Pokemon Legends Z-A announcement shocks Johto and Unova fans

The announcement of the Lumiose City-set Pokemon Legends Z-A has sparked some hilarious reactions from fans who assumed a Johto or Unova game would be coming next.

It’s safe to say no one was expecting Pokemon Legends Z-A.

The announcement of a Legends Arceus-like game set in Lumiose City took fans by surprise, garnering mostly positive reactions from those excited by the return of Mega Evolution and hoping to finally solve some of Kalos’ mysteries.

Outside of the excitement, though, are plenty of reactions from fans who had assumed a Johto or Unova-set game would be coming next – and some of them are particularly hilarious.

Pokemon fans amused after Kalos announced amid Johto and Unova speculation

Given the historical pattern of mainline Pokemon releases, most fans assumed the next region to get a remake or reimagination would be Unova. Some even took The Indigo Disk’s setting – a Unovan school – to be confirmation that we’d soon be returning to the region introduced in Black and White.

Others speculated that the next game would instead be set in the Johto region, as that setting hasn’t been explored since 2009’s HeartGold and SoulSilver.

However, fans of those regions will have to wait, as Legends Z-A instead returns to Kalos. As one Twitter user put it, “gamefreak walking into an auditorium full of people arguing over whether the next game will be johto or unova, muttering ‘kalos’ into the microphone, and walking out,” referencing the brief reveal throwing water on months of speculation.

This disconnect between what players expected and what The Pokemon Company actually announced has led to some great responses.

Others leaned into Kalos’ French inspirations.

Regardless of the jokes, most fans seem genuinely excited by Legends Z-A. The Kalos region is known for leaving a lot of loose ends that players at the time expected “Pokemon Z” to tie up.

Beyond that, this announcement subverting expectations is being viewed as a positive sign that Pokemon Legends Z-A is being made based on exciting ideas from the developers rather than a desire to deliver on specific fan expectations.

“Pokemon recognized the potential behind combining the Kalos Region with the Legends series and they are so smart for that,” said one Twitter user.

While those who were hoping for new Johto and Unova games may be disappointed, there’s a good chance we’ll see those in the future – hopefully in a form that gets fans this excited.