Who would have thought that Pokemon fans would be so happy about the potential delay…
Pokémon Legends: ZA, the next big game in the series from longtime developer Game Freak and publisher Nintendo, is set to release sometime next year. But eagle-eyed fans have noticed that a recent piece of information could suggest the game will only arrive in late 2025…
As first noted on the Gaming Leaks and Rumors subreddit a few days ago, Pokémon trading card game site PokéBeach has revealed that the upcoming TCG set (supposedly set to release in Q1 or Q2 2025) will not include cards that appear in Pokémon Legends: ZA and will be tied to its upcoming release.
This news does not seem the most realistic at first glance.
However, it is important to note that every mainline Pokémon game has tried to tie new TCG sets into its release.
As PokéBeach points out, each main game has a corresponding TCG set within two months of the game’s release. Given that no Mega Evolution cards or Pokémon Legends: ZA have been announced, that means the new RPG probably won’t arrive until the second half of 2025.
Surprisingly positive reactions from Pokemon fans
Interestingly, news of the chip has been generally received positively by fans. As one commenter noted: “I hope they do, and that's the case for Pokémon RPGs in 2025; let's wait with Gen X until the 30th anniversary in 2026…”
“I really don't want them to try to force two games in the same year again…” – And they continued – “Just like they did with Arceus and ScarVi in 2022.”
“Oh please be honest” – You can read it in another comment – “Please make 2024 a gap year so PLZA and Gen 10 can spend more time in the oven.”
For those who don’t know, developer Game Freak has received a lot of criticism in recent years for trying to release too many Pokémon games at too fast a pace. According to many, this was one of the main reasons why Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were initially flawed.
Hopefully this means that both Game Freak and Nintendo are taking ZA's appearance seriously.
Perhaps the low scores of Scarlet and Violet, at least compared to previous mainline Pokémon games, contributed in some way to this change in tactics…
source: Poki Beach, Reddit
