal, and rabbits in of themselves are abundant all across Europe. I'm just personally wondering what exactly they could do with the fella that makes them properly unique enough to earn that spot, and right now I just don't see it.

Overall Chances - 4/10

Sobble

Last but not least, We have Sobble. Now surprisingly, I could actually see them being used, Intellion is based on James Bond and 007, and being a spy, well French spies obviously existed, there's also the fact a spy can also be an assassin if need be. Water Poison Intellion that shoot poisoned bolts of water from fingertips, yeah that could work.

Issue here though you have to put Sobble up against the other water types here, and well... Piplup.

Overall Chances - 3/10

And that's it! So TL:DR for anyone not reading here are the rankings most likely to least likely by types

Grass :

1 Snivy

2 Chikorita

3 Turtwig

4 Grookey

Water

1 Piplup

2 Sobble

3 Popplio

4 Totodile

& Fire

1 Litten

2 Scorbunny

3 Tepig & Chimchar

Meaning the most likely Starters for PLZA are going to be

Snivy, Litten, and Piplup.

[matthewonart]

Speculation Time: I think that Snivy is 100% going to be the Grass Starter of PLZA (assuming they go for the swapped starters thing again, but it would be weird to make Regional Forms of Starters and then only do it once tbh).

I don't have as much of an inkling to the other two--possibly Piplup for Water, as Empoleon is heavily based in name and appearance on a famous French ruler.

[wildflowercryptid]

the two biggest things i want from plza are the kalos starters to finally get the mega evos they deserve and, assuming that the game doesn't take place in the past or far future, for emma to be a major character in the plot. it'd also be nice if we got a new eeveelution, but that's a little less important to me personally.

[pyromaniac-cyndaquil]

Continuing the Y randomiser from here!

Getting my second starter from sycamore and I'm SURE the game knows and is just fucking with me at this point

SNIVY AND PIPLUP??!! IT KNOWS WHAT IT'S DOING. AGAIN, THAT'S NEXT YEAR DAMN IT

Just sorted a Y randomiser and OH MY GOD I GOT SNIVY???? THIS IS PERFECT ALREADY

[jadeazora]

We had the release date and the box art for Legends Arceus announced in May of 2021, but actually got our 2nd gameplay trailer in August. I'm really hoping we get our first gameplay trailer for PLZA before then (late May to June sometime), like don't just drop a game people have wished for (even if it wasn't the Legends format we were expecting) for 11yrs in people's laps without warning, and then go radio silent for six months 😂😅

Especially since they revealed basically nothing here aside from it taking place in Lumiose. Like, at least PLA's announcement gave us both the player designs and the starters.

[mrultra100]

After watching Roize Rasen’s most recent video about what sorts of possible new Megas, regional forms, and normal evolutions for Pokemon we could get in PLZA, I wanna try and do a quick thought exercise on what the possible new Megas could be.

Keep in mind, I’m following a similar set of limits and rules like what Roize did in his video, so there’s gonna be some explaining to do on which Pokemon I think/hope get Megas.

- The Kalos starters; It should be pretty obvious that the original starter trio from X and Y could get something. Especially if neither the Kanto and/or Hoenn starters don’t show up in the game. Aside from Ash-Greninja being removed for quite some time, it still has Battle Bond as a possible ability, even during the early days of SV’s release. Plus, Chesnaught and Delphox both need something to keep up with the ninja frog after the latter took off in popularity

- Xerneas and Yveltal; Similar to the starters, the main two legendaries of X and Y are due to get something for this game. If Dialga and Palkia can finally get something of their own via their Origin forms similar to Giratina, why can the Life and Death duo? This could go in two different directions; they either get proper Megas, or they could do something like Primal Groudon/Kyorge and Origin Form Dialga/Palkia, and have forms that are like Megas, but are their own thing. Either option works

- A few more Kalos Pokemon; Something that I always found odd is that aside from Diancie of all Pokemon, none of the species introduced in Kalos got Megas of their own. While later generations have plenty of their respective ‘Mons join in their respective battle gimmicks, we really never saw a Mega-Evolved Kalos Pokemon. Maybe Z-A could be a good way to fix that. Following the rules that Roize pointed out in his video (things like not include Pokemon that are either in pairs that could have a member get left out if the other got a Mega, have gender or size differences that could make the process hard to code in, have multiple forms already like Furfrou and Vivilion, part of multi-generational groups like Dedenne and Sylveon (the former being a Pika-clone and the latter being an Eeveelution), already got something recently (Hisuian Avalugg and Goodra say hi), and making sure the Megas are given out to Pokemon that aren’t really useful in battle), quite a lot of Kalos’ Dex is gonna be cut out, leaving out a few species to pick from. If the amount of Megas is only gonna be something like 20 to give time and space to the other new additions like regional forms and new evolutions to older Pokemon, along with already existing Pokemon and Megas from the original X and Y games, we have 5 slots to work with, given how I imagine that maybe half of the new Megas would be for Kalos species (along with how the starters and legendaries already make up that first quarter). My personal picks would include Noivern, Heliolisk, Barbaracle, Hawlucha, and Malamar

- Flygon; You all knew that this guy would be here, let’s not kid ourselves. Maybe after more than 10 years, Gamefreak could finally come up with a design for a Mega Flygon that they’re happy with. This entire game could be a good chance for some Pokemon that missed out on getting a Mega back in Gen 6 to finally get that second chance, Flygon especially. Make it the Bug/Dragon combo that people have been wanting for years

- Jynx; Yes, for those who are not in the know, Jynx may seem like a weird choice. However, similar to Flygon, Jynx was originally planned to get a Mega in X and Y, but was cut. Additionally, the whole thing of a strange cry similar to Jynx’s own being found in the data of Pokémon HOME having a similar reverb heard in the cries of every single Mega-Evolved Pokemon adds fuel to the fire

- Milotic; If the possible new Megas fit in with the culture of Kalos in a similar way to how new Pokemon and forms fit in with the cultures of the respective regions they were introduced in, Milotic would be a perfect fit. Along with that, it’s a very popular Pokemon that people have been wanting to see get a Mega for years now, and it would be a good foil to Mega Gyarados, given how both lines are seen as counterparts of each other

- Revavroom: If we’re gonna pick any Pokemon from recent gens to get a Mega, Revavroom would check that box very well, along with getting a much-needed buff. The poor thing needs a better ability to deal with its 4-times weakness to Ground types. Something like Levitate could work, as the dang thing is already floating up in the air for some reason. Plus, we could have a good opportunity to make this weird and delightfully goofy Pokemon even MORE so. Plenty of the existing Megas build off of the original designs to make their own designs extremely wild and creative, so the Rat Fink-looking car monster would be a very perfect candidate

- Parasect; Another weird candidate, the Paras line is one of the few remaining Pokemon from Gen 1 to not get anything. Perhaps that could finally be fixed with a Mega, and there’s a route for its design that I can easily see it going in; have it be a Ghost/Grass type that have the mushroom assimilate the dead bug into its body, resulting in a truly twisted-looking abomination of a Mega.

- Mimikyu; As much as I wanna avoid giving Megas to Pokemon who are already powerful juggernauts, I can definitely see Gamefreak giving one to Mimikyu, due to how insanely popular it is. While I don’t have much input on which the stats or ability could be, I can easily imagine maybe even a tiny glimpse of Mimikyu’s true appearance factoring into the design in some way

- Sandaconda; I’m aware that Sandaconda already has a Gigantamax form, but the Kanto starters and Gengar do as well, and they also have Megas too, so needless to say, the sand snake is fair game. Sandaconda isn’t that bad, but I feel it could use a Mega to make it relevant some more. The best possible route I can see this guy going is probably Ground/Dark with a Titanoboa-like design. Let this guy keep Sand Spit as its ability. A few Megas already have abilities that their original counterpart normally have, so this wouldn’t be anything new

- Vikavolt; As much as I don’t wanna add in personal favorites to this list, Vikavolt actually has a few things that could work in its favor in terms of getting a Mega; Stag beetles can be found in France, it most certainly needs some sort of buff to its Speed, and it could be a good pick for a Pokemon to add in your team early on before giving it its Mega Stone. I’m split on its ability, however; should I let it keep Levitate to not be affected by Ground types? Or should I give it Speed Boot to make it even more faster, with the added caveat of making it a glass cannon? That’s something that the fans who are into stats and Abilites would have to step in for

- Golurk; Going back to what I said earlier about this game being a second chance for certain Pokemon getting a Mega, Golurk is another example. Plus, given that more and more Gen 5 Pokemon have been getting new regional forms and the like in the last few games, I say it’s high time for Golurk to join in. Audino had its fun as the only Gen 5 Mega after all these years. Not only is Golurk one of the most popular Gen 5 ‘mons, it also has a few things that could lend it towards getting a Mega; either letting it keep its original typing or replace Ground with Steel, make it a more heavy hitter with powerful defenses, having Iron Fist as its ability (this guy can learn 7 punching moves, so it works), and having its design include more of the energy inside of its body to leak out, making it a bit more dangerous to be around for long periods of time (side-note; I really hope this game addresses how potentially damaging the transformations are to not only the Pokemon themselves, but also anyone around them, as stated by the Alola Dex entires on them)

- Scovillain; While not the most thought-of pick for a Paldean species to Mega Evolve, Scovillain has a few points in its favor; Creative typing that could translate to a memorable design, a buff to mostly its Special Attack, and something like Solar Power being a perfect fit due to its types benefiting from the sun.

Could I be wrong about most of these predictions? Maybe, but it was still fun to speculate on what new Mega s we could see in PLZA. While I think were still not gonna hear any updates for a while (while I’m cool with, these damn games need more development time), perhaps we could get a sneak peek during a possible Pokemon Presents or something. We’ll have to wait and see

[lexcellence]

Grookey as a PLZA starter would be the absolute funniest thing possible, but Game Freak would have me dragged out and shot in the street.

[erazonpo3]

I have a theory that Z-A is gonna be different than most think.

Legends Arceus is set in the past

Scarlet deals with the past paradox Pokemon

Violet deals with future paradox Pokemon

The trailer for Legends Z-A looks all futuristic, not at all past stylized like the Legends Arceus title. They are also being more tight-lipped on revealed information such as starters or even what the region looks like this time around.

I think it may be possible that Z-A is a future/alternate present take on the Kalos region, connecting the themes of past and future between both Legends games and Scarlet and Violet.

I do think the game being set in the future is a possibility, though I think the trailer could be somewhat figurative; it isn't actually gameplay footage, and the reason we don't have much information is because the game still has likely over a year's worth of development still to go (hoping they take their time).

I remember because I was and still am in the PLA trenches but we didn't know a whole lot about PLA's story until its actual release (or a week early, if you were happy to look at leaks) and even in the case of SV we didn't even know what those starters looked like until the very last minute. Which means I expect it'll be a while before we start getting any substantial information tbh.

I'm personally interested in the idea that PLZA will be based on Haussman's renovation of Paris through the mid-late 1800s, because I think that works with the original game's themes of classism and aesthetics, potentially strengthening the XY games in retrospect– while I don't expect them to be overly damning of the gentrification in general, the parallels there between Lysandre's goal in making a "beautiful world" and the goal of "urban redevelopment" are enough to resonate alone, I feel.

And while I do think going to the future is still on the table because the trailer's aesthetics were definitely leaning that way, I'm a little wary of it myself mostly just because it feels high risk high reward in whether it's going to provide a greater, expanded story for the gen 6 characters or if it's just going to do something I hate. A "yeah I can still play in my corner of the sandbox, but that's a lot less appealing when somebody else has taken a shit in the sandbox" kind of thing