Remember last month when Game Freak revealed that Hawlucha would get a mega form in Pokémon Legends: Z-A with an animated sports drama starring the luchador bird and a Machamp? Well, Nintendo partnered with real luchadors to bring this fight to life. Last night, Pokémon took over a Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre event in Mexico City that had several luchadors dressed in Pokémon-themed costumes, including two who referenced the rivalry between Hawlucha and Machamp.
The Pokémon and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre collaboration was a two-hour event full of drama, mayhem, and references to different Pokémon in both costuming and in the set dressing. The ring in which the bouts took place included Pokémon Legends: Z-A branding (or Leyendas Pokémon Z-A, as it’s called in Spanish). Attendees were given paper hats of Hawlucha and Machamp to wear in the stands, and Pikachu and Eevee mascots were hanging out the whole time. If you want to watch the whole thing, it’s on Pokémon Latam’s YouTube channel, but do keep in mind this was a Spanish event. I don’t speak a word of the language, and the vibes are still pretty great.
Those who attended the event were gifted a Pokémon Home medal featuring art of Hawlucha and Machamp squaring up. As of right now, there are no plans to distribute this anywhere else outside the event. For those of us who couldn’t make it out to Mexico City, the VOD is still a really fun intersection of Pokémon and a specific culture. Lucha libre wrestling and its aesthetics have been featured in Pokémon before, both with Hawlucha itself and the Pikachu Libre cosplay variant in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, but this event takes that energy to a new level, and it’s fun to see people in the crowd playing into that crossover with their own costumes and chants.
Místico Charmander 🔥
This is peak #CMLL #LeyendasPokémonZA pic.twitter.com/zYFYDzhBfo— Emmanuel 🐝 (@Emmanurl_) September 26, 2025
The most aura there’s even been in 1 fist bump holy shit#cmll pic.twitter.com/AtRD8nZSqL
— Pete (@pinklightsticc) September 26, 2025
LOUD ASS TOGEPI CHANTS IN ARENA MEXICO 😭#CMLL pic.twitter.com/q5awnYy46U
— Pete (@pinklightsticc) September 26, 2025
THIS UMBREON MASK IN THE AUDIENCE #CMLL pic.twitter.com/ljUzo9naIe
— Pete (@pinklightsticc) September 26, 2025
Hawlucha wins the fight thanks to its Mega Evolution in the trailer, so if Machamp wants to stand a chance, it’ll probably need a new form of its own. It seems unlikely to get one when Pokémon Legends: Z-A hits Switch and Switch 2 on October 16, but maybe Mega Machamp will be revealed in the upcoming Mega Dimension DLC?
