Pokemon X and Y Image Shows How Dramatically Wild Zone 1 Has Changed in Legends: Z-A

A Pokemon fan has taken to Reddit to share an image that really cements just how far the series has come in the time between Pokemon X/Y and Pokemon Legends: Z-A. This image doesn’t just show off the differences in the games’ art styles, but also showcases some intriguing lore advancements that Pokemon Legends: Z-A makes regarding Lumiose City’s development.

Though it comes 12 years after the Nintendo 3DS entries, Pokemon Legends: Z-A is set just two years after the events of Pokemon X and Y. In these short years, Lumiose City has changed quite dramatically thanks to a new in-universe organization that’s attempted to bring Pokemon and people closer together.

Image Shows The Difference Between Pokemon X/Y and Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Wild Zone 1

On November 3, Reddit user DaPokeMaster122_ posted an image of them playing Pokemon X/Y with the title “What Wild Zone 1 used to be.” The image shows the player-character standing in the middle of a street, presumably near the southern part of Lumiose City where Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Wild Zone 1 is located.

This image perfectly encapsulates both the real-life and in-universe changes that have taken place between the release of Pokemon X and Y and Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Externally, this image shows the Pokemon series’ shift in art direction over the last decade, moving from X and Y‘s more stylized, almost cel-shaded look to Legends: Z-A‘s slightly more realistic approach to environmental design and character proportions.

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This image also depicts the in-universe changes that Pokemon Legends: Z-A makes to Lumiose City. In the Reddit image, the street in front of the player is void of any Pokemon life. One or two human citizens can be spotted on the street ahead, standing outside of stores and apartment buildings. In Pokemon Legends: Z-A, this area has been turned into Wild Zone 1, an enclosed space that’s now home to more foliage and several different species of Pokemon. Only a few fellow Pokemon Trainers and vendors can be found in Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Wild Zone 1.

Those who have begun to unravel the story at the heart of Pokemon Legends: Z-A will know that the in-universe company Quasartico Inc. is the one responsible for this dramatic change between entries. In the time between Pokemon X/Y and Legends: Z-A, Quasartico Inc. used its holo-tech barriers to establish Wild Zones throughout Lumiose City, hoping that the merging of Pokemon and people would attract new citizens to settle down in the city following the events of Pokemon X and Y.