Pokémon Fans Are Frantically Trying to Work Out How Pokémon Legends: Z-A Connects to Other Pokémon Games

This morning, we got our first lengthy look at Pokemon Legends: Z-A, Game Freak’s futuristic new Pokémon game set in the familiar Pokémon X/Y locale of Lumiose City. But even though we saw a number of features such as running on rooftops, changes to battling, and Mega Evolution, we still have loads of questions about exactly when Pokémon Legends Z-A takes place relative to the other Pokémon games, and which returning characters we might see in Lumiose City.

That’s where the community comes in.

For context, while most Pokémon games tend to be standalone affairs, the first Pokémon Legends game dealt with time travel. It also heavily featured familiar locations from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl set hundreds of years in the past, numerous characters who were clearly ancestors of characters in other Pokémon games…or, in one case, just a Pokémon Black and White character plopped down in the past by Pokémon God themself. With that in mind, fans are eager to know when Pokémon Legends: Z-A is set, if there are any time traveling shenanigans, and if we’ll see any familiar faces in Lumiose City whenever this game takes place.

In the last few hours since the trailer debuted, fans have been combing it for connections to other Pokémon games…and they’ve found a surprising amount. The most obvious connection is the presence of AZ, which is called out directly in the trailer. AZ is a character who was granted immortality 3000 years before the events of Pokémon X and Y, so it makes sense that regardless of when Z-A takes place, he’d be around. In Z-A, he seems to run a hotel in Lumiose City, and he looks a lot happier now that he’s been reunited with his beloved Floette.

But there are far more subtle ties. One of my favorites that fans have discovered is the potential presence of the Looker Bureau in Z-A. Looker is a fan-favorite detective character who first appeared in Pokémon Black and White, but has since made appearances in several other games. Several eagle-eyed fans have noticed that one office shown in the trailer looks nearly identical to the Looker Bureau in past games, which they believe confirms the presence of either Looker or his protege Emma in Z-A’s Lumiose City.

Another really bonkers theory floating around is the connection between the two main protagonists and some other familiar faces. Now that we’ve got full character art for the protagonists of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, fans have pointed out that the two characters look suspiciously similar to Ethan and Lyra, the two player characters from Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. This has led to speculation that Legends: Z-A may feature a time traveling scenario where Ethan and Lyra are pulled out of their version of Johto and sent to a futuristic Lumiose.

But another interesting, protagonist-related theory suggests a different origin story. Fans are also pointing out that the pair look somewhat similar to Kalos Pokémon scientist Professor Sycamore and the mother of the protagonist in Pokémon X and Y, named Grace. This one, especially the bit involving Grace, is a bit more of a stretch, but still a super interesting theory in light of past plays on ancestry in the Legends series:

What’s most curious about all those theories is that some version of them could all be true at the same time. As multiple fans have pointed out, we have absolutely no idea where Pokémon Legends Z-A takes place in the timeline. Pokémon games over the years have had a very loosely sequential timeline that also occasionally involves alternate realities (don’t worry about it, it’s fine) and, again as in the case of Legends: Arceus, time travel back to the past. If AZ is running a hotel, fans are pointing out that this game must take place after the events of Pokémon X and Y.

But it’s possible that could mean hundreds of years after, given AZ’s immortality. The greatest evidence of this is Lumiose City itself, which is ginormous and futuristic in Legends Z-A in a way that would have taken decades to build. If that’s true and this takes place that far into the future, that would mean the two protagonists, as well as whoever is running the Looker Bureau, are descedents several generations down the line of the characters they resemble.

There is one more character that fans are obsessing over, and that’s this creepy woman from the key art:

This woman looks like a Hex Maniac, which was a trainer type that appeared in Pokémon X and Y. While a number of returning trainer types have been spotted in today’s news, this girl is particularly interesting due to an ongoing Pokémon mystery: the Ghost Girl.

In Pokémon X and Y, there’s a scene you can view by entering a building in Lumiose City and heading up to the second floor. When you arrive, the lights will flash, the music will stop, and a Hex Maniac will appear behind you, glide toward the front of the screen, and say, “No, you’re not the one,” before disappearing. It’s a weird, creepy scene that to this day has absolutely no explanation. This girl is never seen again, does not unlock anything, and just appears to be a strange easter egg. So because that Hex Maniac has remained a mystery for years, the sight of one creepily wandering around Lumiose in Legends Z-A has a lot of fans hopeful this thread might finally lead somewhere. After all, if she’s a ghost, she could have continued to haunt that building for hundreds of years…

In the coming days, there will almost certainly be more new discoveries, easter eggs, and connections found throughout all the footage, art, and news we received today about Pokémon Legends: Z-A. We have a bit of a wait for the game’s release, as it’s currently planned for “late 2025.” But in the meantime at least we have lots of new information to obsess over. You can catch up on everything announced at today’s Pokémon Presents, including Legends Z-A news, mobile gaming news, Pokemon Champions, and more, right here.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.