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Pokémon Legends: Z-A release time – How to play early with the New Zealand trick

Full release times for Pokémon Legends: Z-A so you know exactly when you can start playing, and how to use the New Zealand trick to play early

By Ryan Woodrow

Pokémon Legends Z-A
Pokémon Legends Z-A / Nintendo

The next major Pokémon game is very nearly here, and you’re no doubt raring to get your hands on it, as this next game in the Pokémon Legends series promises an exciting new adventure with cool new Mega Evolutions and a whole new battle system to try out. To help you out, we’ll explain exactly when the game will be available around the world, and a little trick you can pull to get your hands on the game as early as possible.

Contents

  1. Pokémon Legends: Z-A release times
  2. How to do the New Zealand trick on Nintendo Switch/Switch 2

Pokémon Legends: Z-A release times

Mega Hawlucha. A humanoid bird Pokémon with white and red feathers and green wings wearing a black and gold mask.
Pokémon Legends Z-A / Nintendo

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is getting a staggered global release. This means that the game will be available on Thursday, 16th September 2025, at midnight your local time. This means that those in time zones ahead of you will be getting the game before you, but there is a way to use this to your advantage via the “New Zealand trick”.

How to do the New Zealand trick on Nintendo Switch/Switch 2

Mega Malamar. A thin Pokemon with a rainbow body and long tentacles for arms.
Pokémon Legends Z-A / Nintendo

This trick is a way to make Nintendo treat your console as if you’re in New Zealand, which is the timezone on the planet that is the furthest ahead, and thus, will get the game the earliest. However, it’s not as simple as just changing your time zone or region in your Switch’s settings.

Instead, you will need to set up a new Nintendo account and set your region to New Zealand during the account creation process. You’ll then have to buy Pokémon Legends: Z-A via that account, paying in New Zealand Dollars.

This will get you the game early, but there are a few things to be wary of. Firstly, if you’ve already pre-ordered the game physically or on another account, you will need to pay again on the new account. Secondly, not all banks will allow you to pay using a different currency, depending on where you are in the world, so watch out for that. Finally, this new account won’t have access to things like your main account’s Nintendo Switch Online subscription, so you won’t be able to access online play without paying again.

If you’re ok with all of that though, then go for it, and you’ll get to play the game much earlier than you normally would.

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