(Image via Nintendo UK)

Staff Editor: Vivian Rose Galindo

Email: vivian.galindo@umassd.edu

As has become tradition, I am once again keeping all of you lovely readers up to date on the newest Pokémon game, Pokémon Legends: Z-A. But breaking tradition, this article will also include opinions about the recent information presented in the title.

Any opinions, quotes, or information cited from sources other than Nintendo, Game Freak, or The Pokémon Company can be seen as speculation and should be taken with a grain of salt. With that all said, let’s get into everything we know.

To start, we are introduced to a total of nine new Mega Evolutions, which I will separate into three groups: Wave One, Wave Two, and Wave Three. The reason for the separation of these Pokémon is directly related to how players will be able to obtain them.

Wave One contains four new Mega Evolutions. These are Mega Dragonite, Mega Victreebel, Mega Hawlucha, and Mega Malamar.

Wave Two contains four new Mega Evolutions. These are Mega Chesnaught, Mega Delphox, and Mega Greninja. 

Finally, Wave Three contains two new Mega Evolutions. These two are both Mega Evolutions of the Pokémon Raichu, though both are distinct forms and will likely be classified as Mega Raichu X and Mega Raichu Y. This is due to both their designs and to the precedent of other Pokémon having two Mega Evolutions (Mega Charizard X and Y, and Mega Mewtwo X and Y).

While it has not been explicitly confirmed, it appears that each Wave One Mega Evolution will be completely obtainable in the base game through story progression.

The way in which Wave Two Mega Evolutions can be unlocked has been confirmed to be through winning online ranked Pokémon battles through the game’s Z-A Battle Club.

Wave Three Megas were announced alongside a DLC pack called Mega Dimension, and are expected to be released alongside it.

That’s a lot to unpack, so let’s get right into it.

From the first games to ever feature Mega Evolution, Pokémon X and Y, to the most recent titles to include the phenomenon, Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, every Mega Stone was available in the base game, although some required a bit more effort than others. 

Generally, the key to obtaining them was exploring everywhere and looking out for them.

Now, Pokémon Legends: Z-A marks the first time external sources were required to obtain the Mega Stones that are necessary to access new Mega Evolution Pokémon—two, actually, with one being the required online ranked battles and the other being paid downloadable content.

For reference, the last games to introduce new Mega Evolutions, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, retailed for $39.99 in 2014, which when factoring in inflation, is around $55. Playing online on a Nintendo 3DS family system was free as long as you had access to the Internet.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is set to retail for $59.99 on its Nintendo Switch release, or $69.99 on its Nintendo Switch 2 release. The DLC pack, Mega Dimension, costs an additional $29.99. 

Nintendo Switch Online, which is required for all online play on the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 systems, costs $3.99 per month, or $19.99 per year.

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire included 48 total Mega Stones, leading to 46 unique Mega Evolution Pokémon. These games also introduced the unique Mega Evolution of Rayquaza when knowing the move Dragon Ascent and Primal Reversion, which was similar to Mega Evolution but exclusive to Groudon and Kyogre.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A has confirmed that, alongside the 9 new Mega Stones thus far, at least 19 classic Mega Stones will return, according to Eurogamer. This adds up to 28 Mega Stones, and 26 unique Mega Evolution Pokémon.

This means that even when accounting for inflation, accessing every single Mega Evolution in Pokémon Legends: Z-A could cost up to twice as much as it would to access every single Mega Evolution in prior games, with fewer accessible Mega Evolution Pokémon.

Now, maybe you’ve seen the recent Pokémon games and aren’t surprised by the need for Nintendo Switch Online or the paid DLC, as they’ve both been present to get the full experience of the other mainline Nintendo Switch titles for the series, those being Pokémon Sword and Shield and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

The issue with that line of thinking is that Pokémon Legends: Z-A is not a typical mainline game. It is a part of a subseries of Pokémon Legends games, the only other of which is Pokémon Legends: Arceus. 

Pokémon Legends: Arceus contained no DLC and was fully self-contained despite being released after Pokémon Sword and Shield.

Despite seemingly only having negative opinions about the game, I am actually still excited and am planning to purchase Pokémon Legends: Z-A alongside the DLC. Hopefully, I will be pleasantly surprised by the release. 

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is set to release for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 consoles on October 16, 2025. The Mega Dimension DLC will release for sale alongside it, though its actual content does not have a set release date as of yet.