Image via The Pokemon Company
Pokémon Legends: Z-A has revealed a good deal of information over the course of the 2025 World Championships. From content shared via the demo played by influencers and streamers at the event to the closing ceremonies trailer, new details have taken the discourse by storm. The most recent of these instances is a trailer showing a four-player battle system that appears to take all the wrong concepts from a battle royale.
The Pokémon Company has included a number of strange changes in recent titles. From the over-saturation of Shiny hunting in Scarlet & Violet to the heavy-handed releases of mobile apps designed to wring money from players, the franchise appears to be shifting in several directions – all of which appear to be far away from what made the franchise so popular to begin with.
With the use of Mega Energy to Mega Evolve has already garnered some disquiet from players, especially those who loved the concept of Mega Evolution being the product of a bond between players and their Pokémon, as it was in X & Y, it isn’t surprising that the newly revealed multiplayer battle system isn’t quite hitting either.
Pokémon Main Line Game Or Mobile App Gimmick?
In the newest Pokémon Legends: Z-A trailer from the 2025 World Championships closing ceremonies, players got a look at a four-player “battle” system in which each trainer is pitted against the others in a chaotic brawl.
As explained in the video, the goal is to KO as many of the other players’ Pokémon as possible during the “match”. Whoever has the most points at the end is considered the winner.
Currently, feedback from players is hard to gauge, as this is the only video from closing ceremonies that has closed comments.
Early comments on Twitter are mixed, with some comparing the concept to Fortnite and others worrying the matchmaking system might not be friendly to those who only want to play casually.
Others have pointed out that this, alongside other choices, has made the game feel less like a main-line title and more like an extended app hodgepodge of concepts from Pokémon Go and Pokémon Unite.
Unfortunately, the general consensus seems to be that players are worried about a lack of cohesion when it comes to all the elements of Pokémon Legends: Z-A that have been teased so far. It has been hard to get a grasp of how the game is meant to function, and the odd collection of disjointed mechanics appear to be feeding that anxiety.
While it is still too early to know exactly how the multiplayer battle system will function in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, it does seem to be an odd choice for a game that has already included an intense array of new or hybridized mechanics.
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