Pokémon Legends: Z-A and its Mega Dimension expansion are coming out together on one Nintendo Switch 2 game card on Thursday 29 October. The Pokémon Company announced the bundle on 30 September. In Australia, Vooks reports, it's A$154.95 and you can only get it from the Nintendo Store.

The card holds both the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the game and the full Mega Dimension DLC. There's no download code for the expansion and nothing extra to buy. You also get a serial code for 100 Ultra Balls.

It's more a collector's box than a new game. But if you skipped Z-A last year, or played it without the expansion, it's the whole story on a single card, a year after the original came out.

Photo: PantheraLeo1359531 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

What's on the card

The Pokémon Company's Australian announcement spells it out. The bundle "contains the same game content you would receive by purchasing Pokémon Legends: Z-A" in its "Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (physical or digital version) and the Mega Dimension DLC (sold separately)." If you already own the Switch 2 Edition, you only need to buy Mega Dimension. The bundle won't give you anything extra.

There's one catch for new players. You've got to finish Z-A's main story before Mega Dimension's story opens up. So it's not a shortcut into the expansion. It's the full run, start to finish.

The card also works in an original Nintendo Switch. On that console, though, you get the standard Switch version of the game, without the extra features and visual upgrades that rely on the Switch 2's hardware. On Switch 2, Notebookcheck says, the card runs with the edition's better performance, resolution and frame rate straight away, with no extra downloads or voucher codes.

The product sheet on The Pokémon Company's Asia press site fills in the rest. GAME FREAK made the game, The Pokémon Company publishes it and Nintendo sells it. It's a one-player action RPG, with battles and trading for two to four players over local wireless or the internet. The card supports 10 languages, including English, Japanese, Korean and both Simplified and Traditional Chinese.

The Ultra Ball gift is a one-time code you redeem through Mystery Gift. You'll need an internet connection and a Nintendo Account, but not a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership. The Pokémon Company says it takes about an hour of play before Mystery Gift unlocks in the game.

The Australian price and where to buy it

Vooks reports that the A$154.95 bundle is exclusive to the Nintendo Store in Australia and New Zealand, so don't expect to see it at JB Hi-Fi or EB Games. Vooks also points out that the DLC on its own costs A$45, and that local shops are already discounting the base game. If you just want to play, buying the two separately could work out cheaper. The bundle's real draw is having everything on one physical card. Notebookcheck notes that earlier all-in-one Pokémon cartridges, like the Sword and Shield releases with their DLC included, now go for a lot more second-hand. That's one reason collectors tend to jump early on releases like this.

In the US, Notebookcheck reports the bundle is listed at US$99.99, which matches the US$69.99 game plus the US$29.99 expansion. The US announcement on Pokémon.com gives the same 29 October date. Neither official announcement lists a price.

Physical Switch 2 releases with everything on the card have been a theme this year. Capcom's Devil May Cry 5 Devil Hunter Edition got a cartridge release in August, and so did Elden Ring Tarnished Edition. Nintendo's own Ocarina of Time for Switch 2 follows on 5 November.

A quick refresher on Z-A and Mega Dimension

Pokémon Legends: Z-A came out worldwide on 16 October 2025 for Switch and Switch 2. It's set entirely in Lumiose City, where an urban redevelopment plan is under way. The Pokémon Company calls it the first game in the series with real-time battles, so fights play out as action, not turn by turn.

By day you explore the city and its Wild Zones, fenced-off areas where wild Pokémon live and can be caught. At night, the Z-A Royale takes over. A battle zone pops up somewhere in the city, ringed by red holographic fencing, and trainers fight their way up the ranks.

Notebookcheck says Mega Dimension came out on 10 December 2025. It starts with space-time distortions appearing all over Lumiose City. A girl named Ansha shows up with the Mythical Pokémon Hoopa, and you dive into the distortions to reach Hyperspace Lumiose, a strange version of the city where powerful Pokémon live. The DLC also adds Holo-X and Holo-Y outfits you can wear straight away in the main game.

Z-A sold well. Notebookcheck says it sold 5.8 million units in its first week, and nearly half of those copies were activated on Switch 2.

Pokopia gets a bundle too, but not here

The Pokémon Company announced a second bundle for the same day, Pokémon Pokopia plus its Expansion Pass. Pokopia is the series' first slow-life sandbox game. You play a Ditto that's turned into a human and builds a new life alongside other Pokémon. The Expansion Pass covers Part 1, which is out now, plus Parts 2 and 3 still to come.

That one isn't coming to Australia, at least for now. Reports differ on where it's sold. Vooks says Japan only, while GoNintendo reports Japan and South Korea. GoNintendo also says it's on a Game-Key Card, not a full cartridge, at roughly US$85, with a set of Berry furniture as a bonus. If an Australian version is planned, Nintendo hasn't said so.

What to do before 29 October

If you want the physical bundle, check the Nintendo Store's Australian site, and keep in mind that store-only releases can sell out on pre-order. If you already own Z-A on Switch 2, you don't need it, unless you collect cartridges or want the Ultra Balls.

For newcomers, it's a simple package. It's the complete Z-A story on one card, with the real-time battles, Lumiose City and Hoopa's trip through hyperspace, in time for the end-of-year holidays. Release day is Thursday 29 October.