In 2022, Pokemon Legends: Arceus reimagined the long-running series‘ catching mechanics. For the first time ever, capturing a wild Pokemon required you to sneak through tall grass, line up a throw, and chuck a Poke Ball. As fresh as the catching mechanics were, the battle system was largely untouched. Yes, there were the new Agile and Strong Style moves, but the turn-based formula was intact. Now, much in the same way that Legends: Arceus reinvented the catching mechanics, Legends: Z-A is attempting to do something similar with battling.
My 20-minute hands-on demo consisted of two standalone segments: One centered around trainer battles and the other pitted me and Lucario against a Rogue Mega Evolved Absol.
The first portion took place at night during the Z-A Royale, a battle competition that transforms Lumiose City into a labyrinthine battle arena where trainers will essentially jump you in dark alleyways, a return to form for trainer battles after the series stepped away in Scarlet/Violet and made the player the initiator. I wasn’t able to explore the city during my play session, but I was able to challenge four different trainers backed by a Chikorita, Mareep, Weedle, and Fletchling. My Pokemon were around level 5, so this was likely very early in the game.