Z-A’s Box Art Shows One X and Y Character is in for a Major Glow Up

Summary

Pokemon Legends: Z-A will be playable on the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 in October.
Emma, from Pokemon X and Y, reappears in Z-A with a Mega Evolved Lucario.
Emma’s potential role in Z-A involves aiding the player in stopping a threatening plot in Lumiose.

In about four months, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 players will finally be able to return to the Kalos region in Game Freak’s Pokemon Legends: Z-A. First confirmed by The Pokemon Company on May 28th, Pokemon Legends: Z-A will be the first new mainline Pokemon game playable on the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 when the game releases on Thursday, October 16th later this year. While more information on Z-A will likely be announced at the July Pokemon Presents event, Game Freak has already teased some potential story details with the revelation of another returning Pokemon X and Y character on Z-A’s official box art. This returning character is the mysterious Emma, otherwise known as Essentia.

Pokemon Legends ZA Pre-order Bonus Europe

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Pre-Order Bonuses Announced, But There’s a Catch

New pre-order bonuses for Pokemon Legends: Z-A are revealed, but there are exceptions to who can receive the exclusive items.

Pokemon X and Y’s Emma Explained

After defeating Team Flare’s Lysandre and becoming Kalos’ Pokemon League Champion, players can take part in several post-game activities in Pokemon X and Y. If players travel back to Lumiose City, they’ll be contacted by an unknown caller on the Holo Caster to travel to the Looker Bureau near Rogue Plaza. Within the Bureau, players will meet International Police officer Looker himself, who previously appeared in Pokemon Platinum, Black, and White. After recruiting the player to be his partner in a series of investigation cases, the two detectives eventually encounter an orphaned young girl named Emma and her partner Espurr, called Mimi. While Emma is a bit hostile at first, Looker invites Emma and Mimi to live at the Bureau and work as his assistant.

At the Bureau, Emma begins to learn how to read and write, but is hesitant to help other people. This is until she helps prevent the Lumiose Gang from attacking Looker and helps the Gang on a path to honest work and decency instead of stealing people’s Pokemon. However, Emma still feels guilty for basically living at the Bureau for free and begins working at the Lysandre Cafe for extra cash to support Looker. Despite her good intentions, Emma is captured by remnant Team Flare scientist Xerosic and forced to become an experiment known as Essentia for his Expansion Suit. Within the Expansion Suit, Emma is given physical enhancements and is able to change her appearance, but is forced to vandalize a painting and steal Poke Balls.

Emma’s Freedom From Xerosic

With help from former Team Flare and Elite Four member Malva, the player is able to confront Xerosic in his hidden lab beneath the Lysandre Cafe, but is forced to battle Essentia four times. Looker and Mimi attempt to snap Emma out of her mind control, but she is only freed after all the stolen Pokemon are defeated. After Xerosic is defeated, Looker is sent away to escort Xerosic to his trial, but gifts Emma the Bureau and lets her do whatever she wants with it as the head of the Looker Bureau. Xerosic additionally gifts Emma the Expansion Suit and his remaining Pokemon to use in her quest to protect the citizens of Lumiose.

Emma never appears in the Pokemon the Series: XY anime, but she does appear as the main subject of the Pokemon Generations short “The Investigation.”

Emma’s Potential Role in Pokemon Legends: Z-A

In the recently released box art for Pokemon Legends: Z-A, Emma is shown Mega Evolving a Lucario alongside a Pikachu, seemingly to battle the two player characters, as well as possibly Urbain/Taunie, based on the latter’s clothing. It doesn’t appear this battle is truly hostile, as Emma is smiling and the trainers appear to be within one of Lumiose’s Z-A Royale areas, based on the red gate in the background of the box art. However, it seems that Emma may be wearing her Expansion Suit without its helmet underneath her small coat based on its black and orange color scheme. While Emma hasn’t appeared in any gameplay footage of Z-A so far, her presence in the game makes sense as the Looker Bureau is in the city’s center.

Given how Pokemon Legends: Z-A is known to take place after X and Y, it could be assumed that Emma has continued her detective work in Lumiose for many years and increased her trainer prowess over that time due to her ability to Mega Evolve Pokemon. Emma could serve a similar role to Looker in Z-A, appearing sporadically throughout the beginning of the game until she actively gets the player involved in helping stop a nefarious plot threatening Lumiose’s Urban Redevelopment. She could even appear repeatedly in AZ’s Hotel Z, with it being possibly revealed that Emma helped AZ establish the hotel and the two being shown working together to help people and Pokemon thrive in Lumiose. Emma’s Expansion Suit could even be rewarded to the player at the end of the game’s story as a way to easily sneak up on trainers and wild Pokemon.