So far most of what we’ve known about Pokemon Legends: Arceus were scant details from a single event. As the January release date approaches, though, The Pokemon Company shared more details during its Pokemon Presents stream.
The trailer showed off a variety of environments including a beach, forest, and snowy mountains of the Hisui region–which ultimately later becomes the Sinnoh region. Exploration was a big focus of the footage, including using a Pokemon as transportation like a glider, boat, and mount. We also saw sneaking around the tall grass and a quick transition into combat. The trailer showed Pokemon turning aggressive with glowing red eyes as part of the story, making them especially dangerous. It seems as if once they’re turned aggressive this way they’ll attack you, the player, rather than just your Pokemon as in normal combat.
In a subsequent detailed talk about Arceus, the studio explained that the game revolves around the Galaxy Expedition Team. You meet up with Professor Laventon who studies Pokemon ecology, Captain Cyllene of the Survey Corps, and Commander Kamado from the expedition team. You’ll go out on the expedition and make a base camp, and prepare for outings by buying or crafting items.
Out in the world you’ll manually throw Poke Balls at wild Pokemon to capture them. Some Pokemon will react differently to your presence, including some that just immediately run away, so you’ll need to hide in tall grass to sneak up on them. You can initiate a battle by throwing a Poke Ball containing one of your own Pokemon near a wild Pokemon. An action chart to the right side details the battle order, and some faster Pokemon may be able to act multiple times before their opponent can once. Your Pokemon will be able to choose from strong style for extra power but slower speed, or agile style for faster attacks with less power.
The presentation also showed off new Pokemon like the stag Wyrdeer, the water-faring Basculegion, and Hisui variants of Braviary and Growlithe.
Preorders for Pokemon Legends: Arceus open on the Nintendo eShop starting today.
Previously the company had announced that Arceus was set in the Sinnoh region, but it takes place long before modern Pokemon training even exists. It’s also said to represent a “new approach” for Pokemon with a more action-RPG focus. The earliest trailers drew comparisons to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild due to its visual style and wide-open areas.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is coming on January 28, 2022. For more, check out everything we know about Pokemon Legends: Arceus, along with our Pokemon Legends: Arceus preorder guide.
Source: Gamespot
