A new trailer for the upcoming Pokemon Legends: Arceus was released just a few days ago. This trailer, on the other hand, was unusual in that it was presented as a found footage horror film, with distorted graphics and sounds that made it difficult to tell what was going on. The identical video has now been published on the official Pokemon YouTube account, but with the footage restored.
The footage has been reconstructed by Professor Oak from the original Pokemon Red and Blue games and is historic documentation of the Hisui region, which is what the Sinnoh region from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl used to be called. Fans had guessed that the footage contained a new Pokemon, and it turns out that they were correct.
It’s a new Hisuian form of an already existing Pokemon called Zorua, which debuted in the fifth generation of games with Pokemon Black & White. This Zorua has white and red fur, unlike a typical Zorua, which could explain why the person filming the movie confused it for a Growlithe and a Vulpix.
The cameraman’s fate is also revealed in the clip. A sinister shadow emerges from the forest shortly after coming across the Zorua and appears to assault (or at least knock back) the cameraman. This is quickly revealed to be a Zoroark, the evolved form of Zorua, with a new white and red color scheme similar to that of its pre-evolution.
Zorua and Zoroark are two of the most recognizable Pokemon in the Black and White games. They were not only the first Generation 5 Pokemon to be revealed to the public, but they also starred in one of the anime films, Zoroark: Master of Illusions.
These two are able to disguise their appearance through illusions, according to the PokeDex, which is reflected in gameplay. Both Pokemon have the Illusion ability, which allows them to fool and bamboozle their opponent by making them appear as a different Pokemon in the player’s party. It’s safe to presume that Hisuian forms have the same ability, or something close to it.
Their kind differs from that of prior Hisuian forms. The video does not explain what it is, but according to Serebii, a Japanese Pokemon website, they are a mix of Normal and Ghost type rather than Dark type. This is particularly intriguing because they are the first Pokemon in the franchise to have dual type. As any follower of the series knows, Normal kinds are resistant to Ghost type attacks and vice versa, therefore Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark are likely immune to both.
Hopefully, Game Freak will reveal more specific information on these new Pokemon soon. Along with Growlithe and Braviary, this brings the total number of new Hisuian forms in Pokemon Legends: Arceus to four. This excludes new Hisui-only evolutions such as Basculegion and Wyrdeer.
