About

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is an upcoming action role-playing game in the Pokémon franchise developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. The game serves as the sequel to Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which was released in January 2022, focusing more on open-world exploration rather than a linear path. The sequel takes place in Lumiose City, where 2013’s Pokémon X and Y were set. The game is expected to be released in 2025.

History

On February 27th, 2022, Pokémon Legends: Z-A was revealed during the "Pokémon Day" event, which showed a trailer (shown below) of the game as well as a release date scheduled for 2025. The trailer^[1] amassed over 730,000 views and 35,000 likes in a day.

Online Presence

In the days following its announcement, Pokémon Legends: Z-A inspired a range of discussions, with some netizens expressing excitement about the sequel and others feeling let down by the reveal for expecting a new generation of Pokémons to be announced instead. For instance, on February 27th, 2024, X^[2] user @ChikoritaCheez used a meme from the Shrek movie to describe the Pokémon fandom war before the new game was revealed (shown below, left), which amassed more than 15,000 likes and 2,100 retweets in a day.

On the same day, X^[3] user @ChikoritaCheez posted a Megamind meme strip about the surprised reaction of fans to the game's announcement. The post (shown below, right) received roughly 1,600 likes and 301 retweets in a day.

The game was also a viral topic on TikTok, as fans shared their thoughts on the sequel. For instance, TikTok^[4] user @pen_paladin posted a video about Pokémon Legends: Z-A (shown below, left), which garnered over 1.1 million plays and 132,000 likes in a day. TikToker^[5] @michael.sciance posted a POV meme about the "girls and the gays arriving at Kalos in 2025," which received roughly 39,000 plays and 8,900 likes in a few hours since uploaded on February 28th, 2024.

Search Interest

External References