Revealing more and more details about the upcoming Pokémon Legends: Z-A at a steady pace, developer Game Freak and Nintendo have released a pair of new videos for the title, giving us our first look at Mega Malamar – a Mega-evolved version of Malamar. Check out both of the videos below.
The first video gives us a look at how well Mega Malamar can do against challenging opponents like a Charizard and a Dragonite, disposing each of them with ease thanks to its hypnosis-based powers. The video ends with the trainer of Mega Malamar themselves getting hypnotised into seeing the rest of their Pokémon crew as more Malamars.
The second video is a slightly longer one, featuring an in-universe news report about the popularity of Malamar in Lumiose City – the main setting for the upcoming Pokémon Legends: Z-A. The live-action video focuses on just why the citizens of Lumiose City are obsessed with the Pokémon, focusing on Malamar’s hypnosis powers, and how a trainer was being careless when they unleashed the Pokémon into the city in a bid to show everyone its wonders.
Among the citizens of Lumiose City that are falling victim to the allure of Malamar are an artist, who has taken to creating lavish and extravagant art pieces about Malamar, and a taxi driver, who seems obsessed enough with the Pokémon to cover himself in stuffed toys based on Malamar. “With Malamar in my rear view, there’s no job I can’t do,” said the taxi driver in the video.
For a quick history lesson behind Malamar, the Pokémon first made its debut in the sixth generation of the franchise, which started with Pokémon X and Y in 2013, and ended with Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire in 2014. It is a Dark/Psychic dual-type Pokémon, evolving from Inkay at level 30. Pokémon Legends: Z-A marks the first time that Malamar will have access to a Mega Evolution.
Back in July, Game Freak had also unveiled the idea of Rogue Mega Evolutions for Pokémon Legends: Z-A. The feature has been described as a strange phenomenon where wild Pokémon that live in Lumiose City can essentially end up going berserk and Mega Evolve. Players will be tasked with stopping this, since the unchecked strength of Mega Evolved Pokémon poses a danger to the entire city.
August saw the release of another trailer for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, this time around focusing on multiplayer. The trailer confirmed that, as part of the Battle Club and Link Battle systems in the title, up to four Pokémon trainers can duke it out in free-for-all battles.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is coming to the Nintendo Switch and the Switch 2 on October 16. The title is also available for pre-order. Along with the game itself, Nintendo has also confirmed a bundle featuring Pokémon Legends: Z-A along with a Nintendo Switch 2. Priced at $499.99, the bundle will include a digital code for the title, and the pricing is similar to the Mario Kart World Switch 2 bundle that was available when the console launched.