The latest entry in the Pokémon mainline game series, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, will take place farther in the past than most other entries, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t have some of the Fossil Pokémon that the series is known for. Cranidos, Shieldon, and others could still be coming to the much-anticipated next installment in the Pokémon franchise. How they’ll be introduced and what form they’ll take are still yet to be revealed if they’re in the game. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl included a multitude of Fossil Pokémon, and it’s possible that the mainline series isn’t finished with them yet.
Fossil Pokémon are Pokémon that are revived from ancient fossils at a certain location in each of the mainline games. There are typically two per generation, and some are exclusive to one version of each game or another. Pokémon BDSP‘s Grand Underground either contains Cranidos’ or Shieldon’s fossil, depending on which version of the game they’re in. Since Pokémon Legends: Arceus is set in the distant past and doesn’t have all of the modern technology that’s in most of the mainline series, it seems unlikely that players will be able to revive fossils as they have in previous games. Still, that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible.
Pokémon is a fantasy series, so just about anything is possible. Even if Legends Arceus is set in the past, that doesn’t mean that it won’t have some form of the technology that’s used in the mainline games’ modern era to revive Fossil Pokémon. More mystical options are also possible. Whether or not the game has Fossil Pokémon is currently up in the air, so until the developers either disprove it or confirm it, or until the game is released, it can’t be said for certain. Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ Hisuian Forms may even be adding a Fossil Pokémon to their number.
How Pokémon: Legends Arceus Could Revive Fossils
If Fossil Pokémon were to make an appearance in Legends: Arceus, the biggest question is how they would be able to. The time setting means that the technologies needed to revive Pokémon from fossils are unlikely to exist in the game. However, it’s not impossible. Some form of them, even a primitive one, could very well be a possibility. Although it’s been light on details, the Arc Phone, a device similar to Breath of the Wild’s Sheikah Slate, has been confirmed, and it looks very modern so far, so it’s been confirmed that advanced technology does exist in some form. Legends: Arceus, if it chooses to include Fossil Pokémon, could show players the very first fossil revival system ever to exist. If the Arc Phone, Legends: Arceus’ BOTW Sheikah Slate equivalent, is in the time period that Hisui is set in, then fossil revival technology is certainly a possibility.
If Pokémon decides not to use science to revive Fossils in Legends: Arceus, then a more magical solution may be a possibility. A mystical method of reviving Fossil Pokémon could take the place of the advanced technology that past games have used, and it wouldn’t be the first time that the series used something like it. Pokémon Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness saw players purify the tortured Shadow Pokémon with the aid of a mysterious artifact known as the Relic Stone, so something similar could very well be used to revive fossils. Whether it’s a shrine, a fountain, or a stone monolith, a special area for players to revive Fossil Pokémon is not an impossibility. A cave system like BDSP‘s Grand Underground, where rare Pokémon fossils spawn and can be revived, would be quite interesting.
Of course, the game could very well skip the revival and just have Fossil Pokémon be wild in the overworld. In the Crown Tundra DLC for Pokémon Sword and Shield, Fossil Pokémon can be found wild, although the reasons as to why are glossed over. It’s possible that Legends: Arceus will do the same, and allow players to capture Fossil Pokémon like other species. If that were the case, it’s possible they could be found in isolated caves or areas not easily accessible by people.
Fossil Pokémon Could Take On New Forms In Legends: Arceus
If Fossil Pokémon are in Legends: Arceus, it’s possible that they wouldn’t be the ones fans are familiar with. Whether it’s due to the method they were revived with or the fact that they weren’t revived at all and were simply found wild, it’s possible that Fossil Pokémon will take on new Hisuian forms in the game. BDSP has hinted at Legends: Arceus’ Hisuian Qwilfish, and other sources have hinted at more Hisuian forms, which means that there’s still more to come. There’s also the matter of which Fossil Pokémon would be included, what generation they would be from, and what environments they would be found in. Being isolated from the rest of the region, and perhaps from their natural habitat, could very well shape their growth as a species over time.
Almost every Fossil Pokémon has Rock as either its primary or secondary typing, likely due to the fact that fossils are bones that have turned to stone over millions of years. It’s unknown whether they have Rock typing because they used to be fossils, or because Rock types were the ones to turn into fossils, but if Legends: Arceus does decide to include them, players could see Cranidos, Shieldon, or other Fossil Pokémon without their signature Rock type. Finding Fossils in Pokémon BDSP involves digging them up out of the ground, so getting them in other ways could very well change their types. A Water/Grass Lileep or a Fighting/Dragon Tyrunt is not outside the realm of possibility and should excite fans who are already eagerly looking forward to Legends: Arceus.
Of course, there are only so many Hisuian forms that the new game will add, and it’s unlikely that it would use all or most of them for Fossil Pokémon, so there will likely only be one Hisuian form Fossil, if any, and that begs the question of which one. So far, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is confirmed to contain Pokémon from as far as Gen 7, the Alola region, so all of them aside from the mix-and-match Galar fossils are possible, and the fact that many from previous regions are in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl‘s Grand Underground supports this. It’s impossible to say which Fossil Pokémon will get a Hisuian form, if there will be one, so Pokémon fans will just have to wait and see.
