TL;DR
- Pokemon Horizons introduces a clockwork-themed Poke Ball used to capture Zygarde, likely appearing in Pokemon Legends: Z-A
- The anime’s villain Gibeon uses this special ball as part of his utopia-building plan involving multiple legendaries
- Zygarde’s design elements match the game’s logo, confirming its central role in the upcoming title
- The special ball system connects to Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ crafting mechanics for catching powerful Pokemon
- This reveals potential new gameplay systems involving specialized capture methods for legendary Pokemon
The Pokemon Horizons anime series has evolved into a strategic platform for previewing upcoming game features, with a distinctive new Poke Ball design potentially revealing core mechanics for Pokemon Legends: Z-A.
Throughout Ash Ketchum’s extensive tenure as the anime’s protagonist spanning over two decades, the television adaptation maintained considerable creative distance from the video games. While they featured shared creatures and characters, numerous inconsistencies demonstrated the anime’s independent narrative rules—such as Charizard ignoring commands despite gym badge achievements, Gary obtaining an unconventional number of Kanto badges, and Pikachu defeating ground-type Rhydon with electric attacks.
Pokemon Horizons marks a significant departure from this tradition. Although Liko and her Sprigatito companion follow their own standalone storyline, the series has consistently debuted new content before the games’ official releases. This pattern was first observed when the show unveiled Terapagos’ basic form ahead of the games.
This trend continues prominently in Pokemon Horizons: The Search for Laqua. A newly introduced antagonist named Gibeon successfully captures a rare shiny Zygarde using an exceptionally unique Poke Ball design. These developments strongly suggest deliberate teasing of features players can anticipate in Pokemon Legends: Z-A.
What does Pokemon Horizons show about Pokemon Legends: Z-A?
Pokemon Horizons prominently features an innovative Poke Ball design specifically engineered to contain Zygarde, which will likely become available in Pokemon Legends: Z-A.
The primary antagonist in Pokemon Horizons is Gibeon, an elderly character pursuing the creation of an ideal society. To accomplish this ambitious goal, he seeks to harness the abilities of several legendary Pokemon including Terapagos and Rayquaza. However, he already possesses one legendary creature: Zygarde. Gibeon’s signature Pokemon is a rare shiny Zygarde, typically depicted accompanying him in its 10% forme resembling a canine.
Zygarde appears destined to play a central role in Pokemon Legends: Z-A. The game’s official branding incorporates green and black coloring that directly references Zygarde’s color palette. Furthermore, the Z character in the logo displays multiple layered hexagons, mirroring the geometric patterns visible across all of Zygarde’s various formes.
A revealing flashback sequence in Pokemon Horizons: Search for Laqua provides audiences with a probable preview of Pokemon Legends: Z-A content. This retrospective scene shows Gibeon successfully capturing Zygarde using an extraordinary Poke Ball featuring distinctive clockwork-inspired design elements.
Beyond Zygarde’s confirmed involvement, this discovery creates meaningful connections to Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
During the concluding segments of the main narrative in Arceus, players must collaborate with one of the regional clan leaders to construct a specialized Poke Ball capable of capturing both Palkia and Dialga. This unique capture device possesses its own distinctive visual appearance and functional properties.
The clockwork-themed Poke Ball shown in Horizons likely represents an advanced version of the crafting system introduced in Arceus. Players should anticipate more complex ball-crafting recipes requiring rare materials and specific conditions. This mechanic may tie into Zygarde’s cellular biology theme, potentially requiring players to collect Zygarde Cells throughout Lumiose City to unlock special crafting capabilities.
While specific details about Pokemon Legends: Z-A remain limited, players now have concrete evidence of specialized capture mechanics to anticipate.
The clockwork Poke Ball design suggests several potential gameplay innovations. The intricate mechanism might indicate timed capture sequences or puzzle-based catching minigames. Alternatively, it could represent balls with enhanced capture rates specifically for legendary Pokemon or certain Pokemon types.
Gameplay analysis suggests this special Poke Ball system will likely require:
- Advanced material gathering throughout Lumiose City districts
- Specific crafting station locations tied to urban redevelopment themes
- Potential time-based mechanics aligning with the clockwork theme
- Integration with Zygarde’s complete forme transformation mechanics
This represents a significant evolution from Pokemon Legends: Arceus, where special balls were primarily narrative devices. In Z-A, these specialized capture tools may become integral to progression and legendary Pokemon management.
Action Checklist
- Replay Pokemon Legends: Arceus to master the special Poke Ball crafting system
- Study Zygarde’s lore and multiple formes from Pokemon X/Y and Sun/Moon
- Analyze Pokemon Horizons episodes featuring Gibeon’s clockwork Poke Ball
- Practice timing-based capture mechanics in other Pokemon games
- Research urban development themes in Lumiose City for potential crafting location hints
No reproduction without permission：Game Guides Online » New Pokemon Legends: Z-A details possibly revealed in anime How Pokemon Horizons reveals key gameplay mechanics and special Poke Balls for Pokemon Legends: Z-A