Pokémon Legends: Arecus came out in January 2022 and the game has radically changed how players perceive and play Pokémon games, and in the best way possible. This open-world game has received praise from both fans and critics and in this article, we are going to discuss one of the afore-mentioned changes, as we are going to tell you how to change your Pokémon during the game, including their moves and their nicknames.
In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokémon can be changed during battle (there is a simple procedure for swapping your Pokémon) and out-of-battle (party Pokémon can be changed in the Pastures or with the guy in the camp). The moves of a Pokémon, as well as its nickname, can be changed in the game menu at any time, which makes the process easier.
The rest of this article is going to provide you with further, in-depth instructions on how to make changes to your Pokémon and your Pokémon roster. We’re going to be dealing with changing your roster before and during a battle, but also with how a player should change their Pokémon’s name and their moves, with the latter being a great new addition to the franchise.
Is it possible to change Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
Veteran Pokémon players know that changing the Pokémon in a player’s party was a relatively easy task, although you couldn’t really do it anytime and anywhere. Namely, a Pokémon trainer can, as we all know, carry only six Pokémon with him at one given time; Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee allow you to have seven Pokémon with you (six regular and your out-of-the-PokéBall Starter, either Eevee or Pikachu), but your Starter Pokémon is completely useless in battle and is more of a decorative piece than anything else, which means that the total also goes back to six even here.
The new Pokémon Legends: Arceus game did not change this aspect, although it has provided us with a bunch of novelties. In this game, the player can still only carry six Pokémon with him at any given time, while their remaining Pokémon, i.e., the other ones they have caught, are kept in the Pastures in Jubilife Village. So, can you change these Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus to improve your roster? Of course you can and we are going to tell you how to do it.
How to change Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
So, as we have explained, it is possible to change your Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Now, this can be done during a battle, when you simply want to switch a Pokémon for a better one, or outside of battle, when you want to change your roster. We’ll explain how it’s done for both situations.
How to change Pokémon during battle?
Pokémon battles were an essential part of the game mechanics in the earlier Pokémon games, but they are a relatively rare phenomenon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Why? Well, the game is set in a period where Pokémon were still wild and unknown creatures, so it’s only natural that the characters weren’t actually keen on using them in battle. But, if you do encounter that rare opportunity to battle against someone, you might be wondering whether you can change your Pokémon during battle, as you could in the earlier games.
Well, we have good news for you – changing Pokémon is possible and it is relatively straightforward, if not as easy as it was before. Here is what you have to do:
- When it’s your turn, press down on the D-pad
- On the Pokémon menu that appears, select the Pokémon that you want to send out
- From the little drop-down menu that pops up, select ‘swap Pokémon’.
And that’s it. Once you hit ‘swap Pokémon’, you’re done and you’ve changed your Pokémon for the battle. Good luck!
How to change Pokémon in your party?
Now, as for your party, the process is even simple than in the older games. Okay, truth be told, it wasn’t difficult back then, but Pokémon Legends: Arceus makes it even easier. Namely, in ye olde games, ye had to visit a Pokémon Center in a town (or on a route, although these were rare), power up your computer and then change your party Pokémon with the ones you had in Bill’s boxes (or simply boxes, depending on which game you’re playing, but back when yours truly was starting to play Pokémon games, Bill was a big deal!), and you’re done. So, you had to find a computer to do it but as we know, Pokémon Legends: Arceus takes place in a period where computers were still a matter of fiction. So, how do you do it then?
Well, if you’re in Jubilife Village, you simply go to the Pastures and talk to the woman there; and no, you cannot miss the Pastures – it’s the place where a gazillion of your Pokémon are running around freely. You talk to the woman in front of the main gate and she’ll ask if you want to see all of your Pokémon — once you say yes, you’ll be able to switch out your party members for Pokémon in the Pastures. But what if you’re not in Jubilife Village?
Well, you don’t have to despair, since the developers took care of that as well. Know the guy who always stands next to Professor Laventon in the camp? The one responsible for changing the time of day? Yes, you simply walk over to the guy, talk to him and he’ll allow you to change your party Pokémon in the field, which is good, because you don’t have to go back to Jubilife Village; this also makes the process easier than in the earlier games, where you simply had to access a computer to change your party Pokémon. Here, you simply return to camp (in case you’re not near it, you can use the map to quickly get back), talk to the guy and you’re done.
How to change Pokémon moves in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
If you remember the old games, you know that a Pokémon could only use max. four moves at a time. If you wanted to teach it a new one, an old one had to be forgotten; if it was a TM move, the Pokémon could re-learn it later, but if it wasn’t, forgetting the move was permanent. Plus, you couldn’t really change a Pokémon’s moves during the game as you wished. Pokémon Legends: Arceus makes things easier here and in two ways.
First of all, you can change your Pokémon’s moves anytime while you’re roaming around the game. There is no limit and there’s no conditions that have to be met. Secondly, your Pokémon doesn’t forget old moves – at any point in time, your Pokémon can use any move it has learned, as none of them are forgotten. It can actively use only four at a time, but if you want to return an old one, you can do it without limitations.
The procedure of changing a Pokémon’s move is simple. This is what you have to do:
- Press up on the D-pad to open the bag menu
- Hover over the Pokémon whose moves you want to change and select them
- From the list of options that pops up, select ‘change moves’
- This will bring you to a menu where you can swap moves however it may please you!
And with this, the process is done.
How to change Pokémon nicknames in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
Yours truly never actually bothered changing a Pokémon’s name; I always thought that the original names were cool enough to be kept. Having said this, I know a lot of players who’ve enjoyed changing their Pokémon’s names and it was a true marvel seeing how creative these new names could be. Now, if you remember your Pokémon games correctly, you know that you could change a Pokémon’s name immediately after you’ve caught it. If you missed that opportunity, you needed to find a very special, cult classic NPC to help you with that. There was no other way of doing it, so you had to be somewhat careful.
On the other hand, Pokémon Legends: Arceus made this process easier as well. Namely, changing the name of a Pokémon has stopped being a major issue and has become a very easy thing, on par with the other elements we have talked about in this article. The process is, as we’ve said, simple, and can be done anytime during the game. This is what you have to do:
- Press up on the D-pad to open the bag menu
- Hover over the Pokémon whose name you want to change and select them
- From the list of options that pops up, select ‘change name’
- You can now type in whatever nickname you want. Just don’t push it!
And with this, the renaming procedure is done. This also marks the end of the core content of this article. We’re going to answer one question before we wrap this up, though.
How to change outfits in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
Although changing outfits isn’t something completely new in Pokémon video games, especially if you’ve played the Switch games, Pokémon Legends: Arceus brings another twist to this game mechanic, making the process easier and more fun. So, if you want to change your standard outfit and wear one of the many you’ve bought or collected, you simply have to go back to Jubilife Village. You then enter your room, approach the large mirror and interact with it to open the outfits menu, from where you can choose any outfit you have obtained up until that point in the game.