Say Hello to Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Best Black and White…

With Pokemon Legends: Arceus being full of references to other games in the franchise, fans were hoping that Pokemon Legends: Z-A would be the same. And the second Pokemon Legends game does indeed have several clever Easter eggs for players to find. Not all of these Easter eggs are confined to Kalos or Generation 6 references either. Hidden in Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Z-A Royale matches is a clever Easter egg referring to Pokemon Black and White.

This Z-A Royale Battle References A Black and White Gym Battle

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In the Z-A Royale, players compete in a series of ranked promotion matches, naturally beginning with Rank Z and ending with Rank A. In the Rank W match, players are challenged by a gentleman called Rintaro the Waiter. Rintaro brings the following Pokemon into battle:

Simisage, Level 24 Grass-type
Simisear, Level 24 Fire-type
Simipour, Level 24 Water-type

These are the evolved forms of the "Elemental Monkey" trio, first introduced in Pokemon Black and White, the fifth generation of games. In Black and White, the very first Gym the player would challenge was the Striaton City Gym, run by triplet waiters named Chili, Cilan, and Cress (Pod, Dent, and Corn in Japanese).

pansage pansear panpour legends za pokemon (1)

Each of the triplets battled with the non-evolved form of one of the elemental monkeys: Pansea for Chili, Pansage for Cilan, and Panpour for Cress. The player would battle whichever one their chosen Starter Pokemon was weak against. In Black 2 and White 2, the brothers' monkeys had evolved, and they appeared in the World Tournament, expressing that they wanted to become more individual and not always be seen as a set. One of the three, Cilan, also temporarily served as a traveling companion to Ash Ketchum in the Pokemon Black and White animated series.

Rintaro's Battle Features Multiple References

As a waiter with the three elemental monkeys on his team, Rintaro is a fairly obvious reference to the Striaton City Gym trio. His character and battle feature many smaller references to the three, including:

His three Pokemon are Level 24. In Black and White, the triplets' monkeys were Level 14.
Rintaro's outfit features a white vest, an apron, and a red bow tie. The triplets wore aprons, black vests, and bow ties that matched their Pokemon's type, with Chili's being red.
The "rin" in "Rintaro" can mean "forest." Cilan and Cress's Japanese names also come from locations in the natural world — "rice field" and "lake" respectively.

Rintaro is unique in that he is the Z-A Royale challenger who most specifically calls back to a character (or, in this case, a set of characters) from other games. He's not the only reference, though. Z-rank foe Zach is a Driver, possibly referencing the Pokemon Trainer class of the same name from Pokemon X and Y, while the F-rank challenger Canari's looks and personality have been compared to that of Scarlet and Violet Gym Leader Iono.

It is unclear why the developers of Pokemon Legends: Z-A chose to shout out the Striaton Triplets specifically. They may have been chosen because of Cilan's prominence as a former companion to Ash Ketchum, or simply because a waiter character would fit in well in the urban setting of Lumiose City.

Regardless, Rintaro is both a fun Easter Egg and potentially a tricky battle for Trainers who aren't prepared — his team has no shared weakness and covers all three basic elements, so players will need to come prepared with counters for each of his three monkeys. He's far from the only reference to the greater Pokemon franchise scattered around Lumiose City. There are plenty more for players to discover as they experience Pokemon Legends: Z-A's story.

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