Heartwarming / Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Moments pages are Spoilers Off.

---

Main Story

• When the player crashes into Hisui and wakes up, the trio of starter Pokémon lead Professor Laventon to them. The professor, understanding the player's extremely uncomfortable position after asking a few questions, immediately offers help in the best way he can. When Cyllene implicitly threatens to have the protagonist banished, Laventon speaks up on their behalf.
• Arezu's storyline and its conclusion. In spite of some initial distrust between the people of Jubilife and the Diamond and Pearl clans, Arezu takes one of the first steps in building a bridge between them by continuing her duties as a warden while also moving in order to apprentice under Edith at the hair salon. She is accepted without question as a member of the village. It's one of the first steps forward for a united future together.
• Similarly, Ingo eventually moves into Jubilife Village and allows the player to fight against certain NPCs whenever they want to. No one seems to mind his presence, despite the fact that he's a Pearl Clan Warden and has the same uncertain origins as the player character. It also allows Ingo to get the villagers more used to battling, letting him do something related to his past as a Subway Master.
• The star-crossed romance between Iscan and Palina. After Iscan saved Palina from drowning one day, the two bonded with one another and ended up falling in love, even though they are both from different clans that are constantly against each other.
  • Iscan genuinely doesn't seem to think it's a big deal that he saved Palina's life, even with them being from different clans. He's just that nice of a guy that he helped her without even needing a reason to do it.
  • After you beat whichever Great Sinnoh you didn't pick, Kamado decides to hold a festival and invites both the Diamond and Pearl clans to join the celebrations, both of whom readily accept. If you speak to Palina after the credits, she'll comment that she was really happy to be able to be seen with Iscan in public just this once.
  • In the "Daybreak" update, you can invite both to take pictures with you at the same time.
• Also counts as Tear Jerker: After you beat the newly-evolved Lord Arcanine, both Palina and Iscan say that they heard a second howl, and in a certain part of the cutscene, you can see another Arcanine on the top of the island. Looks like his father still watches over him from above.
• After the player quells Lord Electrode, Ingo gets some of his memories back. He then lets his Diamond Clan counterparts know that in his original world, Pokémon trainers were common and happily coexisted with Pokémon. The protagonist, when asked if the trend was true in their original world, can answer that yes, people and Pokémon can happily coexist without killing each other.
• After being exiled, with the Diamond and Pearl clan reluctantly refusing to aid the Player and before Volo found the Player, a wild Shinx approaches the Player to greet and cheer them up before returning to its Luxio parents. Keep in mind, Shinx and its evolutions are some of the more aggressive Pokémon that will attack you if they spot you in this game, so not only did the Luxio and the Shinx sense the Player's distress over their current situation, the Luxio pair willingly let their Shinx cub approach the Player and greet them before the Shinx returned to its parents, showing a foreshadowing of the greater trust between humans and Pokemon that is to come in the ensuing decades. It's even shown that as sad as the situation was, the Player was shown smiling over the gesture of the Luxio pair and Shinx.
  • The protagonist even smiles when the Shinx comes up to them, clearly grateful that it's trying to cheer them up.
  • Before this, when you encounter Lian and then Mai, they reassure you that things will improve for you, in their own unique ways.
    Lian: I'm sure that in the vastness of Hisui, there is a place for you as well.
    Mai: Do not abandon hope. Time solves all things. And besides, you seem to have a talent for making your way in the world. I have no doubt you'll continue to make your way in the world.
  • With the way the Pearl Clan Warden emphasizes the vastness of Hisui and the Diamond Clan Warden encourages patience, it seems that these phrases are commonly used amongst the respective Clans to promote tolerance and optimism. Mai's "time solves all things" in particular feels like a commonplace Diamond Clan proverb.
  • Lian considers Mai "a caring woman," to the point where he sends you to her to seek refuge despite being in his same predicament regarding you.
• After the Shinx left, things seemed bleak and the Player still feels isolated... until you see the silhouette of a Ginkgo clan uniform just behind the Player and see Volo, who had come to search for the Player after they were driven out of Jubilife Village and helped them find shelter with Mistress Cogita. This makes the reveal of Volo's true colors in the post-game much more devastating.
• Cyllene's Abra appears to lend you its aid shortly after you are brought to meet Mistress Cogita. Cyllene pretends that she has no idea where it went, and that it isn't her problem if it helps you against Kamado's orders. For a lady who's been mostly quite stern and distant, this shows that Cyllene has come to genuinely care for the player character and is willing to defy her commander if it means protecting you.
  • Cyllene even has her Abra give you a note she wrote you, telling you that she's ordered the Survey Corps to subtly help you in whatever ways they can (such as still letting you use camps). It really shows how her attitude towards the player has developed over the course of the game.
  • Cyllene even expresses "every confidence in your skills as an adept Survey Corps member." In her book, you're still part of the team.
• As if all that wasn't enough, the instant Volo says it'd be nice to have a kind soul to guide you to the three lakes, Irida and Adaman appear right on cue to aid you on your quest. Even better, the Clan leader you don't choose spies on Kamado during this quest. During this crisis, these rivals from opposite clans are united in subverting Kamado and helping you, all the while acknowledging and addressing the risk of sacrificing diplomatic relations with the Galaxy Team.
• During the heart-to-heart in Verity Cavern, you have the option of telling Mesprit that getting cast out by Kamado left you feeling bitter. The dialogue choices in this trial don't affect the story in any way, implying the being of emotion doesn't judge you for feeling that way.
• After you are reinstated to the Survey Corps by Cyllene and after obtaining the Red Chain, a young teen and little girl approached the player, asking if the Player is still willing to help them even after the whole town was quick to turn on them shortly before due to Kamado's word that they are supposedly responsible for the the frenzied nobles and the space time rift (which was quickly proven false shortly after you were driven out of Jubilife Village). Your Rival and Laventon were quick to speak on your behalf at how much you had done to improve the relationship between Pokémon and people as a member of the Survey Corps. It shows how much faith and trust they had on you, having worked with you and known you for the majority of the game.
  • The little girl later gives you a Max Revive to aid you. It's a small, but sweet gesture from her, especially with how rare it is to find Max Revives. Even better, with the grueling battles ahead in the story and especially the end of the postgame, this Max Revive may well make all the difference during a crucial moment.
• The events of the post-game finally reconcile once and for all the two interpretations of Giratina's nature: namely whether it was banished for its violent nature and seeks revenge against Arceus, Palkia and Dialga for this, or whether it's just a misunderstood creature who serves as an unknown guardian of the material world from its home in the Distortion World. Both are in fact true: Giratina during the game IS seeking revenge and, at Volo's urging, cleaved open the space-time rift above Mount Coronet, driving Palkia and Dialga mad, as well as inadvertently doing the same to the Noble Pokemon, in an act of defiance against Arceus. It then is summoned by Volo during your final battle with him in order to destroy you for interfering with their scheme. However, once it's defeated, it flees out of shock due to being bested by a human child and lurks in Turnback Cave. Once you capture it, speaking to Professor Laventon reveals he spoke to Volo after the latter betrayed you, who claimed that Giratina was humbled by its defeat and now wishes to protect the world alongside you, a sentiment the Pokémon maintains up to the present day. This also provides additional Heartwarming for the events of other Pokemon games as a result:
  • Giratina's desire to protect the world and not repeat the events of the game explains its sudden intervention during the events of Platinum, in which it spirits away Cyrus to the Distortion World, a man who shares a very similar plan to Volo's of unmaking the entire world and reforging it as he deems fit.
  • Giratina's position as a sync pair with Cynthia in Pokemon Masters, who even has a Sygna Suit as a sign of the strength of her bond with the Renegade Pokemon. Cynthia shares Giratina's desire to protect the world, and she herself advocates the notion that Giratina is merely a misunderstood benevolent guardian. But more than that, one can now interpret Giratina to have sense a kinship with her due to having once worked alongside her distant ancestor, who was the first to at all pity Giratina's position, even if it resulted in tragedy. Cynthia shares many of Volo's redeeming qualities, such as his curiosity and passions, so her bonding with Giratina feels like a 'do-over' for what Giratina's partnership with Volo could have been.
• For that matter, the game rewards long-time Pokémon players and lore enthusiasts with the knowledge that the exploits of most of the characters in this game will not be in vain, even if the specific details are forgotten.
  • The most prominent example is Professor Laventon, who, alongside the player character, compiles Hisui's first Pokédex - if not one of the first Pokédexes in the entire world! Even though the credit for the modern, digital Pokédexes usually goes to someone else, his (and the player's) work will lay the foundations for most of the knowledge that we have about Pokémon in the present day.
  • Beni, who laments in his losing speech that his ninja techniques will "soon be consigned to history," will be proven very wrong by a certain ninja Gym Leader/Elite Four member and his daughter. Furthermore, he is heavily implied to be the ancestor of Wally, who becomes one of the most powerful Trainers in his home region.
  • Charm, a Galaxy Team dropout and a petty criminal, is implied to be the ancestor of not one, but two of the most proficient Trainers in the series - Elite Four Agatha of the Indigo League, and Elite Four Bertha of the Sinnoh League. Given how Charm herself is a formidable opponent, it's clear that both her supposed descendants not only took after her but went above and beyond her prowess - even in their old age!
  • The ongoing development of Jubilife can be seen as one for Diamond and Pearl players; it starts out as a sleepy, developing village with an equally-sleepy ambient track, somewhat symbolizing how progress on developing the city has stalled and slowed down due to Galaxy Team's difficulties in acclimating to Hisui and struggling against the Pokémon inhabiting it. But as the player completes story and side quests, the city grows—more houses pop up, along with more people, and, most notably, Pokémon mingling among them. Not only that, but the soundtrack changes as well, becoming more lively...and then it begins playing bars from the Diamond/Pearl soundtrack, showing just how much you contributed to setting the village on the path that would eventually make it the bustling city—and one of the first stops for new trainers from Sandgem and Twinleaf towns—in modern times.
• Upon defeating Arceus, it congratulates the player, saying that seeing the strength of human perseverance brings it joy. It then gives you a piece of itself, not only as a reward, but so that it might see the world through YOUR eyes. That's right, the Top God of the Pokémon world wants to be your friend! Never has Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu? been so heartwarming.
• Ingo's story is overall quite sad, but it's heartwarming that the Pearl Clan took him in and even allowed him to become a noble's warden. There's no hints that they mistrust him like Kamado mistrusts the player, and the Diamond Clan don't seem to hold his origins against him either. Fridge Brilliance could kick in in that, as the worshippers of a temporal Almighty Sinnoh, Time Travel may actually be a known concept in the Diamond Clan's imagination.
• An even subtler example with the Hisuian Starters. Going to space-time distortions after the final boss reveals that in some place in some way, the Hisui starters are common again. Mixed with awesome as this is the first time since Sun and Moon that you can catch multiple starters.
• By the end of the game, the outside of the photo studio shows pictures of not only people and Pokémon on their own, but also the residents of Jubilife with their partner Pokémon, many of whom you gave them or helped them with, others they're shown to have had from the beginning—these include Volo and his Togepi, Cyllene and her Abra, Pesselle and her Croagunk, Senki and his Spheal, Gully and her Nosepass, Ida and her Chimecho, Floaro and his Eevee, and Dominia and her Bergmite. Slowly but surely, the gap between Pokémon and humans is closing, and it's all thanks to you.
• Speaking of gaps closing, the credits end with a "Thanks for Playing" message on top of art of Jubilife Village throwing a festival right after you save the universe from Origin Palkia/Dialga. Freeze-Frame Bonus-es show Adaman's Leafeon meeting Cylenne's Abra, Cylenne smiling at Kamado, Adaman helping Beni serve potato mochi, Sabi's Braviary carrying her through the sky as she laughs joyously, Arezu and Mai hanging out with Calaba, and Zisu playing the drums with Gaeric while Irida plays the flute next to her Glaceon and Lian tries to dance to the music. Even Melli is happily dancing behind Irida. These longtime religious enemies and the strange immigrants from across the sea are celebrating their survival together. But most importantly of all, Palina and Iscan are openly sitting together at last.
• An epilogue scene between Kamado, Cyllene, and the player character has Kamado musing that eventually, the Galaxy Team won't be needed anymore, and their names may be forgotten. The player character seems a bit sad about this and can ask if he's really okay with that. Kamado clarifies that the village will eventually develop enough that things will be peaceful, implying that "not needing them" means he hopes everyone will be able to take care of themselves. It sounds like Kamado has finally made peace with himself and looks forward to a calmer existence for Jubilife Village.
• The Legend Plate's inscription:
  "From all creations, over all creations, does the Original One watch over all."

Side Quests

• Following the Wurmple Can Evolve request, Beauregard gets excited about his Wurmple evolving into a Silcoon and then Beautifly someday; however, it ultimately evolves into Cascoon, which will evolve into Dustox. While he's oblivious at first, once you explain the difference to him, he apologizes to Cascoon for potentially hurting its feelings and then promises that they'll be partners forever, no matter what Cascoon becomes. When it eventually does evolve into Dustox, he accepts his newly-evolved partner.
• One side quest has Sanqua afraid to sleep in her own home due to rustling noises she can't identify and also finding burnt berries. Upon investigating her home, it turns out the scary noises was just a Pichu darting about, and it used its electric powers to cook the berries. The woman recognizes the Pichu being the same one she had nursed back to health a while ago in the wild and it just wanted to repay her kindness by frying some berries for her.
• A request has an inhabitant of Jubilife making muffins for his adopted Eevee. Later on, this Eevee goes missing, just at the same time an Umbreon shows up in the Galactic Team building. Initially the guy doesn't recognize his friend since he has no idea how Umbreon evolve... until he notices it really likes those muffins, just like Eevee did.
• Another request in Jubilife has an elderly woman ask you to help relocate the wild Chimecho that's started living under the eaves of her house, because she's uncomfortable having a Pokémon so close by. You and Chimecho survey several locations, none of which prove satisfactory to the Pokémon, revealing more about Chimecho's likes and dislikes in the process. At the end of the quest, the woman realizes she actually misses having Chimecho around, and now being aware that Chimecho is a gentle Pokémon that just wants company and likes the same things she does, she feels comfortable enough to let it stay with her.
  • After the "Daybreak" update, if you go to the photographer, you can see a photo of Edith with Chimecho on the top of the building.
• "A Token of Gratitude" centers around a Diamond Clan member who encountered Shaymin while out in the Obsidian Fieldlands. She requests that you help her find the field of Gracideas where she encountered the Pokémon so that she can thank it. When you find a dead field of flowers, she sadly realizes this is the field. As soon as she thanks Shaymin, the field is restored and Shaymin appears, as if saying "You’re welcome".
• A request by a little girl named Vessa involves finding 107 small wisps scattered around Hisui, and she rewards you for every few you find. At the end, she reveals that the wisps belonged to a mysterious pokemon who could be a little mischievous and just wanted to have a little fun. Vessa asks you to meet her at the Shrouded Ruins, and when you do, she reveals herself to be the 108th wisp, and asks you to put her next to the others. With all 108 wisps accounted for, Vessa will ask you not to forget about her and will thank you for playing along and letting her have one last bit of mischief.
  • A not-insignificant number of players have nicknamed the Spiritomb "Vessa" after catching it.
• Wanda mentions in the final Gone Astray... sidequest that the reason she even went to the Alabaster Icelands was because she wanted to get the player an Ice Stone as thanks for helping her out so many times. It shows just how much she appreciates them coming to her aid all the time.
• Old Verse 19 finally explains why Pokémon constantly ambush the player from the tall grass in all the other games:
  "When first this land was formed, man and 'mon lived happily, sharing all that they could see, by kind acts born and warmed.
  One Pokémon then proposed that they should always ready be to help the humans should they need, and let their presence be disclosed.
  And that is why, to this day, not all Pokémon do flee when a human they do see—they leap out where tall grasses sway."

Pokémon Behaviors

• There are some wild Pokémon that will almost never turn aggressive towards you unless you encounter an Alpha. One of these is Magikarp. Just offshore from the Obsidian Falls is a small school of Magikarp that love nothing more than to swarm around you while riding Guardian Basculegion. They act very happy to see you and will follow you around like a pack of wet puppies.
  • Magikarp aren't the only ones who will just happily follow around any strange humans it comes across. Several Pokémon, such as Spheal or Aipom, will run up to try and play with you. It's quite adorable! The player character also smiles when the docile Pokémon gather around.
• If you are injured (such as from falling from a height) Chansey and Blissey will not attack you and instead run up to you, check on you, and then run away. Unless you're actively being targeted by an aggressive Pokémon, in which case they'll stick around long enough to convince it to leave. It seems you recover more quickly as well, although there is no healing move animation, implying that the Chansey and Blissey are indeed tending to your injuries before leaving you be.
• Some skittish Pokémon, like Vulpix, can be coaxed into not fleeing on-sight by giving them a berry, and will even approach the player and examine them.
• There are a couple of Pokémon who are neutral to the Player until they see you enter a fight with another Pokémon. Some flee, but others will actively attack you afterward, like Roselia. It can be interpreted that these Pokémon are attempting to protect other Pokémon from your (seemingly) random attacks!
• There seems to be a positive correlation between friendship level and how likely a Pokémon is to fall asleep when let out of their Pokéball, indicating that they only fall asleep with you nearby if they trust you.
• While it's obviously terrifying for the player, a lot of Pokemon can be seen seemingly caring for their pre-evolutions, and trying to catch said pre-evolutions will often prompt a Cub Cues Protective Parent response.
• When the player lets Pokémon out of their Pokéballs, they start conversations. Despite not understanding, the player nods cheerfully along. Team Pokémon also chat with each other and usually seem happy.

Promotional Material

• One advertisement is a parody of a blind date show, only for a Budew hidden in the bouquet to start spraying pollen. The two dating turn out to have a lot (allergies included) in common, and the camera then cuts to the Budew beaming in happiness that it brought the two closer together.

---