Pokémon Legends Z-A has made catching Pokémon easier than it’s ever been in the long-running franchise. A new feature in PLZA will now prevent players from knocking Pokémon out instantly.
Pokémon Legends Z-A Won’t Let You Knock Pokémon Out Right Away
With only two weeks to go until launch, outlets have released their final previews of Pokémon Legends Z-A. While most of the new footage is of the game’s opening hour, a major change to how the series handles catching Pokémon has also been revealed.
As anyone who’s played the Game Freak franchise over the last three decades knows, getting a Pokémon’s health down to zero usually means it gets knocked out. However, in PLZA this is no longer the case.
According to previews of Pokémon Legends Z-A, wild Pokémon will now become stunned when you get their health bar down to zero. In the new footage, you can see the Pokémon standing still as stars circle around its head.
While the ‘mon is stunned, you can then throw a Pokéball at it and easily catch it. This is a pretty major shift to one of the series’ core gameplay mechanics. In fact, it basically makes False Swipe obsolete.
So far, there is no word on whether catch rates are increased if you deplete a wild Pokémon’s health bar. In previous games, getting a Pokémon’s HP down in the red, or applying a status effect like paralysis or sleep, would increase your catch odds.
Regardless, the new PLZA knockout mechanic makes catching Pokémon easier than ever before. You will no longer have to worry about accidentally knocking a rare monster out when trying to get its health bar down.
Does this make PLZA too easy?
It should be pointed out that Pokémon will still faint in PLZA if you don’t catch it within 6 or 10 seconds. After you deplete their health, it will just stand there in a stunned animation that keeps looping.
So if you don’t interact with it, it will then eventually disappear off the map like it does in previous games. Still, this is more than enough time to throw a Pokéball. However, the new feature immediately drew mixed reactions from Pokémon fans.
Over on social media, some players questioned whether the new mechanic makes the game too easy. On the other hand, others argued this is one of the best changes Game Freak has implemented in a long time.
As a lifelong Pokémon fan of thirty years, I am going to side with this being a welcome change. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve unintentionally knocked out a Pokémon I was trying to catch.
Plus, this now allows you to focus purely on combat in Pokémon Legends Z-A. I always found it frustrating that you had to purposely hold back in battles when trying to catch Pokémon. This is also why many players abused False Swipe in previous Generations. I, for one, am glad that I don’t have to waste another move slot with that TM ever again.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first classic Pokémon gameplay feature that Pokémon Legends Z-A has changed. In a previous leak, it was revealed that PLZA is also ditching PP for Pokémon moves. So yeah, looks like Game Freak is taking some big swings with this latest entry.
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