Late last month, Pokemon celebrated its 25th anniversary, and in turn, revealed loads of information on upcoming games to fans during a Pokemon Presents video livestream. While the presentation featured games like New Pokemon Snap, fans were arguably more excited to hear about the long-awaited Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remakes. However, a mysterious surprise title in Pokemon Legends: Arceus was also revealed, taking the series into an entirely new open-world action RPG direction.
The title seems to act as a prequel to the Diamond and Pearl games, taking place in the Sinnoh region long ago. It was also revealed that players won't take up the familiar Sinnoh starter Pokemon, but rather Rowlet, Cyndaquil, or Oshawott, three Pokemon from different regions and generations. The reason given for this was that each starter was brought back to Sinnoh from various regions by a "certain professor." Now, fans have developed a theory as to who exactly that might be.
Over on Twitter, Pokemon fan and YouTuber TAHK0 tweeted a possible explanation for the identity of Pokemon Legends: Arceus' professor. The mobile game Pokemon Masters features Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, villains, and other characters from past Pokemon games, including Diamond and Pearl's Team Galactic leader, Cyrus. When players meet Cyrus in the mobile game, it seems that he was taken there via Palkia's space-altering abilities, but had Cyrus obtained Dialga instead, TAKH0 wonders if the Legendary Pokemon could've taken him back in time to the era of Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
This theory ultimately assumes that there are at least two (if not three, including Pokemon Platinum) versions of Cyrus. One version being where he obtained Palkia in Pokemon Pearl, and another where he obtained Dialga in Diamond. The Cyrus in Pokemon Masters looks to be from Pearl, while it is assumed that the Cyrus from Diamond ended up in olden Sinnoh thanks to Dialga's time-traveling abilities. The basis for this theory lies in the yellow symbol seen on the flags shown in the office during the Pokemon Legends: Arceus trailer, as well as on the player character's clothing. The symbol looks eerily similar to the Team Galactic logo, taking almost the exact same shape and color.
Some fans have determined that the new symbol actually contains kanji that is used in the Japanese term for "Galactic," ultimately convincing fans that in one way or another, the villainous Team Galactic has made its way to Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Fans seem to be torn as to whether the hypothetical professor Cyrus in the upcoming games became a professor out of goodwill, due to some sort of memory loss, or continues to try and carry out his evil plan in the Sinnoh of old.
For now, it seems that Pokemon Legends: Arceus is chock full of mysteries, including what role the Legendary Pokemon Arceus will play in the game's story. Regardless, it's clear that Pokemon fans certainly have a lot to look forward to early next year.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus will release on Nintendo Switch sometime in early 2022.