I am a firm believer that Pokemon games are a little on the easy side. Sure, if they were Kaizo-level difficult (or even Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl’s Cynthia-rematch-level difficult) it would be no fun, but it’s basically impossible to replay Sun & Moon because 25 percent of the game is tutorial. There’s a balance to be found, and if I’m honest it hasn’t been right since Black & White with it’s added difficulty options.

Unfortunately, despite its innovation and Breath of the Wild influences, recent trailers show that Pokemon Legends: Arceus is likely to continue this trend. How do we know this from a handful of trailers that are mostly about exploring and crafting? We take a look at the stats we’ve seen.

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Take a look at the Drifblim shown in the Arceus trailer from September 2021. Thanks to the trailer showing off the box system, we get a good look at its stats, which all seem pretty normal. It’s a speedy glass cannon like the Drifblim we know and love, but what is that HP stat saying? And what are those numbers next to the stats?

Pokemon Legends Arceus Trailers Show We're In For Another Easy Pokemon Game
Pokemon Legends Arceus Trailers Show We're In For Another Easy Pokemon Game

However, when you look into it further, it’s not just the HP stat that’s inflated - all of them are far too high for a level 32 Drifblim. HP is the worst offender as this Legends: Arceus Drifblim has nearly 100 more health than it would have in any previous game, but its Attack is 14, Special Attack, and Speed are 14, 19, and 21 points too high respectively. Its defenses are also slightly buffed, but to a lesser extent.

It’s important to point out that for this testing, I used a Drifblim that has perfect IVs and max EVs in every stat even though that’s impossible in reality. A positive nature in any attribute other than Special Defence does not surpass the new totals, either.

Pokemon Legends Arceus Trailers Show We're In For Another Easy Pokemon Game
Pokemon Legends Arceus Trailers Show We're In For Another Easy Pokemon Game

It’s not just a buff for Drifblim, though. The extended gameplay trailer from this week showed Cyndaquil and Shinx’s stats at levels seven and six respectively; all of them have roughly tripled. So what does this mean?

Well, if all Pokemon have been buffed, then it might not matter as much as we originally thought. If your Cyndaquil’s stats have tripled but so have the stats of the frenzied Ursaring or Noble Kleavor, then there’s no problem, right? But then I can’t help but ask, what’s the point of buffing everything?

I believe the answer lies in those wooden, steam-powered Pokeballs. No, not that one - that’s a Voltorb! When you catch a Pokemon, it must get some kind of boost, explained in lore terms by the fact that very few people actually catch Pokemon in the Hisui region. So therefore, a captured Pokemon is more powerful than a wild one - you’re just the first one to realise it. I think there’s also something in the little numbers on the right of the stats - these probably replace EVs and allow you to train specific stats more than others, just in a less transparent way than before.

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It’s also worth mentioning that Drifblim’s stats are less buffed than Cyndaquil’s and Shinx’s. Perhaps this is all just a leveling or balancing mechanic, to allow lower-leveled Pokemon to be trained more quickly and join your party? Or did the trainer in the trailer just catch a particularly shit Drifblim?

Game Freak has kept a lot of things about Pokemon Legends: Arceus under wraps, which I believe is a good move and has helped build my excitement for the game. But I want some answers about this. Stats are barely even tweaked between Pokemon generations; sometimes new abilities or even typings are added, but Arceus promises changes on an unprecedented scale. I just hope I can’t run through the entire game and punch god in the face with a level seven Cyndaquil.

Next: Pokemon Gen 9 Should Only Include New ‘Mons