Game Freak’s next instalment in the franchise, “Pokémon Legends: Z-A”, shifts the series’ nearly 30-year-old turn-based battle formula to real-time combat, according to hands-on previews published on 15 August. Media outlets that tested a 20-minute demo ahead of this weekend’s Pokémon World Championships in Anaheim report that trainers now move freely alongside their Pokémon, issue attacks tied to cooldown timers and dodge incoming blows, while both trainer and Pokémon health can be depleted during fights. The demo, set inside Lumiose City’s new Z-A Royale ranking contest, also introduced raid-style encounters against so-called Rogue Mega Pokémon. Players collect energy orbs dropped by foes such as a Mega Absol to trigger their own Pokémon’s Mega Evolutions, adding an additional risk-reward layer. Traditional mechanics like type advantages remain, but the absence of PP points and the addition of stealth ambushes and item cooldowns give battles an action-RPG feel some reviewers likened to an MMO. “Pokémon Legends: Z-A” is scheduled for release on 16 October 2025 for both the Nintendo Switch and the forthcoming Switch 2. The title confines its narrative to Kalos’s Lumiose City and is the first full sequel to 2022’s “Pokémon Legends: Arceus”, which revamped catching mechanics but left turn-based battles intact. Early impressions suggest Game Freak aims to repeat, and widen, that experimental leap.