The reveal of Pokémon Legends: Z-A's Z-A Royale shows that it will give regular NPCs a level of significance that is unique to the franchise. Of course, NPC trainers have always been a part of the franchise, but the way that they have been implemented has shifted over time. Now, in Legends: Z-A, it seems that these characters will be undergoing one of their most important changes yet.

The Legends: Z-A's battle system will be revolutionary for the franchise, and even more new related features could still be announced in the future, but it is already with noting the impact that the game will have on how NPs are perceived.

Past Pokémon Games’ NPC Trainers Lack Significance

Most Pokémon Trainers Have No Impact And Are Immediately Forgotten

Although any Pokémon game has strong trainers to battle and a cast of memorable characters to interact with, such as rivals and gym leaders, these NPCs only take up a small percentage of any region's total trainer population. Instead, most trainers that one can battle are inherently forgettable. They may have unique names, a few lines of dialogue, and their own Pokémon teams, but none of these characters could ever be considered important within the wider context of their full game.

NPC trainers often function as unavoidable obstacles in older games, something that can make them inherently frustrating. On the other hand, they are noticeably more optional in more recent titles like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, but this can see them fading into the background entirely. Prize money aside, there is little inherent meaning to seeking out these trainers, unless one is deliberately aiming to defeat them all. However, this is all about to change in Legends: Z-A.

Legends: Z-A Makes Its NPC Trainers Feel Important

Every Trainer Battle Contributes To Important Progress In The Z-A Royale

In stark contrast to their negligible role in past titles, Legends: Z-A has made its various NPC trainers a key part of progression in the game. It is clear that a large part of gameplay will revolve around climbing the ranks of the Z-A Royale, and, by extension, battling the many other trainers taking part in it. Although it is unclear if this in itself will be the start of a new Pokémon trend, the implications for Legends: Z-A alone are massive.

The collective goal of having a wish granted gives these trainers a much stronger motivation for their own actions compared to other titles, where the classic convention of simply battling on sight could often feel like a flimsy justification.

It is worth noting that the nature of Promotion Matches means that there will be at least 26 individual trainers that will need to be battled (a significant number compared to the core cast of most Pokémon titles), one for each letter of the alphabet. Of course, the higher ranks are likely to include characters with a greater significance to the overall story, but a large portion of the lower ranks will presumably consist of more generic NPCs. This inextricably links these minor characters to the core plot in a way they have never been before in a Pokémon game.

The Z-A Royale Encourages Finding As Many NPCs As Possible

Trainer Battles Are Highlighted As Something To Embrace In Legends: Z-A

Whereas NPC trainers in past games might be avoided whenever possible, typically out of convenience given that they are essentially a complex form of obstacle, the next Pokémon game will force people who take this approach to reverse their thinking entirely. Venturing into Legends: Z-A's battle zones at night means deliberately hunting down trainers in order to climb the rankings of the Z-A Royale. In turn, this will make each and every battle a far more exciting prospect, and something to look forward to rather than just see as a chore.

Of course, this approach will be greatly assisted by the new battle features in Legends: Z-A, which give this aspect of gameplay far more depth than previous titles. For example, the ability to effectively ambush trainers alone will create a very different experience to what is traditional for the franchise. Similarly, the new ability to run from these trainer battles will give the protagonist a level of agency they have never had before, mitigating the potential stress of moving through a trainer-populated area with a weak team.

Although there will undoubtedly be a central cast of prominent NPCs in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the game's treatment of its more generic characters means that they will also nevertheless have their own time in the spotlight. The Z-A royale will give what would otherwise simply be generic opponents a level of legitimate significance within the game. this is a notable change from how the franchise normally treats these kinds of NPCs, and could easily enhance the general experience of battling trainers for the entirety of the game.