When Pokemon Legends: Arceus was first announced, long-time fans of the Pokemon series immediately jumped to the conclusion that the upcoming game would be the "new normal" for Pokemon as a whole. Fans assumed that the mainline games would be taking a step back from the traditional gym challenge and formulaic approach that Pokemon has been known for, and instead be moving to a more open-world style approach starting with Pokemon Legends: Arceus. From the marketing material shown so far, the game would be changing the Pokemon series down to its very foundation which could breathe a big breath of fresh air into the franchise.
However, if recent the recent Pokemon Legends: Arceus leaks are to be believed, the game may be making changes to core features that would imply that it is in fact not the next mainline Pokemon game, but instead just another spin-off while Game Freak continues to work on whatever the next mainline Pokemon game will be. While it is disappointing that Pokemon Legends: Arceus may not be the future of mainline Pokemon games, that is okay. Just because this title may not carry the Pokemon series forward immediately, it does not mean that the changes that are coming in Pokemon Legends: Arceus will be left behind when the next mainline games come out.
All About the Leaks
It's time to talk about some leaks, and with that comes a general warning that this information is not confirmed by Game Freak, and should be taken with a grain of salt. According to Pokemon leaker Riddler_Khu on Twitter, Pokemon Legends: Arceus is doing away with long-time features of Pokemon that have become synonymous with the game - more specifically its competitive battling scene. Considering none of the features listed below appear in the Pokemon Legends: Arceus gameplay footage shown so far, there could possibly be some merit to these leaks.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is allegedly doing away with held items, Pokemon abilities, and Pokemon breeding among other things. In addition to the removal of these iconic Pokemon features, Pokemon Legends: Arceus is allegedly making changes to how raising stats works - shifting from an item and training-based system to purely item-based in the form of candies. In past titles, EV training and raising IVs has been a feature overlooked by casual players but is one of the cornerstones of competitive Pokemon battling.
What the Pokemon Leaks Mean
One of the pillars of Pokemon has been its competitive scene. Pokemon VGC, or Pokemon Video Game Championships, are popular events where trainers from around the world assemble and compete with the teams they have spent countless hours honing to perfection. If the leaks are to be believed, then VGC may not have much of a place in Pokemon Legends: Arceus due to the extremely restricted mechanics that have long since been a large fundamental part of the VGC tournaments. This could mean that either Pokemon Sword and Shield may continue to be the vessel for VGC until the next mainline Pokemon title is released, or that Pokemon Legends: Arceus could add DLC at a later time to help implement VGC features. The alternative would be that VGC would have to adapt to a more bare-bones structure unless Pokemon Legends has other competitive features that have yet to be revealed, but odds are that wouldn't go over too great with the die-hard competitive fans.
To summarize, this alleged lack of key features hints that VGC may not be playing a role in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, which means that there would need to be another game that VGC would need to thrive in. This would mean that Pokemon Legends: Arceus is not the next mainline Pokemon title, but instead simply a fun spin-off that embodies some of the most demanded features Pokemon players have been asking for but without some of the features that fans have grown accustomed to over the years. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing, though it may be disappointing for some fans who expected Pokemon Legends: Arceus to be the start of the future mainline games. However, being a spin-off has its own benefits, and it doesn't mean that Pokemon Legends: Arceus' new features won't impact the mainline games.
A Pokemon Spin-Off with Impact
Now even if Pokemon Legends: Arceus is just a spin-off, that does not mean these new strides in game design won't make it to the main series. This very well could be Game Freak's way of testing out more open-word inspired ideas before fully committing them to the mainline series. While Pokemon Legends: Arceus may not be fully open-world, the idea of wide-open areas to explore and catch Pokemon in will be on display in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. The idea was first toyed with in Pokemon Sword and Shield with the Wild Area, so Pokemon Legends: Arceus may be developing the next iteration of that concept. Perhaps if it does well, the next mainline game might feature something even more refined than what players may see in Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
The gameplay loop for Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a fair bit different from the mainline games. While battles and wild Pokemon catching are featured, the core systems are considerably different overall. Players will utilize stealth in Pokemon Legends: Arceus to sneak up and catch wild Pokemon as the player works towards completing the Pokedex. Wild Pokemon will be wandering around in the overworld, which is another key feature that could make its way into the mainline games. While Pokemon Sword and Shield featured mostly overworld Pokemon, it did also feature random grass encounters. While it is unknown if Pokemon Legends: Arceus will feature random encounters like this, future titles could learn to adapt Pokemon Legends: Arceus' surprise catching format to really make catching wild Pokemon more exciting.
While many fans may be disappointed to learn that Pokemon Legends: Arceus is not the start of a new trend for the mainline Pokemon titles if the leaks are to be believed, it is worth remembering that Pokemon Legends: Arceus could still influence the future mainline titles in a number of ways. Many of the big features that are coming in the upcoming title could be adapted to fit the mainline down the road. Pokemon Legends: Arceus remains one of the most anticipated games of 2022, so even if it is just a spin-off, fans can still enjoy it for what it is and wait for more news on whatever Game Freak has in store for the mainline series in the future.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus releases on January 28, 2022 for Nintendo Switch.