Arceus (アルセウス, Aruseusu^?) is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Arceus first appeared in the video games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. Within the games' story arc, Arceus is regarded as the primary creator of the Pokémon universe.

In addition, Arceus is the strongest Pokémon in the Pokeverse, boasting all base stats of 120 for HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed and is the only Pokémon that can readily change its type based on the plate that it's holding. There are 16 plate types in total. Arceus has been received with a mixed response from critics.

Concept and characteristics[link]

Arceus, known as the Alpha Pokémon, is a Normal-type legendary Pokémon, sometimes called "The Original One" and believed to have shaped the universe with its "thousand arms".^[1] It has a white colored body, gray underside, a long mane, gold hooves, green eyes with red pupils, and has a large, golden wheel around its abdomen, connected by spikes filled with gems. Its origin is described in a book called "The Original Story", which states that Arceus was born from an egg in a vortex of pure chaos before the existence of the universe. It proceeded to create three beings from itself, Dialga and Palkia, which created time and space, and Giratina, representing antimatter. It also created Azelf (Being of Willpower), Uxie (Being of Knowledge], and Mesprit (Being of Emotion) , which created spirit, and then went into an everlasting sleep. Arceus has a special ability to use various Plates, stated to be fragments from the universe's creation filled with the power of "defeated giants", which allow it to switch to any of the seventeen types. They are found throughout the Sinnoh region, and feature inscriptions about their origins. Arceus can learn the signature move 'Judgment', which changes type with the Plate it is holding.

Appearances[link]

In the video games[link]

It first made its appearance in the video games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and later in its remake Pokémon Platinum. It has since appeared in all subsequent titles. Notably, it was given away in promotions for the above mentioned games using a key item called the Azure Flute in the Hall of Origin above Mount Coronet or through an official Nintendo Mystery Gift event.^[2] In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Arceus unlocks an area where either Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina can be obtained at level one. There was a promotion where Japanese players could receive Arceus in Pokémon Black and White in a mode called the Pokémon Dream World after winning a popularity poll of Pokémon species.^[3] Outside of the main series, Arceus only makes a significant appearance in Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs. It makes a minor appearance in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky as a statue. Until March 2012, there was an Arceus event in North America for Pokemon Black/White users, in which it had to be befriended.

In other media[link]

Arceus is featured in Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life, in which it was supposedly betrayed by Damos, and thus views humans with contempt and vows to inflict judgement on them. It is voiced by Akihiro Miwa in the Japanese version and Tom Wayland in the English dub. Arceus appears in a manga adaptation of the above mentioned film as well as the opening pages of the HeartGold and SoulSilver chapters of the Pokémon Adventures manga.

Arceus was mentioned by Gregory House in the season eight episode of House entitled "Perils of Paranoia".

Reception[link]

In an official Pokémon popularity poll conducted by Nintendo in late 2010 spanning the first four generations, Arceus was voted into 1st place over Pokémon such as Darkrai, Mew, and Pikachu.^[3][4] Official Nintendo Magazine's Chris Scullion ranked Arceus among the 10 best Pokémon due to its high versatility, strength, and rarity.^[5] GamesRadar's Darryl Vassar wrote that while its Normal type seems "underwhelming" at first, its ability "reveals the awesome power of this god among 'mon". He adds that Arceus has "hands down the best stats of any Pokémon, exceeding the previous bests by 20%, and a huge range of available moves" and asked "after capturing the god of all Pokémon, where does Gamefreak go from here?"^[6] Destructoid's Jonathan Holmes called it a "bad cross between a Yu Gi Oh monster and the spirit of the forest from The Princess Mononoke".^[7] The Escapist's John Funk wrote an article which criticized the abundance of Pokémon that can only be obtained through a fixed event. He used Arceus as the sole Pokémon in the banner art for the article and cited it as an example of one of these Pokémon.^[8] Editors for GamesRadar described Arceus in the film as "the Old Testament God" and a "pretty mean god".^[9] An editor for Japan Cinema wrote that Arceus was under-utilized in the movie and that it "could have been used better to convey the story that he’s the god pokemon but it fell short of that".^[10]

References[link]

Pokémon portal