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Pokemon Legends: Arceus Is Coming To Nintendo Switch In 2022

The game takes place in the Sinnoh region and is coming next year.

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Taking us by surprise during the recent Pokemon Presents presentation, The Pokemon Company revealed Pokemon Legends: Arceus, which appears to be experimenting with what it means to be a Pokemon game. A prequel of sorts set in the same Sinnoh region as Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, the game will take a different approach to structure, tasking you to fill out the region's first Pokedex in a time before Pokemon trainers. Yes, this game will have no Pokemon League, but it's not abandoning what made the original games so influential.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus features some of the classic characters from previous games, including Cyndaquil, Rowlet, and Oshawott. The environments appear to be more tranquil and quiet than the other games, but it's unclear if it's going to be using the same format as traditional Pokemon games. Your goal is to make Sinnoh's first Pokedex, so it could be a little more mysterious than other Pokemon games, too.

The game takes place in the "Sinnoh of old," with Pokemon living wildly and a harsher environment from the games set in more modern times. The Mythical Pokemon Arceus is, naturally, at the center of the game's story. You will be able to both catch and battle with Pokemon using a traditional move-based style; however, there will also be new "action and RPG elements" according to the official site. It appears there won't be a Pokemon League and possibly not other trainers, either, due to the time in which it takes place.

Pokemon studio Game Freak is developing the game, aiming to "break new ground" for the Pokemon series. The game will launch worldwide on Nintendo Switch in early 2022.

Two other games, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, are also on the way, and these are faithful remakes of the original DS games Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. The next game we'll likely get to play is New Pokemon Snap, which is arriving on April 30, 2021.

Are There Two Versions?

Only Pokemon Legends: Arceus was announced during this part of the Pokemon Presents event, but there was one thing that made us think there could be a second Legends game. A tweet from the official Pokemon account mentioned "pre-makes." That's plural, suggesting another game could be in the works, but it hasn't confirmed this yet.

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