Although much of Pokémon Legends: Z-A's plot is still a mystery, I believe that one element of the newest trailer points firmly towards a major aspect of the events that will unfold in Lumiose City. Lumiose City is a relatively small setting compared to the entire region of Hisui in Legends: Arceus, but its streets still hold plenty of narrative potential. Of course, with the game still many months away, it is little surprise that many details are still being kept under wraps, but that does not mean that careful observation cannot give rise to some likely theories.

While conditions in Pokémon Legends: Z-A's version of Lumiose City are mostly a mystery, the most recent trailer for the game does still offer some intriguing details regarding the setting. For example, the trailer gave a definitive glimpse of Legends: Z-A approaches, but even now I feel that one aspect of the plot has already been perfectly foreshadowed.

Legends: Z-A’s New Trailer Suggests Lumiose City Hosts Organized Battles

The Protagonist Will Likely Climb The Ranks Of A New Battle Organization

The closing shot of Legends: Z-A's newest trailer is a short animated sequence featuring a Rotom Phone, which displays an announcement of a "promotion match" alongside a stylized rendition of what appears to be Prism Tower. The concept of a battle involving a promotion invokes a sense that the player will be engaged in rising through the ranks of some kind of organization. As such, I believe that this could actually be hinting towards Legends: Z-A's equivalent to quelling the frenzied Nobles in Legends: Arceus: a series of particularly tough battles taking one to the peak of Lumiose’s battling culture.

Of course, this would not be a new concept for Kalos; Pokémon X and Y feature the Battle Chateau, where Trainers can ascend through ranks of nobility as a mark of their victories. A higher rank naturally provides stronger opponents, ultimately including the Elite Four and Champion in the roster. It is unclear if Legends: Z-A will feature a new incarnation of the Battle Chateau or something else, but regardless it seems obvious that these ranked battles will be significant both to gameplay and the people of Lumiose.

Prism Tower Won’t Just Be A Gym In Legends: Z-A

The More Focused Setting Of Legends: Z-A Means It Must Take On A Different Role

Prism Tower has long since been established as the home of the Lumiose Gym, run by the Electric-type specialist Clemont. However, without access to the rest of the Kalos Region, a traditional Gym experience would make little sense in Legends: Z-A. Because of this, repurposing Lumiose City's most prominent landmark for a different, but still plot-significant battle experience makes perfect sense. Whether this is connected to or run by Clemont or another party like Quasartico Inc. is again unclear, but battles at the Tower certainly have the potential to dramatically shape the plot of Legends: Z-A.

In Pokémon X and Y's Prism Tower, the player must ride an elevator and battle Gym Trainers on each floor. It is easy to see how a new ranking-based format could see each rank likewise being assigned to a different level of the tower.

There are some dramatic changes coming to battles in Legends: Z-A, with the game introducing new mechanics that put an entirely fresh spin on the classic Pokémon experience. With this in mind, it feels perfectly logical for progression in Pokémon Legends: Z-A to be based around this new form of battling. Because of this, I believe that this will be a core aspect of the game, at the heart of Lumiose City as much as Prism Tower itself is.