Slowly but surely, more and more Pokemon Legends: Arceus news is coming out. There’s still a lot to be seen ahead of its release in January, but it still is one of the most exciting non-core titles to release in the franchise for quite some time.
One of its biggest changes is its focus on time. Whereas Pokemon games do not have complicated lore or any real chronology, it clearly takes place much further in the past than every game in the franchise. No real lore or focus on chronology technically means Pokemon Sword and Shield could take place at the same time as Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, as chronology is not necessary to enjoy the franchise or its story.
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Aside from the rare direct sequels in the franchise, the only really established chronology is that Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal take place after Red, Blue, and Yellow, and that’s only because the Kanto region has changed and players can face Red. Pokemon Legends: Arceus, meanwhile, takes place well before any of this, and that in and of itself poses a big question about what Pokemon can appear in-game.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus Rumors
There are plenty of rumors of new Pokemon, new variants, and new legendaries appearing in the game. On the one hand, this is good for Pokemon Legends: Arceus because part of evolution is losing unnecessary elements. Kleavor’s evolution is a good example of this, because it is not longer exists in “modern-day” Pokemon games, with Scizor being the dominant evolution instead.
However, one rumor is a bit of a headscratcher. It should be taken with a grain of salt, of course, but if true, it doesn’t make sense for Mewtwo to appear in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, even if it’s just a new regional variant. Indeed, as many players know, Mewtwo was essentially made by scientists on Cinnabar Island.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus – To Include Mewtwo Or to Not Include Mewtwo, That is the Question
Scientists found a pregnant Mew and altered the DNA of its embryo with gene-splicing experiments; this explains why Mewtwo is, early on, inherently vicious and powerful. It destroyed the lab in the process of its escape, with all of this implied to take place in the time around Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow. In other words, Mewtwo simply didn’t exist around the time of Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
It could be that Mewtwo’s appearance and regional variant are somehow explained in-game, especially since Dialga and Palkia are likely to be involved (Dialga and Palkia are even rumored to get Primal forms). Manipulating time and space are a possibility, but at the same time, that sounds like a lot of legwork to add a Pokemon to a game. It could even be that this "version" of Mewtwo as lost to time, but that would then seem disrespectful to the importance of Mewtwo.
As such, while it remains to be seen if these Mewtwo rumors hold any water, Pokemon Legends: Arceus couldn’t include the Pokemon without a really good, time-bending explanation. Mewtwo is popular enough, though, that Pokemon Legends: Arceus may throw this set-up out the window to include him, but again, basically, Mewtwo’s inclusion wouldn’t add up chronologically.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus releases on January 28, 2022, for Switch.