While fan opinion on Pokemon Legends: Arceus still appears to be rather split, some of the new Pokemon forms and evolutions the game is introducing have gained popularity very quickly. Basculegion, an evolution of Gen 5 Pokemon Basculin, has become quite popular for its surprisingly dark backstory of being possessed by the souls of departed Basculin, and dog lovers have unsurprisingly taken to Hisuian Growlithe.

One fan on Reddit, who runs a 3D printing business, is even selling painted miniature figures of the new Growlithe. According to user novalg, this is also their first attempt at painting minifigures and it’s undeniably impressive, although they admit that they wish some of the layer lines weren’t visible.

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The post has been upvoted at least 800 times at the time of writing and all of the comments contain nothing but praise for it. One user particularly praises how the Growlithe model is sticking out its tongue, which makes it look much cuter, while another says they think that it looks better than the actual in-game model from Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

As a reminder, Growlithe is normally a Fire type Pokemon and has been that way since it was introduced in the very first set of Pokemon games, Pokemon Red and Blue. For Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Growlithe will instead be a Fire/Rock type. It’s described as having more voluminous fur which helps it retain heat in the frigid Hisui region (which is what Sinnoh, the setting of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, was called in the distant past). The sharp horn on its head, however, is made of rock.

Nintendo and Game Freak seemed to pre-emptively suspect that Hisuian Growlithe would be a hit with fans since one of the Pokemon Legends: Arceus pre-order bonuses is a Hisuian Growlithe kimono set for the player character to wear. In terms of other new Pokemon, Game Freak revealed a new evolution for Stantler called Wyrdeer and a Hisuian form for Braviary, but it’s not known if these are the only new additions or if there are more Hisuian exclusive Pokemon still to be revealed. Hisuian Arcanine, the evolved form of Growlithe, is probably guaranteed, though.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is the franchise’s first truly open-world game and is already shaping up to be a massive departure for the series. Unlike the main games, there is no Gym challenge to complete, with the primary focus being to explore the region and create Hisui’s first PokeDex. As for the titular Legendary Pokemon Arceus, it’s expected to play an important role but it has yet to be shown in-game.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus releases for Nintendo Switch on January 28, 2022.

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