After the first couple generations of Pokémon games, the series began promoting new Legendary or Mythical Pokémon that each new version included. These usually appeared on the box of each game, while in the case of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the most rare and sought after Pokémon is right in the title. This Mythical Pokémon was initially added in the fourth generation of games, so it isn't brand new to the series. Even so, this is canonically one of the most powerful creatures in existence, and you've only been able to add him to your team a few times.
The open-world nature of Pokémon Legends: Arceus unlocks a ton of opportunities for the developers to hide rare Pokémon behind specific requirements. With Arceus being the titular Pokémon for the game, it was assumed that we would somehow get the opportunity to face off against it in the main story, if not also the chance to actually capture one. As it turns out, our trainer instincts were correct. However, catching Arceus in Pokémon Legends: Arceus might be the most time consuming and challenging task in any Pokémon title. We can't make it any easier, but can at least tell you exactly what you need to do in order to catch this Mythical beast.
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How to catch Arceus
We mentioned it before, but it bears repeating: this is not going to be easy. There may be only a few steps, but the first step alone might as well be a mountain. This is not something you will do until you've done just about everything else there is to do in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. At the same time, it can be helpful to know what you should be working toward early to cut down on the insane grind ahead of you.
This is a kind of post-post-game task, so while you're likely to naturally beat the game while fulfilling the requirements, you'll also need to do everything after that too. Without spoiling anything, this mainly involves collecting all the plates in a few missions after the credits roll that culminates in a final battle against a Royal Pokémon.
Step 1: The first and most intimidating step is to complete the Pokédex. What that means, if you don't know, is that you first need to catch every other Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, including ultra powerful ones like Palika, Dialga, Regigigas, and more. The only ones that don't count are the Mythical Darkrai and Shaymin. This will total 242 Pokémon you need to add to your collection.
Step 2: With a full Pokédex, return to the Sinnoh Temple on top of Mt. Coronet and play your Azure flute. This will cause a new staircase to appear higher up into the sky.
Step 3: Travel up the staircase and you will face off against "The Original One," aka Arceus. It shouldn't be a problem considering how long it will take you to get to this point, but make sure you've come prepared with a very high level team since this powerhouse appears at level 75 by default and functions a lot like Noble Pokémon encounters as opposed to a traditional one.
If you're able to best this one, last challenge the game has for you, you can finally claim to have 100% completed Pokémon Legends: Arceus!
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