I’ve Completed the Pokédex in ‘Pokémon Legends: Arceus,’ Will I Ever Get To Go Back Home?

MAJOR SPOILERS for Pokémon Legends: Arceus

After over a hundred hours of trying to get my Jubilife Village neighbors to not freak out over wind chime Poké-pals (seriously, it’s just a Chimecho), I finally completed my Pokédex and set off to finish the truest true ending of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Once I got my ass handed to me a couple of times, I did the thing and proceeded to go about my business.

That’s when I realized, huh, I’m … still in Jubilife Village. Shouldn’t I… not be? Shouldn’t I be headed back home? Am I destined to a life of potato mochi and the obvious will they, won’t they tension between Adaman and Melli?

I’ve been having these weird thoughts lately…

Starting with a Kingdom Hearts like opening, you wake up floating through space where a god-like creature turns your phone into a PHONE! Later (after you wake up and meet the game’s professor and the three adorable creatures you’re gonna have to try and choose between), you find out that said glowing Poké-God has tasked you with finding all of the Pokémon in the region you’re in (Hisui). However, there is a lot of mistrust about your presence when you arrive in the Jubilife Village because, you know, you fell out of a rift in the sky that’s still present, and something about that rift is sending Pokémon into a frenzy. Since everyone and their village granny is terrified of Pokémon, it doesn’t help that things are happening to make them unstable.

It’s up to you to work with Jubilife Village’s team (the Survey Corps of the Galaxy Expedition Team) to figure out the cause of what’s happening. At the same time, you have to document all of the Pokémon you come across to satisfy the beeping from your new phone (sorry, arc phone). Along the way, you end up helping everyone understand that they should be working with Pokémon instead of being so fearful of them. It’s obvious that you come from a time where Pokémon are commonplace in the world. There’s probably, like, gyms and stuff, and catchy songs about “being the best” and mobile games with the word “Go” in them. That doesn’t stop the naysayers, though, especially when the rift gets worse. However, with a bit of teamwork and learning about particular Legendary Pokémon who those more familiar with the series would recognize (I’m new here), you’re able to seal the rift.

When do you get to go home, though?

So then there was more after the ending

So after everyone celebrates the doomsday rift being sealed, you’re able to complete another task where you search for the Plates that are associated with Arceus (aka: the Poké-God who told you to catch ’em all). You’ve been collecting these plates throughout the game, but now it’s time to get ALL of them with the help of Volo, a totally 100% trustworthy merchant who always happens to be wherever you are during major plot points. Turns out Volo had plans of stealing the plates from you to draw out Arceus to try and force the all-powerful creature to create a new world. He also ended up using an absolute beast of a Pokémom called Giratina to make the rift, but doing so drove the poor chonky baby mad.

Now it’s time to fight Volo and Giratina, and once you defeat them, Volo’s all pissy because Arceus chose you and not him – especially when your Zelda ocarina (I’m kidding, I know it’s a flute) transforms into the Azure Flute, which you can use to reach Arceus… after doing one itty, bitty little thing first.

Can we go home yet?

And then there was even more after that

So NOW you have to catch ALL the Pokémon in the game because Arceus told you to do that in the beginning. This is the part where you see who’s left to evolve, go talk to Professor Laventon who will GIVE you whichever two starters you didn’t choose, go on ANOTHER quest to capture three more legendary Pokémon (including Giratina), and just… go about finishing the Pokédex. Did you spot the Unown at the entrance sign for Jubilife Village? Did you finish that quest where you gather wisps throughout Hisui which leads you to a different Pokémon? Did you throw a berry at the skittish as hell Togepi at Cobalt Coastlands so you could catch it? You should have 240 by the time the professor says, “You did it, let me insert a pun to celebrate this moment.”

Once that’s done, you can go back to the Temple of Sinnoh where all the final battles have taken place to play your upgraded flute. A heavenly staircase appears and you ascend into the Pokémon Stadium looking heavens to fight Arceus. After the battle, Arceus gives you a piece of itself, and then… you go back home, right?

I did it! And I’m … still at the village?

If by home you mean Jubilife Village then yes, you are correct, you’re right back where you unconsciously started your adventure. Do you ever get to go back home? Well, there are still requests you can do (unless you’re like me and did all of them first), massively mass outbreaks to solve (which I did, but they do keep returning), and challenging extra battle paths you can do at the training grounds and with Arceus when you sleep in your bed. These last two things are probably the game’s hardest things to do, as the “Path of Solitude” is something you can do with ALL of your Pokémon, and Arceus’ “Eternal Battle Reverie” has you fighting high-level Pokémon.

On top of that, you can try and catch all of the Unown Pokémon, get to the highest rank in the Survey Corps, and try and get everything unlocked like clothing and hairstyles. There’s plenty left to do after the truiest ending, but from what I can gather (because I JUST beat Arceus myself), you never go back home. We never even find out where the player came from, we just know they’re from a different, more modern world that already knew about catching Pokémon and battling with them.

So I guess we’re just… here in Hisui now. Ah well, at least the Pokémon are gigantic and photogenic.

(Image: Pokémon/20th Television Animation)

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Briana Lawrence

Briana (she/her - bisexual) is trying her best to cosplay as a responsible adult. Her writing tends to focus on the importance of representation, whether it’s through her multiple book series or the pieces she writes. After de-transforming from her magical girl state, she indulges in an ever-growing pile of manga, marathons too much anime, and dedicates an embarrassing amount of time to her Animal Crossing pumpkin patch (it's Halloween forever, deal with it Nook)

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