During Nintendo’s Pokemon Presents stream last month, the publisher announced an unexpected upcoming Pokemon game. While players were hotly anticipating the formal announcement of Diamond and Pearl remakes, they weren’t expecting the Sinnoh region in the form of a prequel titled Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
This is territory Nintendo hasn’t yet explored with the Pokemon franchise. Seemingly drawing inspiration from Breath of the Wild‘s form of open world exploration, Pokemon Legends: Arceus will allow players to explore the Sinnoh region before it was founded. Players will assist in creating the very first Pokedex for Sinnoh, making this the first time the Pokemon series has explored a historical era. This opens many doors for the Pokemon franchise’s future in the way of expansions or even a Pokemon Legends series, should Arceus become a well-received title.
As many players know, the Pokemon regions are each based on real-world countries and locations. For example, Pokemon Sun and Moon‘s Alola region is based on Hawaii, and Sword and Shield‘s Galar region is based on the United Kingdom. But the original handful of Pokemon generations were all based in Japan before the series expanded outwards. In fact, they actually mimic real Japanese cities and prefectures. Kanto is based on the Kanto prefecture, Johto on Kansai, Hoenn on Kyushu Island, and Sinnoh on Hokkaido, the northern-most of the three main islands.
While Hokkaido, and therefore Sinnoh, are mostly detached from the mainland, it’s easy to get there from the big island by bullet train. This leaves Nintendo with a great opportunity to expand into DLCs by expanding the map out to other Japanese regions for players to explore. Additionally, by giving Pokemon Legends the subtitle of Arceus, it could leave room for other Pokemon Legends games in the future.
One way to explore this possible new trend set by Pokemon Legends is with the Mythical Pokemon. Arceus is what’s known as a Mythical Pokemon, and there are many others besides it, though Arceus is significant because it is said to have shaped the world with its 1,000 arms. In Sinnoh, it’s known as the “Original One” because it is said to have created the region. No other Pokemon is known to have possibly created the entire universe, but that doesn’t mean other Mythical Pokemon couldn’t see their own storyline or game in the future.
Jirachi is one Mythical Pokemon that hasn’t been explored in games very extensively. It was originally introduced during the Pokemon anime’s movie Jirachi: Wish Maker. Because of its mythical nature, Jirachi isn’t obtainable by normal means in the mainline games but can be acquired through methods like trading and transferring.
It’s difficult to tell when chronologically Pokemon Legends takes place, though it’s obvious that it’s a prequel set in a historical period. Some players have compared it to feudal Japan, which began nearly a millennium ago. Jirachi only awakens once every 1,000 years and its design is inspired by traditional Tanabata festivals in Japan, so it’s possible Jirachi’s previous awakening before it woke for Wish Maker could be shown in a Pokemon Legends game.
Perhaps the other most prolific Mythical Pokemon, aside from Arceus, is Mew. Mew is the first Mythical and Legendary Pokemon to ever appear in the franchise, and is largely iconic. It is said to contain the DNA of every Pokemon, putting it at equal importance to Arceus in terms of the universe’s creation. It would be interesting to see Mew appear in a Pokemon Legends game similar to how Arceus will have significance to Sinnoh’s story.
Regardless of how it’s done, Nintendo is expanding the Pokemon franchise by exploring formats aside from the normal formula. If it hits right with players next year, it’s likely that Pokemon Legends: Arceus won’t be the only game of its type.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is planned to release in early 2022 on the Nintendo Switch.
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