Pokémon Legends: Arceus has gone out of its way to inject tons of new ideas, systems, and improvements to the Pokémon franchise. The most obvious will be the new structure the game takes – a series of fully explorable 3D environments – and the fact that battles take place dynamically in the world as opposed to in a completely isolated instance. However, the game also does introduce some new RPG mechanics and systems, and yet the game doesn't explain all of these very much despite being incredibly useful.
The Pokémon games have always had currency in the form of Pokédollars that the player could use to purchase necessary items from shops. These range from basic healing items like potions to essential items like Pokéballs. That remains true for Pokémon Legends: Arceus, but with the addition of not only new items to buy but also other forms of currency you need in order to purchase them. The prime example is Merit Points, which can be exchanged for some of the most useful items in the game. If you've never interfaced with this new form of purchasing power yet, we'll tell you how to get Merit Points, and what you can spend them on, in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
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What are Merit Points?
You can think of Merit Points as a secondary form of currency in Pokémon Legends: Arceus alongside your regular Pokédollars. These special points can be exchanged for an entire suite of items, some of which are quite rare and useful. However, unlike Pokédollars, you can't collect Merit Points as easily. There's only one way to get them, and it requires you to take on a brand new task the game doesn't give you very many details about.
How to get Merit Points
To start collecting Merit Points in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, you will be participating in a special online feature of the game called Lost and Found. This mode does work offline as well, so if you have no internet connection, it is still possible to complete and start earning Merit Points.
Step 1: Open your map while out in the field and look for any bag icons around the map. These are lost satchels dropped by other players, or NPCs if you're offline, who fell out in the world.
Step 2: Track down this satchel and collect it to send all the lost gear back to the trainer who dropped it. You simply need to interact with the bag to automatically send it back to the trainer who lost it.
Step 3: Just retrieving the lost satchel won't automatically reward you with Merit Points, though. To claim your reward, you will need to go into your menu and select Lost & Found under the Communications tab, choose the satchel you recovered, and accept the rewards.
A single satchel typically nets you somewhere between 50 and 100 Merit Points.
What can you spend Merit Points on?
Now that you know how to get Merit Points, the big question is why should you go out of your way to earn them? By heading to the Trading Outpost in Jubilife and speaking to Simona, you can see a list of all the items your Merit Points can be traded in for. Here's a full list of what's for sale and how many Merit Points they cost:
- Pokéball – 10 Merit Points
- Oval Stone – 400 Merit Points
- Linking Cord – 1,000 Merit Points
- Rare Candy – 1,000 Merit Points
- Upgrade – 1,000 Merit Points
- Metal Coat – 1,000 Merit Points
- Fire Stone – 1,000 Merit Points
- Thunder Stone – 1,000 Merit Points
- Water Stone – 1,000 Merit Points
- Leaf Stone – 1,000 Merit Points
- Ice Stone – 1,000 Merit Points
- Sun Stone – 1,000 Merit Points
- Moon Stone – 1,000 Merit Points
- Dawn Stone – 1,200 Merit Points
- Dusk Stone – 1,200 Merit Points
- Shiny Stone – 1,200 Merit Points
- Razor Fang – 1,400 Merit Points
- Razor Claw – 1,400 Merit Points
- Dubious Disc – 1,400 Merit Points
- Reaper Cloth – 1,400 Merit Points
- Protector – 1,400 Merit Points
- Electrizer – 1,400 Merit Points
- Magmarizer – 1,400 Merit Points
It will take a lot of saving to get the higher-priced items, but Merit Points can give you access to some of the most useful items in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
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