The Pokemon Company and Nintendo have had quite a busy year withPokemonreleases and announcements, with the most hyped of the bunch being the remakes of Generation 4 games —Pokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearl— and the all-newPokemon Legends: Arceus. While the former are faithful yet ambitious remakes,Pokemon Legends: Arceusis an even more ambitious project.Legends: Arceusis going to be the first open-worldPokemongame ever, even if it’snot a fully open-world experiencelike that ofBreath of the Wild.
The fact that Pokemon Legends: Arceus is going to be a prequel is a refreshing take on Pokemon games, where lore can be a bit harder to come by when trying to compare all the different regions and the games' timeline of events. Still, this also poses a possible issue with Pokemon Legends: Arceus depending on how it will handle the encounter with Arceus, and what will happen with the titular Legendary Pokemon story-wise. In fact, Arceus was available in Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, which means that players could catch it.
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The Case for Arceus Not Being Available in Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Given that players could obtain Arceus inGeneration 4 games, and presumably this will also be the case withPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearl, there could be big story implications if players can or can’t catch the Legendary Pokemon inPokemon Legends: Arceus.
If Arceus is available, there should also be an explanation as to why players can indeed catch it and train it. The main problem that arises from Arceus' availability stems from not only is Arceus a Legendary Pokemon (a unique Pokemon, unlike common breeds), but also the creator of the entirePokemonuniverse. This means that players catching it inPokemon Legends: Arceuswould create an impossible timeline for Generation 4 games and remakes, unless something in the chronology happens between the two games.
This is already somewhat of an issue with online battles whenever players can use the same Legendary Pokemon, which are meant to be unique and not capable of reproducing. Lore-wise, this has never been officially addressed, as it’s an obvious side effect of Legendary Pokemon being available to every player who purchases the game — and rightfully so. Because Arceus is the titular Legendary Pokemon for the game, it’s only natural thatPokemon Legends: Arceus' narrative will include it as a key factor in the unfolding of events, and how the first Trainers of the Hisui region got to live side by side with their Pokemon.
Pokemongames have always been about the relationshipbetween each Trainer and their Pokemon, and this further shows with Gym Leaders throughout the series, as well as the main story. As such, it’s also possible that if players do get to catch Arceus inPokemon Legends: Arceus, then the ending of the game could imply that one day the Pokemon will be released to live its life in the wilds.
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The Case for Arceus Being Available in Pokemon Legends: Arceus
There is also a counter-argument to be made here if players can’t catch Arceus in the upcoming Switch game. The main issue would be that, precisely because it is thetitular Pokemon,Pokemon Legends: Arceuswould be setting itself up for disappointment if it didn’t allow players to catch the mythical creature. It is customary for eachPokemongame to have a cover critter — usually a Legendary — that ends up being involved in the main plot. Typically cover Pokemon join the list of available Pokemon in the game towards the end, especially so if there are multiple titles with version-exclusive creatures.
A game as ambitious asPokemon Legends: Arceuscould fall flat if it didn’t feature a playable version of the god of all Pokemon itself, and also allow players to catch it after an intense battle. Having Arceus only appear for story purposes could be anticlimatic to the narrative when that doesn’t resolve in an encounter with theLegendary Pokemon, as a battle against it with a chance to catch it could be too important to miss out on for players. However, doing so would result in the above issues, and not including this could be detrimental to the general reception of the game.
Ultimately, Game Freak has the hard job of balancing the best of both options, feeling like something that would break the narrative of the series. Alternatively, an option could be to have players fight against other Pokemon and the sparse Trainers ofHisuiwith Arceus by their side, without necessarily having caught it in conventional ways, making it an allegiance of sorts between the parties. Hopefully,Pokemon Legends: Arceusis not going to live off its own hype and then vanish when it inevitably dies down, especially if fans are disappointed by the titular Pokemon’s appearance and involvement in-game.
Pokemon Legends: Arceusreleases on August 05, 2025, for Nintendo Switch.
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