‘Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ trailer introduces an all-new battle system

Nintendo recently released a brand new trailer for its upcoming open-world action RPG Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

During Wednesday's Pokémon Presents event, Nintendo revealed several new details about the next entry in the Pokémon franchise including an all-new battle system and some of the Hisuian pokémons that players will encounter in the game.

In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, players will get to explore the expansive world of the Hisui region, which will eventually be called Sinnoh in Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl.

In Hisui, players will begin their adventure at Jubilife Village, a place where players can receive assignments or take refuge before setting out on their next mission.

Choosing between Rowlet, Cyndaquil, and Oshawott will of course be the first order of business just like in the previous games. After doing so, players will then have to join the Galaxy Expedition Team as a member of the Survey Corps. Their goal is to complete Hisuan’s first-ever Pokédex. 

Since the upcoming game is an open-world RPG, players will get to enjoy Hisui’s sprawling and colorful environment that’s reminiscent of Breath of the Wild. While roaming around the region, players can either catch wild pokémons or seamlessly engage in a battle with stronger pokémons.

But unlike the iconic turn-based battle system in the previous series, pokémon stats and other factors now determine how many actions a pokémon can make in Arceus. Although pokémons are still limited with four moves, they can now unleash their moves in two new ways: Agile Style or Strong Style.

Using a move in Agile Style lowers the power of the move but raises the user’s action speed allowing players to take multiple turns in a row. Strong Style, on the other hand, raises the move’s power but decreases the pokémon’s action speed.

Meanwhile, the new trailer for Pokémon Legends: Arceus also introduced different pokémon variants that are residing in the region including the Hisuan versions of Braviary and Growlithe. Other than that, newly-discovered pokémons will also make their debut in the game such as Wyrdeer and Basculegion.

Wyrdeer is described as “indispensable” to the people of the Hisui region. This Normal/Psychic pokémon uses the black orbs at the bases of its antlers to generate a psychic energy powerful enough to distort space. Basculegion, meanwhile, is a Water/Ghost pokémon that will attack relentlessly until the enemy is defeated. 

Aside from that, players will also meet new companions along their journey such as Commander Kamado, which serves as the boss of the Galaxy Expedition Team and an ancestor of Professor Rowan, who appeared in Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl.

They will also meet Captain Cyllene, the leader of Galaxy Team’s Survey Corps. She is described as “strict both with others and with herself, but she sees your potential and allows you to take a trial to join the Galaxy Team.” 

As with the previous Pokémon games, there’s also a new professor in the region and his name is Laventon. Also part of the Survey Corps, Professor Laventon conducts research into pokémons modes of life and aims to create a complete Pokédex.

Check out the trailer below: 

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is slated to be released on Nintendo Switch on January 28, 2022

(Images from Pokémon)