Pokémon Z: How Would You Have Done It?

[FinnishPokéFan92]

As we all know, Pokémon Z, which seemed like a certainty, never got made, probably in favor of getting Pokémon Sun and Moon out for Pokémon's 20th anniversary. Which is a real shame, since the Kalos games could've used some polish and improving.

So now I ask: what would you have changed about X and Y's plot, characters, locations, mechanics, and so forth to make an improved/definitive third version for Kalos?

 

[RK9]

Serena/Calem don't contradict themselves constantly in being your rival. You actually go to find the cocoon forms of the legendaries at various points in the stories so they don't come out of nowhere. The huge powerplant in the desert is accessible. We get more info on the war in general.

New Mega forms. (Milotic, Flygon, Arcanine, just to name a couple.) We get to know more about Sycamore's feelings regarding his friend wanting to blow up the region.

These are just a couple that spring to mind real quick, so they're not too deep.

 

[Esserise]

I honestly don't think I would change all that much. X & Y are already quite good in my opinion, so a coat of polish and tweaks is really all I think they need. But just for a general rundown of things I'd take a look at:

• Introducing more Mega Evolutions, particularly for the Starters, seems like a given. And I would probably introduce quite a lot, for two reasons - one, because Kalos's regional Dex is already stacked so phat you can't really rely on the Dex influx trick of B2W2/USUM for content, and two, because the shallow pool of Pokémon that are capable of Mega Evolving is to me one of the mechanic's fundamental flaws, so the more the merrier in this case.
• Definitely give the Elite Four upgraded teams in post-game. Have them use Megas during the main game, too. Also have the Gym Leaders after Korrina all use Mega Evolution.
• Make more Megas available during the main storyline. No gift Lucario though, since that "storyline" was trash. Your Starter will be getting one anyway.
• Assuming these are post-ORAS, carry over the DexNav. I know it was devised to compensate for Hoenn's smaller Dex, but that's not the only thing it's good at.
• Again, assuming this is post-ORAS, that puts it in the context of following a game that had a fair bit of side-stuff to do. On its own, I don't find that stuff super crucial, but it would be weird for the final Gen 6 games to have fewer activities than the mid-gen remakes. So maybe instead of Secret Bases, create a feature where the player can become in charge of one of those many copy/paste cafés around Lumiose. Decorate and develop your own café for battles and all kinds of interactivity and information exchange, share it over Wi-Fi, earn high ratings. Maybe Gym Leaders/E4/your Rivals show up sometimes for rematches.
• Yeah probably throw in Rhyhorn Racing; the track is already there on Route 22 so might as well right?
• Those Route 13 power plants are inevitably going to come up in this discussion so uhh do something with those I guess. I don't think I'd make them part of the Team Flare storyline in that area because having to go through five of those things would be ugggghhh. Maybe they can be like Unova's Sports Domes, with each one specializing in a different type or something (Maybe terrains? Hydroponics = grassy terrain, geothermal = electric terrain, steam power = misty terrain, spacey observatory one = I'd say psychic terrain although that didn't exist yet)

As for Zygarde/the plot, let me get all deep lore on you. For one thing, I assume based on the Bank IDs that "Z" would have likely been two games. At any rate, it's an alternate timeline from XY. ORAS established the possibility of a world where the ultimate weapon was never built because the war in Kalos never happened to begin with. So the question on my mind is, why? What was so different about Kalos's entire socioeconomic status that a whole conflict simply doesn't take place? I would assume because AZ doesn't exist. So in this new timeline, AZ's brother (Lysandre's ancestor) reigned as the king of Kalos instead, and tried to control Xerneas or Yveltal back in his day because [reasons]. The cycle of life and death fell out of balance and necessitated the intervention of Zygarde who struck the king down for meddling with such fundamental forces. This story has been handed down for generations in Lysandre's family, and inspired Lysandre to seek out Xerneas/Yveltal, either to make him and his followers immortal or to wipe out everyone he deems unworthy. Throughout the game, instead of their random schemes, the Team Flare encounters have been centered on harvesting Zygarde's Cores from around the region, because Lysandre knows about its power from the story and intends to forcibly subdue the Cores while he does his thing. By keeping the Cores from coming together, Zygarde won't have the power to stop him. Throughout the story, you probably also see(/battle?) Zygarde 10%, kind of like the run-ins with Suicune in Crystal. At one point where you defeat Team Flare, you obtain a Core and carry it along with you until the climax.

Anyway, climax comes, you battle Lysandre who has the Legendary on his team, and even though you beat him, he stays the course and prepares to use the Legendary's power. But all the while, your friends have been freeing the other Zygarde Cores (five friends = five Cores hahaha see what I did?), allowing 100% Zyg to form and intervene. You don't battle Zygarde there (hopefully me giving Lysandre a Legendary makes up for that). It just scatters back across the region, it's job completed. In the post-game, the Mega Stone hunt is replaced with the Cell hunt from SM. You can go find Xerneas/Yveltal in some dungeon.

(By the way it's been 7 years and for some reason I'm only just now realizing there's kind of an odd parallel between the player and Lysandre having big groups of friends. It's not a perfect match because you have 4 and Lysandre has 5, although I guess Xerosic is linked closely with Emma who could be considered your 5th friend. Anyway I wonder if there's something to be remarked upon there.)

Now you may be wondering how there can be Mega Evolution if the ultimate weapon was never built and to that I say lol didn't stop ORAS. I'd probably use the opportunity to give some lore to the Anistar Sundial. Maybe it is responsible for Mega Evolution in Kalos in this timeline. It allegedly comes from space, which is where ORAS ascribed the origin of Mega Evolution to, so maybe we can build on that - it's made of the same material as the meteorites that impacted Hoenn or something, but in the XY timeline, AZ studied it and built the ultimate weapon based on it. Doing so ended up creating Mega Stones everywhere, but here it's revealed that it always would have happened eventually due to the Sundial's energy, just much much later.

btw since AZ doesn't exist I guess you could use that as an excuse to give players the Eternal Floette, although I'm still not convinced that they ever actually intended to give it to us (you don't need a whole extra game to do a Wi-Fi distribution; the form already existed in the coding).

Boring convoluted plot stuff aside, I'd very much like to see Megas for Barbaracle and Avalugg in particular. Mega Johto Starters too, to replace the Kanto ones you get in XY. That way the first three generations' Starters can all have Megas. I might post some team ideas later.

 

[Esserise]

Team ideas. For the most part, I'll consider two scenarios: If there weren't any new Megas beside what were introduced in ORAS, and if new ones were on the table.

Viola: Scolipede, Crustle, Durant, Heracross, Vivillon, Mega Beedrill

So, this one's actually a little tricky, since Vivillon is the only Bug-type Pokémon introduced in Gen 6. I feel like my hand is a bit forced here because although you certainly could give it a Mega Evolution, maybe with all sorts of colorful pixel patterns that combine the existing ones, I just don't think it would be... all that... good? And I quite like Mega Beedrill, and it still fits the convention of "early forest Bug." Anyway, here I tried to stick to bugs that seemed a little more naturalistic; ones that Viola might photograph in their natural habitats and would maybe make for good artistic motifs.

Grant: Golem, Tyranitar, Aurorus, Tyrantrum, Mega Aerodactyl and/or (Mega) Rhyperior

Golem and Tyranitar are really rocky designs with strong ties to mountains. Same for Rhyperior, which is my consideration for Grant's new Mega. I'm picturing something that really cranks its bulkiness up to eleven, with lots of jagged rocks jutting out where the orange plating is, and with the two arm cannons swelling to such a size that it has the silhouette of a mountain range. But if I had to stick to established Megas, I'd go with Aerodactyl (while still keeping Rhyperior on the team), since it's a fossil like his Aurorus and Tyrantrum, and would be helpful for a mountain climber in emergencies.

Korrina: Machamp, Hawlucha, Mienshao, Hitmontop, Poliwrath, Mega Lucario

Her existing team Gym team, plus Mega Lucario, which I think is pretty much a given even if we consider the possibility of new Megas. Added Hitmontop (all that spinning and balancing matches with her roller skating) and Poliwrath because, well, because. She lives on a coast?

Ramos: Jumpluff, Victreebel, Leafeon, Roserade, Mega Venusaur and/or (Mega) Gogoat

Existing team plus two garden-ey additions. If we get a new Mega, I'd say Gogoat's the obvious choice (huge horns! tree branches sprouting off of them! even thicker leaf coat!) but if not, Venusaur fits by dint of being covered in flowers.

Clemont: Emolga, Magnezone, Electrode, Lanturn, Mega Ampharos and/or (Mega) Heliolisk

Electrode added because it kinda fits his Gym's quiz theme (every time you find a Poké Ball on the ground, there's a chance it could be Electrode), Lanturn and Ampharos added because of how they emit light, and he's the leader/designer of Prism Tower in the Pokémon world's equivalent of the city of light. idk what a Mega Heliolisk would look like.

Valerie: Mr. Mime, Sylveon, Togekiss, Wigglytuff, Mega Mawile and/or (Mega) Granbull

Gonna go ahead and say giving Sylveon a Mega feels too weird to me, so I'll either have her Mega Evolve her Mawile or I'll give it to Granbull, a Johtonian Pokémon since Valerie comes from there. I feel like a Mega design for Granbull could do a fun thing and actually make it more cute. Bows and frills and the like. Added Togekiss and Wigglytuff because they seemed on-brand.

Olympia: Sigilyph, Slowking, Meowstic, Gothitelle, Mega Alakazam and/or (Mega) Malamar

Similar to Sylveon, it feels a little weird to me to give Meowstic a Mega. So I'd give one to Malamar instead, or just give her good ol' Alakazam. Alakazam and Gothitelle can both see the future which Olympia can also do.

Wulfric: Cryogonal, Beartic, Mamoswine, Cloyster, Mega Abomasnow and/or (Mega) Avalugg

Bottom line is I added bulky Ice-types. If you can't see why this guy should have a Beartic then I can't help you.

Malva: Pyroar, Heatmor, Flareon, Chandelure, Mega Houndoom/Talonflame

Swapped Torkoal for Flareon. Add Houndoom (she's eeeeevil) and Heatmor (Team Flare has a very Social Darwinist bent so consider the Heatmor/Durant relationship). Consider giving Talonflame a Mega (and presumably busting the metagame even further in the process), but if not, Mega Houndoom would be okay.

Siebold: Clawitzer, Gyarados, Kingdra, Whiscash, Mega Slowbro and/or (Mega) Barbaracle

Add Kingdra and Whiscash to his team. I would give Barbaracle a Mega Evolution, but Slowbro would be fine too - Slowpoke is in the Kalos Dex, and Mega Slowbro didn't get much of a spotlight in ORAS. If we went that way, then I'd replace his Starmie with it.

Wikstrom: Klefki, Scizor, Escavalier, Mega Steelix/Aggron/Aegislash

Probopass is swapped for Aggron. Added Escavalier (how was this not there to begin with?) and Steelix. Aggron or Steelix could then be his Mega (of the two, I'd prefer Aggron since it's very much like a bulky suit of armor), but if we're inventing new ones, then I say go all-out and give Aegislash some crazy new design. A full set of knight's armor maybe? Or a big sword wielding a shield and another sword, to fold back into Doublade's concept?

Drasna: Dragalge, Druddigon, Altaria, Mega Garchomp/Goodra/Noivern

Added Garchomp since she's from Sinnoh. Goodra can come too since I'll be taking it off Diantha's team. She can either Mega Evolve the Garchomp or we give one to Noivern or Goodra, either'd be fine with me.

Diantha: Dragonite, Amoonguss, Lucario, Zoroark, (some form of) Rotom, Mega Gardevoir

I picked Dragonite and Lucario because they're popular, and in particular, I think Dragonite suits Diantha's soft design. Amoonguss, Zoroark, and Rotom are chosen because they are all Pokémon that I think could be said to suit her status as an actor. Amoonguss is a method actor (pretending to be a Poké Ball), Zoroark disguises itself as a different team member (it's an understudy), and Rotom is a versatile jack-of-all-trades (and also brushes on the idea of using props). Additionally, Lucario and Zoroark are actual movie stars! Dragonite I would say also has had a memorable scene in M01.

A note on Lysandre - Because Mewtwo was so prominently featured in XY's prerelease material, I figured it would end up having some role in the plot, but alas, it was just a post-game extra with no explanation whatsoever for the existence of its Mega Stones. For a long time, I've thought that maybe Team Flare should have been responsible for the creation of its Mega Stones, with Lysandre using one on his team. This made sense to me in the context of X & Y - in X he would presumably use Mewtwo X, which Xerneas hits supereffectively, and in Y he would use Mewtwo Y which Yveltal can take care of, so it's a little more manageable and more of a reason to use the mascot on your team for that battle. This obviously wouldn't work out in my plot revision up above, but I still can't shake the feeling that it might be good. After all, it's a little odd, I think, for Lysandre to have captured Xerneas/Yveltal and to then use them in a battle against you (which necessarily would mean knocking them out), only to then still be able to use their power in a way that draws Zygarde's attention. So maybe if Xerneas/Yveltal spend the whole climax trapped and Lysandre uses a Mega Mewtwo instead?

 

[Nicolas721]

-It would be a prequel with Dexio and Sina as the player characters. It would take place in Southern Kalos for most of the game, and then the final part of the game it would take place in the first routes in the normal Kalos. Then in the postgame, you can visit the rest of Kalos.
-There would be a new evil team, and Zinnia would be the N/Lillie of the game, everything about her would be explained. (The game would take place after ORAS, but her backstory would be explained).
-The dex would be divided in 3 zones. Central Kalos which would have the same content, and two new dexes which would use the remaining Pokemon. One of them could be named Jungle Kalos.
-Squishy would join you very early in the game, it would have a 3D model and it would be shown sometimes in your arm in battles and he would also appear in the bag sprites. You can collect cells. When you get more than 10 you get access to Zygarde 10%, and this is how he would join your team: You would click on a Squishy icon in the Pokemon menu, and if you have less than 5 Pokemon he would join you as Zygarde 10%. It can't be deposited on the PC, but you can revert it back to Squishy by clicking the Squishy icon, so you have space for 6 Pokemon. You would need at least 50 cells to play in the climax. In the postgame in Northern Kalos, you would found the other cores and the other cells.
-Pokemon racing minigame, you can choose between many racing Pokémon (or bring your own), 4-5 tracks and 4 difficulties. Grace would be your tutoress but also your final rival. The eligible Pokémon would be Rapidash, Dodrio, Arcanine, Rhyhorn, Tauros, Girafarig, the legendary dogs (possibly event exclusive or something), Wailmer, Seviper, Tropius, Luxray, Drapion, Mamoswine, Heatran, Stoutlant, Zebstrika, Scolipede, Bouffalant, Gogoat and Avalugg.
-I would attempt to fix the Mega Mewtwo plot too, maybe as a failed experiment by Xerosic or Colress who went wrong. Maybe the responsible would be Xerosic if you played X or Colress if you played Y (or something simple like Lysandre's button thing, obviously in another circumstance) and they would have created the respective Mega.
-The usual third versions/remakes wishlist: leader rematches, more tutors, more difficulty, more battle facilities, etc.

 

[Hidden Mew]

As we all know, Pokémon Z, which seemed like a certainty, never got made, probably in favor of getting Pokémon Sun and Moon out for Pokémon's 20th anniversary. Which is a real shame, since the Kalos games could've used some polish and improving.

I never understood this notion that Pokemon Z was a certainty. Plenty of fans thought it was going to happen the moment they saw Zygarde, but they were also positive that Pokemon Gray was going to happen after B/W. It always seemed strange to me when B2/W2 showed that third versions weren't a guarantee anymore. They basically filled the role of a third version game, but they were still sequels with new characters and a new storyline. I doubt that it was scrapped in favor of Sun/Moon, if only because it makes more to celebrate the 20th anniversary with a new generation. I'm not saying it was impossible for them to consider making Pokemon Z. I just never understood why people thought it was definitely going to come when it was at least possible for them to do something different instead.

Anyway, I'd also include some more Mega Pokemon. I especially like the idea of Mega Evolutions for the Johto starters. I like Charizard, but Cyndaquil was my first Pokemon and I want Typhlosion to get some much needed and deserved attention for once. I would have been over the moon with a Mega Typhlosion. Mega Evolutions for the Kalos starters would have been nice too. While I didn't think that Z was a guarantee, I was positive that they would get Mega Evolutions in whatever was going to come after X/Y, but that clearly didn't happen.

I also would have made the rivals a bit more involved with the overall storyline, as well as make Team Flare a bit more threatening from the start. The X/Y rivals weren't bad, but just kind of boring with not much for them to do. It wouldn't necessarily need to be huge changes either. Just some new scenes or lines could improve them if what happened with Hau in US/UM is any indication. I can't really think of anything specific beyond just doing more than helping to save Pokemon off-screen during the climax. I would have improved Tierno's team. He wasn't my favorite by any means, but I never understood why they didn't give him a Ludicolo. At least XY gave him a team that actually made sense with his dancing gimmick.

Team Flare really needed to feel more intimidating from the start, so maybe having AZ show up more often would have helped with that. Their attacks could have been more dangerous than just attacking the Pokeball Factory like with maybe affecting the Power Plant instead. I also would include Malva as part of the main storyline. It always annoyed me that she does barely anything noteworthy despite being the first Elite 4 member in an evil team within the main series. Learning more about why she joined with Team Flare, if the other Elite 4 members knew about it and then confronting her as one of the admins would have been really cool. Giving her a redemption during the post storyline or having her be replaced by a new trainer within the Elite 4 also would have been neat.

The Kalos Elite 4 were so weak, so giving them new upgraded full teams definitely would have helped. I'd also have Team Flare in general carry more Pokemon. Admins of evil teams shouldn't have just one or two Pokemon on hand when you're in the middle of the climax. By that point, it should be at least three Pokemon. It's near the end of the storyline by that point, so players can handle NPCs having slightly bigger teams. Gym Leader rematches would also be available.

 

[Matleo]

Kalos and Johto megas for sure but maybe good that we didnt got them back then maybe in a new regions it could get used or in remakes?
I still think gen 4 perfect for Johto megas and if they come back then maybe gen 10 or remake of gen 5 could introduce Kalos megas?
__________________________________________________________________________________

technicallly would improve their movesets like they did get later on... generaly Xernas and Yveltal could got additional form changes, to make Xernas fairy/ground, yveltal could got maybe something like a ghost form switch from dark to ghost?
__________________________________________________________________________________
Zygarde would change forms like in sun and moon , but would start either as Zygarde or cell form and it would work similar like with Wishiwashi
the final zygarde... it would be like megaevolution actually depending on the zygarde core amount of hp and turns on the field with zygarde cube and collecting energy... first the cell form would transform 10%, then after loosing 50% hp goes into zygarde 50% with full its full hp again, when again lose 50% hp goes into zygarde complete form and heals hp as last form... this would make it a good one against Xernas and Yveltal that can heal up... when heal block would be activated then zygarde would change forms but not get the extra hp boost from the transformation...

 

[hanecco]

Most of my gripes with XY are the story and characters, so that's what I would focus on changing.

Flesh out the rivals' personalities, perhaps even give them full character arcs. Calem/Serena's efforts were never recognised by the narrative, even though they helped the player stop Team Flare at several important moments (like at the Pokeball Factory). I'd either show them overcoming that insecurity, or reward their efforts with, say, a legendary Pokemon at the end. Make Tierno and Trevor a bit more useful, because they're otherwise pretty forgettable. Tierno could become a move tutor and teach better moves as you progress the game, while Trevor could add unseen Pokemon to your dex.

Since Lysandre is friends with Diantha and Sycamore, they could be used to tell us what Lysandre was like before Team Flare. I'd also like to see Lysandre and AZ interact more; if AZ appeared more often and challenged Lysandre's views, we would get a much clearer image of his (and therefore Flare's) philosophies and worldview. It would also give us more information about AZ, who only appears... three or four times in the original XY. During these early appearances, I'd have the player and their friends doubt AZ until something happens to prove that he really was the king of ancient Kalos.

Team Flare's search for Yveltal/Xerneas would become part of the main story. In parallel to it, the player could help Sycamore revive Zygarde by collecting its cells. Zygarde could stop Yveltal/Xerneas the same way Rayquaza stops Groudon and Kyogre in Emerald. Team Flare also needs to be more threatening; I would replace their goofiness with a secret agent vibe, and have Malva & Diantha be more involved in the conflict - Malva on Flare's side, Diantha on the player's. Malva would be a twist villain and is kicked out of the E4 once the player defeats her (maybe Calem/Serena could take her place).

 

[Silktree]

Keeping the game non-existent.

 

[Esserise]

I never understood this notion that Pokemon Z was a certainty. Plenty of fans thought it was going to happen the moment they saw Zygarde, but they were also positive that Pokemon Gray was going to happen after B/W. It always seemed strange to me when B2/W2 showed that third versions weren't a guarantee anymore. They basically filled the role of a third version game, but they were still sequels with new characters and a new storyline. I doubt that it was scrapped in favor of Sun/Moon, if only because it makes more to celebrate the 20th anniversary with a new generation. I'm not saying it was impossible for them to consider making Pokemon Z. I just never understood why people thought it was definitely going to come when it was at least possible for them to do something different instead.

B2W2 showed that third versions weren't a guaranteed thing anymore, but I think shirking an updated edition altogether was still a big leap for much of the fandom. Most of the speculation I remember was for XY sequels (or prequels), with "Z" just being kind of a placeholder name being thrown around. @Silktree and a handful of others were the ones, on this site at least, who were arguing for the possibility of them skipping to a new generation, and eventually that convinced me, but for a while I did think that they would do a second Kalos game of some kind.

We'll probably never get this information, but personally, I'm only curious to know how soon the decision was made to do ORAS and then SM instead, rather than what Z "might have been," though that can make for a decent thought experiment - like, in hindsight, I feel as though USUM's tendencies toward lowballing sort of undermine a lot of the more elaborate predictions, about "Southern Kalos" and the like. It's entirely possible that B2W2 were just lightning in a bottle - an anomalous burst of ambition at the right time and place creatively and technologically. (Of course it does give me a bit of a chuckle that at the time, even B2W2 got stick for not including the Battle Frontier.)

 

[Silktree]

Take this with a grain of salt, but someone on 4chan recently claimed that the unused index numbers (in the debug versions of SM) right after ORAS' were called X3Y3. Even if that person was telling the truth, those placeholders might be a joke of sorts. Still, two versions were more likely than one, and yet Zygarde only got one final form.

 

[Esserise]

Take this with a grain of salt, but someone on 4chan recently claimed that the unused index numbers (in the debug versions of SM) right after ORAS' were called X3Y3. Even if that person was telling the truth, those placeholders might be a joke of sorts. Still, two versions were more likely than one, and yet Zygarde only got one final form.

Zygarde getting only one form makes sense to me if there were going to be two versions - I suspect the plot would still rely on Xerneas/Yveltal to some extent, with Zygarde merely coming in to calm down whatever happened.

Only tangentially related, but now I'm reminded of this:

 

[Silktree]

Zygarde getting only one form makes sense to me if there were going to be two versions - I suspect the plot would still rely on Xerneas/Yveltal to some extent, with Zygarde merely coming in to calm down whatever happened.

What about the version mascots? Xerneas+Zygarde, Yveltal+Zygarde? I don't know about that. Since 100% Zygarde embodies elements of both Xerneal and Yveltal, it's conceivable that it could have been into two designs much like Kyurem and Necrozma. Since that wasn't the case in the anime, that alone was already telling in my book. I forget what sequel supporters were saying back then, but it wasn't convincing.

 

[Esserise]

What about the version mascots? Xerneas+Zygarde, Yveltal+Zygarde? I don't know about that. Since 100% Zygarde embodies elements of both Xerneal and Yveltal, it's conceivable that it could have been into two designs much like Kyurem and Necrozma. Since that wasn't the case in the anime, that alone was already telling in my book. I forget what sequel supporters were saying back then, but it wasn't convincing.

Good point. I dunno. I mean at the end of the day I agree with you that they made the right call to skip it (though they immediately went back on that with USUM but that's neither here nor there), so I'm inclined to gloss over these kinds of details.

 

[Leaf_Ranger]

While not having played XY, I have five things that I'd like to see in Z in order to play it:
- Zygarde being the story's center Pkmn (it was unnecessary to have it shoved in Alola!);
- bigger teams for Gym Leaders and E4;
- remove Megas for Kanto and Hoenn Pkmn and instead bet on Kalos Pkmn, stop the pandering and instead follow the lore as well as remove the offering of Kanto starters;
- explain once and for all which was the first Pkmn to Mega-evolve and properly explain it because then what Sycamore there for;
- AZ's Floette being obtainable through an in-game and meaningful event instead of a possible and simple download.

 

[Hidden Mew]

B2W2 showed that third versions weren't a guaranteed thing anymore, but I think shirking an updated edition altogether was still a big leap for much of the fandom. Most of the speculation I remember was for XY sequels (or prequels), with "Z" just being kind of a placeholder name being thrown around. @Silktree and a handful of others were the ones, on this site at least, who were arguing for the possibility of them skipping to a new generation, and eventually that convinced me, but for a while I did think that they would do a second Kalos game of some kind.

We'll probably never get this information, but personally, I'm only curious to know how soon the decision was made to do ORAS and then SM instead, rather than what Z "might have been," though that can make for a decent thought experiment - like, in hindsight, I feel as though USUM's tendencies toward lowballing sort of undermine a lot of the more elaborate predictions, about "Southern Kalos" and the like. It's entirely possible that B2W2 were just lightning in a bottle - an anomalous burst of ambition at the right time and place creatively and technologically. (Of course it does give me a bit of a chuckle that at the time, even B2W2 got stick for not including the Battle Frontier.)

That's a good point. Even with B2/W2 in mind, I can see why skipping the third version completely would have been considered unlikely by the fandom at that point. I always got the impression that people were referring to Z as more of a traditional third version game rather than the placeholder title for potential sequels or prequels, but I could be misremembering things. I didn't think that we'd get a typical third version, but I was positive that we'd get some kind of return to Kalos pretty much until Sun/Moon were announced. I never had a problem with not getting Z. It could have been good, expanded on the region/characters and provided more Mega Pokemon, but it still wouldn't have had as much new content or hype compared to a brand new game. Learning about how soon they made the decision would be pretty interesting though. I don't think that I could have seen X/Y sequels or prequels happening for a few reasons. There was so much hype for R/S remakes back then that they couldn't really skip out on Hoenn remakes for too long and starting a new generation for the 20th anniversary was most likely too good to pass up on.

 

[SerenaToAlola]

I wonder if its possible to have the story progress without having to complete gyms by way of unlocking milestones through your friends. For example, even if you haven't received say the Plant badge, you'd still be able to head to Laverre city if you have obtained a particular move or if you have sighted at least 250 pokemon.

So maybe instead of Secret Bases, create a feature where the player can become in charge of one of those many copy/paste cafés around Lumiose. Decorate and develop your own café for battles and all kinds of interactivity and information exchange, share it over Wi-Fi, earn high ratings. Maybe Gym Leaders/E4/your Rivals show up sometimes for rematches.

I love this sfm.

 

[Daenerys]

I would've made Z a direct sequel to XY and introduced a new rival to replace Serena/Calem/Shauna/Trevor/Tierno because we really didn't need that many rivals ffs. I also would've brought AZ back and made him more important to the plot and introduced a new leader for neo!Team Flare.

 

[Bolt Strike]

I would've made them sequels, not third versions. After BW2 changed the perception of what a third version could be, Z should've followed suit and make some major changes to the Kalos region. Specifically, I would've done the following:

-Set the story several years after XY. Team Flare would be revived, this time being led by Malva and pursuing Zygarde. The player character manages to befriend one of the Zygarde cores early in the game and as you go through the game, it gains more cells and changes its forms.
-Multiple new areas added to the region, including Southern Kalos which forms an entirely new section of the region with its own dex. The player's hometown is in Southern Kalos. There are also new areas added in the northeast section of the region, and multiple post game routes and cities connected to Kiloude City.
-The locked doors in the Power Plant contain the means for changing Volcanion's forms to new forms based on different sources of energy.
-Lumiose City's avenues function as a sort of Join Avenue successor, you can choose to place shops on any of the four avenues and people that you Streetpass or Spotpass with will show up to visit your shops.
-Rhyhorn Racing is finally playable.
-The usual assortment of third version goodies such as move tutors, gym leader rematches, new battling facilities

 

[SerenaToAlola]

I would've made Z a direct sequel to XY

I would've made them sequels, not third versions.

As much as I would love sequels, XY is actually the perfect game for an AU considering how it set up the whole multiverse theory, making third versions very apt in a way. This is especially since there's a lot of ways by which the games can be improved. For me, I would want every gym leader to at least appear outside of the gym at least once lol. They were so detached from everything.