These Pokemon Legends: Arceus Ads Are Delightfully Weird

Pokemon Legends: Arceus for a week, but it's already off to an incredible start by bringing in 6.5 million players in its first week. With numbers like that, it's almost a shock that Nintendo even needs to market the game, yet a duo of new ads have been released to remind players of how unique the new adventure is compared to the Pokemon titles of the past, and they sure are wonderfully weird.

The first ad features a riff on popular cooking challenge TV shows, introducing us to a chef host and two contestants clearly in battle to become the champion of the day. Suddenly, a hungry and hyperactive Munchlax appears and begins wreaking havoc in the kitchen before we're greeted to a few moments of actual Pokemon Legends: Arceus footage.

The second ad is a clear play on the popular and long-running PBS show Antiques Roadshow, showing an expert looking over an ancient Pokeball someone has brought him for appraisal. When he opens the Pokeball to examine it, however, it unleashes an enraged Basculegion that begins destroying everything in its path. Soon after, we're offered up some clips of the game.

Neither of the two ads inherently make sense in the context of marketing a Pokemon game, but that's probably the point. The quirky nature of each of them is reminiscent of '90s commercials and reminds us that the series is all about fun and--for many of us--heartwarming nostalgia.

If you're diving into Pokemon Legends: Arceus this weekend, check out our Beginner's Tips to get you started on your journey through Hisui.