How Pokemon Legends: Arceus Subtly Teased Pokemon Legends: Z-A

With Pokemon Legends: Z-A set to follow in the footsteps of Pokemon Legends: Arceus leading the franchise in a new direction, many fans are eager to see how the two games will connect. Although Pokemon Legends: Z-A is set within the Kalos Region’s Lumiose City, it’s very likely that the game will feature some kind of reference to Pokemon Legends: Arceus‘ Hisui Region. This connection was already teased in Pokemon Legends: Arceus through a subtle reference that went mostly unnoticed by players until after the reveal of this new title.

Before it was officially revealed, rumors about the next mainline Pokemon game were suggesting that a new game was to be set in the Unova Region and was driving fan speculation in that direction. Many fans were anticipating a Pokemon Legends game set in Unova or Pokemon Black and White remakes, and very few expected the Gen 5 games to be skipped in favor of Pokemon Legends: Z-A taking players back to Gen 6’s Kalos Region. However, in hindsight, there was a reference to the Kalos Region right under Pokemon Legends: Arceus players’ noses that should have been an obvious hint at a new game taking place there.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus Hid a Legends: Z-A Teaser in Plain Sight

Although this hint is subtle, some Pokemon Legends: Arceus fans noticed that the player character’s shirt in the beginning of the game looks nearly identical to one found in Pokemon X and Y. The plot of Pokemon Legends: Arceus revolves around the main character being transported back in time to the Hisui Region, where they help Professor Laventon and the Galaxy Expedition Team survey the surrounding region’s environment and Pokemon. When the player first awakens in the Hisui Region, the outfit they are wearing includes a shirt from the Kalos Region, implying that they were originally from that region before being transported back in time.

The shirt in question appears as the default shirt on the male player character when they first arrive in the Hisui Region and matches one of the shirts the male player character starts with as a customization option in Pokemon X and Y. While the shirt in Pokemon Legends: Arceus is the default print available in Pokemon X and Y, players can obtain the same pattern in different colors, making it a recognizable piece of clothing in the game. This reference provides a clear connection between Pokemon Legends: Arceus and the Kalos Region, cluing in players to the notion that the next Pokemon Legends game would take place in Kalos before Pokemon Legends: Z-A was even announced.

What Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ Kalso Shirt Could Imply About its Connection to Legends: Z-A

This simple reference could have much bigger implications for the series than might be initially clear, as it suggests that the male protagonist from Pokemon Legends: Arceus is originally from the Kalos Region. If this is the case, there could be a direct connection between Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Pokemon Legends: Z-A that goes beyond simply following a similar gameplay formula. Perhaps Pokemon Legends: Z-A is a direct sequel to Pokemon Legends: Arceus, with the player character being whisked away once again by Arceus back to his home in Kalos.

With few details shared about Pokemon Legends: Z-A outside of its setting in Lumiose City and the teased return of Mega Evolution, there is still a lot of room to speculate on how the game could connect to its predecessor. If Pokemon Legends: Z-A is set around the same time as Legends: Arceus, it’s feasible that the player character from that title could have traveled from Hisui to Kalos for this new game. Alternatively, if Pokemon Legends: Z-A is set in the future, perhaps the player ended up there after a failed attempt at trying to return to their own time, opening the door for a variety of ways the two games could directly connect.

Pokemon Legends Z-A

Released

2025-00-00

Publisher(s)

Nintendo