After decades of games that have adhered to the formula of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," Pokemon is taking a big chance with Pokemon Legends: Arceus. This open-world game seeks to reinvent what players can expect, and serves as a vehicle for Game Freak to test new ideas. It's exciting to see how different Pokemon Legends: Arceus is going to be in every aspect, including exploration, story progression, and the classic Pokemon battle formula. The game could end up as the most well-received Pokemon game in a while, or it could prove to be a misstep.
In this period of change, it would be in Game Freak's best interest to try as many new things as possible with Pokemon Legends: Arceus. The features that have been shown should only be the tip of the iceberg. The Hisui region is ripe for discovery, and plenty of other mechanics should be changed up to accentuate that. One that fans may not instantly jump to, but should see some extra attention, is the Ride Pokemon system. With a sprawling open-world coming into focus, it would be nice to see more versatile ride Pokemon.
The History of Ride Pokemon
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is bringing back Ride Pokemon. These large and friendly beasts help trainers get around quickly and traverse the terrain. In classic Pokemon games, players had to rely on Pokemon equipped with Hidden Machines, or HMs, to get around. This included swimming and fast travel via flight, but also included climbing rocks, diving, and swimming up waterfalls. Some games even started to introduce controlled flight in special areas, though this was a rare feature. Due to the necessity of many HMs, these moves needed to be taught to Pokemon in the player's party. For that reason, many Pokemon were rendered into blobs when using HMS so that different sprites didn't need to be drawn.
Ride Pokemon were introduced in 3D games starting with Sun and Moon; designated Pokemon that are used in place of movement-based HMs. These Pokemon are preset and gained at certain points in the story. Players usually had some way to instantly call them to their side, though this did not imply ownership of these Pokemon. Pokemon Let's Go did introduce the ability to ride on certain large Pokemon, but this was not the same thing as Ride Pokemon in other games. Still, because this removed the necessity of loading up specific Pokemon with many HMs, fans still prefer the solution over the older methods of carring around HM-specific Pokemon.
How Ride Pokemon Work in Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is doing things a bit differently. It seems that trainers will still unlock certain Ride Pokemon at certain points in the game, but this time they can be used throughout the open world for different tasks. Whether it be a Wyrdeer that can dash and jump wide gaps, a Basculegion that can swim at high speeds and jump between pools of water, or a Hisuian Braviary that can freely fly throughout the map, Ride Pokemon are more useful than ever. Considering these Pokemon can move around so much of the world, it may be that there is less emphasis on progress blockers, and more on barricades that can only be swim through or flown over.
It's not entirely clear yet how these Ride Pokemon will be unlocked, but it will likely be through progressive surveying in the story. Players may have to discover the Pokemon that can be ridden upon, and then rank up in the survey corps to gain permission to actually ride on them. Also unknown is whether there will be any more Ride Pokemon than the three that have been shown, both referring to their three roles and their species. It would be great if there was a small pool of Ride Pokemon that a player can catch and choose between when it comes to preparing for an expedition. This would just be for aesthetic purposes, but there is also a way for Game Freak to work this into the gameplay.
Pokemon Legends Should Introduce Hybrid Ride Pokemon
Pokemon Legends: Arceus has the opportunity to introduce a type of Ride Pokemon not seen in the series up to this point. A hybrid Ride Pokemon could be used to take advantage of multiple different types of travel. For example, a Pelipper could fly through the sky and then land in the water to continue swimming with the trainer on its back or, in this case, its mouth. An amphibious Pokemon could be used to swim and dash on land. Finally, a Pokemon that could perform all three actions would allow players to travel everywhere in the Hisui region at lightning speed. This last Pokemon could take the form of a dragon or pseudo-legendary, just to add some extra visual pizzazz and sense of accomplishment while traversing the region.
Whatever the case, now is the perfect time to experiment with this sort of addition. Pokemon Legends: Arceus is set to revolutionize the franchise, making changes that will probably feed back into the next traditional Pokemon game. The open-world and action-RPG elements are completely new, as well as the radically different approach to catching Pokemon and the different styles that could be applied to moves in battle. It's in Pokemon's best interests that Legends: Arceus add as many new things as possible to gather feedback and give the development team experience. With any luck, hybrid Ride Pokemon will just be the next stop on the brave new journey that Pokemon Legends: Arceus is undertaking.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus will launch for the Switch on January 28, 2022.