Pokémon Legends: Arceus – Mainline and The Future?

This article originally began its creation a month before the Pokémon Presents for August 18th, 2021 was announced. Thus the info and speculation may result in being outdated.

Anyone else bothered that we haven’t seen anything of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl or of Pokémon Legends Arceus in quite a while? I know these aren’t ushering in the new Generation, but after they were announced all the way back in February, late May or mid-June would be the time for a trailer. It’s very strange, and I hope we’ll get to see both games again soon.

Anyways, while we already know that Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are mainline titles, it seems that it’s not so clear as to whether Pokémon Legends Arceus is one. You might think it is, I think it is, too, but there are some people that believe it isn’t a mainline title (and, of course, some fans aren’t completely sure). This is, of course, due to how different it seems to be compared to every other “core series” Pokémon title we’ve experienced. So, through this article, we’ll not only look at what Pokémon Legends Arceus is but how it’s being described by The Pokémon Company in order to determine whether it is a mainline title or not.

What is Pokémon Legends Arceus?

Announced on February 26th of 2021, Pokémon Legends Arceus is an Action RPG set within the Sinnoh Region of old where the mindset of being a Pokémon Trainer or even a Pokémon League hasn’t been established. Your journey through the Sinnoh of days gone by to complete the first PokéDex and to also discover in what way that the mythical Pokémon, Arceus, is connected to your journey.

Aside from that synopsis, there is more information we can learn from checking out the Japanese website. To start, at this moment, Legends Arceus is marked as a Single Player game – whereas Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl’s Japanese website lists it specifically as a “Single-Player” game with Trading and Battling that can include 2 to 4 players… in other words, multiplayer.

Now, when it comes to another section on the information that says “Communication Function” (i.e. all wireless functionality), both are marked as Undecided. This is probably due to information on Legends Arceus still being kept hidden (it is a brand new game), whereas Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are remakes of games that already had those pre-existing multiplayer functions, functions that were also included in the trailer. However, if we take a look at Pokémon Sword and Shield’s Japanese website prior to their second trailer in the June 2019 Pokémon Direct, the title’s Number of Players information was also marked as Undecided. Even after its Japanese live-action trailer and starter showcase, Pokémon Sun and Moon’s Japanese website put the Number of Players information as Undecided.

So, considering that Pokémon Legends Arceus’ website confidently lists Single Player from the start, unlike the other titles mentioned, I say it’s fair to state that Pokémon Legends Arceus is in fact a single-player game. We may also be able to infer this due to Legends differentiating from the other RPG titles in a major way – there’s only one title. While Platinum and Emerald were expanded versions that could connect to the original titles that they’re based upon, Legends Arceus currently stands on its own. There may be some connectivity with Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, but because there is only one title, players should be able to find all the Pokémon available WITHOUT the need to connect to an alternate version.

Charting It Up

So, based upon all of the knowledge we have at this moment, let’s run through the major differences that Pokémon Legends Arceus has in comparison to every previous title.

Legends Arceus is a Single Player ACTION RPG whereas every other mainline title is a Single Player JRPG with Multiplayer Functionality, just turn-based.
Legends Arceus is a standalone title in the midst of a generation. Every other mainline title between generations has been a remake, expanded third version, or narrative sequel, or a combination thereof.
Legends Arceus, while also being a new standalone title, also doesn’t feature an accompanying second version or previous iteration – which means trading can’t be inherently incentivized. Every other mainline title does, from the pair that starts the generation to every follow-up entry or expanded title.

With this in mind, it’s possible to see how someone could think Pokémon Legends Arceus is not a mainline title, as it doesn’t SEEM to follow one of the core foundations that Pokémon was founded on and has continued to uphold – directly connecting with other players.

So what did The Pokémon Company say?

Aside from the inferences and opinions that we can make based upon this information, which can also change in the coming months, what did the Pokémon Company say themselves when they announced the game? Well…

At 12:38 – In the Pokémon Presents, Legends Arceus’ trailer is introduced with the statement, “The Pokémon series enters a new era…”
At 15:03 – Takato Utsunomiya, Chief Operating Officer of The Pokémon Company and host of the Pokémon Presents, stated: “I’m pleased to announce two new additions to the Pokémon video game series, both taking place in the Sinnoh Region.” Take note of this phrase, “Pokémon video game series”, as I’ll be addressing it later.
Skipping past what he says about Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: “Pokémon Legends: Arceus represents a new approach to the Pokémon video game series. Development is in full spring at Game Freak with the aim to deliver a gaming experience that breaks new ground for the Pokémon series… We hope you’re all excited to set out on these adventures across the Sinnoh region, each one distinctly different from the other… as well as the Pokémon video game series’ new journey with Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

The information present within this Pokémon Presents isn’t the only thing we have to look at! Let’s also take a look at the different official websites and press information.

The official English website states: “A Bold New Direction. The Pokémon Legends: Arceus game honors past Pokémon games’ core gameplay while infusing new action and RPG elements.”
The first Press Release describes the new title like this: “Pokémon Legends: Arceus was developed with the desire to deliver an experience infused with new action and RPG elements that go beyond the framework established thus far, while honoring the core gameplay of past Pokémon titles.”
The second press release states: “In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the Pokémon series takes a bold new direction, fusing action with RPG elements.”

So, is it mainline or not?

Clearly, this is still a question because they don’t specifically use the phrase “mainline”. In fact, they’ve used a variety of phrases to describe what we know as mainline titles.

During the announcement of Pokémon: Let’s Go back in May of 2018, they were specifically referred to as “mainline” games. In the February 2019 Pokémon Direct, when Pokémon Sword and Shield were announced, they were referred to as “all-new entries in the main series of Pokémon RPGs for the Nintendo Switch.” For Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, “the latest installment in the Pokémon series for Nintendo 3DS.” And if you remember at E3 2017, the next title was simply referred to as the “next Core RPG Pokémon title.”

And now if we look back at the Pokémon Presents announcing both Legends Arceus and Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, the Gen 4 remakes aren’t referred to with the phrase mainline either. Instead, both titles are referred to as: “…two new additions in the Pokémon video game series, first I’d like to introduce the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl games.” This means that Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, together, are just the first game and Legends Arceus is the second one – and there’s no need for us to speculate on whether Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl is a mainline Pokémon game. So I think this confirms that Pokémon Legends Arceus is a mainline title.

However, there’s something more important to recognize. Upon paying close attention to the press release and looking at the logo, the title isn’t Pokémon Legends Arceus straightforward. Instead, it’s Pokémon Legends: Arceus. This means that it’s being branded as a Pokémon Legends title, not a standard Pokémon title like every other previous mainline title. Even Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee were just Pokémon games, not Pokémon Let’s Go games.

The Future

Based upon the footage we’ve seen and the words stated by GAME FREAK and The Pokémon Company, we know that they’re expanding the open-world ideas they explored in Sword, Shield, and their DLC packs. And if they’re trying to break new ground, it also means establishing the ground for future titles to use – thus, whatever new features or mechanics that Legends: Arceus decides to implement may become new core features of the series. However, with the specific title being Pokémon Legends – there are three things that could happen.

New features and design aspects introduced in Pokémon Legends may influence every Pokémon series video game, at least original titles, going forward. The only time they decide to go back is to be faithful, maybe, when it comes to remakes.
Since the context of Pokemon Legends: Arceus is that it takes place in the past and has a new series name – “Pokemon Legends” – it could be the start of a new series of Action-RPGs, within the core series or not. These could all be prequels, or not, but they would use these new mechanics.
Or maybe few or none of its ideas get reworked or reused. Wouldn’t be the first time for this series.

Of course, half of this was surfing through semantics and the other half was speculation, but as of right now – this is what I could say that we know Pokémon Legends: Arceus to be – the next mainline title in the series of Pokemon RPGs.