Pokémon Legends: ZA Nintendo Direct Trailer Confirms Critical Change to Catch Mechanics

Despite rumors that Pokémon Legends: ZA wouldn’t appear in the March 2025 Nintendo Direct livestream, the newest entry in the franchise made a surprise appearance, sporting a trailer with some very exciting details about catch mechanics.

The new trailer contains a few new details, including a teaser for the Z-A Royale, a new type of battle challenge that takes place at night in Lumiose City.

However, the really exciting news came with details about the Wild Zones scattered throughout the city. A short clip of the main character catching a Budew confirmed that Arceus-style catch mechanics will return. This means players don’t have to engage in battles to throw Poké Balls at targets.

Catch Everything to Your Heart’s Content Unless It’s Aggressive

In the trailer, which can now be found on the Nintendo of America YouTube channel, the mechanics shown were very similar to what was used in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. The character walks up to the Budew, pulls the ball, and flings it at the unsuspecting Grass-type. After a few shakes, the catch is successful.

Additionally, the trailer has confirmed there will be aggressive mobs that will try to attack the trainer instead of going quietly into a ball. This likely brings Shinx flashbacks to Arceus players.

The battle-free catch mechanics were very well-received by fans after Arceus’ debut. Because of this, many were disappointed when Scarlet & Violet launched without it. Especially as it would have made exploring the open world more immersive.

The return of free-thrown Poké Balls indicates that the popularity of the mechanic has been embraced by devs. It is even possible that it could be included in future games, like the heavily anticipated Gen 10.

For now, players will have to wait to jump into this reimagined Lumiose City until late 2025. It is likely the game will be released sometime between September and December of this year.

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Laura Gray

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Laura Gray, known as Ezra when not putting pen to paper, is a D&D enthusiast with a love of all things written. They are a collector of fantasy and sci-fi novels, a lover of cooking weird food, and a player of farming sims and Pokémon games. When not engrossed in a re-read of Anne McCaffrey or a deep dive into the Adventure Zone: Balance, they can be found sniffing the cats and napping in half-finished crochet projects.

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