Pokemon Legends - Arceus - 28th Jan 2022 *Official Content Only*

Interesting, not only confirms that Legends Arceus has Mystery Gifts, but also confirms that a Pokemon can be made compatible between all of the Gen 8 games.
This is going to have some... interesting effects. We know that stats in this game work differently than how they do in the main games, and there's a pretty solid chance that abilities won't be present either. So let's say you redeem this Happiny in Legends and then transfer it to SWSH via Home. Suddenly its stats change completely and it gains an ability. How is that going to work exactly?

...Maybe all Pokemon (except for the new ones) transferred from Legends will have their HAs, just like how it worked for the Virtual Console games? That would be AMAZING.
 
This is going to have some... interesting effects. We know that stats in this game work differently than how they do in the main games, and there's a pretty solid chance that abilities won't be present either. So let's say you redeem this Happiny in Legends and then transfer it to SWSH via Home. Suddenly its stats change completely and it gains an ability. How is that going to work exactly?

...Maybe all Pokemon (except for the new ones) transferred from Legends will have their HAs, just like how it worked for the Virtual Console games? That would be AMAZING.
I presume they just rerun the stats through an algorithm like they do with Let's Go (which did, yes, give everyone HAs where applicable iirc)
 
I presume they just rerun the stats through an algorithm like they do with Let's Go (which did, yes, give everyone HAs where applicable iirc)

Actually, Pokemon from Let's Go always have one of their normal abilities. The Gen I and II VC games, however, have HAs to any Pokemon that had more than one ability in Gen VII(and if they only have one in Gen VII the HA flag isn't even checked, which means Koffing and Weezing/Galarian Weezing originally from the VC games can have any of their three abilities in Gen VIII with help from Ability Capsule and/or Ability Patch)
 
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The lack of a clock-synched day/night-cycle is huge and it was one of my biggest hopes for this game (next to an option for Metric units in the Pokédex instead of stupid units, but it appears that's a choice made by the translator and not the developers - the games as coded have no option to switch units because there's no need to switch away from Metric).

Oh, right, day/night cycle. That's so great. No longer do you have to play at night to experience night-time in the game, or likewise for the day. For the past few generations, the day/night cycle has been largely cosmetic, because the developers have been reluctant to put content behind a need to play the game at very specific times. If a Pokémon only appears at sunset, only players who can physically play at sunset will get a chance to catch the Pokémon. De-synching the day/night cycle from the clock allows them to do much more with time-specific content, since they can readily assume that all players will get to see every hour of the clock in-game, maybe within a single play session.

Also, with the game time being tied to the Switch's clock, and the clock being quite easy to set, makes it meaningless to tie any events to the real-world passage of time anyway. The old design philosophy was destined to fail anyway.

I hope they take advantage of this new system to do something interesting with it. In Gen II we had Clefairy dancing on Mt. Moon on Monday nights. I hope something similar can be featured this time.
 
Several pages behind so I'll just jump to the biggest news:

FCPCn0uX0AErmYk.jpg
FCQeAeBWQAI3MLX.jpg

(Not official, drawn by Red on crossvideodays.com)

Hisuian Zorua & Zoroark, Normal/Ghost-types. Not the Schodinger's Cat many were hoping for, but still neat to finally have that Type combination and paired with a regional variant of a popular(?) Pokemon. So, let's get down to the nitty-gritty:
  • Design: The Zorua family is based on both the Kitsune (specifically a fox with the power to create illusions and shapeshift) and Kabuki & Noh (specifically the make-up that the actors wear). Their Hisuian counterparts don't actually detract much from those two aspects, though while normal form is more focused on the Kitsune side the Hisuian form is more focused on the Kabuki/Noh (being all white with bright red markings). And of course the Hisuian form adds on a ghostly element to them to reference their Type change: the hair wisps. I always liked the way they Zorua family were designed so I'm glad the Hisuian forms don't change too much but adds in enough new elements to make the design fresh.

  • Type: Going from pure Dark to Normal/Ghost will certainly give them some attention if nothing else. If you're wondering about the Type interaction, it's only weak to Dark; resists Bug & Poison; and is immune to Normal, Fighting, & Ghost. Notably only being weak to Dark, a usually niche offensive move, is very nice that even if attacked by Dark it may be able to survive it unless it's something like Crunch. The immunity to Fighting is also nothing to sneeze at, and to a lesser extent Normal. Everything else is just a bonus, though does mean against most Types its receiving neutral damage. Also, being a Ghost, it cannot be trapped which may play an important part to its playstyle which I'll get to.

  • Stats: The normal forms are glass cannons leaning on the special side. The only major difference I can see them doing is either swapping or equalizing their offense stats. Being Normal/Ghost has the downside that Normal is usually Physical focused while Ghost is Special, and the way it charged the researcher makes me think it'll lean Physical. Now of course we have Shadow Claw and Poltergeist (and Phantom Force and Shadow Sneak for what having those are worth) so it's not left without any options.

  • Moves: However, being how much GF loves to give Signature Moves, and the Zorua family has a Signature Move, Night Burst, which is Dark-type so no longer matches with the Hisuian forms, think it's safe to assume it'll probably get a new one. Possibly a Physical Ghost-type?

  • Ability: And we can't talk about the Zorua family without mentioning their Signature Ability, Illusion. Now this is a big question mark as it looks like Legends: Arceus won't have a Pokemon's Ability be a factor in their battling system (we don't know whether they're completely gone or if there's maybe a mechanic where some Pokemon have special traits about them akin to Abilities they would normally have). Still, I think the research video gives us a clue what Hisuian Zorua's family Ability is like, and it's not Illusion. While Illusion lets the normal forms copy the appearance of another Pokemon, in gameplay this being the last party member, in the video we see that Hisuian Zoroark appeared out of the shadows to ambush the researcher. So, adding the Regional Variant Twist, instead of disguising itself as another Pokemon the Hisuian forms hide and/or obscure themselves in shadows/darkness. How this will translate as an Ability is numerous but, taking a note what they did with the Galarian Yamask's family, here's what I'm thinking: Instead of taking the form of the last Pokemon in the party when sent out, the Hisuian Zorua family's Ability creates a shadowy/darkness fog around them when they use an attacking move. This shadowy/darkness fog stays around them until their attacked which disperses the fog. HOWEVER, if the switch out, the party member sent out will instead be hidden by the fog and your opponent won't know what Pokemon it is until they attack. This is why I mentioned the Ghost-type's non-trapping trait will be handy, one less thing to worry about getting in the way of playing mind games with your opponent what Pokemon is hiding in the dark fog. They could even further play with this idea via its Signature Ability, maybe make it a Ghost-type version of U-turn; no matter who moves first, H-Zorua/Zoroark will attack, create a fog, and switch out either leaving the opponent's Pokemon attacking an unknown target or next turn has a mystery to go about what Pokemon they're now up against.

Also, with the video cleaned up, I can now see this having been "filmed" on the Arceus Phone. Though GF does know that the video degradation they showed isn't how digital videos work, right? It's videos on filmstrip that, when they decay, causes those static-y lines; Digital decay is more pixilated.


Alright, I don't mind that. If there's time-based evolution or encounter rates it would make those much easier. :blobthumbsup:

Respond to other responses later.
 
Also, with the video cleaned up, I can now see this having been "filmed" on the Arceus Phone. Though GF does know that the video degradation they showed isn't how digital videos work, right? It's videos on filmstrip that, when they decay, causes those static-y lines; Digital decay is more pixilated.
Well meiji era japan also didn't have god cell phones so I think we're just gonna have to lean once more on "god file formats are beyond comprehension and conveiently fit analog aesthetic"
 
while i'm not a fan of the current direction pokemon is taking, i like all the hisuian designs/evolutions that have been introduced so far. after sword and shield's largely lackluster designs, these mons prove that the designers still got it. hisuian zorua's sad expression is incredibly endearing, while i like the feral, "i haven't slept in 18 days i need caffieine now" design of zoroark, though i wish its mane trailed down its back like its unovan counterpart's does.

is james turner still the design director? i feel like he was largely the reason why swsh's designs were largely meh
 
Notably only being weak to Dark, a usually niche offensive move, is very nice that even if attacked by Dark it may be able to survive it unless it's something like Crunch.
Extremely incorrect. Not just in competitive, where Dark is one of the best offensive types and Knock Off is everywhere, but also in-game. Remember in Sun and Moon where pretty much every trainer Pokemon that could learn it ran Crunch? Also unless they significantly buff its defenses, this thing wouldn't survive a non-STAB Feint Attack.
 
is james turner still the design director? i feel like he was largely the reason why swsh's designs were largely meh

I would assume not. I don't mean to sound like an ass here but I suspect the main reason James Turner was the art director for SwSh is because Galar is based on the UK and James Turner is British, not to mention he has designed Pokemon before Sword and Shield, so they felt that it was suitable for him, the English man on their design team, to be the design director for SwSh given the specific circumstances with that game.

Given this game is not based on the UK, and is based on Hokkaido, I would very likely guess someone else is in charge of the designs this time around. Side note, I personally loved most of SwSh's new Pokemon designs and consider them to be some of my favorite designs so far, but I understand it's a matter of taste. Goes to show how subjective designs can be at the end of the day, doesn't it?
 
Extremely incorrect. Not just in competitive, where Dark is one of the best offensive types and Knock Off is everywhere, but also in-game. Remember in Sun and Moon where pretty much every trainer Pokemon that could learn it ran Crunch? Also unless they significantly buff its defenses, this thing wouldn't survive a non-STAB Feint Attack.
There's a reason Fairy resists Dark: It's a great offensive type. Being weak to Dark in a metagame where Knock Off is literally everywhere (fucking Clefable and Toxapex run Knock Off) is a pretty major negative, although it's not gonna make it immediately unviable.

But I decided to test the "fainting to non-STAB Feint Attack" theory and:
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I changed the typing to Normal/Ghost and yep, non-stab Feint Attack has a meaty chance to OHKO. Yes Blaziken is holding Life Orb and has a high attack stat, but still: Doesn't bode well for it considering stuff much stronger than Blaziken is going to be running much stronger Feint Attack, and possibly with stab. Speaking of which:
Screen Shot 2021-10-22 at 9.50.03 PM.png

Lol. Even after the item is knocked off and it does less damage, it still has a pretty large chance to 2HKO. Good thing it has 3 immunities because switching in will not be easy
 

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I dont think james turner is at fault here, I think the team just used him as an excuse to not do their barebones research and relied on him too much, and since his design lean towards modern pop culture, that's mostly what we got, along with a couple fairy tales that were popular enough to pass. The guy was just doing what he's good at, the others just decided to not do the same :psygrump:
 
Legends having its own passage of time is great. I hope they take advantage and include plenty of time specific cosmetic changes, Easter eggs, and obviously gameplay changes. Makes that stuff a bit more practically fun when you can experience it within a sitting/wait out a clock.
 
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Several pages behind so I'll just jump to the biggest news:

FCPCn0uX0AErmYk.jpg
FCQeAeBWQAI3MLX.jpg

(Not official, drawn by Red on crossvideodays.com)

Hisuian Zorua & Zoroark, Normal/Ghost-types. Not the Schodinger's Cat many were hoping for, but still neat to finally have that Type combination and paired with a regional variant of a popular(?) Pokemon. So, let's get down to the nitty-gritty:
  • Design: The Zorua family is based on both the Kitsune (specifically a fox with the power to create illusions and shapeshift) and Kabuki & Noh (specifically the make-up that the actors wear). Their Hisuian counterparts don't actually detract much from those two aspects, though while normal form is more focused on the Kitsune side the Hisuian form is more focused on the Kabuki/Noh (being all white with bright red markings). And of course the Hisuian form adds on a ghostly element to them to reference their Type change: the hair wisps. I always liked the way they Zorua family were designed so I'm glad the Hisuian forms don't change too much but adds in enough new elements to make the design fresh.

  • Type: Going from pure Dark to Normal/Ghost will certainly give them some attention if nothing else. If you're wondering about the Type interaction, it's only weak to Dark; resists Bug & Poison; and is immune to Normal, Fighting, & Ghost. Notably only being weak to Dark, a usually niche offensive move, is very nice that even if attacked by Dark it may be able to survive it unless it's something like Crunch. The immunity to Fighting is also nothing to sneeze at, and to a lesser extent Normal. Everything else is just a bonus, though does mean against most Types its receiving neutral damage. Also, being a Ghost, it cannot be trapped which may play an important part to its playstyle which I'll get to.

  • Stats: The normal forms are glass cannons leaning on the special side. The only major difference I can see them doing is either swapping or equalizing their offense stats. Being Normal/Ghost has the downside that Normal is usually Physical focused while Ghost is Special, and the way it charged the researcher makes me think it'll lean Physical. Now of course we have Shadow Claw and Poltergeist (and Phantom Force and Shadow Sneak for what having those are worth) so it's not left without any options.

  • Moves: However, being how much GF loves to give Signature Moves, and the Zorua family has a Signature Move, Night Burst, which is Dark-type so no longer matches with the Hisuian forms, think it's safe to assume it'll probably get a new one. Possibly a Physical Ghost-type?

  • Ability: And we can't talk about the Zorua family without mentioning their Signature Ability, Illusion. Now this is a big question mark as it looks like Legends: Arceus won't have a Pokemon's Ability be a factor in their battling system (we don't know whether they're completely gone or if there's maybe a mechanic where some Pokemon have special traits about them akin to Abilities they would normally have). Still, I think the research video gives us a clue what Hisuian Zorua's family Ability is like, and it's not Illusion. While Illusion lets the normal forms copy the appearance of another Pokemon, in gameplay this being the last party member, in the video we see that Hisuian Zoroark appeared out of the shadows to ambush the researcher. So, adding the Regional Variant Twist, instead of disguising itself as another Pokemon the Hisuian forms hide and/or obscure themselves in shadows/darkness. How this will translate as an Ability is numerous but, taking a note what they did with the Galarian Yamask's family, here's what I'm thinking: Instead of taking the form of the last Pokemon in the party when sent out, the Hisuian Zorua family's Ability creates a shadowy/darkness fog around them when they use an attacking move. This shadowy/darkness fog stays around them until their attacked which disperses the fog. HOWEVER, if the switch out, the party member sent out will instead be hidden by the fog and your opponent won't know what Pokemon it is until they attack. This is why I mentioned the Ghost-type's non-trapping trait will be handy, one less thing to worry about getting in the way of playing mind games with your opponent what Pokemon is hiding in the dark fog. They could even further play with this idea via its Signature Ability, maybe make it a Ghost-type version of U-turn; no matter who moves first, H-Zorua/Zoroark will attack, create a fog, and switch out either leaving the opponent's Pokemon attacking an unknown target or next turn has a mystery to go about what Pokemon they're now up against.

Also, with the video cleaned up, I can now see this having been "filmed" on the Arceus Phone. Though GF does know that the video degradation they showed isn't how digital videos work, right? It's videos on filmstrip that, when they decay, causes those static-y lines; Digital decay is more pixilated.



Alright, I don't mind that. If there's time-based evolution or encounter rates it would make those much easier. :blobthumbsup:

Respond to other responses later.
Even if she is more special oriented Zoroark knows Hyper Voice so she doesn't lose out on Normal STAB.
Though i get the feeling that most HZoroark movesets will be Ghost Move, Dark Move, Fighting Move, Setup Move.
 
So, Zoroark used to live in the snow area and went extinct because of humans, even though most of the snow area has little human activity outside of a small city near the coast.
Wouldnt be surprised if H-Zoroark is supposed to still exist, but use illusions to stay hidden.
 
This is going to have some... interesting effects. We know that stats in this game work differently than how they do in the main games, and there's a pretty solid chance that abilities won't be present either. So let's say you redeem this Happiny in Legends and then transfer it to SWSH via Home. Suddenly its stats change completely and it gains an ability. How is that going to work exactly?

You transfer it to SWSH and its stats change.
 
I dont think james turner is at fault here, I think the team just used him as an excuse to not do their barebones research and relied on him too much, and since his design lean towards modern pop culture, that's mostly what we got, along with a couple fairy tales that were popular enough to pass. The guy was just doing what he's good at, the others just decided to not do the same :psygrump:
Pokemon designs are largely a team effort though so it was like everybody was pitching ideas and he more or less co-sign on them.
Another issue is that the fandom tends to have knee-jerk reactions to new Pokemon because they don't really have a sense of familiarity.
Gen V is a good example of this where a lot of Pokemon got mocked for how they looked but several years later are hailed as sacred cows.
From what I saw most of the generation 5 Regional forms have garnered the most excitement out of all of the currently revealed ones.
Just give some of the generation 8 designs a few years and people will reflect on them fondly
 
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