Pokemon Legends: ZAThe competitive multiplayer scene is running into trouble with players who don't seem very competitive, as entire battles seem to go AFK for extended lengths. There is no solid single explanation for why Pokemon Legends: ZA Players are refusing to move into four-player ranked matches, but the Mega Stones offered as rewards are the most likely objective.
Launched on October 26 for the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, Pokemon Legends: ZAFirst week sales reached 5.8 million copies, with Circana's Matt Piscatella declaring it the best-selling physical game of 2025 to date. Upon launch, it received a very mixed reception from the fan base, with its player rating on OpenCritic being split down the middle at 50, but those huge sales numbers indicate that there are still plenty of players getting their monster-fighting fix. Pokemon Legends: ZA.
The new Pokemon Legends: ZA update fixes the Mega Stone bug
Pokemon Legends: ZA recently received a new update that fixes a troublesome bug affecting Mega Stones for Greninja and Delfox, and new rewards are available.
Many Pokemon Legends: ZA ranked match players aren't actually playing
However, recent reports indicate that there is a growing movement of players entering Pokemon Legends: ZAof multiplayer matches and either standing completely still and attacking or doing nothing at all. This phenomenon has confused some competitive players who run over opponents who refuse to attack anyone. Others have found static players who only attack when a person gets too close, meaning they set their controllers to automatically attack and then walk away from the game. Fans are unsure why this is happening, but the most likely explanation could include Pokemon Legends: ZARewards for participating in ranked battles and how to get them.
After entering Season 3 on November 27, Pokemon Legends: ZARanked Battle Rewards include Safari Balls, Seeds of Mastery, Bottle Caps, and Nuggets, but the reward for reaching the top in each of the three seasons has been the Mega Stone for evolving one of the original Kalos Realm starters, with Chesnatite currently being the top reward. Many fans have expressed displeasure with Game Freak for holding Mega Stones for such popular Pokemon behind the Ranked Battle system, and the wave of AFK players in multiplayer games may be the primary reason behind these incidents.
The ranked battle system has received criticism for a number of reasons, including poor connections and lag issues, which may explain why many players seem to be stuck. But another possibility is that players are abusing the rules of Ranked Battles to easily rank up, some say that it is easier for players who come in fourth place every time to get to the top level, because winning is not the only way for players to earn points. Matches in just three minutes, and within ranked battle rewards Pokemon Legends: ZA Getting back to Season 2 is getting easier, just showing up can be a new, albeit boring, strategy that players are using to earn rewards.
Some players are calling for the development team to take steps to penalize players who might exploit the system, feeling that they are ruining the online experience for those who really want to feel the rush of competition. There were new rules added for online play before the start of Season 3, but they target players who mess with the online battle system by using multiple Nintendo accounts, Switch or Switch 2 consoles, or save data sets to manipulate the results of matches. It's still unclear if Nintendo will take any action against AFK rank players before Season 4 rolls around, but given that its launch date is just a week after the planned release date of the Mega Dimension DLC, players may be more invested in the single-player aspects of the game.
- issued
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October 16, 2025
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Fantasy violence, in-game purchases
