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We have full history about Gen 6 development so we basically can especulate how Gamefreak development goes for the 3D games.
>2010 before Gen 5 release, pre-production stage they wrote the initial drafts about what the next game is going to be.
>2011, they start producing the game. At this period they're just testing stuff and there's no resemblance with the final game because of its test nature.
>2012, they start creating the game proper. At this period you can see the maps, the characters and even the designs of the new Pokémon being created and altered. By the end of 2012, basically everything is set to stone.
>2013, they complete the game. There's only minor alterations at this point.
Z-A most likely was in pre-production in 2021 where PLA was scheduled to release. They started producing the game in 2022, continued to 2023 and reached final stages by this year. Meaning there won't be major alterations at this point onward just like they decided what they were going to to with XY at some point in 2012. Now they're just finishing what was decided already.
