Pokémon Legends Z-A Debunks A 12 Year Mystery

Pokémon fans think that the release of Pokémon Legends: Z-A has finally put a 12-year-long mystery to bed, thanks to a rather odd fan theory that popped up following the release of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield.

However, it may not be as “solved” as some folks have been led to believe…

Pokémon Legends: Z-A finally released on both the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 earlier this month, and, depending on who you ask, it’s either the best Pokémon game ever made or an absolute embarrassment to Game Freak’s legacy.

One thing we can be certain of, however, is that the game does indeed include Mega Evolution ‘Mons. Well, I mean, obviously… they’re literally on the box art.

So, why is this a big deal, and what does it have to do with Pokémon X/Y and Pokémon Sword/Shield?

Pokemon Legends Z-A official promo art, Nintendo

There has been an oddly popular theory online since the release of Generation VIII that the events of Pokémon Sword/Shield don’t take place in the same timeline as Pokémon X/Y, and therefore the eternity of the mainline Pokémon games as a whole, due to the fact that there’s no reference to Mega Evolutions.

Admittedly, there is a lot more to the theory than just that, but it is odd that Generation VIII obviously takes place after Pokémon X/Y, yet a non-region-locked mechanic (unlike, for instance, Gigantamaxing) never pops up.

We now know the theory is at least partially debunked because, as folks over on the r/Pokemon subreddit figured out, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is set roughly five years after the events of Pokémon X/Y.

This oddly means that the events of Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Pokémon Sword/Shield take place around the same time, because Pokémon Sun/Moon takes place after Pokémon X/Y.

Alright, well, as long as the events of Pokémon Legends: Z-A are 100% canon, that puts that theory to bed… right?

According to this commenter in the same thread, there’s actually an odd inconsistency regarding Xerneas and Yveltal that may point towards the events of Pokémon Legends: Z-A taking place in a completely separate continuity from the events of Pokémon X/Y.

If I’m wrapping my head around all of this correctly, that would mean that Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Pokémon Sword/Shield may indeed be in a unique continuity of their own, which would essentially mean that everything post-Pokémon Sun/Moon is in a completely separate timeline.

How is this somehow more confusing than The Legend of Zelda timeline?