That notion of friendship also historically clashes with the way that the Pokemon protagonist and their Pokemon trainer peers handle Pokemon outside of battle, however. Tamed Pokemon don’t always lead cozy lives when they’re not traveling with a trainer; on the contrary, they’re often confined inside their PokeBalls, which are sorted through a computer system. Pokemon Legends: Arceus takes a completely different approach, however. While Pokemon Legends: Arceus characters may not have sophisticated technology with which to study and accommodate Pokemon, pastures and specialized habitats suggest a much more comfortable home life for domesticated Pokemon.
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Pokemon Friendship and Downtime
Whenever a Pokemon is traveling with a trainer, it gets all kinds of opportunities to form a strong relationship with the trainer. Friendship has been a hidden statistic of all Pokemon since Generation 2, determined by just about every core function of the game. Aspects of battle like keeping Pokemon healthy and leveling up naturally impact friendship, but treating Pokemon well outside of battle is just as important. Pokemon truly lead good lives when players treat them to all kinds of extra activities, whether it’s visiting a groomer, getting a massage, or sharing a meal. The bottom line is that tamed Pokemon rely on time with others.
That’s why Pokemon’s monster storage system feels so contradictory to the franchise’s notions of friendship. In Pokemon games, monsters not in the player’s party get digitized and filed away in the Pokemon Storage System. There’s no sign that Pokemon stored this way can interact with one another, and they certainly don’t have any way of keeping in touch with the player. In other words, Pokemon who are in storage are stuffed in digital boxes and left to wait there until the trainer returns, which sounds pretty lonely.
Even if stored Pokemon get to remain inside their PokeBalls, that’s a pretty isolating experience. Junichi Masuda has said before that PokeBalls are comfortable on the inside, but the Pokemon games have done little to prove that, and regardless of how comfortable they are, most Pokemon are social creatures who want to interact with trainers. Switching party members out with stored Pokemon feels bad in the context of an isolating storage experience. Ideally, the Pokemon Storage System would let Pokemon interact with each other, if not their trainers, while simulating a fun environment to stay in. It just so happens that Pokemon Legends: Arceus achieves both of those things without advanced tech.
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Storage in Pokemon Legends: Arceus
In Pokemon Legends: Arceus, whenever players catch a monster while they have a full party of six, the Pokemon is sent to a Pasture rather than a box in the digital Pokemon Storage System. While in Jubilife Village, players can visit the Pokemon Pasture for themselves and see just how pleasant the Pasture is compared to modern Pokemon storage solutions. Players can actively watch their Pokemon wander around an open field, enjoying a comfortable environment with plenty of space and other creatures to interact with.
What’s more, Pokemon Legends: Arceus clearly establishes that some Pokemon trainers and researchers make sure that their Pokemon have pleasant living accommodations. Players visiting Professor Laventon’s office can see that, in spite of the Pokemon Professor’s occasional anxieties toward Pokemon, he has set aside parts of his office as living quarters for whichever Pokemon the player didn’t choose as a starter. For instance, players who chose Cyndaquil can still find Oshawott swimming in an aquarium and Rowlet sitting under a potted tree. Creating bespoke living spaces for these Pokemon must certainly work wonders for Laventon’s relationship with Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ starters.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus may be far from the present Pokemon games chronologically, where humans and Pokemon all live together in harmony, but it advances the quality of life for domesticated Pokemon by leaps and bounds. Free-range living quarters and environments designed for a Pokemon’s needs seem like they should be the status quo for Pokemon home life, considering how often the games emphasize friendship and kindness towards Pokemon. With that in mind, Game Freak should consider making Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ notions of Pokemon storage the new standard for the franchise, since they’re a perfect reflection of a central Pokemon theme.
Imitating Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ Pastures
Modern Pokemon games don’t have to abandon their handy technology in order to imitate Pastures from Pokemon Legends: Arceus. On the contrary, their tech might improve Pastures significantly. PCs could still be used to move Pokemon around at a moment’s notice, but when they’re not in the player’s party, Pokemon might live in physical or simulated Pastures. Aside from moving Pokemon around and switching party members, Pokemon players could get the chance to play with or simply spectate Pokemon hanging out in a digital Pasture. It would be a great comfort to know that Pokemon are living happy lives when they’re not with the player, rather than staying cooped up inside a computer.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ Pastures belong to a long list of new features that may or may not carry over into the greater Pokemon franchise. One wonders if the Generation 9 Pokemon games will make crafting a more important mechanic, or if players will still have unique tasks to complete in order to fill out the Pokedex. Game Freak may intend for these features to simply make Pokemon Legends: Arceus unique, but it could also serve as a testing ground for changes and improvements that Game Freak would like to make to the whole franchise. If the latter is true, then Pastures ought to have an impact on Pokemon’s next generation. The player’s various teammates deserve to enjoy the time they spend at rest.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is available now for Nintendo Switch.
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