Pokemon Legends: Z-A Would Miss a Huge Opportunity if it Didn't Include Gen 9's Best Feature

Nearly a whole year without any new info on the upcoming Pokemon Legends: Z-A has left the community with more room for speculation regarding the mysterious title than they’d perhaps be comfortable with, with this next entry in the core-series of games still set for release at some point in 2025. While Mega Pokemon are finally confirmed to be making their triumphant return to the games, Pokemon Legends: Z-A still has the chance to capitalize and even expand on one of the most crucial new features introduced by the earlier Gen 9 titles – though, for a few important reasons, the odds that the upcoming game will take full advantage of the opportunity is very low.

The opportunity in question regards one of the new varieties of Pokemon introduced in the Gen 9 games, the Paradox Pokemon. Pokemon fans who haven’t played Scarlet and Violet through to the end may not have seen these strange Pokemon for themselves, as they exclusively appear within the depths of Area Zero inside The Great Crater of Paldea – and for good reason. Two key subcategories of Paradox Pokemon exist to date, each of which are version-exclusive – Pokemon Scarlet‘s feral, seemingly prehistoric Paradox Pokemon, and the robot-like ones that appear to originate from the distant future in Pokemon Violet. Upon initial inspection, these creatures seem to be like regional variants of existing Pokemon that originate from different points in time, but that’s not quite the case.

How Pokemon’s Lore Makes the Appearance of Paradox Pokemon in Legends: Z-A Unlikely

While a significant amount of lore surrounds these mysterious additions to the Pokemon multiverse, there’s no denying that Paradox Pokemon have gone down extremely well with fans. Their overall concept immediately had many players fascinated, and has inspired artistic members of the community to create countless custom Paradox Pokemon of their own since the launch of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet late in 2022. Fans have remained hopeful that future games could further expand on the idea, and while it isn’t outright impossible for Pokemon Legends: Z-A to include both new and existing Paradox Pokemon, fans certainly shouldn’t hold their breath.

See, Paradox Pokemon aren’t actually from the past or the future. There was never strictly any time machine pulling them to the present day in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Lore details scattered throughout the Gen 9 DLC confirm that Paradox Pokemon actually originate from different timelines altogether. The concept of the multiverse has actually played a consistently major role in the Pokemon franchise for decades, but in a nutshell, the reason that Paradox Pokemon are only found trapped within the crater is because they’re essentially pulled there from other universes by the huge amount of reality-altering Terastal energy that has welled up in Area Zero.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Dubious Time Period Keeps Players Guessing

With this in mind, the prospect of Paradox Pokemon simply running amok in Lumiose City, which is confirmed to be where Pokemon Legends: Z-A will take place, seems outlandish. Paradox Pokemon are inherently dangerous beings, far more hostile than most typical Pokemon. Even if they could escape the crater they’re trapped in, it doesn’t really seem likely that they’d find a way to migrate to the Kalos region. The possibility is complicated even further by the fact that fans don’t yet know for sure whether Pokemon Legends: Z-A is supposed to be set in the present day or the past, like the preceding Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

There is still some good news for fans hoping to see the return of Paradox Pokemon in Legends: Z-A, however. The world of Pokemon has proven to contain a surprisingly wide variety of methods in which alternate timelines can overlap and be traveled between. Pokemon Sword and Shield found a way to include catchable Ultra Beasts in a lore-friendly way, despite not involving any Ultra Wormholes. Game Freak has the freedom to create new loopholes within the lore that has been built, and there are certainly a few ways that Paradox Pokemon could appear in future games even without the presence of Area Zero or Terastal energy – but Mega Pokemon appear to be one of the main focal points in Pokemon Legends: Z-A.

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Pokémon Legends: Z-A is an ambitious new entry to the Pokémon video game series, releasing simultaneously worldwide in 2025. A new adventure awaits within Lumiose City, where an urban redevelopment plan is underway to shape the city into a place that belongs to both people and Pokémon.

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