Described as a mainline game and indeed, not a spinoff, Pokémon Legends: Arceus made several notable changes to the games. While these changes may be exclusive to the Legends series, the added Pokémon, Status changes, and removal of Effort and Individual Value systems can be speculated on. These are the five ways that Pokémon Legends: Arceus changes competitive Pokémon.
Status Changes
In previous Pokémon games, there are a total ofseven Status Conditions. These areSleep,Frozen,Paralysis,Burn,Poison,Confusion, andInfatuation. Of the seven Status Conditions, Pokémon Legends: Arceusremoves twoandchanges two.
Frostbitein Pokémon Legends: Arceus has a higher percent chance of being inflicted thanFrozen, withtwo movesbeing added with the secondary effect. It causes the target to take damage equal to 1/16th of its maximum HP as well aslower their Special Attackby50 percent. This is equivalent toBurnwhich does the same thing for Physical Attack but at 30 percent, giving Ice Type Pokémon a much-needed buff in the game.
Instead of guaranteeing that a Pokémon is shut down, Sleep inducing moves make PokémonDrowsy. This ensures that Pokémon takesmore damageand works much like Confusion or Paralysis, having to pass a check to even be able to move.
Weather Changes
There are several different types of weather in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, but only a few of them were changed or have any impact on gameplay.Snow,Strong Sunlight, andRainare the ones to note as Foggy weather has no move that causes the status effect.
Strong Sunlightnow buffsGrassType Pokémon significantly in Pokémon Legends: Arceus by increasing their Speed.Rain, on the other hand, seems to have been nerfed. Previously, Rain increased the damage ofWaterType moves but no longer does so in Legends: Arceus.
Snow, most likely replacingHail, doesn’t deal damage to Pokémon at the end of each turn. Instead, Snow causesFrostbite-inflicting moves for a higher chance of inflicting the Status Condition. Additionally,IceType Pokémon have increased Speed. Drowsy-inflicted Pokémon also have a higher chance of immobility.
Whether all these changes will transfer to the mainline series isn’t confirmed. But, GameFreak clearly recognizes that Ice Types need a buff. Giving these Pokémon more utility can add extra layers to the competitive scene to remove some of the more prominent RNG mechanics, similar to whenFieldswere introduced.
Related:Is Pokémon Scarlet and Violet going to be open-world like Legends Arceus?
Hisuian Pokémon in the Meta
There are many new Hisuian Pokémon that have great competitive usage and the new Typings of the new forms give some Pokémon a buff.Electrode, for instance, is nowElectric/Grasswith a very high Speed stat for potential fastThunder Waves. Of the new Pokémon, two stand out the most.
TheHisuian Zoroarkhas aNormal/GhostTyping and thanks to data miners, is revealed to have the same Ability as the standard Dark Type version.Illusionmakes the Pokémon take the appearance of the last Pokémon in the party, and the new Zoroark hastwo immunities. Having it take the appearance of a Pokémon with a weakness to Ghost or Fighting can potentially give Zoroark a free turn to set up and adds more mind games to the competitive scene.
GivingHisuian GoodratheSteel/DragonTyping and giving it more Defense is a massive buff to the Pokémon. It can also learnShelter, a move that increases both Defense stats in Pokémon Legends: Arceus while making it more likely for moves to miss against it. Even if this only increases the Physical Defense of Goodra in non Legends titles, Shelter giving the bulky Pokémon more Defense while being able to respond to Attacks with high Base Power moves makes it a threat on any team.
Eviolite Possibilities
Thenew evolutionsof Pokémon add a new dimension for many underused Pokémon that many fans of the series will have overlooked.Evioliteis an item that is used quite a lot in competitive Pokémon like Chansey or Dusclops. The item raises the Defense and Special Defense of Pokémon by 50 percent but can only be used by Pokémon that are still capable of evolving.
Ursalunais a powerful Pokémon on its own, but its existence paves the way to fitUrsaringwith an Eviolite. Both Pokémon are very slow but using Ursaring as a defensive support or bulky offensive threat can be used to great effectiveness in the VGC format.Belly Drumin a Trick Room team is much safer and moves likeCharmcan be used to debuff Physical Attackers.
Another Pokémon that can benefit from Eviolite isHisuian Qwilfish. With a buff to its Defense in its new form already, Eviolite can make it a very powerful tank withStockpileandRest. It can learnAcupressureas well, set upSpikesandToxic Spikes, or useMinimizeto increase its evasiveness.
Related:Where to find Hisuian Qwilfish in Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Removing EVs And IVs
Pokémon Legends: Arceus removes Effort and Individual values in Pokémon in favor of the Grit system. If this change were transferred to other titles, EV training and IV breeding would be removed entirely—every Pokémon would be at maximum effectiveness.
It’s unlikely that this change will see life outside of the Legends series because this could potentially increase the duration of battles. Speculating on how itcouldwork, however, adds many extra dimensions but would favor Pokémon with high Base Stat Totals, which seems to go against GameFreak’s intentions.
This change would also have a positive influence on many underused Pokémon that aremixed attackers. These Pokémon have most of their Stat distribution on both their Attack and Special Attack but don’t have much Defense, Special Defense, or Speed. The change could make these Pokémon more viable as players wouldn’t have to choose between a Physical or Special Attacker.Octillery, for example, could runGunk Shotinstead ofFlash Cannonfor Fairy Types while still being able to use other Special Attacks likeIce BeamandFlamethrowerto keep its coverage.
For more gaming features, check outSean Chiplock on voicing Genshin Impact’s Diluc, getting into character, and trying KFCon Pro Game Guides.
