Z-A didn’t feel like a full action game to me, but kind of more like an MMO, with its casting times, cooldowns, and behind-the-scenes math happening. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I do hope Legends: Z-A gets challenging enough to make me more intentionally dish out commands and think about switching Pokémon at just the right moment.

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?

M uch like its predecessor, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is more open than the likes of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. Your creatures can roam freely beside you, you can run around the terrain during battles, and generally it takes a more "realistic" approach to the world.

“Pokémon” has officially gone next-gen: “Legends: Z-A,” the sequel to 2022’s successful open-world spinoff “Pokémon Legends: Arceus,” is a major step-up with enhanced graphics and brand new combat that longtime fans and newcomers will appreciate.

This year's Pokémon World Championships offered a special demo of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which illuminated a lot about the game's real-time combat.