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Pokémon Legends: Arceus
| Video game fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name | Pokémon LEGENDS Arceus |
| Japanese name | Pokémon LEGENDS アルセウス |
| Abbreviation(s) | PLA |
| Developer(s) | Game Freak; Nintendo |
| Release date | January 28, 2022 (Worldwide) |
| Genre(s) | Role-Playing Game |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a popular game in the Pokémon franchise, released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch on January 28th, 2022.
Plot Overview
The player character, (either Akari or Rei,) one day falls into the past. Now stuck in the past in Hisui, which is the modern-day Pokémon region of Sinnoh, which in it of itself is heavily based on the island of Hokkaido in Japan, the player joins the Galaxy Expedition Team and saves the world from devastating time-space distortions that are appearing all around Hisui, which makes the noble and ride-able Pokémon, looked over by Pokémon Wardens, restless. The time period is inspired by 1870s Hokkaido, Japan, when it was known as Ezo and populated primarily by Ainu, before the island was colonized and assimilated into the rest of Japan.
The drastic change from the typical formula for Pokémon games was welcomed, and it quickly became a favorite among the fandom. It has a wide breath of fanworks, with gen fics and alternate universe works being very common.
Characters
Ingo, featured in the story as one of the wardens, was previously in Pokémon Black and White and is heavily implied to be in the same situation as the player: having fallen into the past from the modern-day, separated from his twin Emmet. He soon became a fan favorite and an almost breakout character, with angst-fic regarding his amnesia and separation from his twin being common, breathing new life to once popular Pokémon Submas Fandom, which had its initial heyday in 2010-12, particularly in Japan, which is all about the two.
Another breakout character is Volo, who serves as an ally to the player before revealing himself to be villainous and the strongest trainer in the region. One popular AU, where he's immortal, may have him live until the modern day and meet Emmet, or live as an immortal alongside Akari. Emmet/Volo, known as TrainwreckShipping on the Neverending Romance Pokémon relationship name list, is a common ship in the fandom for PLA despite neither character knowing one another.
Other notable characters include the remaining wardens: Mai, Lian, Arezu, Calaba, Iscan, Palina, Melli, Sabi and Gaeric, as well as the Diamond Clan leader Adaman and the Pearl Clan leader Irida. Several members of the Galaxy Expedition Team, such as Cyllene and Zisu, are also featured in fanworks.
Popular Relationships
Gen ships, such as Akari & Ingo, Akari & Volo, and Emmet & Ingo, are all very common in the fandom.
Romantic ships, such as Akari/Volo (WielderShipping), Adaman/Irida (ClanLeaderShipping), Iscan/Palina (SecretSeaShipping), Emmet/Ingo (BlankShipping), Cyllene/Professor Laventon (SurveyShipping), and Ingo/Melli (HighlandsShipping) are all popular and far from the only ones shipped by fans.
Both Volo and Adaman are also particularly popular for self-shipping.
Because most PLA characters are heavily implied to be descendants of existing characters, fanworks may feature them interacting. Pokémon Masters, a mobile game where some PLA characters exist alongside their descendants, provides some semi-canon content for this.
Legends: Arceus Fandom
Popular Tropes & Fanon
This game is well-regarded by the Pokemon fandom at large, but has a somewhat cult following overall. Its mechanics differ from the rest of the core series and it caught the eye of many who otherwise wouldn't be interested in playing a Pokemon game. Despite this somewhat separation of fans, many PLA works involve crossing the game over with either Generation IV (Pokémon Diamond and Pearl) or V (Pokémon Black and White.) Mainly this involves a character from the future falling into the past by Giratina. Other AUs have the fallen characters (Akari, Ingo and Rei) fall forward into their correct time period by Arceus.
Subjects of Fannish Interest & Meta
One common headcanon is that the protagonists are the same characters as Dawn and Lucas from Diamond and Pearl.
Volo[1] and Cogita[2] can also arguably be called Tumblr Sexymen.
Ainu Allegories in PLA
The members of the Diamond and Pearl clans as well as the Celestica people, which Volo, Cogita and Cynthia are implied to be a part of, have been considered loose allegories to the Ainu people in Japan by fans. Some fan art has been made of these characters in attush robes.[3]
Critical meta has been made on how little of Ainu cultural-influence is seen in the characters, the lack of context for the Galaxy Expedition Team being analogous to the Imperial Japanese army,[4] and how Volo is portrayed as a villain mostly through his fascination with his own culture.[5]
Other meta connects the Greek-inspired Celestica people to a long-standing myth regarding Japanese architecture (specifically about the temple Hōryū-ji, which inspired the Sprout Tower in Johto,) that speculates Greek culture was influential in early Japan through trade and interactions with other countries.[6] How it's implemented in PLA, implying that there were Greek-like people in Ezo before the Ainu, isn't substantiated by anthropological evidence.[7]
Crossover art with Golden Kamuy, a manga which takes place in 1907 Hokkaido and prominently features the conflict between Ainu and the Imperial Japanese during this time period, is also common, particularly in the Japanese-side of the fandom since GK is much more popular there overall than in the west. Akari may be drawn alongside Asirpa, a protagonist in GK, who's about the same age and shares a similar appearance with Akari.[8]
Example/Notable Fanac
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fan Communities/Fan Events
Fan Blogs
Fan Art
- I just have a lot of feels about them two ok by traineraino, Archived version, fan art of SecretSeaShipping.
Fan Fic
- It's Good in a Peculiar Way by SilverheartSP, Archived version, where Akari and Ingo fall from the sky with modern tools and eccentricities. Rated Gen.
- Petals, Prose, and Shining Stones by BinaBina, Archived version, about Melli trying yet succeeding in courting Ingo. HighlandsWardenShipping. Rated Teen.
- Judgement Forgiveness by hopeless_aromantic, Archived version, a gender neutral!Reader/Volo long fic. Tagged slow burn and hurt/comfort. Rated Gen.
- When Darkness Falls by SilverPurity, Archived version, where Piers from Pokémon Sword and Shield falls into Hisui. Rated Teen.
- The More a Creature’s Life Is Worth the Less It Is Alive by Rujii, Archived version, an Adaman/Akari (TemporalDawnShipping) long fic. Rated Mature.
- leave it to the land (this is what it knows) by synchronicities, where Irida and Adaman contemplate their future after Akari is sent home. ClanLeaderShipping. Rated Gen.
General Fanworks
Meta
- What Your Favorite PLA Ship says about you by ur-favoriterecord, Archived version (2022), PLA shipping-centric meme.
Wikis
References/Further Reading
- ^ Volo, Archived version on Sexypedia
- ^ Cogita, Archived version on Sexypedia
- ^ volo is indigenous & ainu 🗣🔉 by zoaroko, Archived version (05 March 2023)
- ^ trying to make legends arceus’ sanitization of actual real life elements of colonization(...) by minuteminun, Archived version (23 October 2023)
- ^ hes an indigenous person who is actively researching his own history and they make him into an evil supervillain about it(...) by maverickflare, Archived version (05 October 2022)
- ^ The Inspiration for Ancient Greeks in Hisui (?) by PokeCodex, Archived version (28 May 2022)
- ^ A personal rant about why I dislike the inclusion of Celestica/Volo in PLA, or rather, the way it was used by lady-lancer, Archived version (26 June 2022)
- ^ 金カムのアシリパさんとレジェンズのショウちゃん。北海道が自分の中でアツい！by soratobu_kame, Archived version (19 May 2022)