After wondering what the heck Pokemon Legends: Z-A's name actually meant, we now know it's tied to a pretty cool ranking system

A trainer gives a thumbs up to the camera as the UI shows her rank climbing up the Z-A charts in Pokemon Legends Z-A — (Image credit: Nintendo / The Pokemon Company)

Yesterday's March Nintendo Direct finally revealed what Pokemon Legends: Z-A's funky title is all about.

As is now the case with Pokemon game names, Z-A seemed pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Maybe it was a reference to Pokemon X and Y, which shares the same setting of the Kalos region and Lumiose City. Maybe it was a callback to the legendary creature Zygarde, who's almost definitely showing up here as well. Or maybe it was as important as Scarlet and Violet's name (not very, that is).

We now know it's tied to one of the coolest-sounding progression systems in the series. You see, when the sun goes down in Lumiose City, the competitive trainers come out - sort of like an urban battle royale free-for-all. There's some cool stealth involved and, of course, the game's remixed battle system, but as you beat more and more trainers, you'll be ranking up from Z to A. Hence the name! You're literally going from rank Z to A.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Direct 3.27.2025 - YouTube

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Nintendo and The Pokemon Company haven't said much about what happens when you finally reach that coveted A rank, except for the fact that the trainer who does so will have "a wish granted." We see one trainer who's randomly going to hold a city-wide marathon if she ever gets there and another figure who wants to "abolish all forms of transit in Lumiose - except taxis!" Very ominous, unless he's the heir to Uber, which would make slightly more sense.

Elsewhere in Kalos, one leaker claimed Pokemon Legends: Z-A is introducing 27 new mega-evolutions and we even saw a few in the trailer above, including one for the spoon-bending Alakazam. I'm just excited to see what my beloved Chikorita turns into when Pokemon Legend: Z-A comes to the OG Switch - and the Nintendo Switch 2 via backward compatibility - sometime this year.

The console might be on its last legs, but there are still tons of upcoming Nintendo Switch games on the horizon.