Pokémon Legends: Arceus Is My First Main Series Game and I Gotta Know, Has Pokémon Always Been So Foreboding?

It’s been 84 years, but I’m finally playing a Pokémon game from the main series.

Don’t yell at me.

To be honest, my love of Pokémon comes primarily from the anime and the instant heart eyes I get whenever I see a new one show up at Build-A-Bear. Besides checking out the likes of Pokémon Snap or occasionally using Pikachu in Smash, I’ve never really taken the time to sit down and try to “catch ’em all.”

That’s changed with Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and now that I have the game I have to ask… has Pokémon always been a stressful time where I’m running for my life?

The voice of God?

The start of the game has you in a realm that exists between time and space. Someone speaks to you through the light and it creates a real “I am thou, thou art I” Persona vibe. It turns out you’re speaking with Arceus, who tasks you with finding all the Pokémon.

I know that’s the goal of these games, but is it always presented to you in such a “the fate of the universe rests with you” way?

And do you always fall from the sky afterward?!

As you fall through a sea of nothingness that doesn’t even have the courtesy of playing some Utada Hikaru, your phone somehow summons bursts of light before you find yourself on a beach. Here, you meet Professor Laventon, who proceeds to question where you came from because, well, you fell from the sky. Laventon’s got the Pokémon who will obviously be your starters, but something feels… off.

Even I can tell as a first-time player that something more is going on, something beyond wanting to “be the best like no one ever was.”

The ominous vortex in the sky

Let’s start here, shall we?

Because there’s just a… vortex in the sky? All the time? And no one seems… concerned?

Why is Laventon so casual about me falling from the sky in the first place?

Going into the game I knew that this was a Pokémon that takes place before leagues, gyms, and everything else that’s become a staple in the franchise. However, with my character having more modern clothes and there being a constant swirling of something up above, it feels like there’s gonna be some world shattering, revolutionary event instead of just being content with being a Pokémon Master.

Everyone is scared of Pokémon (for good reason)

This is the part I truly wasn’t prepared for.

Now I’ve heard horror stories about particular kinds of Pokémon who have frightening entries in their Pokédex entries, and I’ve seen tidbits of information about how certain ghost-type Pokémon were human once. That being said, as I played this new game I didn’t expect every person I ran into to be genuinely scared of Pokémon, so much so that there is a scouting regime tasked with going after them AND you’re not allowed to explore at night (at least not at the beginning of the game).

I’ve seen enough clips on Twitter to know that this isn’t some misplaced fear, these wild Pokémon will choose violence and go on the attack before you can even consider going into battle.

You have to actually be careful when you go out there, dodge attacks, and worry about yourself and not just the Pokémon you have on your team. You have to avoid certain Pokémon because they’re big and they’re scary and they’ll obliterate you and your cute little Oshawott.

This is part of the reason why Professor Laventon is so impressed when you don’t even bat an eye at the thought of catching Pokémon. The other reason, as it turns out, is because you’re naturally good at it compared to the others who have tried.

But maybe others aren’t trying because there are Titan-sized creatures on the loose.

Seriously, is this what I’ve been missing out on with Pokémon? Am I destined to become roadkill because of a Snorlax? More importantly, what happens when I complete Arceus’ task? Am I going back into the vortex… or is something coming out of it?

When did Pokémon get like this?!

(Image: Pokémon)

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