Pokemon Legends Arceus uses Magikarp to recreate a famous Chinese myth

Pokemon anime Magikarp
(Image credit: The Pokemon Company)

A Pokemon Legends: Arceus player has discovered a subtle reference to the Koi dragon myth found in Chinese mythology. 

As found in the Pokemon subreddit, one player noticed that both Magikarp and its evolution Gyarados are purposely placed at different ends of the waterfall. According to the post, this could be a subtle reference to the Longmen story found in Chinese mythology. The legend says that if a carp can swim upstream against the river’s current, it will be rewarded by being transformed into a powerful dragon. 

In Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Magikarp can be found swimming around at the bottom of the waterfall, whilst Gyarados is located at the top of it - which does make it seem like it could potentially be inspired by the legend. 

noticed_the_waterfall_in_coronet_highlands from r/PokemonLegendsArceus

This is just one of the recent discoveries made in Pokemon Legends: Arceus following its release at the end of January. One Pokemon fan recently found a surprisingly simple tip for getting past aggressive Pokemon, whilst another also discovered that Pokemon Legends: Arceus hides a Diamond and Pearl lore callback in plain sight. 

Another interesting detail found in the latest Pokemon title has led us to start questioning Porygon’s true origin. As demonstrated in the Pokemon Legends: Arceus Pokedex, Professor Laventon is stumped when he comes across the geometric Pokemon and doesn’t understand how it even exists. Those who are familiar with Porygon and its evolutions however, will have already realised that this is because it was artificially created, even if that makes us wonder how Porygon ended up in the Hisui region in the first place. 

Still looking for a sign to pick up the latest Pokemon game? Take a look at our Pokemon Legends: Arceus review to help you decide. Plus, if you want more Magikarp gossip, you need to hear how the most useless Pokemon hides an awesome secret.

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.