15 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Pokémon Legends: Arceus brings a bunch of changes to the typical Pokémon formula which means there's a lot to unpack and relearn! If you're just starting out on your new Pokémon adventure and don't know what heavy balls do, how alpha Pokémon work, or the best way to catch 'em all, check out this ultimate beginners guide!

Pokémon: Legends Arceus is not a typical Pokémon game, at least the way we’ve come to understand them. Nintendo’s latest mainline release for the franchise has flipped the formula players may have expected, and the result is a Pokémon game with a lot of new things to learn and discover. This video breaks down several important tips, perfect for the new Pokémon trainer starting their journey. 

First, we dive into battling tips, including the new “Agile” and “Strong” mechanics and how they can be  tactically utilized depending on your goals. For example, if you want to weaken a Pokémon, some Agile moves may let you strike first and throw a Powerball all in the same sequence before your opponent can even attack. 

We also look at different ways players can use the new mechanics in the game, such as riding Pokémon to reach areas previously inaccessible, or by being more aggressive during Noble Pokémon fights without fear of losing save progress or items upon failure. 

There are a lot of subtleties and distinct new changes in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and we’ve got plenty of more cool videos cooking up for all of you soon, so be sure to subscribe to GameSpot and like this video if you found any of these tips helpful. Until next time!

[robertsilvermyst]

I have been waiting for this kind of change to the move system. It made no sense why a Pokemon would forget moves they learned. This is by far the best implantation of learning and selecting moves in the series.

[Kikilaaand]

I’m a Pokémon player since the red and blue days, I feel like my knowledge of all the previous games has helped me to some extent. But this is an entire new expire for us older players and even younger players! It’s really refreshing to have something different than the same old style. Although Pokémon will always hold a special place in my heart. I’m loving it and I hope they continue in the future to take advantage of this new experience

[mattsmth]

I hope Pokémon games continue to go in this direction

[boundbythecurve]

If a Pokemon gets angry and spots you, you still have more options than just fight or flee, as you said in your video (around @2:40). You can stun them with items too. 4 sticky globs seems to always be enough to stun any alpha, for example.

[SuperZombiepimp]

Going forward all Pokémon games need this setup love being able to see the monsters in real time that way I know if I should engage or go on my way

[ElPandamonium]

I got a thunderstone while farming a red rock, i guess the drop rate is super low but if you're lucky you can get them by farming

[shininggamer]

Here’s a couple more tips I wish I’d known when starting:

*1.* Poke Centers have yet to be invented. In order to heal your whole party for free, you can rest at a camp to revive and heal all the pokémon in your party
*2.* During battle, as oppose to using the up/down D-pad buttons to switch pokemon or use items, it’s far quicker to use the L and R to choose between your items or pokemon to switch or use (press X to switch between pokemon and items)
*3.* To expand upon the previous tip, if you go into your settings and disable “ZR button confirmation” it will disable the prompt given when you want to use said item or switch out pokemon, thus making it even quicker (just be careful not to input ZR accidentally to avoid unwanted actions!)
*4.* Also in settings, motion sensitivity is set to 0 by default. If you’re a fan of motion controls, turning this up to 1 or more will activate them
*5a.* When you have your first battle with Akari you will learn about type matchups. A detailed graph is shown for every single type matchup - if you’re like me and can’t memorize 20 different pokemon type’s strengths and weaknesses, take a screenshot for each of the two graphs shown. This way whenever you’re unsure of what type pokemon to use for a battle, here’s what to do:
*5b.* Before battling, focus on the pokemon using ZL and press down on D-pad to open its pokédex page, press A twice and it’s type will be shown at the top right of it’s summary tab. Then go to your switch home menu (your game will freeze in place whenever you go to your home menu), go to your album and check the graph in your screenshots to quickly and easily find the best type to use against the pokemon you’re about to face
*6.* Going on from the previous tip, if you’re ahead of that point and didn’t screenshot it, you can access every survey tip via the pause menu in the “Help” tab. Yes you could just look up the type matchups there, but I find it to be far quicker to go to the album in the switch home menu. That, and there are points (like mid battle) where you cannot open your menu to check your old survey tips

If there’s more tips you find useful that every player should know, reply to this comment and I’ll edit this comment to improve upon this list!!
Happy Pokémon hunting!!! ☄️

[callmechaf]

I hope they use this concept of gameplay with the next "Main" series game. The flow of the world, the freedom to battle and catch on the fly, it all with another go at it could be even better and make it feel like a true open world pokemon game that the fans have been asking for. This was a really good step towards what fans have wanted and I am glad that they experimented with it to such a success.

[MarkusGlesnes]

IF YOU SEE A SHINY, DONT ENGAGE IN A BATTLE!!!! I saw one, forgot how easily they run away if they spot you, and lost it, lol.

[gigastrike]

Another tip: you don't need to complete literally every pokedex task to complete the pokedex. You just need to get 10 points worth. Jury is still out on how many points everything gives you.

[blkmagiic]

I’ve played all of the Pokémon games and I’m super happy with the direction they took this game. I think it could use a bit of polishing but for such a drastic change to the existing norm, I think they did an awesome job. Excited to see how they continue to develop this idea going forward

[ameelrod]

Help other players by making picking up satchels a priority. You can redeem merit points for stones so it helps both and you get items for finding them, too

[YoBoiNitro]

I actually love the fact they made it so you can choose when to evolve your Pokémon without an Everstone

(thanks for all the likes)

[Tchnfrq]

i got evolution stones (fire stones) twice from farming stones for pokeballs. i guess there is a SMALL chance for them to drop. this happen in the second region maybe the chance gets greater later in game 🤷🏼‍♂️

edit: i just got stardust (its sternenstaub in german) by farming stones with a glitter effect so maybe the stones that drop something extra are marked by that effect. i dont think theyd have that effect only for stardust.

[xsbldyd]

As far as this game in the series goes. It's a step in the right direction in making Pokémon feel new again. Hope this isn't a one time gimmick like Mega-evolution"
Plus it's the first Pokémon game where the world truly feels vast compared to other titles, where despite the size of your environment. You can't explore all that much.

[ParadoxalDream]

8:02 It's not the only way to get evolution stones/items, you can find all of them by just playing through the game. They often appear in the Space-Time distortion zones, and you can also get some of them as rewards for completing certain side quests.

[TheKAYLEN]

Me initially playing: “Imma make my main squad only alpha Pokémon”

Game freak: “you’re not that guy…”

[Jayson_Tatum]

There's a lot of previous years' worth of experience I took into this game that really helped me early. However, this has had a very refreshing learning curve that I enjoy. It feels so much more real and immersive. Also I was randomly strolling and found a shiny Psyduck which was dope lol

[dusk]

I personally love where they've taken this IP. I started playing Pokémon, like many, in 1998 at the age of 10.
While I adored most of the early entries into the series. I haven't even bothered to buy many of the recent entries as they're to far removed from the original experience. Some didn't even include battles... No thanks.
But, I love where they've taken Archeus. This will be the first Pokémon title I'm excited about, and will play, in over 10 years. I think they nailed it.
I would have enjoyed even more Pokémon, but unless they release a version in this format with all 800+, I'll take what I can get

[RedRumRose]

*When you realize they just made a list of things the game actually tells you*