Pokemon Legends: Arceus Will Use Wooden Poke Balls

Pokemon Legends: Arceus will feature a callback to classic Pokemon lore. Earlier today, The Pokemon Company announced Pokemon Legends: Arceus, a new open-world Pokemon game set in the feudal era of the Sinnoh region. The game is set in a past era of the Pokemon game, long before the advanced technology used in the Pokemon world was seemingly invented. To reflect that, Pokemon players will use a different kind of Poke Ball to capture Pokemon, one that gives off steam from the top of the ball when Pokemon are captured. The Pokemon Company released a promo image of the new Poke Ball, revealing a decidedly different kind of look.

Notably, the Poke Ball used in Pokemon Legends: Arceus is NOT a hollowed out Apricorn, which is what Pokemon trainers used to capture Pokemon before the invention of the Poke Ball. Instead, this appears to be an early predecessor of the modern Poke Ball, complete with a manual lock. From the trailers released by The Pokemon Company, this new Poke Ball looks to function exactly as a modern Poke Ball, despite the lack of matter-into-energy conversion technology.

We'll note that this new Poke Ball doesn't contradict any existing Pokemon lore. Assuming that the feudal era of the Sinnoh region is roughly analogous to the feudal era of Japan, Pokemon Legends: Arceus takes place 400-800 years before modern Pokemon games. According to the Pokemon games, the first Poke Balls were created 400 to 700 years ago, so we might be looking at the first mass-produced Poke Balls ever created.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a single-player action RPG set in a fully explorable version of the Sinnoh region. The players will be tasked with creating the very first Pokedex of the Sinnoh region. Battles will take place in real time as players roam across the Sinnoh region. Few other details were announced about the game, but it will feature a mix of Pokemon from multiple regions. The games will follow the release of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, remakes of the first Pokemon games set in the Sinnoh region.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus will be released in early 2022.