Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Japanese: Pokémon LEGENDS アルセウス, Hepburn: Pokémon LEGENDS Arceus) is a Generation VIII game taking place in the Hisui region, the Sinnoh region long before the events of Diamond and Pearl. The game released worldwide on January 28, 2022.
Blurb[]
Action meets RPG in a new kind of Pokémon Adventure!
Research Pokémon for the Hisui region's first Pokédex
Catch Pokémon using your battle skills—or stealth and wits!
Answer the call of Arceus, said to be the creator of this world!
Features[]
- The game has a near-fully open landscape rather than having set routes, similar to the Wild Area in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield.
- The game allows the player to craft. Crafting can be used to make different items that will help you in your journey. Along with the crafting system is the ability to mine and scavenge for resources.
- The player is able to choose from three Starter Pokémon found by Professor Laventon during his travels throughout regions, each originating from a different previous installment in the mainline Pokémon games. These Pokémon are Rowlet from the Alola region, Cyndaquil from the Johto region, and Oshawott from the Unova region. These Pokémon’s final evolutions receive new regional forms.
- The setting is that of the Hisui region, a region that would later come to be known as Sinnoh. The game's events take place many centuries ago when it was largely made up of untouched nature, there were little settlements, and the bond between people and Pokémon is still undeveloped.
- The player is part of the Galaxy Expedition Team, which is implied to eventually become Team Galactic.
- The player can participate in Survey Outings to document and learn about Pokémon of Hisui. They begin by preparing at base camps located around the region.
- The player can observe Pokémon behaviors and sneak up on Pokémon in order to catch them as an alternative to battling them. However, some Pokémon interact differently to encountering the player. Some may run away, some may approach the player in interest, and others may attack the player.
- The game features every Pokémon introduced in Generation IV, as well as a handful introduced after. However, a few Pokémon in the Sinnoh dex from Generations I-III are absent.
- Pokédex entries are now less straightforward to fill out. Rather than only having to catch a Pokémon once to register it, the player must now complete a variety of tasks involving catching or battling that species to increase each Pokémon’s research level. The full entry is filled out after increasing the research level to 10.
- Several new Pokémon are introduced; all except one are new evolutions for either existing Pokémon (such as Ursaluna and Wyrdeer) or for Hisuian forms (such as Sneasler and Overqwil).
- Dialga and Palkia both gain new Origin forms.
- There are new player movement options such as dodging, which allows them to become temporarily invulnerable to attacks.
- Pokémon battles are now seamless, having no transition, and take place in real time. The player can activate this by throwing a Poké Ball containing one of their team members in front of a wild Pokémon.
- The turn system is reworked, with it now being possible for a player to have multiple turns in a row depending on the Pokémon's Speed stat.
- The player's Pokémon can master moves and can use two variants of any mastered move: a Strong Style and an Agile Style. Strong Style moves increase the move's power but decrease the Pokémon's move speed while the Agile Style decreases the move's power but increases the Pokémon's move speed. Using a move in either Strong or Agile Style uses twice as much PP as using the normal version of the move.
- Just like previous installments, there is a day and night cycle. However, it is not based on the real-time clock and instead follows a pre-set amount of real time. Players can change the time of day by resting at any base camp.
- Regional forms first introduced in Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon have returned, as well as new evolutions for previous Pokémon.
- Player characters can take damage from being attacked by wild Pokémon, falling, or drowning. If the Player takes took much damage from attacks or other injuries, they will black out, causing them to lose a variety of different items. These lost satchels can be found and returned by other players via the internet.
- After a certain period of time exploring an area inhabited by Pokémon, Space-time Distortions may appear in random locations where rare Pokémon and items can temporarily be found inside.
- There are "Alpha" Pokémon, which are similar to regular Pokémon, but larger, have glowing red eyes, and are stronger overall. After catching these Alphas, they will remain large and powerful, but will lose the eye glow.
- There are events known as "Mass Outbreaks," which are periods of time where many of one Pokémon spawn in a certain area.
- In the Daybreak update, a new phenomenon called "Massive Mass Outbreaks" was added where several Mass Outbreaks occur at once for a short time similar to Space-time Distortions.
Wild Pokémon Behaviors[]
SPOILER WARNING Plot and/or ending details may follow. |
Wild Pokémon can have four different behaviors depending on species.
- Timid - Will actively run away from the player
- Friendly - Will get close to a player, and act playful.
- Neutral - Has the Friendly behavior when approaching it, but will change to Hostile when provoked.
- Hostile - Will actively attack the player when it spots them.
Alpha Pokemon and Pokemon that appeared in Space-Time Distortions are Hostile regardless of its species.
Pokémon | Behavior | |
---|---|---|
Rowlet | Timid | |
Dartrix | Neutral | |
Decidueye | Hostile | |
Dewott | Hostile | |
Samurott | Hostile | |
Scyther | Hostile | |
Eevee | Timid | |
Wurmple | Timid | |
Silcoon | Neutral | |
Beautifly | Hostile | |
Cascoon | Neutral | |
Dustox | Hostile | |
Bidoof | Friendly | |
Bibarel | Hostile | |
Starly | Timid | |
Staravia | Hostile | |
Staraptor | Hostile | |
Drifloon | Hostile | |
Drifblim | Hostile | |
Mothim | Hostile | |
Burmy | Hostile | |
Landorus | Hostile |
Pokémon[]
New Pokémon[]
- Wyrdeer Normal/Psychic
- Kleavor Bug/Rock
- Ursaluna Ground/Normal
- Basculegion Water/Ghost
- Sneasler Poison/Fighting
- Overqwil Dark/Poison
- Enamorus Fairy/
Hisuian Forms[]
Analogous to the Alolan forms and Galarian forms, there are Regional variants in the Hisui Region known as Hisuian forms.
List of Hisuian forms[]
- Growlithe Fire/Rock
- Arcanine Fire/Rock
- Avalugg Ice/Rock
- Decidueye Grass/Fighting
- Typhlosion Fire/Ghost
- Samurott Water/Dark
- Qwilfish Dark/Poison
- Sneasel Poison/Fighting
- Braviary Psychic/
- Zorua Normal/Ghost
- Zoroark Normal/Ghost
- Voltorb Electric/Grass
- Electrode Electric/Grass
- Lilligant Grass/Fighting
- Sliggoo Steel/Dragon
- Goodra Steel/Dragon
Patches[]
Info below is retrieved from Serebii.
Version | Release date | Size (Blocks/Bytes) | Fixes |
---|---|---|---|
1.0.1 | January 26, 2022 | Unknown |
|
1.0.2 | February 8, 2022 | Unknown |
|
1.1.0 | February 27, 2022 | Unknown |
|
1.1.1 | March 18, 2022 | Unknown |
|
Trivia[]
- It was announced on February 26, 2021 on Pokémon's 25th Anniversary.
- "Hisui" translates to "jade"; keeping the mineral naming of the era.
- This is the first mainline installment:
- To have real-time battles and seamless transitions.
- To not have any new Starter Pokémon while also not being a remake of a previous installment.
- It is also the first mainline game to have each Starter Pokémon from a different region rather than all of them originating in the same region.
- It is also the first mainline installment since Pokémon Gold and Silver to return to a region from a previous generation without being a remake.
- To have human characters on their box art.
- To have wild Pokémon catchable straight from the overworld.
- To have playable characters being attacked and damaged by different means.
- Since Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 to have Pikachu use its in-game cry (Generation II through V version) rather than its anime cry.
- This will be the first main series game since Platinum to not be released in a pair with another game.
- The player characters, Rei and Akari, closely bear resemblance to Lucas and Dawn, which could possibly mean that they are their ancestors. There are also many characters bearing resemblance to characters from Diamond and Pearl.
- During the reveal, much of the art shown is in a traditional Japanese shodō style, including the art of the Starter Pokémon. The "Arceus" in the title is also written in this distinctive style.
- The environments are somewhat similar to those in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
- The game's logo has the same colors as the logo for Pokémon 4Ever.
- The two clans featured in the games are named after the original Gen 4 games; the Diamond Clan and Pearl Clan respectively.
- Trade Evolutions are now replaced by an item named the "Linking Cord." You get the Linking Cord by going to the Trading Post in Jubilife Village, and buying it for 1,000 MP (Merit Points). Merit Points are gained by collecting other players' Lost Satchels, and redeeming the Merit Points from the Lost & Found in the menu. You can also get them in the space-time distortions.