Pokemon Legends: Arceus breaks all kinds of traditions we have seen in previous games. It also keeps some of the best things we have seen in the games so far. We’ve put together this Pokemon Legends Arceus Beginner Guide as a way to familiarize yourself with the features of the game, and how the gameplay works.
Table of Contents
Where does Arceus take place?
Pokemon Arceus takes place in the Hisui region which will later become the Sinnoh region. The Hisui region has Mt Coronet at the center and multiple different environments surrounding it such as the Obsidian Fields. Each of these different environments have different Pokemon inhabiting the area, Crafting materials to be gathered, and quests to be completed.
Jubilife Village
Jubilife Village is the main town you will interact with in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Within this village you will find everything you need for your adventures such as:
- Shops
- Craftworks
- Clothier and Hairdresser
- Galaxy Team(Ex. Survey Corps, Medical Corps, Security Corps)
- Missions and Requests
- Trading Post
- Personal Lodgings
The features of some of these are explained as we further dive into the Pokemon Legends Arceus Beginner Guide.
Character Customization
After you have created your character, you will still have options to change your mind later.
There are a plethora of customization options when it comes to your outfit. You can unlock outfits as you play the game, or purchase them from town shops for in-game currency. These clothing options can be found at the Clothier within Jubilife Village.
You are also able to change up your hairstyle if you are looking for a new doo’, your hair color, and even your eyebrow color. These customization options can be found at the Hairdresser in Jubilife Village.
How to Catch Pokemon
To catch Pokemon in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, you simply throw a Pokeball at them. This is not always so simple though. Sometimes if you miss, or if the catch is unsuccessful, the Pokemon may become enraged or aggressive and force you to battle them. We will explore more about the battle itself in the next section. In the meantime, here are a few things you should know about factors effecting how to catch a Pokemon in Pokemon Legends Arceus:
- Pokemon all have different temperaments. There are three main temperaments that exist:
- Indifferent – Neutral Temperament
- Skiddish – These Pokemon will try to run away from you if they notice you approaching
- Aggressive – These Pokemon will try to fight you if they notice you are approaching
- To increase your chance of catching a Pokemon, sneak up behind them and hit them from behind with a Pokeball.
- You can throw berries to distract the Pokemon, in order to increase your chance of landing a back shot.
- You can also sneak around to be less noticeable.
- The time of day and the current weather will determine which Pokemon spawn in the area.
- If an aggressive Pokemon notices you or you miss your Pokeball from sneak position, the Pokemon enters an alert state and deflects all Pokeballs. It will only be able to be caught through a battle.
How to Battle Pokemon
Battling other Pokemon can be triggered in two ways. As mentioned in the How To Catch Pokemon section, if you fail to catch and aggressive Pokemon, they may go into an alert state and you will need to battle them. The other option is to throw a Pokemon containing one of your own Pokemon; this will trigger a battle.
Here are some facts about Pokemon Battles in Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
- There are two new types of attacks available to be used unlike previous games. Using these attack types will cost an increased amount of PP, but will increase effectiveness:
- Agile Attacks – Deal a lower amount of damage, but take less recovery time. You can use these skills early in a battle to try to recover quickly and get another attack in before the enemy can.
- Strong Attacks – Deal significantly more damage, but take much longer to recover from. These may mean you will be vulnerable to multiple attacks before it is your turn again.
- These battles are the typical turn based method you are familiar with from other Pokemon games
- Attacking a Pokemon from behind while it is unaware may give you an extra attack off the start as you surprise it.
- If you lose a Pokemon battle, you will black out and also lose some of your items.
How to Trade Pokemon
Trading Pokemon is possible in Pokemon Legends Arceus. There is a Trading Post within Jubilife Village where you can connect with Nintendo Online and trade Pokemon with other players.
Alpha Pokemon
Next up in the Pokemon Legends Arceus Beginner Guide, Alpha Pokemon. These Pokemon are generally much bigger than their counterparts. They also will have red glowing eyes, are stronger than normal, and are very aggressive.
These Pokemon will not be able to be caught unless you fight them first. Battling these Pokemon is much more challenging than other Pokemon and will require tact and a solid strategy to take down. Once you take them down, they are catchable.
Noble Pokemon
Noble Pokemon is first introduced in this game. They bring a new type of battle where you must calm them down by dodging their attacks and throwing balms at them. Throughout the encounter, you may do enough to make the Pokemon let his guard down. At this point, you will throw your Pokemon at them to start a battle to begin to weaken them.
Some facts to know about Noble Pokemon:
- Quell frenzy by dodging attacks and throwing Balms made using the Pokemon’s favorite foods
- Once the Pokemon lets down its guard, throw your Pokemon at it to start a battle.
- Keep repeating until the Pokemon has been quelled.
- Noble Pokemon will attack you as a player. If hit enough times, you will black out and lose some of your items, so be careful!
Survey Corps and the Pokedex
One of the main goals is to finish your Survey Corps missions, as well as complete the very first Pokedex of history. The Survey Corps missions may give you different objectives like catching different Pokemon, or they may ask you to catch multiples of the same Pokemon for study.
Carrying out these Survey Corps allows you and the village to learn more about Pokemon such as their move sets, the items they can drop, their preferred foods, and their behaviors.
Turn in these missions at Professor Laventon to update the Pokedex and get rewards as your progress through.
Missions and Requests
Missions and Requests are more types of quests you will come across within Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Requests are optional quests you will receive from villagers that include small tasks. Missions are the quests that will advance the story line of the game.
When you accept these quests, they are added to your Arc Phone. This phone will allow you to track your movements, missions, and requests. You can also put pins in your map so you can save the areas you want to go for later reference.
Types of objectives you will complete with these quests are: discovering a Pokemon, finding a variety of items, defeating powerful Pokemon, or catching a number of specific Pokemon
Crafting and Resource Collection
Yes, there is both gathering resources, and crafting items in Pokemon Legends Arceus! Here is what we know about these game features.
Resource Gathering
Some items such as plants can be harvested by hand, others will require you to throw a pokeball containing one of your pokemon at them. An example of this is to throw one at a tree and your pokemon will charge it causing items to fall to the ground to be collected. You can also get resources from defeating Pokemon in a battle.
Each different environment in the game will host different types of resources, so for certain items, you will be able to head to a certain region of the game and find. There are crystal nodes you can obtain resources from, or even from tall grass and flower patches.
Crafting in Pokemon Legends Arceus
Using the resources you’ve collected along the way, you are able to craft new items such as Pokeballs, smoke bombs, potions, and much more.
Traveling in Pokemon Arceus
Are there mounts in Pokemon Legends Arceus? YES THERE ARE! CAN I GET A HECK YEAH??
You will be able to ride, fly, or swim with some Pokemon. Wyrdeer can be used to travel the land much faster, Basculegion to traverse the water, and the Hisuian Braviary can be mounted to fly.
Utilize these mounts in your adventure to get around faster and more efficiently.