Pokemon Z or what?

So with Perfect Zygarde revealed, does that mean we are getting just a single sequel to XY? The most obvious straightforward Z version?

I don't think so, for several reasons.

1. Perfect Zygarde does not resemble Z anymore.

Instead it now has more features that are reminiscent of Xerneas and Yveltal, particularly the X and Y-shape aspects. It has 4 spikes on it's "crown" and 4 X-symmetrical "shoulder-wings", but these wings are also flat and elongated like Yveltals, while also having a 5th one as a tail, which along with the wings coming out sideways form its shoulders combines makes a Y. The Z-shape we saw in its serpentine 50% forme is practically gone.

So this makes at least the point, that if there is to be a single version, it would much likelier be called Pokemon XYZ or even Pokemon XY2, rather than Pokemon Z.

2. Thousand Waves / Thousand Arrows

As before, there is still 2 counterpart moves that are Variations of Land's Wrath. Them being Variations implies that they would replace Land's Wrath one at a time (even moreso than Ice Burn/Freeze Shock replacing Glaciate), rather than learning them in addition to it (it would have 3 moves that are all Land's Wrath in terms of type, power, accuracy, targets, being physical, PP, just with different added effect).

Land's Wrath, an inferior version of Thousand Arrows/Waves

It could of course also be that the canine 10% Zygarde-form gets the Waves one while the perfect one gets the Arrows. But Waves is still superior to Land's Wrath, so it would be strange for the inferior form to learn it. Usually in Pokemon, inferior forms either learn the identical signature move, or lack just that in their learnset (Phione not learning Tail Glow and Heart Swap for example despite it's learnset being identical to Manaphys otherwise).

3. 6 game-origin markers for Pentagon-symbol

Long ago, while researching the game-data of XY, the guys at projectpokemon found that there is a special marker that each Pokemon can have, which is determined by the version the pokemon is encountered in and then causes the blue pentagon-symbol to show up in the status screen (also known as "Kalos-born"-symbol from before ORAS). So X uses a different value than Y, and if you look at the data of a Pokemon with the pentagon-symbol, you can tell what version it is from. They also found that there is a total of 6 different values that cause the pentagon-symbol. X and Y were the first two of course. When ORAS came out, it was confirmed that OR and AS use 2 more of those values... which leaves another 2 markers for generation 6. And that would make perfect sense if they intended to have 2 XY-sequel versions as the final games this generation.

4. 2 Versions automatically sell more than one

If Gamefreak finds even the slightest "reason" to do 2 versions, they will.

But the question remains. Given that Perfect Zygarde already embodies both Life (blue/Xerneas) and Death (red/Yveltal), what could possibly be on 2 box covers then?

Here are some possibilities:

• A second set of forms for Zygarde.

One part that seems imperfect about Perfect Zygarde to me, is that its design is dominated by black. Especially since the serpentine forme seemed to be quite equally and asymmetrically balanced between black and green. So what if there was a second set of forms? With the other perfect Zygarde also having red AND blue marks, but being a very different design and dominated by green colour?

There is even precedent for something like this happening. Mega Mewtwo. We were shown Mewtwos Mega evolution, we saw it battle Genesect in a Pokemon movie, and it was only almost a year later that we found out, that there is actually two Mega Mewtwos and the one we knew was just Mega Mewtwo Y.

Perhaps Perfect Zygarde 1 will be featured in the Mega special Act 4, but the movie will focus on the hypothetical other Perfect Zygarde we haven't seen yet.

• Even stronger than "perfect", version exclusive Zygarde forms.

A bit of a stretch considering that the one we know is already flat out called perfect.

• Intermediary "75%" stages between the 50% and the Perfect form.

This one is more realistic than the previous, because the known Perfect one would then be the ultimate one that you need an Item or other trigger from both games brought into one.

Kind of like, if instead of there not being an "original Dragon" at all in gen V, but were shown the "original Dragon" first and then got BW2 with Black/White Kyurem on the cover. Doing properly with Zygarde what they didn't with Kyurem.

• Mega/Primal Xerneas and Yveltal.

Still entirely possible that they would get some kind of new forms too, which would explain why Zygarde suddenly gets activated when it didn't the last time.

• some new form for AZ-Floette

That would cetrainly be unexpected, since it is already a special NPC-related variation of a Pokemon that is not even fully evolved, but who knows what Gamefreak could have planned for it that we would never see coming.

I would not have included this point if it wasn't for the Pokemon Marketing Director having said that "Flowers" are the near future of Pokemon.

Also, for some reason, the shiny form of Zygarde has the same colour palette as Florges. Coincidence or could this possibly somehow become relevant? Probably not..

AZs Floette is definitely going to play a role in the next game though, regardless of who makes it on the covers.

• An ORAS-sequel with a new Primal mascot.

Yeah.. I've fallen very low at this point.

But let's entertain the idea anyway. Generation 6 so far, has had 2 pairs of games. Each time red and blue. The logical completion of this set would be a pair of green games, each being a sequel to each pair.

It's also certainly not coincidence that both XY and ORAS feature mascots that threaten to cause huge imbalance to the ecosystem. And in both regions, there is a third legendary, which is green, is primarily a Dragon type, but having opposite secondary types of Flying and Ground.

Obviously if the "other green game" was a third Hoenn game centered around Rayquaza, it would not be an Emerald remake, it would have to be an actual sequel. And it also would not have Mega Rayquaza on the cover, but some new form for it instead, which would be even more powerful.

A primal Rayquaza? a Perfect Rayquaza? A Rayquaza that has Alpha and Omega symbols on it's body? A Primal Regigigas?? Yeah, told you this one was shaky.

As ridiculous as it sounds, right now is actually the only situation when it would be profitable for Gamefreak to release 2 completely different games simultaneously. Why?

Because both projects would be sequels, meaning neither had to be made from scratch (one is an altered XY-game the other an altered ORAS-game), so just a few places changed and added, and a new story thrown into the already existing regions.

But while they would be the most diverse pair of games so far, they would still both share many of the new features that would be added, so it's not like they would have to be handled like 2 completely different products.

They'd both get the Maison replaced by a full-blown long-awaited and teased at Battle Frontier. They'd both include the same third wave of new Mega evolutions. And they would both have featrues cross-over that players missed out on (Soaring and Contests in Kalos, Boutiques & Trainer customization in Hoenn). And the plots and characters could of course cross-over between the regions.

This is the least realistic possibility of all of these of course.

New forms for Zygarde!

Corocoro October issue has finally leaked, and oh boy, got us some proper art of what was being teased at since June, and what we've been speculating about for almost 2 years now.

So basically it appears that Zygarde takes on semblence of different life-forms in different stages of power.

It starts off in the core of biology, as single-cell-creatures.
At 10% it already takes on the form of a more regular animal, in this case a dog.
At 50% it is the majestic looking serpentine design we already knew the whole time.
At 100%, it becomes a shadow overlord kaiju-mecha-perfect-cell monster! Which is supposedly stronger than Xerneas and Yveltal specifically (perhaps a hint at a conflinct between them in the climax of the XY-sequel/s as I've been speculating about before?)


Furthermore, the creatures picked for the designs seem to be based on (Norse mythology of course) Lokis children:
-Fenrir, the wolf
-Jörmungandr, the serpent
-Hel

Now what is Hel you wonder?

A "humanoid" goddess of the dead.

Often described as being half human and half blank (which explains the perfect forms humanoid posture, and Zygardes half-colored-design-aspect), or as half alive and half dead!

That is perfectly captured with the blue and red hexagonal patterns on it's "wings", as they represent Xerneas (the legendary of life) and Yveltal (the legendary of death)

(interestingly, the colors in that order happen to resemble the french flag, which is especially evident on its chest)

"Hel in a reading can represent a time of simultaneous endings and beginnings, the point at which the circle is completed. She can also indicate integrity, as opposites unite to form a stronger whole."

Perfect enough so far I would say.

The beginning and the end, at the same time. Those 2 were a big theme in ORAS, the alpha and omega. As well as the character AZ in XY, and Zinnia/Aster (the first and final letters), it's really tying all the elements together it seems.


There is also an interesting detail visible in the Anime-Poster. The spectrum-line on Perfect-Zygardes chest can actually open up to reveal 5 hexagons!

Considering that we have had 4 games so far in this generation, and both times it was shades of red and blue.. maybe the hexagons represent the four legendaries that bring imbalance to the ecosystem if they awaken?

With white in the center representing Zygarde itself? (as white hexagons are generally a feature of its design). But inluding Groudon and Kyogre, while excluding Rayquaza (although that did also happen to it in ORAS, being shove aside into a post-game quest) would be strange.

A Zygarde-Cell with an inactive core

But there is something else these 5 colored hexagons could represent...

Let's get back to one of Zygardes forms. The Cells. There is 2 kinds of those, ones that look like they're in a weak state, and ones that look lively.

A Zygarde-Cell with an active core

They look almost identical, both having a hexagon in their core, with the main difference being that the lively one has a red hexagon.

Could there be 5 Zygarde-"Cores"? Red, orange, white, cyan and blue.

I can certainly imagine the climax of the plot for the upcoming game to be a big battle between Xerneas and Yveltal or something of equal importance, that brings big "imbalance to the ecosystem", threatening to destroy the world. And we as the player having to go search for Zygarde.

But with the twist that we need to collect all of the Cores scattered in the region somewhere. Zygarde would then morph into a stronger and stronger creature with each Core that is gained, and finally into the Perfect Zygarde, with the 5 chest-hexagons representing the 5 Cores. All of this is pure speculation of course.

Southern Kalos is a high possibility for the game. Assuming it follows the same structure (coast-central-mountain), the Kalos pentagon symbol might change to something like this:

If that were the case, the obvious thing to do would be to have us look for one Core in each of them.

Can't wait for a proper Sugimori art instead of Anime-art, but I love where this is going.

I'll leave you with something I couldn't resist doing.