In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokémon are finally mysterious again
Could a Pokémon really hurt you? I mean, some might look scary, sure, but they’re usually just fun friends, right? They’re designed to be cute, cuddly, marketable furballs with magical powers. But what if that adorable Pikachu had shocked your grandma so hard she passed out? Or a Snorlax sat on your car? Pokémon have always been potentially dangerous creatures, and modern humans seem to have forgotten about that. But Pokémon Legends: Arceus works hard to insert some of the mystery back into Pokémon.
Legends: Arceus takes place hundreds of years before Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, back when the Sinnoh region was known as Hisui. The era’s buildings and fashion clearly draw inspiration from feudal Japan, and there aren’t any modern conveniences to aid trainers’ lives. (That Pokédex you’re working on is just ink and paper this time around.) To survive, the community of Jubilife Village has to band together and defend itself from the dangers outside the city walls.
When you first talk to people in the city of Jubilife, many of them are afraid of Pokémon — It’s an era before man and ‘Mon learned to live in harmony with each other. One of my first side quests came from a woman who wanted me to find her a Starly, but was clearly terrified at the idea of being too close to one. When I brought the bird back, the woman kept her distance, afraid of what might happen if she got too close.
After years of playing Pokémon games set in a modern world, it’s easy to look at these ancient villagers and see them as naïve. Every playable Pokémon character is a literal child, and they control giant dragons and legendary monsters without so much as a scratch — ignoring, of course, all those times Ash got shocked in the TV show; or that one time
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