Pokémon Legends Z-A is set to launch “late 2025” or later.

Today brought our first look at gameplay footage from Pokémon Legends Z-A, courtesy of the Pokémon Presents presentation – as well as a narrowed release window for the Switch 1 game.

Pokémon Legends Z-A will arrive in “late 2025”, it was revealed – a little later than some were expecting. No mention at all was made of Nintendo’s Switch 2.

“Pokémon Legends Z-A is scheduled to release in late 2025,” said Takato Utsunomiya, chief operating officer of The Pokémon Company. “We hope everybody can wait just a little longer for their adventures in Lumiose City to begin.”

As we knew already, Pokémon Legends Z-A was shown to be an action RPG spin-off from the series’ main games set in a redesigned version of Lumiose City, the Kalos region’s Parisian-inspired metropolis. The action looks set to take place entirely within the city limits, though there are rooftops to explore and suburban wild areas with roaming Pokémon.

These areas, gated by green neon fences, contain various familiar creatures inside. Today’s trailer showed off Buneary, Spewpa, Fletchling, Sandile and more. Numerous other species can be seen alongside humans in the game’s other areas – this surburban setting filled with Pokémon reminiscent of the Detective Pikachu games.

Today’s trailer was devoid of any new Pokémon species or Mega Evolutions, though it did at least confirm the three Starter Pokémon you’ll use in the game: Gold and Silver’s Grass-type Chikorita and Water-type croc Totodile, plus Black and White’s fire hog Tepig.

Presumably the evolved versions of all three will get to Mega Evolve – though we didn’t see that today. This new footage did at least confirm what was hinted at last year, which was that the Kalos region’s Mega Evolution mechanic is back in Pokémon Legends Z-A and will work in the same way – with select Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution requiring a Mega Stone.

Also on show was a new battle system, where it looks like you can lead your monster around the battlefield, and where attacks will differ in power based on their range.

As for the game’s main plotline, the city is being redeveloped by the Quasartico Inc. company, whose bosses are clearly Bad Guys. You team up with a mystical-looking old dude named “AZ” who runs the hotel in which you stay. Legendary Pokémon Zygarde appears briefly, as does one of its individual cells, though nothing more of its involvement is confirmed.

There’s plenty we’re still to find out about Pokémon Legends Z-A – and perhaps it made sense for today’s first look at gameplay to hold back some of the details, since there’s still at least six months until it arrives. What were your first impressions?