As a longtime Pokemon fan who grew up playing almost every entry, Pokemon Legends Arceus was one of the biggest surprises of 2022. Not only did it give me the chance to see a world and region in a completely new context, but it did so in a novel way that felt like such a breath of fresh air for the long-running RPG series. Taking us back to ancient times in the Hisui region – that would later become the Sinnoh region in Diamond and Pearl – I relished the chance to explore a point in Pokemon's timeline that was completely unknown. Tasked with surveying the lands to build up the first-ever Pokedex, the adventure explored the history of how Pokemon and humans learned to live alongside each other, and frankly, I loved every minute of it. In fact, I'd go as far as to say it completely outshined the games that follow it that same year with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
It's why, with the reveal of Pokemon Legends Z-A during the Pokemon Day Pokemon Present showcase, I'm so excited for what's to come. While the trailer gave us very little to go on, what it does tease already looks intriguing. If Arceus tried to show us how Pokemon and humans learned to live with each other, Z-A promises to let us once again see a new side to an established region. From what we've seen, it appears that we're about to get to explore how a city came to be designed to foster Pokemon and people living together in harmony, and I can't stop thinking about just what that means.
