Pokemon Legends: ZAThe competitive multiplayer scene runs into a problem with players not looking very competitive at all and seeming to go AFK for lengths that span entire battles. There is no definite explanation why some Pokemon Legends: ZA players refuse to move during four-player rated matches, but the Mega Stones offered as rewards are the most likely motive.
Launched on October 26 for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, Pokemon Legends: ZASales in its opening week exceeded 5.8 million copies sold, with Circana's Mat Piscatella declaring it the best-selling physical game of 2025 to date. It received a very mixed reception from the fanbase upon launch, with player ratings on OpenCritic split out of 50, but these big sales numbers suggest that there are probably still plenty of gamers out there who got their monster-fighting fix. Pokemon Legends: ZA.
The new Pokemon Legends: ZA Update fixes the Mega Stone Bug
Pokemon Legends: ZA just received a new update that fixes a problematic bug affecting Mega Stones for Greninja and Delphox, and new rewards are available.
Many Pokémon Legends: ZA Ranked Match players don't actually play
However, recent reports indicate what appears to be a growing player movement Pokemon Legends: ZAmultiplayer games and you either attack while standing still or do nothing at all. This phenomenon has baffled some competitive players who have encountered opponents who seemingly refuse to attack anyone. Others have found static players who only attack when someone gets too close, meaning they may have set their controllers to auto-attack and then exit the game. Fans aren't sure why this is happening, but the most likely explanation may include Pokemon Legends: ZA's rewards for participating in ranked battles and how to get them.
After entering Season 3 on November 27 Pokemon Legends: ZARewards for Ranked Battles include Safari Balls, Seeds of Mastery, Bottle Caps, and Nuggets, but the reward for reaching higher ranks in each of the first three seasons was the Mega Stone for evolving one of the original starters of the Kalos region, with Chesnaughtite being the current top reward. Many fans have expressed displeasure with Game Freak for withholding Mega Stones for such popular Pokémon behind the ranked battle system, and the wave of AFK players in multiplayer matches could be the primary cause of these events.
The ranked battle system has been criticized for a number of reasons, including poor connections and lag issues, which could explain why so many players seem stuck. But another possibility is that players use the rules of ranked battles to effortlessly rank higher, with some saying that reaching higher ranks is easy even for players who come in fourth place every time, because winning isn't the only way players earn points. Matches last only three minutes and feature ranked battle rewards Pokemon Legends: ZA Easier to get from the start in Season 2, just showing up can be a new, if boring, strategy for players to use to get rewards.
Some players are demanding that the development team take steps to punish players who may be abusing the system, as they feel they are ruining the online experience for those who really want to feel the rush of competition. New rules for online play were added prior to the start of Season 3, but they focus on players tackling the online battle system using multiple Nintendo Accounts, Switch or Switch 2 consoles, or save files to manipulate match results. It's not yet clear if Nintendo will take any action against AFK players prior to Season 4's release, but with the launch date just over a week after the Mega Dimension DLC's planned release date, players may be more invested in the single-player aspects of the game once it appears.
- Released
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October 16, 2025
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Fantasy violence, in-game purchases
