Z-A’s DLC Gives Zeraora An Edgy Mega Evolution

Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s Mega Dimension DLC is just a few weeks away, and it’s bringing a handful of new Mega Evolutions, a roguelike mode, and additional story to the Nintendo Switch RPG. Today, Game Freak announced that Zeraora, one of the rare mythical Pokémon from Generation VI, is getting its own Mega Evolution in the DLC with a new trailer, and it sure does sound like the datamined list of new Megas is completely legit.

The trailer is brief, but shows the Legends: Z-A protagonist running around and fighting hostile Pokémon in a weird bizarro version of Lumiose City with Zeraora by their side. Just as the pair seems about to be overwhelmed, Zeraora mega evolves and manages to win the fight:

Legends: Z-A‘s Mega Evolutions have been so lopsided in terms of the goofy/cool ratio that it’s kind of refreshing to see Mega Zeraora is a super edgy, overdesigned electric cat boy. It’s straightforward and has that “middle schooler’s notebook doodle” design philosophy that is pretty prominent in a lot of the original Mega Evolution designs from Pokémon X and Y. I like the silly designs like Mega Victreebell and Slowbro, but we need some cool cats in the mix, too.

Zeraora is one of several leaked Mega Evolutions dataminers found in Legends: Z-A‘s code, and thus far, every new form Game Freak has revealed for Mega Dimension has been on that list. We knew Raichu was getting two forms, then Baxcalibur and Chimecho were revealed in the DLC’s first gameplay trailer, so we’re just waiting for the rest of the list at this point.

Some of the new Mega Evolutions will apparently include new forms for Pokémon who have already received Megas in the past, including Lucario, Absol, and Garchomp. At the moment, it’s unclear if those forms will have the same “X” or “Y” naming convention of other Pokémon who have gotten multiple Mega forms, including Raichu, Charizard, and Mewtwo, so fans have taken to calling them “Z” forms. Until we see those, I guess we’re stuck with Game Freak’s latest attempt to force Zeraora on the Pokémon community despite it never really feeling like it has that big of a fanbase. The Pokémon Company is determined to make fetch happen, so we’ll see if this Mega Evolution changes hearts and minds.