No matter how well fans think they know it, thePokemonworld always keeps expanding. With every generation of games, fans learn that there’s even more exciting and adorable monsters just beyond the horizon.Pokemon Legends: Arceusmay take place in thePokemonworld’s past, but it’s no exception. Game Freak has already teased some new entries to the National Pokedex, including a Water and Ghost type evolution for Basculin called Basculegion, and Wyrdeer, a Normal/Psychic evolution for Stantler. The Noble Pokemon Kleavor suggests there’s more evolutions on the way. On top of all that, there’s already signs that the Hisui region,Pokemon Legends: Arceus' early incarnation of the Sinnoh region, has some new regional Pokemon forms.
Hisuian Pokemon are only the latest step in a longstanding trend that plays toPokemon’s strengths. Starting in the Alola region, every new region brings with it regionally adapted versions of older Pokemon, giving a new look at classic monsters while diversifying the region’s Pokemon population.Galar explored regional formsin the same way, so it only makes sense that Hisui will continue the trend. Game Freak has only revealed a couple Hisuian Pokemon so far, but they already range from modest alterations on the original form to vastly different takes on an established Pokemon. That’s a good sign that the full list of Hisuian forms is going to be filled with diverse designs.
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Hisuian Growlithe
The Hisuian version of Growlithe is probably the most modestly different from its original form. It has the same stripes and body shape as its original form while sporting a lighter colored mane, while its body is a darker red. The biggest aesthetic difference between the two forms is the physical design of Hisuian Growlithe’s mane, which covers its eyes and forms a horn on top of its head. The smoothness and grayish color of the mane beliesone significant change in Hisuian Growlithe’s statistics: it’s a Fire/Rock type Pokemon rather than just a Fire type alone. While adding the Rock type unfortunately makes Hisuian Growlithe much weaker to Water and Ground type moves, maybe this regional variant will make up for it with good moves of its own and some high defensive stats.
Hisuian Braviary
While Growlithe is from the very firstPokemongeneration, the Normal/Flying Pokemon Braviary stems fromPokemon BlackandWhite,making it much younger. It’s getting a Hisuian form nonetheless. Aside from its beak and talons, Hisuian Braviary looks vastly different from its Unovan counterpart, sporting totally different plumage shapes, color patterns, and so on. Hisuian Braviary is a Psychic/Flying type, and the purple and blue feathers on its head are a focus of its psychic power. The speed of a Flying type and the power of a Psychic type should make Hisuian Braviary a solid teammate for trainers inPokemon Legends: Arceus.Braviary looks like a new form of transport around the Hisui region, too, so it’s certainly not short on utility.
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Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark
The newest Hisuian formshave history in the Unova region, just like Braviary. Game Freak recently revealed Hisuian variants for Zorua and Zoroark, which is a big deal, since both of these Dark-type Pokemon have been fan favorites since the days ofPokemon BlackandWhite.Out of all the Hisuian forms revealed so far, Zorua and Zoroark have gone through the most drastic type change, switching from Dark-types to Normal/Ghost types. That’s a pretty fantastic type combination, since Normal and Ghost cover most of each others' weaknesses, meaning Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark are coincidentally only weak to Dark-type moves. These forms also look very different from the Unovan versions, sporting a new white and pink color palette and much fluffier fur.
With only a couple months to go beforePokemon Legends: Arceusreleases, fans should expect Hisuian form announcements to ramp up pretty soon. Nintendo will certainly go all in on advertising this innovative new look on thePokemonworld, and there’s no better way to do that than by puttingthe Hisui region’s unique Pokemonin the spotlight. Hopefully, the rest of the Hisuian Pokemon are just as exciting as the batch that have already come forward.
Pokemon Legends: Arceusreleaes on June 07, 2025 for Nintendo Switch.
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