With every Pokemon game that has come out in the last 25 years, the graphics change but the gameplay mechanics remain the same, just as Satoshi Tajiri intended. But some leaks are now claiming that Pokemon Legends: Arceus will have some gameplay elements removed: abilities, breeding, and held items.
Centro Leaks sent a tweet over the holidays detailing a list of changes that may be coming to Pokemon Legends: Arceus. The most outstanding of these include Pokemon not having any abilities, holding any items, nor breeding with other Pokemon, whether they’re the same species or not. The leaks come courtesy of another Twitter user and well-known Pokemon leaker Riddler Khu, who has since set their profile to private.
Abilities, held items, and breeding have been household features in the mainline Pokemon games to help Trainers and their Pokemon become stronger. To see that they won’t be a part of Pokemon Legends: Arceus may be annoying to many long-time players.
However, it’s important to note that the game takes place 200 years before the events of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl — and its remakes, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl — in the Hisui region, which isn’t even remotely mentioned by anyone living in the Sinnoh region. Perhaps the time period in which it is set implies that people in the Hisui region don’t know much about Pokemon and how certain abilities can be used for their benefit or that of opposing Pokemon in battle, how holding certain items aid the Mon, or how to best breed them. Plus, these leaks could always prove incorrect. Make sure to take them with a hefty grain of salt until the news is confirmed by official sources.
Another important thing the leaks mention is that it will take players a long time to complete the Hisui Pokedex in order to capture Arceus. Previous games allow players to capture Legendary Pokemon without capturing every single Pokemon, so the amount of time and effort players have to put into catching ’em all may explain the Hisuans’ lack of knowledge about Pokemon in the first place.
