Pokémon Legends: Z-A Launching in October

The Pokémon Company announced that the latest entry in the long-running Pokémon series, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, will release on October 16, 2025. Pre-orders for the game, which will be available on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, will begin on June 5, 2025. Those who purchase the physical or digital version of the game for Nintendo Switch will be able to upgrade to the Nintendo Switch 2 version through an upgrade pack. To go with the release date announcement, the company released new key art for the game, which also acts as its box art.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A takes place as Lumiose City is undergoing an urban redevelopment plan intended to “shape the city into a place that belongs to both people and Pokémon”. Players will choose from Chikorita, Tepig, or Totodile as their first partner Pokémon and use Hotel Z as their base while tackling various incidents around the city. The city is home to new “wild zones” that use cutting-edge technology to give wild Pokémon places to live in the city, where players can battle and catch them.

The game will change up the series’ traditional turn-based combat with a new real-time combat where trainers and Pokémon move around in real-time and unleash moves when commanded. New gameplay mechanics include precise timing for using moves and when swapping out Pokémon, as actions will take different amounts of time to launch and impact different sized areas. More details are expected to be revealed in a new Pokémon Direct presentation on July 22, 2025.