Does Pokemon Legends Z-A take place in the past or future?

Game Freak and The Pokemon Company are bringing back a fan-favorite series, but while a previous entry was set in the past… Pokemon Legends Z-A’s place on the timeline isn’t quite as definitive.

The Pokemon Company recently shocked fans and players everywhere, defying any expectations for a Pokemon Legends Johto, or even Pokemon Black and White remakes, and instead flipped the script, delivering Pokemon Legends Z-A.

From information gleaned so far, Pokemon Legends Z-A seems to take place in the region of Kalos, specifically Lumiose City, a setting originally introduced in Pokemon X and Y. So if we know where the game is set, the question is when the game is set, as the clues so far are confusing, to say the least.

Does Pokemon Legends Z-A take place in the past or future?

The Pokemon Company

At the time of writing, there is no official word on when Pokemon Legends Z-A, but from the clues in the trailer as well as the fact that Lumiose City already exists, it seems slightly more likely that Pokemon Legends Z-A is set to take place in the future.

The original trailer for Pokemon Legends Areus did a lot to stress the timeline placement of the game, showing Pokemon trainers in the past, and revealing that Hisui is the region that would eventually become Sinnoh.

There are very few details for Pokemon Legends Z-A so far, but a post from The Pokemon Company UK uses the words “Urban redevelopment plan: Lumiose City”, which alongside the use of wireframe animations in the trailer to emulate a Tron or Matrix-esque style, seem to point towards the future.

The Pokemon Company

We will have to wait for more details to make any declarative statements, but for now, the evidence seems to point toward Pokemon Legends Z-A happening in either the near future of Kalos, or perhaps even the far future.

That’s all we know about Pokemon Legends Z-A for now, but if you want to learn more about the upcoming title, read more of our great guides below:

Does Pokemon Legends Z-A have Mega Evolution? | Where does Pokemon Legends Z-A take place? | Every Pokemon in the Pokemon Legends Z-A trailer confirmed