Pokémon Legends: Z-A made its first big public appearance at the Pokémon World Championships 2025. Players were able to test the new battle system in a demo and report how they perceived the innovations.
What’s new in Pokémon Legends Z-A? Unlike the main series of Pokémon games, the battle system does not take place in rigid turns. Instead, you run around dynamically with your monsters and use attacks as soon as your timer runs out and they are ready to go again.
There are four attacks that trainers can select for quick access. The attacks have an area of effect and a range. This introduces a tactical component to the game. Players must decide when and from where to use their attacks.
In a live demo, the first players were able to test the new battle system. Several publications report how they experienced the more dynamic battles.
Pokémon Legends Z-A overwhelms first players
How is the new feature received? Nintendo Life has gathered several voices from other publications reporting on their experiences. Many testers like those from Polygon and Serebii had positive experiences with the new battle system.
They write that it is still too early to draw a final conclusion. However, the battle was so much fun that they would have liked to have more fights than those available in the demo.
In a YouTube video from Nintendo Life, you can check out the demo:
Other testers like The Verge were somewhat overwhelmed by the innovation. Editor Kallie Plagge is used to the formula of the main games and was so overwhelmed that she panic sent her Caterpie into battle against a Pidgeotto.
Your Pokémon was said to have been knocked out in one hit, as flying types are effective against bug monsters. She writes:
This is a big departure from nearly 30 years of Pokémon games. I’m used to viewing Pokémon like a chess game, slow and several steps ahead. In Z-A, I had to think about the same type combinations, stats, and everything else, but quickly and spontaneously. It took me some time to get used to it.
VGC agrees with this point. The tester writes that players and Pokémon take damage if they are in an opponent’s attack. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can easily achieve “repeated failures”.
The day and night play out differently in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. At night, battles break out, turning the city into a lawless place. You can read what that looks like in the following article: “Like Team Rocket”: In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, you will become the punk who attacks others from the shadows at night.
