Technologies

How to Redeem Every Pokemon Legends: Z-A Mystery Gift Code and Reward

Prepare for your city-spanning Pokemon adventure with some extra goodies. These free mystery gift codes and rewards are available for you to grab today.

After 12 years, it’s finally time for Pokemon players to head back to the Kalos region in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, the newest game in the popular monster-catching franchise. If you’ve missed the worldwide capital of Mega Pokemon, fairy-type Pokemon and a whole bunch of baked bread, now’s the time to jump back into the world of pocket monsters.

The Switch 2’s first Pokemon game seems a bit scarier this time around. Though the beautiful Lumiose City projects safety and security, recent unexplained rampages from wild Mega Pokemon threaten the peace.

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Between unearthing the cause of this phenomenon and taking down competitors in the Z-A Royale Pokemon battle ladder, there’s a lot of work to do in the Kalos region. You’ll need special partners to get the job done — and there are some special Mystery Gifts that have just the powerful pals you’re looking for.

Even though Pokemon Legends: Z-A is still a fairly new game, there are already three Mystery Gift codes you can redeem right now. These will unlock a rare Pokemon and tons of items that will help you prepare for competitive mode, which is especially important if you want to unlock limited-time Mega Stones that are walled behind ranked player-versus-player battling.

All active Mystery Gifts for Pokemon Legends: Z-A

While some Pokemon Legends: Z-A promo codes are uniquely tied to Nintendo purchases, we’ve gathered every free code and redemption requirement in one place for you here.

Below is a chart that contains every active Mystery Gift code for Pokemon Legends: Z-A, what it unlocks and its expiration date:

Active Pokemon Legends: Z-A Mystery Gifts

Reward	Code or alternative redemption requirements	Expiration date
Ralts holding Gardevoirite	No associated code. Select «Get via internet» in the Mystery Gift menu.	Feb. 28, 2026
100x Poke Balls	Every code is unique. You can unlock the code for this Mystery Gift by purchasing the digital version of Pokemon Legends: Z-A. The code will be sent to the email associated with your Nintendo account.	March 10, 2026
3x Fast Balls, 3x Lure Balls, 3x Heavy Balls, 3x Level Balls	Every code is unique. You can unlock the code for this Mystery Gift by purchasing the Mega Dimension DLC. The code will be sent to the email associated with your Nintendo account.	March 10, 2026

How to redeem Mystery Gifts in Pokemon Legends: Z-A

If you have Mystery Gift codes to redeem in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, you’re likely eager to grab those rewards as soon as possible. But you need to do a little bit of legwork before unlocking the code redemption menu.

To unlock Mystery Gift functionality, you need to progress through the main story until you reach the third main mission, called A New Life in Lumiose City.

During this mission, you’ll meet Mable, the acting director of the Pokemon Research Lab in Kalos. Once you unlock Mable’s research, a new «Link Play» tab becomes accessible in the pause menu.

Within the Link Play tab, you can redeem Mystery Gift codes — as long as you’re connected to the internet.

What are Mystery Gifts?

Mystery Gifts are a long-running way to reward Pokemon players with extra goodies. The official gift distributions have existed since Pokemon Gold and Silver was released in 1999.

Back then, players needed to have special hardware — like a Game Boy Advance Wireless Adaptor — in order to acquire Mystery Gifts. Newer games make the process much easier, since you need only connect to Wi-Fi in order to access gifts for the Pokemon games on the Nintendo Switch.

While some Mystery Gifts are accessible for free, others are unlocked by promo codes that you’ll have to hunt down through specific means. Mystery Gifts are good ways to gather precious items, add mythical Pokemon to the Pokedex and capture rare shiny Pokemon.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 24 #692

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Jan. 24, No. 692.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is one of those where the answers only make sense in pairs. There are six answers to find, and each of them matches up with one of the other answers. Some of them are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: A work of art.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: On museum walls.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

FINS, FINE, FINES, GARB, BOAT, GATES, GATES, FIST, RATE, RATS, STAR, PAINT, SILL, SPAT

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

STARRY, NIGHT, WATER, LILIES, BOATING, PARTY

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is FAMOUSPAINTING. To find it, start with the F that’s four letters down on the far-left vertical row, and wind up, across, and then down.

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Toughest Strands puzzles

Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the toughest.

#1: Dated slang. Maybe you didn’t even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.

#2: Thar she blows! I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT.

#3: Off the hook. Again, it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK.

Technologies

San Diego Comic-Con Draws a Line: No AI Art Allowed at 2026 Event

The long-running fan convention is banning AI-created works from its popular art show.

Like Sarah Connor in The Terminator, San Diego Comic-Con is fighting back against AI. The prestigious, long-running pop culture convention has banned all artwork created by artificial intelligence from the 2026 Comic-Con art show. Rules posted on the Comic-Con website now state that AI-generated art won’t be shown in any form.

«Material created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) either partially or wholly, is not allowed in the art show. If there are questions, the Art Show Coordinator will be the sole judge of acceptability,» the website reads.

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A representative for San Diego Comic-Con did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the past, the convention allowed participants to display AI artwork, provided it was clearly marked as such and wasn’t sold. But now, those artists can’t even bring it through the door. The rule change is a response to artist-led pushback, according to a 404 Media report. San Diego Comic-Con is one of the world’s most famous pop culture conventions, uniting comics, movies, television, gaming, cosplay and collectibles.

Jim Zub, writer for the Conan the Barbarian and Dungeons and Dragons comic book series, told CNET he supports Comic-Con’s decision and hopes other conventions will follow their lead.

«Hundreds of thousands of people attend San Diego Comic-Con each year, and the excitement that generates isn’t because they’re eager to meet a computer spitting out homogenized slop,» Zub said.

Zub, who’s also an artist, is scheduled to appear at Comic-Con in 2026.

Entertaining AI

The use of generative AI in comic book and pop culture art has generated controversy in recent years as AI programs have become more skilled at imitating creators.

A central focus of the 2023 actor’s strike involved backlash against the use of AI in movies and television. The issue has continued to roil Hollywood, as actors, special effects designers, and other film workers see the technology as a threat, while some movie studios view AI as a way to reduce production costs.

Netflix has already begun using AI-generated imagery in at least one series, Argentine sci-fi show El Eternauta. CEO Ted Sarandos praised the technology during a 2025 earnings call.

«We remain convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper,» Sarandos said at the time.

AI is also an issue in the video game industry, with publishers facing swift backlash whenever fans discover AI was used in a game. The Indie Game Awards rescinded two awards for the hit RPG, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, after they found out that AI-made placeholder assets were included when the game launched. The game developer quickly patched the assets out.

While the movie and video game industries appear to have mixed views on using AI, Comic-Con has taken a firm stance, at least for now.

«Artists, writers, actors and other creatives gather and celebrate the popular arts in person because the people part of the equation is what matters most,» Zub said.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Jan. 24

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 24.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s a long one, as per usual on Saturday. 1-Down made me awfully hungry! Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.