It’s hard to believe it, but Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a year old today. This Pokémon game took us back to the distant past and completely shook up the formula of what we all expected from a mainline Pokémon entry. And, quite frankly, we want more of what it gave us.
Legends: Arceus sees you get thrown back in time thanks to resident Pokémon god, Arceus, to the Hisui region — which would later become known as the Sinnoh region. The game shoves aside many traditional Pokémon mechanics and introduced various new features, but the hunt to fulfill Arceus’ wishes of “seeing all Pokémon” (this god has the power to give you a phone in the Pokéworld, apparently) is the ultimate goal. This is no longer just about catching and battling — you’re a full-fledged Pokémon researcher.
Okay, so being commanded by PokéGod is one thing, but if a new Legends-style game were to happen, where would we want it to take place? And what Pokémon would we be doing the bidding for? Nintendo Life’s editorial team has their own ideas of where and what will be the star of the ‘next’ Legends game.
So, from the sublime to the ridiculous, here are our thoughts…
“Pokémon Legends: Floette” – Kalos (Alana Hagues, Staff Writer)
Pokémon X & Y isn’t my favourite Pokémon generation, but I can’t deny that Kalos is a fantastic region, and it’s got one of the most intriguing – and frankly dark – histories of all Pokémon settings. Pokémon Legends: Floette is exactly what Kalos needs to help flesh out the lore. But why Floette and not Zygarde or Xerneas?
Floette is the Fairy-type flower Pokémon that AZ, a mysterious (and very tall) human you meet on Route 13 is particularly fond of. You find out that AZ is actually over 3,000 years old, and a former king of Kalos during a huge Pokémon war. His cherished companion was a Floette, who died in the war and was then brought back to life by AZ, who then ended the conflict using an ultimate weapon. That’s pretty much all we know a lot about the Kalos War, which is why it has amazing potential for a Legends game.
Floette from the past could be calling on you to stop the war before AZ stops it himself. Your starter Pokémon could be anything, but to try and vary it up, I think Treecko, Fennekin, and Piplup (all with new final forms) would work – Game Freak, please let the Fennekin line stay on all fours. The regional variants could be more adapted to fighting. Medics, spies, and all sorts of combatants could inspire some forms and evolutions. And instead of focusing on catching, this could be even more RPG and stat focused than the true main entries.
I’m not sure The Pokémon Company would ever commit to a mainline Pokémon game where war is the focus, but there are absolutely ways around it – you could be a spy, or a peacekeeper, for instance. I just want to know more about Kalos.
“Pokémon Legends: Kyogre” – Hoenn (Jim Norman, Staff Writer)
Pokémon Ruby was my first love and the Hoenn region still stands in my mind today as one of the very best. Not only is this full of some of my favourite beasties, but it also sets up what is arguably my favourite Legendary storyline with the bickering Kyogre and Groudon soothed by the peace-keeping Rayquaza.
This is a land that, if we were to go back in time, is awash with conflict (pfft, what Pokémon region isn’t?) but it’s also one in which the Legendaries are full to the brim with natural power. Which of the three would take the titular spot is a slightly more difficult matter. Rayquaza is the obvious choice, calling on a hero from the future to help in the war between Groudon and Kyogre, but perhaps it would be interesting to focus on one of these latter two — a Legendary that is so stuck in their ways that you are forced to question whether their bidding is really the right thing to do.
Perhaps the sea is the way to go here. This is, after all, the generation that brought with it those ace diving sequences and the thought of having that mechanic in a bigger, open world could be really something special. Pokémon Legends: Kyogre does have a certain ring to it, I suppose.
“Pokémon Legends: Dragonite” – Kanto (Ollie Reynolds, Staff Writer)
I’m going to be very boring here and just say Kanto from Pokémon Red and Blue. I love Kanto; it’s still my favourite region and, yes, I absolutely acknowledge that this is nostalgia talking. Nevertheless, if there’s any region I’d like to explore the origins of, it’s this one.
Now, there’s definitely a bit of a problem with Kanto that some of the other regions perhaps don’t share, and that’s the fact that there just aren’t very many natural landmarks that really make it stand out; not compared to Sinnoh’s Mount Coronet, at least. You’ve got a bunch of caves, a couple of forests, Seafoam Islands, and… Is that it? Everything else unique to Kanto is man-made, like the Safari Zone, the Cycling Road, the S.S. Anne… So yeah, while it’s hardly the most interesting region from a geographical point of view, it’s still one I’d like to revisit.
As for the Pokémon of choice, I think the obvious one is Mew, but Mew has been done to death now, right? I’m thinking perhaps something that, for me, feels like it belongs in Kanto and has a suitable amount of mystique to make for some interesting origins stories. Perhaps Dragonite, for example? That thing is a beast and I’d love to delve into how it came into being and behaved before humans ruled the roost.
“Pokémon Legends: Regis” – Hoenn (Kate Gray, Staff Writer)
I am also going to pick Hoenn, because I think Ruby and Sapphire are the best games, but I think that instead of having Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza as the legendaries at the heart of the story, it would instead be the Legendary Titans, Regirock, Regice, and Registeel (plus Regieleki, Regidrago, and Regigigas, why not).
Hoenn has some of the coolest storytelling in the Pokémon series, and so I would have also happily chosen the Lake Guardians, Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf — but I think the Regis are interesting in a way that I want to dive into. In Ruby and Sapphire, you discover them in a hidden underwater chamber, with cryptic braille messages instructing you where to go and how to summon the Regis, and it feels like a long-buried secret, like a doomsday device that you weren’t supposed to find. Something the people “feared”.
Of course, in the Pokémon games, they turn out to just be more creatures that you can capture and name “Fluffy”, if you want — but imagine a game set in the distant past, when the Legendary Titans shook the earth and created chaos, when they were first sealed away by the ancient people of Hoenn. And with Regigigas as their terrifying leader, you’ve got an easy story setup: Defeat or subdue the rampaging titans to get clues to the location of their master and creator. Wouldn’t that be cool?
Have you, like us, been dreaming about your perfect Legends: Arceus sequel? Let us know which region you think would be best suited to the Legends treatment in the poll below, and share your ideas with us in the comments — and let us know if any of our own thoughts inspire you!
