Publication date of the original Japanese article: 2021-10-22 00:25 (JST)
Translated by. Ryuki Ishii

The Pokémon Company revealed new information about Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Hisuian Zorua and Hisuain Zoroark were introduced in the new trailer below, and the fact that they are “Normal/Ghost dual-type Pokémon” has drawn a lot of attention from fans.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is an upcoming action RPG, in which the player’s adventure is set in ancient times, when Sinnoh region was still called the Hisui region. Some of the Pokémon from previous titles will appear in a new Hisuian form, and not only do they differ in appearance, but also in their Pokémon types. For example, Growlithe is a Fire type Pokémon, while Hisuian Growlithe is a Fire/Rock dual-type Pokémon.

And the newly announced Hisuian Zorua and Hisuian Zoroark are both Normal/Ghost dual-type, according to Professor Oak.

So why is this a big deal? Because they’re thought to be too strong of a combination. It may not be necessary to explain, but each Pokémon type has both strengths and weaknesses. For example, a Fire type attack does a lot of damage against Grass type Pokémon, Ghost type Pokémon is immune to Fighting type attack. These interactions of properties are an important part of Pokémon’s battle system.

And for the first time in the series, Normal/Ghost dual-type Pokémon will be introduced. They’re strong in a sense that there are too few weaknesses. They’re immune to Fighting type attacks even though they are Normal Pokémon (which are usually weak against Fighting moves), and they’re also immune to Ghost type attacks even though they are Ghost type Pokémon (which are usually weak against Ghost moves).

Both types make up for each other’s weaknesses, and as a result, they only have one weakness, which is the Dark type. In addition, there are many types of moves that are ineffective or not very effective against this combination of dual-type. Simply put, they are a “dual-type thought to be too strong to appear in-game.”

On Twitter, many Japanese fans are expressing their surprise in a positive manner.

It has been announced that Pokémon Legends: Arceus will not include multiplayer battles, so the sudden emergence of Normal/Ghost dual-type Pokémon won’t be wreaking havoc in PvP. Come to think of it, the lack of multiplayer battles could be the reason the developers were able to introduce Normal/Ghost dual-type to the game.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is scheduled to come out on January 28, 2022. More information about Zorua and Zoroark will be revealed in the near future.