Pokemon Legends: Arceus brought a number of new features to the table, but one the game built on from previous games is region-specific forms. Although no members of the starter trio for the Hisui region are new to the franchise, each has a final evolution with a secondary type that's unique to this game. Furthermore, one Pokemon Legends: Arceus fan points out that each of these customized final evolutions takes inspiration from an existing character - with a neat twist.
Many Pokemon are inspired by real-life sayings, legends, or even objects, but some Pokemon seem to take after characters that already exist in the Pokemon universe. In other words, a number of Gym Leaders, trainers, and other NPCs bear a striking resemblance to pocket monsters of the same or later generations. While some of these similarities may be accidental, others appear to be very deliberate.
The Similarities Between Pokemon Legends: Arceus' Starters and Certain NPCs
Redditor oshawott3049292 recently posted a theory that the final evolution designs of the Hisuian starter trio - Cyndaquil, Oshawott, and Rowlet - are inspired by existing trainers. Specifically, they think that Hisuian Typhlosion, Samurott, and Decidueye are inspired by the Gym Leader, Kahuna, or Elite Four member who shares the Pokemon's new typing in the generation that Pokemon first appeared. The specific characters they drew on to prove this theory are Grimsley from Gen 5, Morty from Gen 2, and Hala from Gen 7.
Hisuian Samurott has Dark as a secondary type and originates from Unova, the location of the Gen 5 games, where Grimsley was the Dark-type member of the Elite Four. Furthermore, Grimsley wears a navy and maroon suit with white accents and Hisuian Samurott has navy and maroon armor with white fur. Hisiuian Typhlosion has Ghost as a secondary type and originates from Johto in the Gen 2 games, where Morty was the Ghost-type Gym Leader. Morty is known for a sly smile and a purple scarf that fades to red at the edges, while Hisuian Typhlosion has a sly smile and a ruff of purple energy that turns red in the center.
Finally, Hisuian Decidueye sports a bright autumn color scheme to go with its Fighting secondary typing and has what appears to be a gray ponytail on top of its head. This resembles the bright fashion and hairstyle of Hala, the Fighting-type Kahuna found in Alola during Gen 7, when Decidueye first appeared. Although the connection between Decidueye and Hala seems to be the most tenuous, as Hala doesn't wear orange, their ponytails are nearly identical.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is available now on Nintendo Switch.