Published Mar 8, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT
Andrea is an editor at GameRant, where she has been writing professionally about video games for nearly five years. She became a gamer for life at 8, thanks to a copy of Pokemon Red and her Game Boy. Her passion for games was combined with work when she came across GameRant in 2021, so she started her career in video game writing. Andrea loves games where she's tasked with thinking strategically. She has an obscene amount of hours in Path of Exile (almost 8,000 on Steam), over 2,000 hours in Destiny 2, probably around 10,000 hours in Pokemon games, which she always completes the Pokedex of and tries to fill the shiny Pokedex too, 100% completion in multiple RPGs of various kinds, like Borderlands 2 and 3, Oblivion (and Oblivion Remastered), she plays MMOs religiously (especially World of Warcraft), and she has a vast experience in playing and building decks for Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon TCG Pocket, and Disney Lorcana. Andrea has extensive professional experience as a translator and ghostwriter. She has a BA in Psychology from 2015, a Master's Degree in Communication & Translation from 2016, and a Master's Degree in Copywriting & Advertising from 2019. One of Andrea's favorite articles for GameRant is about Pokemon Violet probably outselling Pokemon Scarlet, which is what happened. One of the articles she's most proud of is about The Last of Us 2's Ellie and the game's perpetual cycle of revenge.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A got all the remaining Mega Evolutions in the game recently, between Mega Blaziken in Season 7 and the newly revealed and released Mega Garchomp Z. There are seemingly no plans to expand the game further beyond the Mega Dimension DLC, but it's still being supported with new updates and seasonal content to keep it alive, presumably in order to increase its lifespan to when Pokemon Winds and Waves will debut. This is not going to be easy to do, considering that Pokemon Winds and Waves will launch in 2027 as opposed to later this year, but if Pokemon Legends: Z-A's upcoming update is any indication, the foundations are there.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Mega Dimension DLC does offer a lot of content for those willing to explore every nook and cranny of Hyperspace Lumiose, so it alone can keep players busy for quite some time — especially shiny hunters. However, if you're looking for strategic fights and a more competitive setting, Ranked Battles is where the magic happens. The competitive scene has gained a lot of traction since launch, with content creators organizing tournaments and Pokemon Legends: Z-A offering new rewards each season. Now, on March 11, a new season launches, and it completely changes what the game has to offer.
Some Pokemon can only evolve through trading in Pokemon Legends Z-A, and there are public trade codes you can use to complete your Pokedex.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A's new free Alpha starter gift is a good way to promote Pokemon Home support for when it launches, but in the meantime, fans can enjoy new challenges and rewards in Season 8. Unlike past seasons, which progressively unlocked more and more of the base game and DLC's Pokedex for use in Ranked Battles, Season 8 has an entirely new ruleset and rewards. It goes as follows:
- Players can only use new Mega Evolutions in Pokemon Legends: Z-A and their corresponding Pokemon, which means that only 44 critters (and 45 Mega Evolutions) are legal: Meganium Emboar Feraligatr Barbaracle Starmie Floette (Eternal Flower only) Meowstic Pyroar Raichu Clefable Scolipede Victreebel Excadrill Garchomp Absol Lucario Eelektross Dragonite Malamar Dragalge Froslass Hawlucha Scrafty Chandelure Greninja Falinks Chesnaught Skarmory Delphox Drampa Zygarde Scovillain Glimmora Tatsugiri Baxcalibur Chimecho Golisopod Golurk Staraptor Crabominable Heatran Darkrai Magearna Zeraora
- Players can only use new Mega Stones as held items for the matching Pokemon, and no other item is allowed.
- Ranked rewards are exclusively Mega Shards, with 300 at Rank A, 200 from Rank B to E, 100 from Rank F to R, and 50 from Rank S and below.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Who’s That Character? Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
With only 44 available Pokemon, the meta is going to be quite varied in terms of team compositions, but not so much in terms of which mons will see more usage across the board. Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Mega Garchomp Z will most likely dominate the scene due to its powerful base form, and so will the likes of Mega Magearna, Mega Heatran, Mega Darkrai, Mega Golisopod, Mega Excadrill, and Mega Skarmory.
Yet, this is a refreshing ruleset, as popular items like Life Orb, Expert Belt, and Focus Sash will be unavailable. Not only that, but this regulation heavily favors experimenting with the new Mega Evolutions in the game, which is a great departure from previous seasons. In many cases, Mega Evolutions were not used at all, or maybe on one Pokemon per team, as using powerful items with Plus Moves in Pokemon Legends: Z-A was the most optimal choice. As such, this is a great opportunity to play around with the moveset and stats of all the new Mega Evolutions in the game, especially seeing how they will become available in Pokemon Champions to use. This may not be new content per se, but it's an entirely new era for Z-A.
