Pokémon Legends: Arceus won’t release until Jan. 28 on the Nintendo Switch, but early screenshots and information about the game have begun leaking early due to some players allegedly getting a physical copy before launch.
Among the leaked information were several screenshots from what appears to be the very beginning of the game, where it looks like the player character talks with Arceus before even starting their adventure. And it seems like some of the post-game content has also been revealed.
In those images, Arceus refers to the location you have entered as a realm that is “located beyond both time and space.” There are also other leaked images showing the player character in modernized clothing when talking to the Hisui region’s professor, Professor Laventon—likely pointing to some form of time or dimensional travel that involved the god of all Pokémon.
Before awakening and going through what appears to be the starter Pokémon selection, however, Arceus informs the player that they can meet again once they “seek out all Pokémon.”
Since one of the core story elements for Arceus is completing the Hisui region’s first Pokédex, this likely means players can only encounter and capture Arceus once they have finished their Pokédex after having encountered or captured every Pokémon located in the region.
With this difficult requirement seemingly in place, we still don’t have an exact number pinned down for how many Pokémon will be included in the Hisui Pokédex. Based on some previous leaks, we can assume the number will be 493, matching the original Sinnoh Pokédex from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, which will keep Arceus’ National Pokédex number set to 493 as well.
Even if you can’t capture Arceus at the climax of the game’s story, it is unlikely that you will go the entire game without seeing The Original One in action—although we won’t know for certain until the game is fully released.
