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Leaks show Pokémon tried more action-style battles in Legends Arceus
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Leaks show Pokémon tried more action-style battles in Legends Arceus

More Pokemon Leaks have revealed beta versions of Pokémon Scarlet, Purple, and Legends: Arceus. And, while most of the information isn’t groundbreaking, it appears that Game Freak anticipated that Legends: Arceus would feature completely different combat at some point.

In images shared by multiple sources following a beta version of Pokémon Legends; With Arceus on the run, someone was able to get it working and showcase what appears to be a real-time combat system that was being tested at one point.

A player surfing near a waterfall in Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

Screenshot via The Pokemon Company

Even through the unpolished lenses the beta leak gave us, it seems like Game Freak was experimenting with fights that would take the Pokémon Legends titles in a direction closer to Xenoblade Chronicles or the Final Fantasy 7 Remake entries.

The limited gameplay shown features very little combat, but we do see a Zoaroark take on a Luxray using what appears to be a reduced real-time combat system. This includes the player standing back and watching without a smaller input menu while the Dakr type attacks alone before opening another menu that allows them to select a move – which resembles Night Slash – than the Zoaroark uses immediately.

Although Legends: Arceus used a new combat system, implementing the Agile and Strong Style modifiers as well as changes to existing mechanics, it remains true to the classic turn-based roots of the franchise. This leak shows that even further experiments to take a more active approach to combat were in the works at one point, although they may have been abandoned at first.

Related article: Pokemon Leaker Says Sharing More Info Could Delay Legends ZA and More Games

Since we don’t know when the decision to forgo an active combat approach was made, it’s unclear how far Game Freak was in tweaking these mechanics. Due to this uncertainty and the fact that Legends: Arceus has sold over 14 million units as of March 31, Legends: ZA is unlikely to deviate greatly from the existing formula.

At the very least, this version can explain why you’re able to run during a battle even though combat is still turn-based and where the ability to escape wild battles by running a certain distance away still works. We have perhaps already seen what this approach has become in real time, such as the Let’s Go! the mechanics in Scarlet and Violet are similar, although they serve a different function.

A player using Let's Go! mechanic in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

Image via The Pokémon Company

In SV, you can dispatch your party’s main Pokémon using Let’s Go! and it will actively automatically go to battle nearby wild Pokémon in the overworld until it can no longer fight. You have very limited control over this Pokémon, with the ability to move it forward or recall it to its Poké Ball.

Related article: Pokémon Legends: ZA – all leaks and rumors explained

Maybe we’ll see an iteration of Let’s Go! A revamped mechanic or combat system appears in Legends: ZA, especially if the game is set in modern times or the future. For now, though, this leak is just an interesting look at an early build of Legends: Arceus and what Game Freak might have been testing.