Pokemon Legends: Z-A is Officially The Most Queer Pokemon…

Pokemon games have come a long way from the iconic and equally upsetting "Are you a boy or a girl?" From Gen 1, to the point that the most recent games in the series finally sport some queer representation, even if it's tacit. There are no characters who are openly gay, lesbian, transgender, or non-binary, for example, but there are many ways in which these are still validated experiences due to queer-coded character models and dialogues, even in Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Considering how Gen 9 games were forward-thinking in queer representation, it may not be shocking to learn that Pokemon Legends: Z-A is very queer-coded, but you may be surprised by how this happens.

Before Pokemon Legends: Z-A came out (pun intended), Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's LGBTQIA+ representation was seen as the series' peak, despite some issues. And for good reason. There are several examples of this:

Penny is heavily implied to like girls. Not only that, but her ace is renowned trans Pokemon icon Sylveon, and her story is about embracing who you are, no matter what.
Grusha wears the colors of the trans flag, and at first, it's hard to tell whether they are a man, a woman, or a non-binary person. He is revealed to use masculine pronouns, but his appearance is very feminine.
Rika from the Elite Four in Scarlet and Violet is implied to be non-binary, possibly in a relationship with Geeta, the Champion of Paldea.
Saguaro's story is most likely a parable about coming out, as he is pressured to like foods other than his favorite type by his peers, until he finally embraces the sweet flavor he likes so much. All while wearing pink and using female Pokemon exclusively, including two Fairy-type Pokemon.

Yet, Pokemon Legends: Z-A possibly beats all this in various ways, including heavily queer-coded characters and even Pokemon themselves.

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Fun is Officially Over in Pokemon Legends: Z-A Comp When January 29 Comes

Pokemon Legends: Z-A is changing forever on January 29, 2026, and you may have to find new ways to truly have fun in the game.

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By Andrea Trama

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Introduces The First-Ever Bigender Pokemon

Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Mega Evolution list includes several new ones, both in the base game and the DLC. Among them are two interesting instances: Mega Pyroar and Mega Meowstic.

These are both Pokemon with massive gender-based differences, with female Pyroar having a mane that looks like long hair and male Pyroar having a more lion-like mane, whereas female Meowstic is more elegant and has predominantly white fur and male Meowstic is seemingly more outgoing and has mainly blue fur. Instead, their Mega Evolutions are arguably the first-ever bigender Pokemon in the series:

Mega Pyroar and Mega Meowstic have just one form each, rather than two different gender-based forms.
Mega Pyroar has a large mane all around its face, still implementing the design of female Pyroar by having the top part of the mane be long.
Mega Meowstic is even more evident in the way it implements this philosophy, as it is quite literally a mix of the gender-based differences between male and female Meowstic, with its fur being equally split between white and blue.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Non-Gender-Locked Clothes and Rivals Dynamics

Interestingly, Pokemon Legends: Z-A's clothing options are the first in the series not to be gender-locked. This means that you can choose a male-presenting character model and still wear dresses, skirts, crop-tops, heels, and the like. Even makeup, like lipstick, eyeliner, and mascara. Likewise, the female-presenting character model can wear baggy clothes, suits, and ties.

This is particularly illuminating when considering that Taunie and Urbain in Pokemon Legends: Z-A could very much be a single character, possibly non-binary, genderfluid, or both. Their main differences are the way they dress, their haircut, and the pronouns they use. Taunie has a more feminine body type, but one could argue that Urbain has the same body, just hidden under baggy clothes. Their story is the same, their mannerisms are the same, and they are even presented in official marketing materials with they/them pronouns.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Queer-Coded Characters Explained (and Why There Are Two Lesbian Couples)

Perhaps even more interesting is the fact that Pokemon Legends: Z-A has a few recurring characters in its cast, and there are two possible lesbian couples among them. These are:

Jacinthe and Lebanne: Often seen as a toxic lesbian couple where Jacinthe has power over Lebanne for work reasons, but also genuine affection for her, and Lebanne wants to leave, but also cares for Jacinthe and states that she "already has a partner" when it comes to double battles with the player, then looks at Jacinthe. The subtext is there, and if you play their Pokemon Legends: Z-A DLC side missions, you'll get some dialogue that seems to imply in a more definite way that they are not just work partners.
Gwynn and Canari: Gwynn and Canari also seem to be either in a relationship or in a weird place where Canari feels strongly towards Gwynn, and the latter is in love with her without saying so. Much like with Jacinthe and Lebanne, there is a lot of queer-coding in the way the dialogue between Gwynn and Canari plays out, with the former often using heart emojis when talking about the Electric-type Pokemon trainer. Canari also has an exclusive nickname for Gwynn, G-Volt.

Shiny Mega Meganium's petals are the same color as the lesbian pride flag.

It's also worth noting that Lebanne and Gwynn pair up in a double battle against the player at some point in PLZA's DLC storyline, and they are presented as "Sisters in Suffering," which could allude to the fact that they are both in love with another woman who doesn't exactly feel the same way, or at least doesn't know about it. There is no other specific reason why they would be called Sister in Suffering, either, which makes this either a very random choice or a deliberate one.

Nothing confirms these characters' sexuality or identity, unfortunately, but there are so many clues that it's hard to ignore them or paint them as coincidences. Queer Pokemon games and characters seem likely to be here to stay, and Pokemon Legends: Z-A is proof of it.

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