Opinion: Further Thoughts On Last Week’s Pokémon Presents

Welcome to the table,

It’s wild to think about the fact that 29 years ago, on February 27th, the original Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green games debuted in Japan. Now, here we sit almost 30 years later, and I am still delighted, no, double delighted (there is a scale system if you have been paying attention) by each and every main line — and most secondary — Pokémon games that have come to the table.

Last week, we got a new Pokémon Presents showcasing some news and updates from Game Freak and The Pokémon Company.

I’ll link the video at the end of this piece, but I want to call out some highlights from what was discussed.

First up, and kind of a game changer for me as someone who already plays Pokémon Go and Pokémon TCGP on my phone, Pokémon Champions is coming. What that is seems a little unclear still, but it looks like a Pokémon battle game where you can take Pokémon from your Pokémon Home, a platform that lets you store Pokémon from Go, the core games, and other places, and fight them against other peoples Pokémon in a virtual environment.

I’ve long dreamed of a day when I could play Pokémon on my phone the way I use to play on my GameBoy and other portable systems, so each step we get closer to that reality is one step closer to what may be my perfect video game situation. The fact you can cross platform Switch to IOS/Android is amazing and really feels like it is getting me closer and closer to the Rotom phone I have always wanted. Pokémon Champions is still in development, but hopefully 2026 will see its release.

Next up is a Pokémon Legends game titled Pokémon Legends Z-A. Now, I know this may be a tad controversial but Pokémon Legends Arceus was one of my favorite Pokémon games of all time.

Z-A is set in Lumiose City, where an urban redevelopment plan is underway to shape the city into a place that belongs to both people and Pokémon. Compared to Lumiose City as it appeared in the Pokémon X and Pokémon Y games — released in 2013 — there is a ton more greenery as well as some super high end tech improvements. There are a lot of new environments for Pokémon as well, making this urban setting the perfect spot to frame the story of a new game.

The starters are going to be Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile. All really strong choices in my personal opinion. The combat in this one is going to be real time rather than turned based and I think that, much like in Pokémon Legends Arceus, is going to add some really cool gameplay to the whole undertaking.

There are going to be Mega Evolutions, a feature we have seen before, and some really rad new characters to meet along the way.

One of them (the figure in the center in the image above) is a hotel owner who seems to be a central figure in the story. He is not even hiding the fact that he is AZ — a 9-foot-tall, 3,000-year-old immortal who built an ultimate weapon that ended a massive world war, but did unimaginable levels of destruction. AZ’s original appearance in Pokémon X and Y below has been updated as well.

For those of you who did not know Pokémon could get this dark and thought it was just about an eight-year-old with neglectful parents who sent their kids off with magical beasts to fight other kids … this stuff makes The Hunger Games look like a walk in the tall grass.

I love a new Pokémon game and one where I can run around a city, actually use my roster of Pokémon to fight, and explore a big part of the legends and lore of the series. It is exactly the kind of thing I want to play. I can’t wait to get my hands on this game later this year.

If you want to check out the full Pokémon Presents, you can watch it below.

Until next time, see you in the tall grass!