Pokemon games are often considered to be light on story. Most of the series' mainline entries follow the same overarching patterns of becoming Pokemon League Champion, completing the regional Pokedex, and stopping evil teams from using god-like creatures to wreak havoc. The details and individual characters vary, but Game Freak has thrived on this largely uniform identity. That's part of what makes Pokemon Legends: Arceus a fun experience; it leans harder into the underlying, interconnected lore of the universe more than any game to-date.
Plenty of prior games have emphasized different ways the Pokemon world is interconnected, like the real-world countries each region is based on. For example, Kanto and Johto are conjoined and share the same League headquarters at Indigo Plateau. Alola is full of Kantonian Pokemon and regional variants, meanwhile players run into characters including Gen 1 protagonist Red, Unova Elite Four Grimsley, Hoenn Frontier Brain Anabel, and Kalos research assistants Dexio and Sina. The games even offer worldbuilding elements inspired by earlier entries, such as Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire's Mauville City being remodeled after Lumiose City.
However, while fans have always been able to track the movement of different characters; like Kalos Gym Leader Valerie being from Johto or Galar Gym Leader Kabu being from Hoenn; rarely has that been more obvious or interesting as in Legends: Arceus. The latest Pokemon game is mechanically experimental, but also sets itself a few hundred years in the past when modern-day Sinnoh was known as Hisui. Plenty of ancestors appear for Sinnoh characters alongside others from across the known Pokemon world, and the game becomes exciting for long-time fans when its references are like a scavenger hunt.
Sinnoh Ancestors in Legends: Arceus Vary Wildly
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Some of the most obvious ancestors in Pokemon Legends: Arceus change little from their appearances later in the canonical timeline. For example, Wyrdeer's warden Mai, Lilligant's warden Arezu, and Miss Fortune bandit Clover are nearly identical to stat trainer Marley, Team Galactic Commander Mars, and Gym Leader Candice from Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. There are differences of course; Mars and Candice essentially flip temperaments going to Arezu and Clover; but otherwise they're clear to spot.
Age differences are one of the main ways Game Freak changed up the appearances of returning Sinnoh characters. Mai is older than Marley, though it isn't substantial enough for them to look very different. Another key example is Galaxy Team boss Kamado, essentially Sinnoh's Professor Rowan with a couple dozen years taken off. More drastic examples include the flip-flopped jump between young Braviary warden Sabi and Eterna Forest ally Cheryl, as well as Medical Corps. lead Pesselle and Wayward Cave ally Mira.
Ancestors typically have defining traits akin to their descendants, which makes less prominent Sinnoh region characters more interesting to pick out. A deeper reference that may pass by casual Pokemon fans is Choy, who runs Jubilife Village's General Store. He looks to be a younger, svelte take on Team Galactic Commander Charon, who was exclusive to Platinum and thus isn't included in Gen 4 remakes Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Swapping the gender of characters is also a popular move in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Marketing for the game advertised Cyllene, the female ancestor of Team Galactic boss Cyrus who does makes a reference to passing down the name of the Galaxy Team. Wandering Jubilife Village brings a couple of others to the surface, such as the Agriculture Corps. Colza being an older, male Gardenia; the Security Corps. Zisu being a spry female ancestor to Flint and Buck; or clothier Anthe being a female ancestor to Darach. The latter connection is particularly interesting given Darach's connection to Caitlin, who comes out of her butler's shadow to become a member of the Unova Elite Four.
Connections Outside the Sinnoh Region
Since ancestors of Sinnoh characters were expected to appear in Hisui, references to those known outside the region are more interesting to spot. One of the first characters that players meet is Professor Laventon, who is generally agreed to be from the Galar region if not a direct ancestor to Champion Leon and his younger brother Hop. Some of his Pokedex entries are telling, such as a reference to the Pokemon Copperajah that is currently exclusive to Galar; leading many to believe Generation 9 games may have been set in an adaptation of India rather than Spain as it turned out.
Laventon is more of an original character despite this outside connection. More blatant ancestors from outside regions include Construction Corps. head Sanqua, the spitting image of Johto Elite Four Karen; Avalugg warden Gaeric, who is a more svelte take on Kalos Gym Leader Wulfric; and Kleavor warden Lian, whom many recognized as a younger take on Unova Gym Leader Clay in Legends: Arceus' marketing. A less obvious example is Ursaluna warden Calaba. The 99-year-old woman has been compared to Alola trial captain Mina due to their similar eyes and traces of paint in their hair.
Some of the more fun inclusions are saved as big character reveals late into Pokemon Legends: Arceus. The biggest is undoubtedly Beni, the elderly owner of Jubilife Village's Wallflower restaurant. As players make their way up to Spear Pillar, Beni reveals himself to be Kamado's right-hand man who is trained in the ninja arts (something that would carry on to Kanto's Koga and Janine). With his hat removed, players can also see Beni is the ancestor of rival Wally from Hoenn; made more explicit by his use of Ralts evolutions and a reference to moving somewhere more temperate.
There are plenty more references to pick out, from Miss Fortunes bandit Charm using a team that pegs her as the ancestor for both Kanto's Agatha and Sinnoh's Bertha to the appearance of Unova Battle Subway boss Ingo as a Pearl Clan warden after he's pulled back in time. These come alongside original characters such as Adaman and Irida, but really thrive when the references bring up questions about the wider world.
For example, Kamado wears armor that he says is from Galar but resembles the garb of Kalos Elite Four Wikstrom. Given the real-world proximity of England and France, as well as shared significant Pokemon like Aegislash, there's undoubtedly more to dig into. However, Legends: Arceus is also smart enough to let players mull over these questions on their own. Hopefully future Legends-styled games put just as much work into building out the series' universe.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is available now on Switch.