I have been following Pokémon Legends: Z-A leaks for a while, and I was impressed this weekend by how much more complex and real they’ve become. Just a few weeks ago, all we had were alleged Mega Evolution descriptions, and now we have a full list of sprites of all Pokémon in the game (if you believe the leakers) that includes said Megas and their shiny forms.
Other people shared how the title screen of the game changes after you finish it, allegedly. This is all happening four days before Legends Z-A even releases for us.
The Nintendo Switch’s vulnerability to piracy is one reason why leaks this deep are possible. Users with early access to a physical copy of Legends: Z-A and the knowledge to hack it can pull any information they want from the cartridge. The brave (or stupid) ones turned the game into a ROM to leak it online, ignoring Nintendo’s aggressive history of intellectual property protection with lawsuits.
While the legality or morality of extracting and releasing a game this early is questionable, it’s undeniable that the chaos it creates is fun to watch. On Friday, data miners and leakers were fighting on Twitter, claiming each had the real leaks and pointing fingers at others for just chasing clout. Some of their followers didn’t pick a side and instead got mad at the leakers because they were gatekeeping the game files. Three days later, more and more people say they have early access to the real game.
This whole mess about “is the game really out,” “is the information really correct,” and “are the leaks even real,” is what makes the leaks appealing. It’s the thrill of surprise.
But Legends: Z-A should be the last Pokémon game to give us this thrill. It should be the final mainline game on the Switch. Whatever title comes next will already be in the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusives timeline, since that’s the fate of most Nintendo new games that will release after February 2026.
Unless Nintendo really wants to keep supporting the Switch Pokémon player base for a while, whatever game comes next year, likely Generation 10, will not release on the Switch 1. And if it’s not on the first Switch, it will not be leaked or datamined early like Legends: Z-A.
Now, the Switch 2 could get hacked by then, but even the Switch 2 hacking community on Reddit doesn’t believe that today. All the exploits hackers used on the Switch, both in software and hardware, have been fixed by Nintendo on the Switch 2. The company added extra controls to detect and ban people abusing exploits.
With the Nintendo Switch 2 seemingly impossible to crack, and future games not releasing on the Switch, it means that if you like leaks, it’s time to really cherish the Pokémon Legends Z-A chaos that is happening right now, because it likely won’t come back too soon.
If you don’t like it, you can just take a deep breath and relax because the next Pokémon game will probably not leak, or at least not leak to the extent we’re seeing today. You will be free from spoilers until the launch day.
Or so we hope.
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