From the moment it was revealed, there was no doubt thatPokemon Legends: Arceuswas far from a traditionalPokemongame. The RPG franchise is usually deeply rooted in its own traditions, but now Game Freak has created a title that defies hallmarks of the franchise. For one thing,Pokemon’s iconic Pokedex has been overhauled inPokemon Legends: Arceus,featuring much more complicated completion mechanics; players also get greater rewards than ever for working on it.Pokemon Legends: Arceusmakes progress in plenty of other departments, like its crucial crafting system, greater options in catching Pokemon, and battles that pose an active threat to the protagonist.
However, in some ways,Pokemon Legends: Arceusalso seems to have taken steps back. Not every change it brings is an advancement for the franchise. For instance, some players might have noticed that Pikachu doesn’t say its name as its cry; it has returned to making a signature noise like every other Pokemon. Pikachu fits in better as a result, which is good, but the move is still confusing because of what it suggests about past and futurePokemongames. Will Pikachu no longer distinguish itself, or isPokemon Legends: Arceus' Pikachu just an outlier because ofits place on thePokemontimeline?
Pikachu’s Signature Cry
When thePokemonfranchise started, Pikachu would make a bespoke cry at the start of battle just like any other Pokemon. As time went on and Pikachu became a face of the franchise through thePokemonanime, Game Freak replaced that noise with a clip of Pikachu saying its name. That move isn’t so strange, since Pokemon always speak in altered versions of their own names, but Pikachu stood out for generations because it was the only Pokemon in the games themselves that audibly said its own name.Pikachu’s contributions to thePokemonfranchiseearned it a special distinction from its peers.
For some reason, though, Game Freak has made Pikachu revert to its original cry from the firstPokemongames.Pokemon Legends: Arceusdoesn’t offer an explanation for the change. It’s possible that Game Freak decided that Pikachu stuck out too much by having a voice line, or maybe it didn’t want to give Pikachu preferential treatment anymore. Whatever the case, the change is strange because otherPokemongames have used the Pikachu voice line for so long. EitherPokemoncharacters don’t know the differencebetween the two sounds, or Pikachu has changed somewhere betweenPokemon Legends: Arceusand the modernPokemongames.
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Changing Pokemon’s Past and Future
It’s possible that, at the time ofPokemon Legends: Arceus,Pikachu just hasn’t developed the unique cry that recent mainlinePokemongames have used. After all,Pokemon Legends: Arceustakes place some centuries in the past,long before the Sinnoh regionwas thoroughly developed by its citizens. Over the intervening years, Pikachu might have evolved in the scientific sense, developing a more articulated cry, eventually leading it to sound the same in thePokemongames as it does in the anime.
IfPokemon Legends: Arceus' change to Pikachu is permanent, it wouldn’t be surprising if Game Freak simply doesn’t acknowledge it within the games. After all, within the world of the games, there’s not much difference between the audible cries anda Pokemon’s text-based dialogue, as far asPokemonNPCs are concerned. Pikachu’s unique cry may never have stood out to NPCs as remarkable, even though players could always hear a major difference. The change’s meaning outside thePokemongames could be more significant. Maybe Game Freak and Nintendo are trying to gently nudgePokemon’s spotlight away from Pikachu to make room for more mascots. It should be interesting to see what part Pikachu plays in futurePokemongames and stories.
