Pokemon Delivering on One Anticipated Update Would End 2024 with a Bang

Besides the recent Game Freak leak, Pokemon has had a fairly uneventful 2024. An epilogue update for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s DLC arrived in January, but the only major announcement at February’s Pokemon Presents presentation was the reveal of Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Ongoing Pokemon titles like Pokemon Go, Pokemon Sleep, and Pokemon Unite have continued getting updates throughout the year, and the iOS and Android app Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket is joining them, but that’s it. With the traditional late-summer Pokemon Presents and further Pokemon Legends: Z-A news nowhere in sight, it seems like Pokemon is having an off year.

There are good reasons for this prolonged silence, however, as Nintendo’s next Switch console is rapidly approaching. Nintendo is rumored to have held off the console to build hardware and software for its launch, and its sparse 2024 line-up supports this. Even if Pokemon Legends: Z-A is also rumored to be targeting the current Switch, it could still synergize with the new console’s launch if the Switch 2 is backward compatible. Because of that Switch 1 focus, however, Pokemon Legends: Z-A could show its second trailer whenever it’s ready, and doing so by the end of 2024 would make up for the otherwise slow year.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Rumored Release Window Leaves a Gap Waiting to Be Filled

Pokemon Legends: Z-A is the next mainline game in the series, but its distant release date may leave a window for other titles to rear their heads.

When Pokemon Legends: Z-A Could Unveil Its Next Trailer

Even with very little time left in 2024, the possibility of another Nintendo Direct or a holiday Pokemon Presents can’t be ruled out yet. Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are well-known for skipping other industry events and following their own time schedules, and that’s already happened this year with Nintendo skipping its customary September Direct. By the same logic, Pokemon Legends: Z-A could abruptly appear during the December Game Awards. Nintendo’s attendance may be typically limited to receiving awards and nominations, but it has shown up with major reveals in the past, like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Joker DLC trailer, so the possibility is there.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Could Accompany A 2024 Switch 2 Reveal

With that said, there’s a good chance that the next Nintendo Direct or equivalent presentation hosted by the company will be the Switch 2’s reveal. It’s been said that the reveal will arrive sometime before the end of March 2025, but that doesn’t necessarily mean January or February as many have guessed. Depending on how Nintendo’s staff feels about the Switch 2’s announcement affecting current Switch sales, it could happen as early as mid-November, or as late as the last day of December. Regardless of when it happens, it will probably come with a Direct’s worth of news, and a Pokemon Legends trailer alongside that.

What The Next Pokemon Legends: Z-A Trailer Could Show

The big question is what will be in that trailer, and there are a few major suspects. While Pokemon Legends: Z-A is expected to have a mix of returning starter Pokemon like Legends: Arceus did, it’s difficult to say which ones those will be. Legends: Z-A’s next trailer will likely clear that up, though their new Kalos-exclusive evolutions will probably stay under wraps. Players will probably have a better idea of what Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Pokemon roster will look like in general after its next trailer is out.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Can Finally Gain An Identity

Arguably more important than the Pokemon themselves is what players will be doing with them, something players still don’t know after nearly a year with Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s CG reveal trailer. Some sort of urban redevelopment project is happening in Lumiose City, and that’s the extent of players’ current knowledge. Legends: Z-A‘s second trailer should come with a thorough look at its gameplay and story, putting speculation to rest in the process. It feels like Pokemon Legends: Arceus is finally going to step into the spotlight soon, and its creators might as well make the biggest year-end celebration possible out of it.