All Gameplay Features and Everything We Know

This article provides an overview of the new gameplay features in the upcoming game Pokemon Legends Arceus. Read on to learn more about all gameplay features and everything we know about Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

Everything We Know

Everything We Know

New wild Pokemon encounters New battle system for wild Pokemon No Breeding No Pokemon Abilities Moves Can Be Changed Seamlessly Evolve Pokemon from Menu Trade Not Necessary For Evolution Noble Pokemons and their Wardens Battle Frenzied Noble Pokemon with balms Alpha Pokemon are stronger and more aggressive Completing the Pokedex via Research Tasks Crafting items now available Rest and recover at base camps Jubilife Village is the game's hub location

New Wild Pokemon Encounters

There are 3 types of wild Pokemon encounters in the game. Some wild Pokemon, such as Bidoof, are calm and will ignore/won't run away from you, even as you go near them. Other Pokemon like Starly are skittish and will run away when you approach them.

Lastly, there are also aggressive wild Pokemon who will attack you immediately or if you fail your first catch attempt. If you fail the first catch, the Pokemon will enter an alert state, where you must battle it in order to catch it.

How to Catch Pokemon

You can use berries to lure Pokemon

You can throw a berry near a wild Pokemon to lure it to a certain location and make it distracted as its eating. Doing this can make the wild Pokemon distracted or face a certain direction, so it will be easier to sneak up on them.

List of All Berries

New Battle System for Wild Pokemon

Battling in Pokemon Legends Arceus is still turn-based, but the game introduces new factors that affect the move and attack order, such as catching a wild Pokemon unaware and the use of Agile and Strong styles.

Engaging an unaware Pokemon in battle might allow you an extra move

You can engage a wild Pokemon in battle by throwing out your Pokemon near or directly at the wild Pokemon. If you throw out your partner Pokemon directly at a wild Pokemon that has not become alert to your presence, there's a chance you'll be afforded an extra move in the battle. The move order can be seen on the right side of the battle menu.

Using Agile and Strong Styles

The Agile Style raises the user's action speed, which makes moves come sooner but lower's the move's power. The Strong Style increases the move's power, but lower's the user's action speed.

You can cycle between Agile and Strong styles by pressing the L and R buttons when on the selected move. Additionally, using either style move in battle reduces more of the move's PP than when the move is used regularly.

Agile and Strong Styles

Party Exp. Share returns as game feature

Party Exp. Share returns in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, as your entire party gains Exp. after you catch Pokemon in the wild. Exp. Share automatically shares Exp. to all Party Pokemon, regardless if they participated in the battle or not.

The Pokemon that participate in the battle earn more EXP than the ones that didn't. The share of Exp. for the ones that didn't join vary depending on their current level.

Can You Turn Off Exp. Share?

No Breeding

Unlike in previous Pokemon games, there is no breeding in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. There is no Pokemon Daycare and eggs are not available in the game. Instead of breeding Pokemon, the game has a simplified stats system called Effort Levels. You can raise your Pokemon's Effort Levels by using Grit Dust, Grit Gravel, Grit Pebbles, and Grit Rocks.

Is Breeding in the Game?

No Pokemon Abilities

There are no Pokemon abilities in the game. Pokemon that used to benefit from their abilities will have to do without them. Notably, Pokemon that used to have Levitate that are weak to Ground can now be hit with Ground-type moves.

Moves Can Be Changed Seamlessly

Changing your Pokemon's moves can be easily done through the menu. Selecting "Change Moves" on a selected Pokemon will bring up a list of all the moves your Pokemon can learn at a specific level. Simply swap it out with a move you want your Pokemon to forget and you're good to go! Do remember that the new move's PP will match the remaining PP of the move you replaced.

Buy Moves From Zisu at Jubilife Village

You can buy Egg moves from Zisu at Jubilife Village. However, do note that the move you buy can only be accessed by the specific Pokemon you bought it for. If you bought Ice Fang for Drapion, it can only be used by that specific Drapion and not the other ones in the Pastures.

Evolve Pokemon From Menu

Unlike in previous games, Pokemon evolution needs to be done manually in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Once your Pokemon has satisfied all the conditions needed for its evolution, you can evolve it by selecting the Pokemon from your menu and pressing the x button.

Trade Not Necessary For Evolutions

Pokemon Legends: Arceus has made it possible for players to evolve Trade Evolutions without the need to trade. Players can now use a Linking Cord to evolve Pokemon that used to evolve by trading.

Noble Pokemon and Wardens

Noble Pokemon of the Hisui Region that are said to have received some kind of mysterious blessing, which makes them more powerful than regular Pokemon, while the Wardens from the Diamond and Pearl Clans are tasked with watching over them.

Pokemon	Warden
Kleavor	Lian
Wyrdeer	Mai
Ursaluna	Calaba
Hisuian Lilligant	Arezu
Basculegion	Iscan
Hisuian Arcanine	Palina
Hisuian Electrode	Melli
Sneasler	Ingo
Hisuian Braviary	Sabi
Hisuian Avalugg	Gaeric

List of All Noble Pokemon

Ridable Pokemon

Pokemon such as Hisuian Braviary, Basculegion, Wyrdeer, Sneasler, and Ursaluna will allow you traverse Hisui easily.

Wyrdeer can run and gallop to get you to places easily, Ursaluna can help you unearth treasures, Basculegion helps you traverse the sea, Sneasler climbs mountains for you, and Hisuian Braviary can fly you to different areas of a region.

You can summon rideable Pokemon with a press of the + button. On land, you can cycle through Wyrdeer, Ursaluna, Sneasler, and Hisuian Braviary with the left and right buttons on your d-pad. Your ride Pokemon will automatically switch to Basculegion if you go into water while riding another Pokemon.

How to Ride Pokemon: All Rideable Pokemon

Frenzied Noble Pokemon

Some Noble Pokemon are frenzied, causing them to become violent towards the player. These frenzied Noble Pokemon, such as Kleavor, look to be uniquely challenging battles that will serve as the bosses for each area of Hisui you visit.

Throw balms at Frenzied Noble Pokemon to calm them down

The battles with the frenzied Noble Pokemon require you to throw balms made up of their preferred food at them until they calm down, all while dodging their attacks. Its frenzy will be depicted in a bar at the top of the screen. Fully deplete the bar to calm the Noble Pokemon and win the battle.

At certain points during the fight, the Noble Pokemon will let its guard down, which is when you can throw out a Pokemon and battle the frenzied Noble Pokemon in a regular Pokemon battle. Depleting its HP in this Pokemon battle will not result in you winning the overall fight, as you will have to continue throwing balms at it until its frenzy bar is depleted.

Frenzied Noble Pokemon: How to Beat

Alpha Pokemon are Stronger and More Aggressive

Alpha Pokemon have a red, glowing eyes and are larger and more aggressive than your usual wild Pokemon. This makes them more dangerous as they immediately attack trainers with powerful moves.

When engaged in battle, they will have a symbol next to their name denoting their Alpha status. Expect their battles to be difficult but they will drop rare items if you beat them in battle.

Alpha Pokemon Guide: List of Alpha Pokemon

Researching and Completing the Pokedex

In order to fill out a Pokemon's Pokedex entry, you'll need to perform a variety of Research Tasks, dependent on the Pokemon. Some tasks will need to be completed several times in order for the Pokedex entry to be completed. Some of the known research tasks are listed below:

Research Tasks
Catch a Pokemon. Defeat a Pokemon. Defeat a Pokemon with a specific move type. See a Pokemon do a specific move. Register a number of its forms. Evolve a Pokemon. Catch a Pokemon without being seen. Catch a light weight Pokemon.

Completing more Research Tasks will earn you a higher Survey Corps ranking in the Galaxy Expedition Team. Earning a higher ranking in the team grants you access to new areas and Pokemon in the Hisui region.

Research Tasks Guide: How to Complete the Pokedex

Crafting Items

You can craft items on workbenches located in Jubilife Village's Craftworks or at Base Camps during excusions to the wild. New Items are made by combining other items as materials. Poke Balls, for example, are made by combining an Apricorn with a Tumblestone.

How to Get All Crafting Recipes

Rest and Recover at Base Camps

Base camps are outposts that let you rest and let your Pokemon recover their health if you take too much damage from wild Pokemon or from falling from high places. A new feature is being able to use the camp's workbench to craft items that will help you on your journey.

Base Camps Features and Guide

Taking too much damage in battle leads to blacking out

If your character takes too much damage when fighting and dodging attacks from a wild Pokemon, they will black out and be sent back to the base camp. After blacking out, you will also lose some of the items in your inventory, which will be shown to you in a screen before you return to base camp.

Jubilife Village is the Game's Hub Location

Jubilife Village is located on the western side of the Hisui Region and is the central hub for activities before setting off into your adventures into the wild. Here, you can find the Galaxy Expedition Team Headquarters, a General Store, the Craftworks, the Hairdresser, and the Photography Studio.

Jubilife Village Features and Things to Do

Clothier

In the Clothier, you can purchase and change the clothes of your character, including different masks, accessories, and eye customizations. Once you purchase a piece of clothing, you can return to the Clothier to change into it at any time. Simply talk to Anthe to buy and change into your favorite clothes!

List of Clothing and How to Change Clothing

Trading Post

At the trading post, you can trade Pokemon with other players and also trade Merit Points for certain items. Not much else is known about Merit Points and what these items are, but it could be speculated that the items could be rare or valuable, with the Merit Points used to obtained them being somehow tied to trading with other players.

How to Trade Online

Pastures

Pastures are also available in Jubilife Village where you can store and organize all the Pokemon you have caught. It acts just like PC boxes in previous Pokemon games. Simply talk to Marie, the woman standing by the gate of the pastures, to use this feature.

How to Use the Pastures

Quarters

Your character will have their own lodgings in Jubilife Village. You can interact with and investigate certain items in your lodgings and also a bed where you'll most likely be able to sleep until a certain time of day, just like with the bed located at the Base Camp.

Farm

You can also grow crops at Jubilife Village with a little help from Colza. The farm lets you grow different items you need for crafting and even mints to help you change your Pokemon's nature.

Farm Guide

Photography Studio

A Photography Studio is also available in Jubilife Village where you and your Pokemon can take pictures. Simply talk to Dagero, the man standing outside the studio, if you want to have your picture taken.

How to Take Pictures

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Game Features
All Gameplay Features and Everything We Know	New Pokemon and Regional Variants
Starter Pokemon	Game Genre
Battle System	Connections to Sinnoh Remakes
Mega Evolutions	National Dex
Exp. Share	Gyms