Pokemon Legends: Z-Ataking place entirely within Lumiose City is a bold choice, as it stands almost in direct contrast toLegends: Arceus' map set across the Hisui Region. However, the recent gameplay trailer forPokemon Legends: Z-Ashowcased how Lumiose City has undergone a significant transformation in the years since its debut inPokemon X and Y, opening up the city to feature new Wild Zones where players can capture wild mons. With the new areas potentially becoming accessible inLegends: Z-A, Lumiose City shouldn’t miss the chance to feature one creepy area based on a real-world location.
For being a generally lighthearted franchise,Pokemonhas included some dark and disturbing content in the past. The most famous example of a creepy part ofPokemon’s history is theKanto Region’s Lavender Town, which is home to the Pokemon Tower—a graveyard for trainers to pay respects to their lost partners—and one of the most unsettling music tracks in the series.Pokemon Legends: Z-Acould introduce a whole new creep factor to the franchise if it includes a new location under Lumiose City based on the real-world Paris Catacombs.
Pokemonhas featured other cemeteries in the past, such as Hoenn’s Mt. Pyre and Unova’s Celestial Tower, but none are quite as disturbing as Lavender Town’s Pokemon Tower.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A Could Rival Lavender Town’s Creepiness with a New Take on a Real-World Location
Lumoise City Could Have Its Own Equivalent of the Paris Catacombs
One of the darkest features of the real-world city of Paris is the ossuary and connected tunnels—collectively referred to as the Paris Catacombs—built within the ancient mines below the city in the late 18th century that holds the remains of over six million people. In modern times, the Paris Catacombs have been opened for tourists to visit and have even hosted events like concerts. The image of skulls lining these underground tunnels makes for a disturbing design that would be the perfect home forGhost-type Pokemonto inhabit.
The Kalos Region is thePokemonworld’s equivalent of real-world France, with Lumiose City as a stand-in for Paris. The city already features allusions to famous Paris landmarks, such asPrism Towerwhich parallels the Eiffel Tower, so it’s likely that other iconic landmarks could be adapted in this renovated version of Lumiose City. Out of all the potential landmarksLegends: Z-Acould adapt, the Paris Catacombs make the most sense and could be a creepy yet lore-friendly addition.
With the abundance of Ghost types native to the Kalos Region, like Aegislash, Trevenant, and Gourgeist, a new location dedicated to the spooky elements they bring to the game would lend itself nicely toLegends: Z-A.
How Underground Catacombs Could Factor into Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Lumiose City
While the Lumiose City equivalent of the Paris Catacombs was never a part of the city’s original map inPokemon X and Y, including the location inLegends: Z-Awould be a great venue for tying together some of the outstanding lore the series needs to address. With the real-world Paris Catacombs originating from 13th-century mines, thePokemonworld’s equivalent being equally old could connect to the era when AZ ruled as the King of Kalos. WithPokemon Legends: Z-Ateed up to explore some ofX and Y’s unanswered questions about the history of AZand his use of the Ultimate Weapon, unearthing an ancient underground location that was inaccessible in the previous games would be a logical approach.
Perhaps players could discover an entrance to these catacombs in the remains of Lysandre Labs beneath Lysandre Cafe after thedisbandment of Team Flare. With the base of operations for Team Flare having been located below a portion of Lumiose City in the past, it would make sense that the construction of this facility could have inadvertently uncovered an ancient system of tunnels and burial grounds dedicated to those who fell during the region’s great war when AZ used the Ultimate Weapon. It has been a long time since thePokemonfranchise has created a location quite as unsettling as Lavender Town and an underground cemetery with connections to the dark history of the Kalos Region would likely top its creepiness.
