Summary of "Pokemon Legends: Z-A Glitches that STILL WORK"

Host / context

Video by EHD (footage recorded on Switch 2). Covers glitches still working after the Mega Dimension DLC and 2.0.x patches, plus some DLC-only exploits for donuts, shinies and loot. Notes: some large glitches were patched (bench-walking, alpha-spawn overload, shiny duplication). The video shows surviving glitches and a few that no longer work.

Main storyline / gameplay highlights

General praise for movement, the battle system, and characters in Lumiose City and the Mega Dimension DLC (Hyperspace, Rayquaza fight, special scans).
DLC additions:
- Hyperspace surveys and special scans.
- Donuts with powers (e.g., Sparkling Power).
- Five-star zones that grant high-tier loot and boosted/guaranteed shiny spawns when donuts have the right powers.

Glitches, exploits and useful tips

Below are grouped glitches/exploits with step summaries where relevant.

1) Bring wild Pokémon outside their Wild Zone (fun/unique)

Works with wild Pokémon that aggro and then temporarily disappear (Dig, Bounce, Phantom Force).

Steps:

Aggro the wild Pokémon and lead it to a zone exit.
Wait for it to use Dig (or Bounce), then walk out the exit while it’s underground.
The Pokémon will pop up outside the wild zone in a “panic” state (won’t target you).
Pause, save and reset — after reload the Pokémon will target normally and can be battled/caught in the new zone.

Uses: parade an alpha through Lumio City, or place species in zones where they don’t normally spawn.

2) Backup-save exploit — reroll donuts, pick shinies, and farm specific loot (DLC, very useful)

Key mechanics:

A backup save is created only when you fast-travel or heal at a Pokémon Center (not overwritten by normal autosaves).
To load a backup from the title screen: hold Up (stick or D‑pad) + X + B at the title screen to bring up the backup-save menu.

Donut reroll / get desired powers:

Heal at a Pokémon Center (creates backup). Craft a donut. If powers aren’t desired, close the game, reload backup and retry.
Sparkling Power 3 requires ≥420 Sweet stat (700+ does not further increase odds beyond ≥420).

Guaranteed/hand-select shinies in Hyperspace:

Make a donut with the matching Sparkling power and enter the matching hyperspace zone.
Find the guaranteed shiny, or close the game and reload the backup to reroll until you get the exact species/alpha/shiny you want.

Loot (rare balls, bottle caps, berries):

Use five-star special scans (battle or wild) and a suitable donut (item-power or just five-star).
Battle zones: defeat a specific NPC (e.g., a collector with Ultra Ball cap gives rare balls). Autosave triggers after defeat but before claiming—reload to reroll their drop.
Wild zones: use item-power donuts, break floating Pokéballs, save in front of the gold ball; reload to reroll if unsatisfied.

Big benefit: massive time saved rerolling expensive resources and desired outcomes.

3) Hyperspace survey cutscene bug (DLC progress stall)

Symptom: If you max research mid-mission/cutscene, the game may not trigger the “survey complete” story cutscene and the story won’t progress.
Fix/workaround: Enter another hyperspace portal and complete at least one mission/cutscene; the missing cutscene should then play and progress resumes.
Note: patch notes claim it was fixed, but the presenter still found conditions that can trigger it, so the workaround remains useful.

4) Small visual and animation glitches (harmless/funny)

Draco Meteor briefly clears certain lighting/fog, revealing a low-res/faded distant world for a few seconds.
Defeating a moving Pokémon mid-air can cause its model to snap back/teleport oddly during withdrawal.
NPC Pokéball leftover in double team-ups: sometimes a partner’s Pokéball model remains visible during throw-in cutscenes.

5) Getting stuck (player or Pokémon)

Pokémon poking through ceilings/walls (e.g., Feraligator with Aqua Jet); they generally teleport back if you move away.
Player stuck sliding by a lamp post: running into a lamp post at a specific angle can trigger a stuck/falling animation that fades to black and teleports you back to the Pokémon Center (fail-safe).
Roof bench corners can trap you briefly — teleporting/warping solves it.
Ladder desync / ROM glide ladder gap: rom-glide + quick climb can desync your model creating a visual gap from the ladder (visual only).
Wild Pokémon stuck under roofs/shingles — use withdraw or safe ranged attacks to defeat/catch high-level alphas safely.

6) ZA Royale / camera and victory sequence oddities

If the final knock-out lands while your character is falling or on a ladder, the victory camera doesn’t zoom in and you can free-pan the camera during the victory animation — a neat cinematic effect and small exploit.

7) Floating buildings & world seams

Example: a building in the John district floats above a pit exposing the void underneath (visual only).

8) Canary NPC interaction oddity

Canary can be talked to through a room wall in one spot — dialogue appears even though there’s a wall between you and her.

9) Day/night cutscene silence / delayed cutscene & blackout timing

Jumping/falling while a day-night transition/cutscene triggers can mute audio until the sequence completes.
Being attacked and knocked out while on ladders or mid-fall produces delayed blackout animations (HUD disappears, then a pause before the usual kneel/teleport).

10) Useful roof movement tricks

You can jump/climb certain slanted roofs even without a visible platform by holding forward and using ROM glide timing — helps reach places faster.

Patched-out (no longer works in latest update)

Bench-walking (airwalk while dialog box open): previously allowed floating across the map, seeing low-res areas, clipping out of tutorial, and walking up to the Prism Tower. Now patched (dialogue delayed until you stop moving).
Shiny duplication (lure a shiny far from spawn, save/reset, lure further, save/reset, reload and duplicate) — patched.
Alpha spawn overload under the Tower (repeat lure/save/reset to multiply alpha spawns up to 6 under the ruined tower) — patched (but instances created pre-patch can remain).

Other small mentions / curiosities

Rare cutscene/name text bugs in the final “Here in Lumio City” mission (some dialogue shows “Charizard, the Pokémon’s name” instead of the trainer’s name) — clip from Callum demonstrates it.
Some behaviors resemble legacy engine bugs (similarities to Scarlet/Violet were noted).
A floating building clip was found by “small ant.”

Practical tips & quick references

Create a backup save by fast-traveling or healing at a Pokémon Center before any exploit you might want to reroll.
Load backup from the title screen: hold Up + X + B at the title screen (hold before title appears or right when it appears).
For Sparkling Power 3 on donuts: aim for at least 420 Sweet stat.
If a DLC hyperspace survey appears complete but the story doesn’t progress, enter another portal and complete a mission to trigger the missing cutscene.