This article discusses supposed leaked plot details fromPokemon Legends: Z-A.
Pokemon Legends: Z-Afinally has the chance to be the follow-up toPokemon X and Ythat never was, bringing the closure to the Kalos Region that the Gen 6 games lacked. While it’s not a definitive third “Pokemon Z” version,Pokemon Legends: Z-Alooks like it will be following up on some of the unanswered questions left byX and Y, including the whereabouts of AZ after he is reunited with Floette. However, one leak points to the return of a character thatX and Yseemingly closed the book on, suggesting that one Gen 6 game is the canon version of the two.
While the most exciting leaks to come out aboutPokemon Legends: Z-Aare thenew Mega Evolutionsalleged to be present in the game, some plot details have also leaked and suggest one character’s story didn’t end withX and Y. Team Flare’s Lysandre is said to return inPokemon Legends: Z-Adespite seeming to meet a pretty grisly end during the climax ofPokemon X and Y’s story. There is one potential explanation for Lysandre’s survival inLegends: Z-A, but the key is hidden in the minor differences in how the events of the two versions play out.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A Rumored Lysandre Return Would Make X’s Ending Canon
This portion of the article contains spoilers forPokemon X and Y.
How Lysandre’s Fate Changes Between Pokemon X and Y
During the finale of theTeam Flare plot inPokemon X and Y, players are tasked with preventing Lysandre from activating the Ultimate Weapon located beneath Geosenge Town to avoid the devastation he seeks to enact on the planet. Lysandre’s goal is to destroy everything ugly and imperfect while preserving beauty for eternity, utilizing the version’s specific Legendary Pokemon to accomplish half of this goal (Xerneas is the Life Pokemon and Yveltal is the Destruction Pokemon).
However, it’s because of the differences between these two creatures' powers that the events ofX and Y’s story play out slightly differently between versions. When playersdefeat Lysandre inX, he vows to use the Ultimate Weapon to force immortality on everyone in the building as a last-ditch effort, while inY, he attempts to kill everyone instead. This final act ends up destroying the Ultimate Weapon and collapsing the building around Lysandre, leaving him trapped below Geosenge Town while the player escapes.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A Will Likely Pick Up Where X Left Off
Presumably, if Lysandre’s use of the Ultimate Weapon at the end ofX and Ydoes what he claims it will do, he is simply killed inY’s version of events. InX, though, he may be alive and immortal, just trapped beneath the rubble of Geosenge Town. As such, there may be a way that he escaped between theevents ofX and YandLegends: Z-Ato reappear as a villain in the upcoming game, which could help bridge the gap between the timelines of the Gen 6 and Gen 9 games.
Taking this route to bring Lysandre back as an antagonist runs into the problem of alienatingPokemon Yplayers. Usually, the minorplot differences betweenPokemongame versionshave little impact on the overall outcome of the story. WithoutPokemon Legends: Z-A, it likely wouldn’t matter whether Lysandre dies or becomes a trapped immortal because the impact onX and Y’s individual stories is the same. But retconning Lysandre’s role inLegends: Z-Asuddenly means that one version of events is more canon than the other, makingPokemon Yfeel like the inferior version in hindsight.
It’s possible that Lysandre’s return inPokemon Legends: Z-Ais explained in a different way, potentially through something like a multiverse or time travel scenario. Doing so could avoid the discrepancies betweenX and Y’s versions of events.
