In Pokemon Legends: Arceus, players are traversing a region that has been visited in other Pokemon titles, but in a brand-new time period - well-before the events of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. While most would expect the Pokedex to be of a similar size to that of Diamond and Pearl since it is the same region, the game features plenty of Pokemon that are not a part of the Gen 4 Sinnoh Pokedex - including some new Pokemon and new Hisuian Forms for players to discover, which actually put it ahead of Generation 4's Sinnoh Pokedex by a fair margin.
Since the Pokedex is such a pivotal part of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, it's worth looking at how it compares to other Pokemon generations. While Pokemon Legends: Arceus does not add many new Pokemon compared to a full new Generational release, it adds several new forms and a couple new Pokemon. With that in mind, it's time to take a look at the Pokedex in Pokemon Legends: Arceus to compare it to not only Sinnoh's Pokedex in Generation 4, but also other Generations of Pokemon to see how Game Freak's latest installment shapes up when it comes to Pokedex size.
How Big is the Pokedex in Pokemon Legends: Arceus?
Pokemon Legends: Arceus features a mix of new Pokemon, returning Pokemon, and new regional forms for players to document in the region's first Pokedex. With the Hisui Region's sectional open-world, there are several diverse biomes for players to explore during their journeys. Within these biomes, a total of 242 Pokemon can be found, both naturally in the region or through the Space-Time Distortions.
Within the five unique biomes, different Pokemon will spawn based on weather and time of day, just like in Pokemon Sword and Shield, so it will take players some time to figure out the right combination of those two elements to track down and fully complete the entries for all of them. Some fans believe that 242 is just the right amount of grinding to complete a Pokedex as detailed as the one in Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
Also like Sword and Shield, a National Pokedex is not present. Any Pokemon that would be "foreign" to the Hisui region are still a part of the Hisui Pokedex. This includes Pokemon found in the Space-Time Distortions like Porygon and Steelix. Not every Pokemon from the series' history is present, though considering the objective of the game, that may be for the best. Grinding out Pokedex entries is a time-consuming task, so doing it for every Pokemon in existence may be a bit much for some players. Even the current 242 Pokemon requires a substantial amount of grinding, both catching and battling, to fully perfect a Pokedex entry. While it is easier to get the 10 levels required for the "complete" entry, many are going for the perfect entries for completion's sake, which is a great undertaking.
Comparing Pokedex Numbers to Other Generations
With Pokemon Legends: Arceus having a regional Pokedex comprised of 242 Pokemon, the game actually runs pretty similar to that of other generations. The regional Pokemon in the other mainline games run anywhere from 151 to 403 Pokemon. Pokemon Legends: Arceus is nestled right in the middle, if perhaps a little less than average, compared to the other titles.
The Kantonian Pokedex is composed of the iconic original 151 Pokemon, Johto features 251 Pokemon, Hoenn features 202, the "original" Sinnoh Dex features 151 (bumped up to 210 in Platinum), Unova features 155 (up to 300 in Black 2/White 2), Kalos is the largest at 457 Pokemon, Alola sits at 302 in Sun/Moon and 403 in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, and Galar with 400. Galar's is expanded further with all the Pokemon added in the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra DLCs. So the Hisuian Regional Pokedex is about on par with Johto, and features more than the "original" Sinnoh Dex, Kanto, and the original Unova Dex.
Brand New Pokemon and Forms
With every new Pokemon title, new Pokemon and regional forms tend to pop up, depending on the size of the installment. In Pokemon Legends: Arceus, 16 Pokemon received Hisuian Forms (17 if you count Basculin's White Stripe Form), and 7 new Pokemon were added - predominantly as new evolutions to existing Pokemon or Pokemon that received Hisuian Forms. Regional forms because a mainstay for the series in Generation 7 with Sun and Moon, which featured Alolan Form Pokemon.
There are 18 Alolan form Pokemon and 19 Galarian forms currently in the series, so Legends: Arceus is about on par with new regional forms. In terms of new Pokemon, Legends: Arceus is on the low end, but that is to be expected since it takes place in a region that already has an established ecosystem of Pokemon that fans would expect from playing Diamond and Pearl. However, if Pokemon Legends: Arceus is an indicator of future Pokemon titles, the next "Legends" style game may feature a much larger original roster.
All in all, Pokemon Legends: Arceus shapes up well compared to other mainline Pokemon titles in terms of regional Pokedex size. While it does not have a massive Pokedex like Kalos, it is about average with most of the series, and even surpasses some regions like Kanto and the Diamond/Pearl version of the Sinnoh Pokedex. It's clear that many fans are excited to dive into the Hisui region, as Pokemon Legends: Arceus has soared up the sales chart in its opening week. Perhaps this will show Game Freak that fans are enjoying this new format for the Pokemon series so that future games may take after the Legends style going forward. And if a new Legends-style Pokemon game were to come out on whatever the future model of the Switch will be, perhaps it will feature a much larger roster for those who really want to explore and catch tons of Pokemon.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is out now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
