Pokemon fans are coming to terms with terrifying versions of their favourite creatures in Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
During the Pokemon Presents showcase earlier today, Nintendo gave an in-depth look at its open-world take on the classic franchise. As well as outlining elements of the story and a suite of new evolutions and regional variants, we got a look at what looked like a collection of boss battles featuring terrifying versions of Gyarados, Luxray, and Ursaring.
While some of the Pokemon in the Hisui region will run from you, others will stand their ground. In these fights, however, the powerful Pokemon - complete with glowing red eyes thought to imply some kind of ailment the player will need to help cure - will take on the player directly.
That marks a pretty significant departure from the traditional Pokemon games - where you companions will always be on the front line - and some fans are running pretty scared already. Over on Twitter, game developer Joshua Wittenkeller took a clip of the player's efforts against all three bosses, parodying Professor Oak's immortal words by saying "they warned us that the tall grass was dangerous. We should have listened."
They warned us that the tall grass was dangerous. We should have listened. pic.twitter.com/bSjCt5FSs1August 18, 2021
Other players are concerned that they'll manage to escape from one of the demonic-looking creatures only to immediately stumble upon another.
Me escaping an angry Luxray only to get jumped in an Ursaring den in Pokemon Legends Arceus pic.twitter.com/Xg2NXGRtEZAugust 18, 2021
Elsewhere, fans of the anime have been reminded of a particularly scary take on Ursaring from the Diamond and Pearl series. While the clip below sees that version temporarily vanquished, it's unlikely that you'll have Ash's valiant Turtwig at your side to help you.
That Ursaring going wild against the player in the Legends: Arceus trailer reminded me of Paul's in the Diamond and Pearl series #Pokemon pic.twitter.com/tmSXOabWFYAugust 18, 2021
Fortunately, not every encounter in Pokemon Legends: Arceus will pan out this way. Some Pokemon, like Gen 4's renowned HM carrier Bidoof, will happily approach the player, and today's trailer showed off the ability to use several creatures as a mount. Just make sure you steer clear of the scariest-looking inhabitants of Hisui.
Will Pokemon Legends: Arceus make it onto our list of the best Pokemon games?
