With Pokémon Legends Z-A, the tradition of the main series is broken – at least when it comes to combat. MeinMMO editor Jasmin Beverungen faced the challenge at gamescom 2025 with a 20-minute demo.
As a child, I always dreamed that there would be a game where I could walk around in an open world with my Pokémon. The main series of Pokémon only offers the opportunity to walk around with a character in a 2D world and engage in turn-based battles.
Every time I watched the anime, I knew that the pocket monsters hardly waited for each other. Trainers shout commands to their partners like crazy, who then execute them immediately. No “Hey, you need to wait, it’s my turn now,” but fast and dynamic battles. This always bothered me about the main series, and my childhood dream remained unfulfilled for a long time – until Pokémon Legends Z-A was announced.
If you’ve seen the trailers for Pokémon Legends Z-A, you may notice that there’s no time to think about your moves in battle. The game abolishes turns, which you might remember from Pokémon Red or other representatives of the main series.
Instead, you now have to react in real-time and direct your Pokémon to deal as much damage as possible while also taking as little damage as possible.
At gamescom 2025, I faced several trainers and Pokémon in a 20-minute demo. I was able to test whether the real-time battles were indeed as overwhelming as some journalists experienced.
In the first 10 minutes, I battled in the namesake league, where players must advance from rank Z to rank A. Afterwards, it was on to a tougher battle against Mega-Absol.
From the End of the Alphabet to the Winner’s Podium
In the first 10 minutes, I visited the battle zone where the ranked battles for Pokémon Legends: Z-A take place. Several trainers were waiting to be defeated by me. For the battles, I had several weaker Pokémon like Voltilamm at my disposal. The opposing Pokémon, including Scoppel, were also maximally at level 10.
Basically, the battles were like in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, only delivered in real-time. With my character, I could quickly select a Pokémon and just as quickly switch again. On the side, I was shown the 4 attacks that my Pokémon could use.
As I walked around, my Pokémon followed me closely. Only when I gave the command to attack did it position itself and attack the opposing Pokémon.
By the way: In this part, I could also try sneaking up to make a first strike. However, I failed to do so, perhaps I was too impatient.
During the demo, I was able to challenge two trainers. The damage dealt by the opponents was still manageable, which is why I did not find the battles too difficult or tactically demanding. So, I just spammed the attacks, which had their recast time reset.
And I must say: This is exactly how I imagined Pokémon battles as a child. Just walking around, commanding the pocket monster, and watching it fight in real-time. Just for that, the demo was worth it. But there was an even bigger challenge waiting.
Fights Against Mega-Pokémon Are Even Harder
In the second part of the demo, it was then time for the battle against Mega-Absol. I got Lucario and had to reduce my opponent’s health to zero. The battle was significantly harder than the previous ranked battles, as even a single hit from Mega-Absol cost a large part of my health.
Therefore, it was all about dodging. In true Soulslike fashion, I rolled around as if I were an armadillo. Mega-Absol followed a specific attack pattern that included both area attacks and attacks that shot in one direction. I had to observe my opponent and figure out when the best time windows for attacks were.
Another aspect comes into play here that would also make sense in a “real” real-time battle with Pokémon. It’s important WHERE the pocket monsters are positioned. When Absol fired its attack, I had to make sure that Lucario was out of the line of fire.
The big saving grace were the orbs that Mega-Absol dropped whenever I hit it. They filled my mega-evolution gauge, which I could then apply to Lucario.
In the end, I actually managed to defeat Mega-Lucario. The battle took significantly more nerves than the ranked battles, but that’s how one should feel when facing another trainer with your own Pokémon, right?
Overall, I would say that the difficulty has indeed increased with the real-time battles. However, those who have experience in the action genre should handle it well here. You don’t need Soulslike game skills to succeed in Pokémon Legends Z-A.
And for those who have always dreamed of walking around with their Pokémon and battling, it is finally fulfilled here.
What hasn’t changed compared to the main series is the agony of choice when it comes to the starter Pokémon. However, many fans are disappointed with the selection. You can read why on MeinMMO: Fans are disappointed with Pokémon Legends: Z-A because the wrong monster is included in the most important decision of the game
