I'll need to wait for the dust to settle on Pokemon Legends: Arceus before I can firmly say where it sits in my all-time Pokemon rankings, but Game Freak’s latest already feels like one of the greats. There are a lot of flaws with it - the graphics and the lack of voice acting just for starters - but Pokemon has taken a risk for the first time in a long time, and it seems to have paid off. In its success though, it happens upon one of the series’ biggest ongoing problems - there are too many Pokemon.
Each new generation brings over 100 new 'mons to the table, and while we at TheGamer have put forward arguments why Gen 9 should both have no new Pokemon and be all new Pokemon, the truth will likely be somewhere in the middle, which will take us over 1,000 Pokemon. That's too many to have in any given game, especially a game that still can't get trees right. In games like Sword & Shield, despite the Dexit controversy, I'm not sure it's too bad. I know it was the first mainline game on the Switch, but it was a Pokemon game like any other. You've used your favourite Pokemon in a base game with eight gyms before.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus though is different. It's not perfect, but we've never had a Pokemon game like this before. I wrote before it launched about holding hands with all the big Pokemon, and the mix of open-world environments with more active storytelling means this game is special. You have never played a Pokemon game like this before, and if your favourite Pokemon didn't make the cut, I'm so sorry.
I've been luckier than most. Gardevoir, my all-time favourite Pokemon, is in the game. Sylveon, Gengar, and Gyarados, another three who make my ultimate six, are also present. Absol and Milotic miss out, as does Tsareena, who isn't quite in my top six but is a close runner up and has been repeatedly disrespected in several spin-off games. Unite, at least, does her some justice. It's for that reason that Tsareena feels like the hardest one to take. Not only is she perfectly designed for a game where the Pokemon are big enough to step on you, she also deserves a bit of spotlight in the way that Absol, Milotic, and even my number one pick Gardevoir do not. Tsareena isn't in Snap despite being incredibly photogenic, and she's not in Legends: Arceus despite being incredibly equipped to step on me.
The rest of you might not have Pokemon you want to step on you. That's fine, I won't judge. But I know your pain of not having your favourite Pokemon in what might be the most interesting Pokemon game ever made. If you count it as a base game, it's certainly the biggest swing the series has ever taken. Even Let's Go had a foundation of Pokemon Yellow and brought in tried and tested mechanics from Pokemon Go. This is a huge deal in the Pokemon canon, and if you can't do it with Skarmory, Ludicolo, or Hawlucha by your side, you have my sympathy.
Because Pokemon come back time and time again, people build up bonds with them. They have canon teams, special favourites, or partners they have carried from game to game for years. While everyone took Dexit a little seriously, if your favourite misses out on Pokemon's biggest adventure ever, that's going to sting. Sure, there are lots of other great ones they can catch, but none of them are your Wishiwashi, then... wait, your favourite is Wishiwashi? Really? Okay then. Anyway, if none of them are your number one Pokemon, I'm so sorry. I hope they turn up in Pokemon Legends: Celebi.
