ThePokemonseries generally plays it loose when it comes to the franchise’s timeline. WhilePokemon Legends: Arceusis clearly set earlier than other games in the core franchise, when it exactly takes place has become a mystery that many fans are trying to solve. Given the habit of characters in the series going through noticeable lengths of time without aging, trying to pinpoint exactly when thePokemon Legends: Arceus' events take place could be a near-impossible task. Luckily, there have been some guidelines set for when certain events in thePokemonseries happen, and these can be used to deducePokemon Legends: Arceusposition.
Some of the clearest hints aboutPokemon Legends: Arceuscomes directly from media released about the game. The fact that the region players are familiar with from the originalPokemon DiamondandPearlgames is called Hisui, but there are stillthe references to Sinnoh, suggests an age far enough back that the entire region’s name is changed based on this figure. On the other hand, given the ability to craft Poke Balls and catch Pokemon, fans can deduce that it’s late enough inPokemon’s history that modern methods for taking in Pokemon as partners are available.
RELATED:Pokemon Fan Uses AI to Create Brand New Creature Designs
The Pokemon Series Timeline
The information that’s been openly given about the time thatPokemon Legends: Arceusis set in is still lacking, though. The best resources that fans have for understanding when any of the games take place come from outside ofPokemonteasers and trailers, relying instead on information scattered across the internet. One of the most notable is a series of deleted tweets that may need to be taken with a grain of salt, but set the foundation for understanding thePokemonfranchise’s timeline as a whole. These Tweets keep everything tidy leading up to Gen 8 wherePokemonintroduced Mega Evolutions andFairy Pokemon inPokemon X&Y.
Writer Toshinobu Matsumiya posted a set of since-deleted Tweets as far back as 2014 outlining a general timeline. Here, Gen 1 and 3 take place in tandem, their individual events happening at the same time with Gen 2 & 4 taking place a little bit later. This pattern of games happening close to one another then starts to slow, withPokemon BlackandWhitehappening even later and their sequels,Pokemon X&Y, after that.
While there are no concrete dates offered, it at least provides a framework (albeit a rather unstable one) to understand the chronology ofPokemongames. However, problems arise aroundPokemon X&Ywith the introduction ofMega Evolutions in the franchise. It’s here that the timeline is believed to split, and as a result, games that feature Pokemon using Mega Evolution take place in a reality that is parallel from the first five generations of games.
If games with Mega Evolution take place in a different timeline this also means that Gen 6 and 7, while part of the core franchise, move into a separate timeline from the one that is used for Gen 1 through 5. With this understanding, fans can begin to see a branch in thePokemontimeline that also affectsPokemon Omega Ruby,Alpha Sapphire,and boththe Pokemon Let’s Go games. Similarly,Pokemon SwordandShieldmay then also take place in a separate timeline, one where Ultra Beasts have been recorded, but instead of Mega Evolutions, there are Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokemon.
The good news about this is thatPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlseem to return to the original timeline. While they have some feature changes from the originalDiamondandPearl, the lack of Dynamax Pokemon as well asMega Evolutions inBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearlpoint to a change. This could also mean thatPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlare setting a precedent and trying to establish which of the timelinesPokemon Legends: Arceuswill take place on.
RELATED:Pokemon Legends: Arceus Releases Art for Newly Revealed Characters
When Does Pokemon Legends: Arceus Take Place?
IfPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearldo indeed fall on the original timeline, andPokemon Legends: Arceuswill follow suit, then dating the game becomes a bit easier.Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ fans should then expect to experience Hisui as it was probably between 100 and 500 years ago in thePokemontimeline. How early or late in this 400-year span will likely come down to a couple of different factors, with one specifically focused onPoison-type Pokemon.
If Pokemon inPokemon Legends: Arceuscan learn the move Toxic, then the game will take place 400 years ago or later. This is because the Pokemon move Toxic was canonically created by a ninja 400 years in the franchise’s past. This might be a somewhat obscure fact, but it could be the ultimate determining factor for whenPokemon Legends: Arceustakes place.
Similarly, the possibility ofthe dual Ghost and Dark-type Pokemon, Spiritomb, being present inPokemon Legends: Arceusat the Hallowed Tower could also help dateArceus. Spiritomb was first sealed in the tower 500 hundred years ago by the time players come across it in the Sinnoh region. If the Hallowed Tower is present inPokemon Legends: Arceuswith Spiritomb inside, then the game takes place no earlier than 500 years in the past, but if not, then the opposite is true. This would make the Hallowed Tower the second of two major markers for understanding when in the timelinePokemon Legends: Arceustakes place.
There of course is still the possibility that both of these appear, which would suggest thatPokemon Legends: Arceustakes place in a range between 400 and 100 years ago in the timeline. The visual style of the game and the technology available seems to point close to 100 years, but the name of the Hisui region is something to consider. The complete name change of a region is no small feat, and for Hisui to become Sinnoh, a major event is likely to have happened. With the inclusion of Pokemon like Shaymin andDarkraialongside Arceus, players will likely experience a lot more than Noble Pokemon and Clans whenPokemon Legends: Arceusreleases.
Pokemon Legends: Arceusreleases for Nintendo Switch on Jun 05, 2025.
MORE:Pokemon Legends: Arceus' Hisuian Voltorb is a ‘Chicken or Egg’ Conundrum
