Pokemon Legends: Arceusis set to be a very differentPokemongame than what players have come to expect from the series up until now, especially considering it is set in the region of Hisui, which is the ancient name ofPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearl’s Sinnoh. There is a lot of potential forPokemon Legends: Arceusto be quite groundbreaking, with it being the first open-worldPokemongame ever made, albeit it seems that the new title is going to be segmented in its areas, so not a fully open-world. Yet, it offers unique game mechanics that no otherPokemongames have dabbled with in the past, ranging from dodge-rolling out of wild Pokemon’s attacks and throwing Poke Balls as part of dynamic actions or even mid-flight.
There is a lot to look forward to when it comes toPokemon Legends: Arceus, particularly so because of how much the game can achieve with a story set at the dawn of humans' relationship with Pokemon. And yet, according to leaks, it seems that the new entry in thePokemonseries will lack many popular features from modern games, such as abilities, held items, and even breeding. While this might make for a different and possibly lacking experience at launch,Pokemon Legends: Arceuscould very well borrowPokemon SwordandShield’s DLC modelto flesh out its base game into something more and far more complex with each new expansion, eventually adding what might be missing.
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Why Expansions Would Work in Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Pokemon SwordandShieldwere extremely successful at launch already, but they thrived much more than anticipated when their two DLCs were released in the form of The Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra. These two releases didn’t only offer new mechanics and things to look for compared to the base game, but they also provided players a much wider Pokedex that included plenty of older Pokemon and even new ones, be it with Galarian forms or never-before-seen creatures. This model worked exceptionally well forGeneration 8, and it did pave the way for whatPokemongames can be after launch, instead of throwing more of the same games into the mix with just a few new features.
IfPokemon Legends: Arceuswere to go a similar route, it could be about releasing DLCs thatadd more features to the game that were missing from the start, such as abilities. These could become available by having players catch specific Pokemon for research and update their Pokedex findings with more information about each creature, up to the point where they can also discern a given Pokemon from another of the same species just by looking at what they do in battle and outside of it. There could even be new Abilities that explore this side of things, or maybe primordial versions of modern Pokemon abilities that function in a different way.
The same goes for other things, like breeding and held items, something that it would make sense not to have immediately - if at all - inPokemon Legends: Arceus, and that’s because humans and Pokemon wouldn’t have developed a strong bond of trust between them. But things could change if the story is moved forward, and Hisuian Trainers could learn how to make wild Pokemon grow accustomed to their own lifestyle to the point that they can start holding items in and out of battle, or reproduce in the Pokemon Daycare’s equivalent.
This approach could makePokemon Legends: Arceusa very engaging game, where developing a bond with Pokemon and exploring all of Hisui is just a part of the adventure, and things can begin to look different the more humans colonize Hisui and learn more about Pokemon. This could even be used as a means to explain lore points in thePokemonuniverse, or simply as a way to differentiatePokemon Legends: Arceusfrom mainline titles even more. Overall, DLCs would be especially great if there is not going to be aGeneration 9Pokemongamethis year, but rather the next, makingPokemon Legends: Arceusthe only bigPokemonrelease of 2022.
