There's a lot of significant ways that Pokemon Legends: Arceus shakes up the franchise formula, but arguably one of the most crucial is its approach to the connection between humans and Pokemon. On the one hand, some humans live in fear of Pokemon, rather than cooperating them, yet on the other hand, some Pokemon are regarded with even more awe than Pokemon fans have seen before. Thanks to that balance, Pokemon Legends: Arceus has a unique power to build new mysteries around old Pokemon. For instance, the Spiritomb-centric request Eerie Apparitions in the Night offers a very different look at Sinnoh's iconic Ghost/Dark Pokemon.

In the original Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, players obtained Spiritomb by meeting enough other players in the Underground to cause Spiritomb to appear at the Hallowed Tower. Pokemon Legends: Arceus is very different: once players beat Kleavor, a mysterious girl called Vessa will ask the player to collect 107 wisps scattered around the Hisui region so that you can seal away a calamitous being. The quest leaves a lot of questions about Vessa and Pokemon Legends Arceus' Spiritomb unanswered, but it has some strange and frightening implications. By getting the player up close and personal with the Spiritomb creation myth, players get a better sense of just how dark Spiritomb's story is.

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Vessa and Spiritomb's Implications

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At the end of Eerie Apparitions in the Night, Vessa meets the player at the Shrouded Ruins to give them the request's 108th wisp. However, rather than handing it to the player outright, Vessa briefly asks the player what they think of her, then disappears while the player's eyes are closed, leaving the last wisp behind. The implication is clear: Vessa was one of the 108 malevolent spirits that compose a Spiritomb. That's already frightening in itself, since it suggests that all of Spiritomb's mortal spirits are still self-aware. Pokemon Legends: Arceus players may be commanding a hive mind of human spirits, rather than an entirely cohesive Pokemon.

What's more, Vessa herself raises questions about Spiritomb's origins. Pokemon fans have known since Diamond and Pearl that Spiritomb was sealed away many years ago for wicked deeds, and Pokemon Legends: Arceus preserves that lore, but the game also comes with some more detailed implications. Vessa's dialogue suggests that she herself was turned into one of the spirits that composed Spiritomb, possibly for some dark deed she did in life, although she never seems particularly malevolent toward the player. Apparently the Pokemon world might have some kind of traveling vigilante sorcerer who can transform groups of humans into Spiritombs at will, which is a chilling thought.

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Spiritomb's Role in Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Pokemon TCG Spiritomb Card Art

It's possible to read into Vessa's words and actions in a few other ways. Vessa herself may have simply been the Spiritomb in disguise all along, rather than one individual spirit. If that's the case, Vessa's story still has some sad and scary implications. The magical wanderer that Vessa speaks of may have punished the mischievous Spiritomb far more harshly than it deserved, considering how helpful and generous Vessa is throughout the request. In Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Spiritomb appears more misunderstood than truly evil, which makes its eternal imprisonment seem cruel.

Game Freak may have been trying to give off this impression on purpose. Pokemon Legends: Arceus is filled with misunderstandings about Pokemon; the people of Jubilife Village are largely fearful and mistrustful of Pokemon until the player and the Galaxy Team start bringing more knowledge about Pokemon into the settlement. Pokemon Legends: Arceus' version of Spiritomb seems to channel the same concept, asking the player to work closely with a Pokemon that's usually depicted as evil so that players will see that it's really not so evil after all. Pokemon Legends: Arceus makes the story of Spiritomb's creation significantly darker, but it also gives Spiritomb a much more nuanced place in the Pokemon world.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is available now for Nintendo Switch.

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