In order to make Hisui a more vibrant region, Game Freak has packed the Nintendo Switch’s Pokemon Legends: Arceus with several types of hidden collectibles. While the ability to shiny hunt Pokemon through mass outbreaks has gripped the game’s fan base following its launch earlier this year, the intricate nature of these special trinkets has helped to extend its longevity a great deal too. Beyond the 107 Spiritomb Wisps and the 28 Unown that populate the semi-open world, players can also find a curious series of notes known only as the Old Verses.
In total, 20 Old Verse notes can be found across Pokemon Legends: Arceus' Hisui region. At first glance it might appear as though the mysterious pieces of paper are telling several disjointed stories, unworthy of the time investment needed to uncover them all. However, if players put them in order and examine them as one coherent story, it becomes clear that they hold a much deeper significance. In reality, the Old Verses tell a tale that has massive implications for the Pokemon world in general.
Finding the Old Verses
Before Pokemon Legends: Arceus players can piece together exactly what the Old Verses are all about, they first have to understand how to physically find them within the semi-open world. To do so, a hefty dose of digging needs to be undertaken across the Hisui region. Whilst exploring the Crimson Mirelands, players will eventually be given the ability to do just that through the summonable Noble Ursaluna. Unlike previous installments that featured the Item Finder, Ursaring's new evolution is used to dig up items instead.
In Pokemon Legends: Arceus, it’s often easier to uncover evolutionary items whilst riding Ursaluna, than it is to buy them outright from the game's Merit merchant. It’s while undertaking this process that most players will likely run into one of the Old Verse notes. At 20 specific areas across the Hisui region, the rideable Pokemon will zero-in on one of the Verses before digging it up. It should be noted that, unlike the other collectibles that populate the game, finding all the Old Verses does not offer the player any palpable benefit. Instead, the knowledge of what the notes entail is presented by Game Freak as its own reward.
The Old Verse’s Story
One of the overriding themes of the Sinnoh region, that goes all the way back to Pokemon’s 4th generation, is the idea that the in-game universe was brought to life by Arceus there. The fact that Hisui is the historic version of the same land, and is therefore slightly closer to those events, naturally means that it underpins the entirety of Pokemon Legends: Arceus as well. Essentially, the Old Verses are ancient poems that detail specific parts of the Pokemon universe’s creation story and early days.
Whilst using rhyming couplets, the first Old Verse starts by recounting how Arceus created Dialga and Palkia to govern over time and space at the beginning of the universe. While it’s open to interpretation, as are most of the Verses, the second's place in proceedings could be a subtle reference to how the trio was rounded out by Giratina at the same time.
After all the use of the word "dwells," in combination with the phrase "world's far-off end," sounds a lot like the Pokemon universe's equivalent of Satan is being discussed. The author's apparent sympathy to how the Pokemon is typically depicted could also have been the catalyst that prompted Volo to eventually seek it out during Pokemon Legends: Arceus' story.
Having established the main forces of the universe, Arceus is then said to have judged 10 Pokemon as being worthy of receiving a portion of its power. Hisui’s first Noble champions were subsequently created, before being entrusted to a human hero in order help protect the region and its inhabitants from harm. What’s interesting is the fact that the Verses make no reference at any point to Arceus creating humanity though. Instead, the completed poem quickly moves on to explain how Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf were brought into being to spread intelligence, emotion, and willpower, respectively.
Throughout the opening 10 Old Verses, as Arceus is creating the forces of the universe, tales of Hisui’s first ancient hero keep popping up. While the specifics of their deeds and accomplishments are vague, it sounds as though the mysterious individual utilized the Noble Pokemon in various heroic battles, effectively making them the universe’s very first Pokemon trainer. Verse 10 specifically references them even traveling to a "domain of no place," which sounds a lot like Giratina’s Distortion World. Having been cast out by Arceus because of its violent nature, it stands to reason that the hero was sent there to prevent the creature from plotting against its creator.
The Old Verse’s Author
One of the reasons why the Old Verses are so effective as a series of collectibles, has a lot to do with who actually wrote them in the first place. Since Pokemon Legends: Arceus launched, fans have naturally been speculating as to who could have feasibly jotted them down towards the start of the universe. Based on details that can be extracted from Verses 11 through 20 in particular, it would appear as though one of Hisui’s ancient indigenous Celestica people were responsible for their initial creation.
The first hint of this can be seen early on, when the author of the poems notes the disruptive arrival of the Diamond and Pearl clans to Hisui. It’s inferred that both groups claimed ownership of the name Celestica, without the permission of the island’s indigenous people.
In many respects, thanks to details like this, the Old Verses are laced subtly with tragedy. Most of the later entries make reference to the original people of Hisui working alongside the region’s Pokemon whilst building monuments such as the Temple of Sinnoh. It’s even inferred that the Sinjoh Ruins seen in HeartGold and SoulSilver, were actually once a bustling town. It becomes clear with more examination though, that the Celestica people were in decline.
Burdened with the knowledge that Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ protagonist would eventually come from the future to save Hisui, the group declined quickly in terms of numbers. Her status as an outsider, coupled with the fact that she directly quotes them despite their buried hiding spots, has prompted some fans to speculate that Cogita could be behind the Old Verses.
The close friendship she's shown to have with Enamorus, which the author claims to have had in one of the poems as well, has been cited as further evidence. However, it makes much more sense that Cogita and the antagonistic Volo are simply the two remaining descendants of the Celestica people. This is backed up by her future doppelganger and descendant Cynthia, who hails from Diamond and Pearl’s Celestic Town.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is available now on Switch.
