Pokemon Legends: Arceus Easter Egg Is Amazing Reference to Beta Pokemon

One of the new Pokemon forms found in Pokemon Legends: Arceus includes an easter egg that dates back to the earliest days of the Pokemon franchise. Earlier this week, The Pokemon Company released official artwork of several previously unrevealed Pokemon in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, the new open-world style Pokemon game set in a past era of the Sinnoh region. One of those Pokemon is a new regional form of Arcanine, one of the first Pokemon ever introduced to players. Hisuian Arcanine (like its pre-evolved form Hisuian Growlithe) is a Fire/Rock-type Pokemon with stiff rock spikes in place of fur tufts. Eagle-eyed fans might also notice a strange set of rock formations on Hisuian Arcanine's ankles, which resemble small wings. Those wings are actually a reference to Arcanine's earliest designs, which never actually made it into the game.

In 2018, The Pokemon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara revealed an early version of Arcanine that was revised before Pokemon Red and Green's release in Japan. Notably, Arcanine had a longer snout, a different style of mane, and small wings on its front legs. The wings (which looked similar to that of Hermes' leg wings, or the wings on Namor the Sub-Mariner's ankles) were replaced with tufts of hair before Pokemon Red and Green's release, but fans often wondered the purpose of the wings and why they were removed in the first place. The wings were actually referred to in early Pokedex entries for Arcanine – the entries note that the Pokemon moved "agilely as if on wings." Arcanine's Japanese name Windie is also a reference to its extreme speed and grace.

Interestingly, the wings still seem to have a purpose in the new Pokemon games, as Arcanine still retains its impressive grace despite its significantly greater bulk. The Hisui Pokedex notes that the Pokemon dances around its enemies in "a deceptively merry chase" despite weighing nearly 400 pounds. 

The reintroduction of Arcanine's wings has some wondering if other Pokemon could see beta elements return. The Pokemon Company famously scrapped a planned evolution of Raichu, and it seems possible that they could revisit that design as some sort of regional evolution similar to Kleavor, Obstagoon, or Overqwil. We'll have to wait and see what the future holds for the Pokemon franchise, but it seems that its makers is more willing than ever to delve deeply into the past. 

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is available now on the Nintendo Switch. 

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