Since its initial tease in 2024,Pokémon Legends: Z-Ahas shared several trailers detailing what players can expect to see in the game. Numerous Pokémon have been shown, but I can’t help but notice that any reference toanything beyond Gen 6 has been mostly absent from any promotional footage.
There have been a handful of hints here and there, such as a Kingambit statue in the most recent story trailer, but as for the Pokémon themselves,nothing has officially confirmed the presence of Gen 7, 8, or 9 inPokémon Legends: Z-A. However, if we look atZ-A’spredecessor,Arceus, it may provide the answer as to why.
Nothing Beyond Gen 4 Appeared In Its Original Form Aside From A Few Exceptions
If you’ve played throughArceus, then you know it primarily focused on one generation, Gen 4. For this reason, a large majority of the Pokémon available in the game were Gen 4 or earlier, and all the Pokémon that were available past Gen 4 had unique regional forms to adapt them toArceus.No Gen 5 Pokémon, or later, appeared inArceusin their original form, outside of a few exceptions.
The only Pokémon that technically appeared in their normal forms beyond Gen 4 were the genies and Sylveon. However, the genies still had a new addition to their group, Enamorus, and Sylveon was likely left alone because it was a new evolution of a popular Gen 1 Pokémon that players would have been upset to have removed.
Now, withZ-A, we have yet to see a singlePokémon from Gen 7or later appear in any of the trailers, and I think Arceus explains why. IfZ-Aintends to followArceus' lead by adapting late-gen Pokémon to its game, thenit’s likely all Gen 7, 8, and 9 Pokémon inZ-Awill have either regional forms or Megas.
New Regional Forms & Megas May Bring Gens 7, 8 & 9 To Z-A
Z-A May Have Already Teased The First Gen 9 Pokémon In A Clever Way
While this might seem like a bit of a stretch, if you’ve been followingtheLegends: Z-Aleaksand paid close attention to the trailers, there’s a lot of evidence to support that this theory might be true.A few of the leaks, which should still be taken with a grain of salt, have already revealed some of the new Megas coming to the game, some of which are Pokémon beyond Gen 6.
However, if leaks aren’t enough for you, consider thatwe haven’t seen any Gen 7-9 Pokémon in theZ-Atrailers. While this could also mean that anything past Gen 6 simply isn’t in the game, I don’t believe that to be the case, especially after the most recent story trailer shown during theJuly 2025 Pokémon Presents.
During the trailer, we see a close-up of the boss of the Rust Syndicate, Corbeau. During this scene,if you take a moment to look on the right side of the screen, you may notice a large statue depicting a Gen 9 Pokémon, Kingambit. While Kingambit’s earlier evolutions are Gen 5, Kingambit wasn’t added until Paldea, making it the first late-gen Pokémon to be somewhat officially revealed forZ-A.
While the statue isn’t necessarily the Pokémon itself, the trailer was full of hints as towhich Pokémon will be getting new Megas, and I refuse to believePokémongave this boss a massive statue, plainly shown in the trailer, only to have it not be part of the game.Given its placement in the office and the strength of Kingambit, I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up being Corbeau’s ace Pokémon and receives a Poison/Steel Mega evolution.
If all this is true, thenall the evidence we have of Gen 7, 8, and 9 inLegends: Z-A,so far, points to them only being included if they have new Megas, so I think it’s likely we won’t see any trailers showcasing these Pokémon untilPokémonis ready to reveal their Megas, which may or may not happen beforePokémon Legends: Z-A’s official release.
