Pokemon Legends: Arceusis the new Switch installment about exploring Hisui and completing the first Pokedex long before Pokemon started to live harmoniously with humans. What makesPokemon Legends: Arceusan interesting title is that it revolutionizes the whole franchise thanks to its open-world elements and exclusive Hisuian evolutions, which let players gallop across the region, soar in the sky, and more. The fact thatPokemon Legends: Arceusdelves more into strategy is a fantastic change, as it means futurePokemonreleases might draw inspiration from its more diverse turn-based combat and engaging capture mechanics.
Along with the actual Hisuian Pokemon that are part of the game, players were also excited to see what therumored Hisuian forms ofPokemon Legends: Arceus' starterslooked like before launch. While many were eagerly waiting for their copies, there were a few alleged leaks surfacing that portrayed the new starter evolutions in a surprisingly similar way, all paying tribute to the original forms and the region of Hisui, which is based on feudal Japan. Some designs came close to the end results and others didn’t, but it’s interesting to compare those to the final product in terms of both their look and inspiration.
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Fake Pokemon Legends: Arceus Starter Evolutions Designs and Their Inspiration
Though most of those leaks were soon confirmed to be fake, all of them shared a common theme regarding what the starters' final evolution supposedly looked like as Hisuian forms compared to the original monsters. Amongall the confirmed and rumored Pokemon inPokemon Legends: Arceus, the starters' new evolutions ended up having very specific types, as per the leaks that came long ago from a prominent insider known as the Chinese Riddler or Riddler Khu. It was suggested early that Cyndaquil would evolve into a Hisuian Typhlosion that’s Fire and Ghost-type, Oshawott into a Water and Dark-type version of Samurott, and Rowlet’s final stage was rumored to be a Grass and Fighting-type Decidueye - all of which came true.
Among various alleged leaks in the days leading toPokemon Legends: Arceus' launch, Typhlosion has often been portrayed with a bead necklace, standing in its original pose from Generation 2Pokemongames with a more spectral look that made its flames darker or purple-colored. This perfectly fits the Fire and Ghost typing, as seen with monsters like Chandelure, whose evolution line sports purple flames as early as the first stage - something Cyndaquil doesn’t have inPokemon Legends: Arceus. The beads too were seen as fitting, considering that bead necklaces were common in feudal Japan, and they are often associated in foreign imagery with prayers for the dead even though Japanese people didn’t use them that way.
The regular Samurott has shell-like armor on its legs and a larger shell on its head with a spear-like protrusion, while another distinctive trait of its original look is the large, white whiskers it has on the sides of its mouth. Shell armor in fake designs forPokemon Legends: Arceusoften appeared to be that of a shogun or samurai from medieval Japan, with Samurott having dark blue skin and equally dark facial hair. GivenPokemon Legends: Arceus' time period, it didn’t seem farfetched to have Samurott’s real look be somewhat close to what fake designs showed.
As forDecidueye, the Pokemon’s design from Generation 7 reflects the creature using its wings as a bow and then taking down its enemies from afar with precise arrows. Hisuian Decidueye’s alleged leaks made the Pokemon have some sort of infantry soldier look from the Nara period of Japan, with its feathers acting as armor and hood-like helmet, a bulkier body structure, and a focus on its fists and legs, fitting the Fighting-type. Overall, while this kind of “drawn from memory” or “sketches of the starters” leak posts is not new in thePokemoncommunity, the actual Hisuian starter evolutions didn’t go too far in terms of concept and inspiration.
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Actual Designs and Respective Inspiration for Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Hyakki Yako is a Japanese idiom that means “Parade of One Hundred Demons,” and in this case, it perfectly fits the inspiration and actual delivery of Hisuian Typhlosion, a Fire/Ghost-type Pokemon. It’s worth noting that Hisuian Typhlosion’s signature move is called Infernal Parade, and it consists of the Pokemon launching ghastly fireballs at its enemies, which is a fantastic representation of the Hyakki Yakko. While the final design doesn’t come with a bead necklace, Hisuian Typhlosion does have spectral flames on its neck and back, and they are very close to the fan-made versions shared beforePokemon Legends: Arceus' launch.
Hisuian Samurott’s design is very close to the fan-made ones as well, albeit in terms of shape rather than color, and it is based on the look of samurai in feudal Japan. Samurai were military nobles, and they were allowed to wear two swords, which is something Samurott also does inPokemon Legends: Arceuswhen it uses itssignature move, Ceaseless Edge. The shell armor on the Pokemon is more akin to its original Unovan form than the fake designs that made it look more like that of samurai, but the concept remains the same.
Ronin is a Japanese word that means “wanderer,” and in feudal Japan, it was a way to define those samurai who lost their masters through death or by falling out of their grace. The ronin didn’t belong to one specific place, hence why they wandered, and they are often depicted with a woven hat that covers their eyes - which is what Hisuian Decidueye’s design conveys, with a hat of feathers and a short cloak around its chest. A ronin was still a warrior, though, and that’s precisely what theFighting-typeHisuian Decidueye is inPokemon Legends: Arceus- not an infantry soldier, but not a samurai either. Ultimately, the actual Hisuian evolutions turned out to be both different and similar to those made by fans and alleged leakers, which is interesting since it means that the same inspiration was present in both cases.
