Pokemon Legends: Arceus added a variety of new features to the formula that made the Pokemon franchise a household name, but some of those new features seem to be inspired by previous entries in the franchise. From the Hisui region being the Sinnoh region in the past to characters that are suspiciously reminiscent of fan-favorites from the present, there's a strong connection between this game and the rest of the series. Now, one Pokemon Legends: Arceus player has shared a theory that the addition of Alpha Pokemon explains Gary's Krabby from the Pokemon anime.
Alpha Pokemon are massive Pokemon that players can encounter throughout the Hisui region. They can be identified in the wild by their glowing red eyes and aggressiveness, but when captured, their size, power, and unusual move sets are what make them stand out from the crowd. According to a new theory, a startlingly large Pokemon from the anime was actually an Alpha.
The Theory That Gary's Krabby Was an Alpha Pokemon All Along
In the first season of the Pokemon anime, protagonist Ash Ketchum catches the Water-type Pokemon Krabby and compares it to another Krabby caught by his rival Gary Oak. Gary's Krabby is significantly larger than Ash's Krabby, towering over the smaller Pokemon. Although many Pokemon species can vary in size between individuals, the sheer size difference has caught the attention of many fans over the years. Redditor Mini-Saiyan thinks that the existence of Alpha Pokemon in Pokemon Legends: Arceus finally answers the question of why Gary's Krabby is so much bigger than Ash's.
Most Alpha Pokemon are the biggest size available for their species, which can leave them easily twice the size of a normal example of the same species. Since Gary's Krabby starts out around three or four times the size of Ash's Krabby, it would make sense for it to be an Alpha Pokemon. A later appearance shows Ash's Krabby as slightly larger, around half the size of Gary's Krabby, but this change in size could be due to animation errors. Regardless, it still resembles the size gap between Alpha and non-Alpha Pokemon.
Gary Oak's main gimmick in the early Pokemon anime is being perpetually one step ahead of Ash, so him managing to capture an Alpha Pokemon in the 13th episode of the show would be on-brand. The decision to leave it with Professor Oak would make sense if Gary is confident in his existing team or if Professor Oak wanted to study the unusually large Krabby. Abnormally big Pokemon appear frequently in the first few seasons of the Pokemon anime, which could indicate that Alpha Pokemon have survived to the present day but are no longer considered a separate class of creature.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is available now on Nintendo Switch.
