The new Pokémon Legends: Z-A currently has a cheating problem according to players. A well-known YouTuber shows some examples – such as players using Poké Balls that shouldn’t exist.
Who is this YouTuber? The YouTuber Austin John Plays uploads videos about games on the Nintendo Switch to his YouTube channel, which has 2.5 million subscribers. He is currently focusing on the new Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which was released on October 16, 2025, for Switch and Switch 2.
In a new YouTube video, Austin John Plays warns players about cheaters. “The amount of hacking we’re seeing in the online battles of Pokémon Legends: Z-A is ridiculous,” says the YouTuber. In the following nearly 10 minutes of the video, he shows some examples where other players have clearly cheated.
Here you can see a trailer for the new DLC Mega Dimensions for Pokémon Legends: Z-A:
Missing Cooldowns and Poké Balls That Don’t Exist
How are players cheating in the new Pokémon game? The hacks or cheats used by players are sometimes more, sometimes less obvious. One clip shows a trainer repeatedly using his Mega Garchomp’s Earthquake attack – seemingly without any cooldown. In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, abilities have cooldowns that someone with cheats has likely disabled.
Less obvious is the first example in the video. In it, a trainer summons his shiny Lucario from a “Beast Ball” (known as “Ultra Ball” in German). The animation at the summoning suggests this. However, in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, there are no Ultra Balls available. Those who don’t know this probably won’t even notice the cheat.
Other players use cheats just to edit their trainer cards. For this reason, players also come across trainer cards where real photos are displayed instead of the game character.
Players Are Frustrated: Under the video on YouTube, comments from annoyed players are piling up. Especially the fact that Pokémon Legends: Z-A does not punish anyone for losing makes cheating even more unnecessary in the eyes of many.
- “Imagine cheating in a ranked mode where there are literally no stakes and you can’t even drop ranks.” Mochi_Madness87
- “The fact that someone feels the need to hack in a ranked match (Pokémon or otherwise), where losing isn’t even punished, shows that this person probably just wants to see the world burn.” bayleaciraptor
- “This is what the modding community ruins for all games. […] That’s why we can’t have nice things.” katecoker9104
What can be done against cheaters? Unfortunately, nothing at this time. There is currently no option in the game to report or block cheaters. So, if you encounter them, you are usually at their mercy. So far, there has also been no statement from Nintendo or the developers.
By the way, those who buy Pokémon Legends: Z-A in the coming months can secure a rather powerful gift. You don’t have to do much for it. More about this can be found here: Pokémon Legends: Z-A offers you a popular Pokémon with Mega Evolution, you don’t have to do much for it
