Although Pokémon Legends: Arceus is still more than a week away, some of its Pokédex compendium already seems to have leaked online. The apparent data mine gives us a great look at all the new, returning, and remixed monsters that are set to show up in the upcoming game.
It should go without saying, but this entire blog is going to be full of Pokémon Legends: Arceus spoilers. I’m even going to use our handy dandy spoiler image, so no crying if you catch a glimpse of something you didn’t want to see before the game’s official January 28 launch.
Okay, everyone’s here because they want to be, right? Then let’s dig in.
Somehow, early copies of Pokémon Legends: Arceus started appearing in the wild recently, and die hard fans wasted no time in pulling high-quality images of every Pokémon in the game along with their rare, alternate-color shiny forms. As for their veracity, some of the most high-profile Pokémon leakers, most notably the infamous CentroLeaks, have been sharing the images for the past several hours along with actual video of the game in action. Media depicting parts of the game that aren’t public yet are also quickly being pulled by the copyright owners, which also makes it seem like the leaks might be the real deal.
The leaks purport that Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which is set in an ancient version of Diamond and Pearl’s Sinnoh setting known as Hisui, features 242 monsters. Among those are obvious inclusions like Pikachu and Gengar alongside new forms unique to the Hisui region. We’ve already seen a few of these variants through official channels—the wooden Hisuian Voltorb is particularly adorable—but the remixes don’t stop there.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ three starters, for instance, receive new secondary types with their second evolution: Hisuian Decidueye is Grass/Fighting, Hisuian Typhlosion is Fire/Ghost, and Hisuian Samurott is Water/Dark. Sneasel, normally Ice/Dark, is instead Poison/Fighting in Hisui. Qwilfish goes punk rock as a Dark/Poison type. The beautiful Lilligant toughens up with a Fighting secondary. And finally, squishy dragons Sliggoo and Goodra see further bolstering to their defenses with the addition of a Steel typing.
Oh, you want new Pokémon? Well, you’re in luck. In addition to known newcomers like Wyrdeer, Basculegion, and Kleavor—courtesy of Stantler, Basculin, and Scyther respectively—Pokémon Legends: Arceus introduces as-of-yet unnamed evolutions for Sneasel, Qwilfish, and Ursaring, the latter of which goes Ground-type. There also appears to be a new Fairy-type “force of nature” joining the original Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus trio.
As with most games in the series that have been spoiled in advance of their release, the Pokémon Legends: Arceus leaks are quickly becoming a tidal wave of new details as we approach its official release date. If you’re hoping to go into the game with fresh eyes, you’d probably do well to just avoid all sources of Pokémon info for the time being, because it doesn’t look like the leaks will be slowing down any time soon.
