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Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a Pokemon game like no other. The game is set in an open world, back in a time when Pokemon were seen more as wild animals than anything else. In the game, it is up to you to catch and battle these Pokemon, while also working on your Pokedex.
The game has some incredible Hisuian variants of our favorite Pokemon and offers a unique experience, especially when it comes to battling. Battles look and feel very different in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, so here are some tips to turn you into the very best, like no one ever was.
Updated July 8, 2022 by Jacqueline Zalace: Pokemon Legends: Arceus continues to remain popular due to the new open-world aspect introduced to the series. Because of this, we've updated this guide with more tips to help you become a pro at battling.
12 Use Stealth To Attack From Behind
In Pokemon Legends: Arceus, not all Pokemon are friendly. Some of them will become hostile once they spot you, so it’s a good idea to be stealthy and remain hidden around these Pokemon. Doing so can allow you to get the jump on them.
By throwing your Pokemon at the back of the hostile Pokemon’s head, you’ll be able to get the jump on them and possibly land two attacks before they can even react. This will give you the early advantage in every battle, making it well worth the effort against tougher Pokemon.
11 Get A Pokemon With False Swipe
You know that the three starters are Cyndaquil, Rowlet, and Oshawott. What you may not have known about the starters in Pokemon Legends: Arceus is that Rowlet and Oshawott can learn False Swipe. If you’re unfamiliar with the move, it’ll make catching Pokemon a breeze because it will always leave them with at least one HP remaining.
To teach them the move, simply talk to Zisu in Jubilife Village. You can purchase False Swipe from her and make it one of your starter’s four moves. You don’t need to worry about the move wasting one of your four move slots because you can change your Pokemon’s moves at any time in the game.
10 Use Status Effects To Catch Pokemon Easier
Not every battle in Pokemon Legends: Arceus has to end with a decisive victory. You can win a battle simply by catching the opposing Pokemon. Doing so will grant you XP just like defeating them would have. If you want to catch Pokemon easily, then you’ll want to use status effects to your advantage.
A Pokemon with its health in the red and a status effect, such as paralysis or sleep, is going to be a very easy catch. Moves like Thunder Wave and Hypnosis are quite useful early on since these status effects don’t damage Pokemon, but will make them easier to catch. If you are struggling during a battle, you can also paralyze your opponent to give yourself a second to catch your breath.
9 Single Out Pokemon To Battle
Not every Pokemon battle is a guaranteed one-on-one fight. Sometimes, when you’re surrounded by Pokemon, a few of them will join the fight and put you at a significant disadvantage.
In Pokemon Legends: Arceus, battles have a turn order. Speedy Pokemon may be able to attack you multiple times before you can make your move. Combine this with a two vs one or three vs one situation, and you’re very likely to be on the losing end. It’s important to single out Pokemon to avoid getting overwhelmed.
8 Craft Potions And Revives
One of the most important features in Pokemon Legends: Arceus is crafting. While you can buy Poke Balls and potions at the shop in Jubilife Village, you can also craft them yourself to save some money. Potions require Oran Berries and Medicinal Leaks to craft while revives require Vivichokes and Medicinal Leaks. All of these items can be found in the overworld where they’re relatively common.
A crafting table uses resources from your box while your crafting kit uses resources from your satchel. For this reason, it’s best to use a crafting table as much as possible and only use your crafting kit in a pinch.
7 Use Berries
Berries are very useful in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Not only are they an important crafting ingredient, but they also be used in battle. While in battle, berries have multiple different effects from healing your Pokemon to boosting their stats and even inflicting status effects on opposing Pokemon.
Outside of battle, berries can be used to lure Pokemon to a specific spot where you can hit them from behind and get an advantage before the battle even starts. There are so many uses for berries, so you’ll want to collect as many as you can.
6 Utilize Battle Styles
There’s a lot you need to know about the new battle styles in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, but they’re a welcome addition to the series. Mastered moves have the option of being used in the agile style or the strong style.
Agile style moves use additional PP and deal less damage, but allow you to land a follow-up attack quicker. Strong style moves also use additional PP, but deal more damage and take more time between attacks. Agile style is best used if you want to attack and follow it up with an item. Strong style is best used when you have a super effective attack or when the opposing Pokemon’s health is low.
5 Take Advantage Of STAB
STAB, also known as same-type attack bonus, is a damage boost that is applied to certain moves used by Pokemon. If the move type matches the Pokemon’s type, then the attack will do 50 percent more damage. For example, if an electric-type Pokemon like Pikachu uses an electric-type attack like Thunder Shock, which has 40 power, the attack will actually have 60 power.
This is why it’s important to have at least one attack with STAB on each Pokemon, so you can get the most out of them. These attacks will allow you to deal significantly more damage, which will always be helpful in battle.
4 Pay Attention To Effort Levels
Individual Values and Effort Values, known as IVs and EVs respectively, used to be invisible to the player, making them very difficult to keep track of. Luckily, Pokemon Legends: Arceus makes this much less of a hassle.
The entire IV and EV system was replaced by Effort Levels. Instead of having to battle specific Pokemon to earn EVs, Pokemon now have Effort Levels of 0-10 for each stat. The higher the Effort Level the stronger they’ll be in that stat, and you can increase their Effort Levels through the Grit items you find throughout your journey. Below, you can check out a few ways to obtain Grit.
- Release Pokemon into the Wild
- Defeat or Capture Alpha Pokemon
- Combine Lower-leveled Grits into a Higher-leveled Version
3 Run Away When The Going Gets Tough
Sometimes, a battle just isn’t going your way. Maybe you saw an alpha Pokemon and tried to catch it but realized you were significantly underleveled or maybe the opposing Pokemon is just super effective against all of your Pokemon.
Whatever the case may be, there's no shame in running away from a losing fight. You can do so by pressing the B button in battle or by simply running away from the fight. As soon as you’re a far enough distance away, your Pokemon will return to their Poke Ball, and you’ll live to fight another day.
2 Swap Out Your Pokemon
Running away isn't always possible. When you are facing an NPC or noble Pokemon, you will not have the ability to dash away when the going gets tough. Because of this, we recommend swapping out your Pokemon when one has low HP. This will allow you to heal them later without using a revive.
Swapping out your Pokemon also means that you need to have more than one strong Pokemon on your team. It's incredibly easy to over level your main Pokemon, but try to keep your party consistent, so you can swap one out.
1 Know Your Enemy
Lastly, it's important to know your enemy or friendly rival. NPCs will use Pokemon unique to them, but you can learn about their team to be better prepared. More often than not, a character will favor a specific type of Pokemon.
For example, Adaman's partner is Leafeon, and he uses several other eevee-lutions in battle. When fighting him, you will want to have a strong fire-type Pokemon, capable of taking on his Leafeon. If Adaman sends other Pokemon out, you should be prepared with other strong Pokemon in your party to swap out.