Exploring the open world of Pokémon Arceus changes the way Pokémon interact with trainers and the way you fight them. Since you can find them all over the world, you can expect some Pokémon to be a little more aggressive towards you, potentially attacking and passing out your trainer, unless you take out your Pokémon while being attacked. This guide explains how Pokémon battles work in Pokémon Arceus.
When attacked by a wild Pokémon, you will need to summon the Pokémon of your choice and throw it in front of the attacking Pokémon. If the two notice each other, a battle will occur and a turn order will appear at the top right of the screen to show which Pokémon is attacking first and how often. Some Pokémon can attack multiple times in a row due to their overall attack speed and type of attacks.
When it's your Pokémon's turn, you can choose from four different attacks to use against wild Pokémon. Each move your Pokémon can use has two unique styles: a strong style or an agile style. The strong style version of an attack increases the overall power of a move but reduces its speed, while the agile style increases speed but reduces the strength of the attack. How you use a style depends on you and the Pokémon you are fighting against.
You will be able to see the health of the Pokémon you are fighting against while on the loose, and when it reaches zero, it passes out. However, you can weaken a wild Pokémon and attempt to catch it using a Poké Ball to add it to your Pokédex.
If you choose to ignore the Pokémon and attempt to escape, it could attack your Trainer, potentially causing your character to pass out and return to camp. It may be necessary to return to the pitch at the end to regain your manager's health.
Although Pokémon battles are slightly different from the original series, the open world of Pokémon Legends: Arceus allows players to tackle battles in a unique way and consider how to avoid them more often. Of course, not all Pokémon will aggressively attack a trainer, but players can expect when entering a particular Pokémon territory that not all Pokémon are welcome to strangers.
