Pokémon Legends: Z-A's Clues Link to Series' Past

This morning, we finally got our first extensive look at Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Game Freak’s futuristic new Pokémon game set in Lumiose City, the beloved location from Pokémon X and Y. While the trailer revealed several features—like rooftop running, battle system tweaks, and the return of Mega Evolution—it also left us with plenty of unanswered questions. Where exactly does this new Legends game fit in the Pokémon timeline, and which familiar characters might we encounter in Lumiose City?

That’s where the Pokémon community steps in.

To provide some context, most Pokémon games are standalone adventures. However, the first Pokémon Legends title introduced time travel. It featured well-known locations from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, but set centuries in the past, and included characters who were clearly ancestors of those from other games—or in one case, a Pokémon Black and White character transported back in time by a divine Pokémon. With that history in mind, fans are eager to find out when Pokémon Legends: Z-A is set, whether time travel plays a role, and which familiar faces we might meet in Lumiose City.

Since the reveal trailer dropped, fans have been carefully examining every frame for connections to earlier games—and they’ve already found quite a few. The most obvious tie-in is the presence of AZ, who is referenced directly in the trailer. AZ is a character who gained immortality 3,000 years before the events of Pokémon X and Y, so regardless of when Z-A occurs, it makes sense for him to appear. In the glimpse we saw, AZ seems to be running a hotel in Lumiose City and looks much happier now that he's reunited with his beloved Floette.

az taller than a mf giraffe
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But there are more subtle connections, too. One of my favorites uncovered by fans involves the potential return of the Looker Bureau. Looker is a popular detective who debuted in Pokémon Black and White and has since appeared in multiple games. Several eagle-eyed fans noted that an office shown in the trailer closely resembles the Looker Bureau from previous titles, suggesting that either Looker or his protégé Emma may appear in Z-A’s Lumiose City.

Looker confirmed for Legends Z-A?
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One particularly intriguing theory involves the two main protagonists and their resemblance to characters from the past. Now that full character artwork has been released, fans have pointed out that the new protagonists look remarkably similar to Ethan and Lyra, the player characters from Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. This has sparked speculation that Legends: Z-A might involve time travel, pulling Ethan and Lyra from their version of Johto into a futuristic Lumiose City.

am i going crazy or the new mcs are literally ethan and lyra
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However, another protagonist-related theory offers a different backstory. Fans are also noticing similarities between the new heroes and Kalos Pokémon scientist Professor Sycamore, as well as Grace, the mother of the protagonist in Pokémon X and Y. The connection to Grace is a bit more of a stretch, but it still fits with the Legends series’ recurring themes of ancestry and legacy.

ZA protagonist relatives
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What’s especially interesting is that more than one of these theories could actually be true. As many fans have pointed out, we still don’t know where Pokémon Legends: Z-A fits in the overall Pokémon timeline. Over the years, the games have featured a loosely connected chronology that sometimes includes alternate realities (don’t overthink it—it’s fine!) and even, as in the case of Legends: Arceus, travel to the distant past. Since AZ is shown running a hotel, some fans reason that Z-A must be set after the events of Pokémon X and Y.

However, given AZ’s immortality, the game could easily be set hundreds of years later. The most compelling evidence supporting this is Lumiose City itself, which appears enormous and ultra-modern in Z-A—a transformation that would have taken decades, if not centuries. If that’s the case, then the protagonists and the person running the Looker Bureau could be descendants of the characters they resemble.

ITS A SEQUEL?!?
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There’s one more character getting a lot of attention: this mysterious woman from the key art.

New hex?
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This woman resembles a Hex Maniac, a trainer type that appeared in Pokémon X and Y. Though several classic trainer types have been spotted in today’s updates, this particular character is especially intriguing because of an ongoing Pokémon mystery: the Ghost Girl.

In Pokémon X and Y, if you enter a certain building in Lumiose City and go to the second floor, the lights flicker, the music cuts out, and a Hex Maniac appears behind you. She glides to the front of the screen, says, “No, you’re not the one,” and vanishes. To this day, this bizarre, spooky scene has never been explained. The girl never reappears, unlocks nothing, and seems to exist as just a creepy easter egg. Since this Hex Maniac has remained an unsolved mystery for years, her appearance in Legends: Z-A has many fans hoping this loose thread will finally be tied up. After all, if she’s a ghost, she could very well be haunting Lumiose City for centuries...

In the coming days, we're bound to see even more discoveries, easter eggs, and hidden connections emerge as fans continue to pore over the trailer, artwork, and other news about Pokémon Legends: Z-A. The wait for the game itself will be a little longer—it's expected to launch in late 2025. But in the meantime, fans have plenty of new details to speculate and theorize about. If you want to catch up on everything announced during today’s Pokémon Presents—including Legends Z-A news, mobile game updates, Pokémon Champions, and more—you can find it all right here.