After 512 hours in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, it’s clear that one cut feature held the game back from greatness

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It’s hard to believe Pokemon Legends: Z-A has already been out for three months, and the Mega Dimension DLC just came out last month! Despite its flaws, I’ve been playing it almost every day, which makes the time fly. While Pokemon Legends: Z-A isn’t perfect – I actually enjoyed playing Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet even more when they first released – I’m still having a good time. I stopped playing those Gen 9 games months after their final DLC. Arceus felt incredibly fresh and new, and even though I think Z-A is a better game overall, Arceus was more charming and enjoyable. That makes me wonder why that’s the case.

Having played through Pokemon Legends: Z-A, I think its biggest problem isn’t the smaller Pokedex, the way you play, the new battles, or even the repetitive parts of the DLC. The real issue, in my opinion, is that the game removed Pokemon Abilities altogether. While this was likely done to keep the game consistent with Pokemon Legends: Arceus or to build on its popularity, I believe it was a serious error.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Said Goodbye to Abilities Way Too Soon

Why Pokemon Legends: Z-A Would Be a 9/10 With Abilities

Some Pokémon abilities are truly game-changing – like how Intimidate on Incineroar heavily influenced competitive battles in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, or how the Drizzle ability could make or break entire Rain teams. Even the weaker abilities are usually enjoyable or offer a unique twist, and I believe they’re too important to remove from Pokémon Legends: Z-A or future games. In fact, I think Z-A would have been significantly improved with abilities, and here’s my reasoning.

  • Rogue Mega Evolution boss battles could have been harder or more intense based on the random ability of the Mega Pokemon involved.
  • Similarly, it would have been more fun to explore Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Hyperspace Areas and Wild Zones with the Pokemon in them having random abilities from their species’ selection. It would also have been more rewarding, as catching “repeat” mons with Hidden Abilities or a second ability wouldn’t have felt just one more step towards completing Mable’s tasks or Hyperspace Surveys.
  • Fighting trainers and wild Alpha Pokemon in Legends: Z-A would have been a better, more diverse experience with abilities in the game, making each encounter more memorable and unique. Instead, these things can get very samey very fast.
  • Training and catching Pokemon would have been more meaningful in terms of teambuilding, especially for battles like the level 100 team of Taunie/Urbain.
  • Shinies would hold more weight, becoming a key element of replayability to catch shiny Pokemon in Legends: Z-A that have the various abilities so to test them, or maybe do this in order to collect them all.
  • There could have been a way for players to change abilities and ways to grind them, like Pokemon Scarlet and Violet‘s Ability Patch and Ability Capsule. This would have made endgame content more engaging overall.
  • Abilities could have made Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s best teams in ranked battles more diverse, and allow for the use of even more Pokemon. One could argue the lack of abilities already does this, but if Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s Dondozo has Commander in a game with no abilities, the playing field is not exactly leveled.

I think Abilities are essential to all Pokemon games, including the Legends series, and here’s why. The games themselves show Abilities are a core part of the experience – for example, Mimikyu’s Disguise ability still works in Z-A, proving they can’t really be removed.

Mimikyu has a special ability that significantly reduces damage from the first attack it receives, limiting it to only 1/8 of its total health, even if that attack would normally knock it out.

Because Pokémon like Mimikyu are so closely tied to their abilities – both in how you play the game and what makes them unique – the new game seems to be arguing for keeping abilities as a core part of the experience. Honestly, the updated Mega Evolutions in Pokémon Legends: Z-A would have been much better if they had abilities, rather than relying on players to reach the Pokémon Champions to unlock them. This change takes away player control and ultimately makes the game less fun.

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2026-01-13 03:05