After years of having the same stagnant formula present in the mainline series, Pokemon Legends: Arceus finally mixes it up and gives us a world that can be fully explored in 3D.
Legends Arceus sticks you in the action from the getgo and doesn’t let go. This new level of freedom for the franchise has also given us a ton of new secrets and easter eggs that can be easy to miss on your first or even your third playthrough.
From the way that the game lets you interact with the world to how the developers chose to depict that world, there are a number of things that can be easy to miss.
Be warned that there might be some slight spoilers in this list depending on your tolerance so if you’d rather discover some of these things on your own, head out now. Otherwise, here are 10 things in Pokemon Legends: Arceus that you may have overlooked while getting lost in the Hisui region.
Why Hisui and What Does It Mean?
Every Pokemon region is based on some real-world location. Unova is based on the United States, Kalos is France, Galar region is the UK, and Sinnoh is Japan.
The Hisui region is no different and offers up a host of new region variants that are all based on the history of the culture and geography of Japan’s Hokkaido region or Ezo as it would have been known long ago – much like how ancient Sinnoh was known as Hisui.
If you are currently playing Legends Arceus, you may have noticed the abundance of jade on bridges and the Galaxy team Headquarters. Well, it turns out that Hisui means jade in Japanese, and that namesake is definitely emphasized in the architecture of the budding civilization there.
You Can Farm
If you are too busy trying to figure out the secret of the rifts in the Hisui region, you may have overlooked a helpful feature tucked away in Jubilife village. Talk to Miller on the West side of the village and he will ask you to give him a Pokemon to help with the fields. Doing these requests will allow you to talk to Colza who will actually plant the resources you want.
Anything from Apricorns to berries to medicinal crops is possible. This is extremely helpful especially early on as it will allow you to store a cache of useful resources without having to pay for them or hunt them down out in the Pokemon infested wilderness.
Everyone’s Ancestors Are Here
Pokemon Legends: Arceus takes place in ancient Sinnoh and this gives us the unique opportunity to see the region from the Diamond and Pearl games in a way we never have before, including some of our favorite characters.
We get to see fan-favorite characters like Cynthia’s ancestor in Volo, Professor Rowan’s ancestor in Commander Kammado, Galactic Boss Cyrus’ ancestor in Captain Cyllene, and many more are all represented in Legends Arceus.
While some may have an easy-to-spot physical resemblance, some may share personality quirks such as Volo and Cynthia who are both interested in ancient lore and have the same team of Pokemon.
There are a ton of shared personality traits and appearances shared by many Pokemon characters over the years here, so be on the lookout for more.
Pokemon Animations
Animations are what help to give personality to many of these pocket monsters. And the animations in Pokemon Legends: Arceus are some of the best that the franchise has to offer.
Just hide in some grass and observe Mr. Mime as he pretends to sit on an invisible bench and sip a drink. Or take a moment to observe Nosepass, who if you don’t bother, will always turn and face North since his large schnoz is a giant magnet.
There’s also Sudowoodo who will be living his best life until you spook him in which case he stands stock still with his arms up: pretending to be a tree. Or if you happen to be near a Blissey and get hurt, it will run up to you to check to make sure you are okay before running off again.
All of these little animations bring so much personality, so you’ll there’s more than one reason to stalk Pokemon quietly, you may see something interesting.
Releasing Pokemon Has Been Upgraded
Being able to release your Pokemon has been a feature in every Pokemon title but few have ever given you an incentive to do so. First and foremost, it does save space in your pastures but that’s not the best part.
Legends Arceus will give players grit items that help to level up Pokemon and with all the pocket monsters you’ll be catching during your adventures, you’ll be thankful for the additional help.
The release system also warns you when you are about to release a special type of Pokemon such as a shiny variant. With this, you never have to worry about being too concerned if you are about to delete a shiny anymore. Imagine all the shinies this little feature is going to save.
Unlocking Manaphy
Often, Pokemon games will use saved data from other games to unlock new Pokemon in the newest title. Legends Arceus takes that a step further and provides a quest that is much easier to complete if you visited the Canaleve in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and read a book about The Sea’s Legend.
It hints at the Pokemon you need in your party to make Manaphy appear which are Buizel, Mantyke, and Overqwill. Without those games (or the internet), you might be struggling to understand how to get the mythical Pokemon to appear at all!
It makes one think that they should be reading up on all the lore in Legends Arceus because who knows when it might pay off down the road.
Hisui Growlithe and Arcanine Art Style
It’s common for Game Freak to design their Pokemon based on real-life cultural and environmental differences between the areas that inspire their regions and Hisui is no different.
The Growlithe line was already likely based on Shisa statues from the region but now with that distinct horn on its head in its Hisui variant, it more closely resembles a Komainu statue.
The Hisui Zoroark line is another great example since they resemble the Kitsune white mask variant Hakuku due to their coloring and their tendency to take on the appearance of other Pokemon. Make sure you are observing these new variants closely, they may be hiding deeper secrets than you may realize.
A Fellow Time Traveler
You aren’t the only character who has been spit out into ancient Sinnoh from modern times. Ingo, the man who helps you to navigate Coronet Highlands, is actually a leader in Pokemon Black and White. He lost all his memories when he was transported back in time but he still gets little sparks of recollection about his past life.
He’ll mention things that aren’t in the world such as HMs and allude to Pokemon trainers which is a concept that’s only on the verge of being a thing in ancient Sinnoh. These little remarks help to make this event in Hisui feel more tied to the rest of the games and much grander in scale.
Big Fossils
While you are able to find fossil Pokemon roaming around distortion fields in Legends Arceus, you don’t necessarily get to find fossils, except in one place. For the first time, we are able to see Pokemon fossils in their full scale. If you happen to be surveying around Coronet Highlands, take a peek around Primeval Grotto.
Inside a cave here, you’ll come across partially revealed skeletons of Bastiodon and Rampardos. Even in the Hisui region, these Pokemon are mostly extinct. It goes to show just how old some of the Pokemon in this universe truly are.
Familiar Faces
If you have played the Diamond and Pearl games, you may be familiar with the protagonists of that generation: Lucas and Dawn. You may have also noticed their similarities to Akari and Rei.
Well since the player’s character is taken from their place in time and deposited into the Hisui region, it’s very likely that we are playing as the champion of modern-day Sinnoh and we are running around with our former rival’s ancestor through Hisui.
It’s a neat little tie-in to the rest of the world, but it can also make your head hurt a little if you think about the origins of it too much. Best left to the entities planning the universe to figure that one out.
The Game Campaign 