Ihonestly never thought I’d fall in love with Pokémon battles. That’s not why I play Pokémon – I don’t play competitively either – because I play a ton of RPGs where combat is the draw. I can get my fix elsewhere. But Pokémon Legends: Z-A may have done the impossible; in Kalos, I can’t wait to get into a fight.

Taking the basic framework for 2022’s Legends: Arceus , Z-A transplants the frictionless catching and larger environments to the streets of Lumiose City and switches things up by placing battles at the forefront, rather than the exploration. Arceus is one of my favourite Pokémon games ever, so I had concerns, but the shift here mostly works.

When a Pokémon spots me from a distance or I lock eyes with a trainer, no longer am I simply going for the same attacks, nor am I s

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