Pokemongames have always been fascinating in terms of their history and lore because so little is actually known compared to other long-standing franchises, so each new game can bring something entirely new to the table. A good example of this is howPokemongames differ when it comes to the regionsthey are set in, with some of them being very unique and full of secrets, whereas others are more streamlined without losing their identity. Things are about to change a lot now thatPokemon Legends: Arceusis coming out in January of next year, as it is the first game of the series to go as far back as the origins of Pokemon and how they and humans learned to live together as they do in modernPokemongames.
Pokemon Legends: Arceuswill be the first to do a lot of things, too, including exploring the roots of the Galaxy Team and the entire region of Sinnoh, with both first appearing in the original Generation 4 games. However, becausePokemon Legends: Arceusis set in the past, the region actually holds a different name than it did inPokemon DiamondandPearl, and it’s called Hisui instead. There are several Hisuian Pokemon that have been revealed during the trailers forPokemon Legends: Arceus, and the new addition in the form of Kleavor poses questions as to how much of an impact humans had on the critters and their evolutions over time.
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The Lore Surrounding Kleavor in Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Kleavor is one of the new so-calledNoble Pokemonfound throughout the game inPokemon Legends: Arceus, with each of them being associated with a Warden. Wardens are NPCs who are in charge of taking care of these Noble Pokemon, and what’s interesting is that seemingly every Noble critter also has connections to iconic HMs fromPokemongames, such as Surf for Basculegion and possibly Cut for the newly revealed Kleavor. This aspect is also tied to each of these Pokemon having a brand-new evolution or regional form inPokemon Legends: Arceuswhen compared to past games, and there is at least one more Warden without their associated Noble Pokemon around.
While all this makes for fascinating debates overhow HM originated in thePokemonuniverseand ifPokemon Legends: Arceusholds the answer, there is something else coming from Kleavor’s description that’s worth delving into. First and foremost, Kleavor is not a whole new species of Pokemon in Game Freak’s upcoming title, but rather it is Hisui Scyther’s evolution. Scyther was first introduced in Generation 1 and it didn’t have any evolutions, but Generation 2 changed that with the introduction of the Metal Coat, which could be used to evolve Scyther into Scizor and Onyx into Steelix.
Since its debut in the newest trailer forPokemon Legends: Arceus, Kleavor was promptly added to the officialPokemonwebsite, and it has a peculiar background description there. Apparently,Scyther evolves into Kleavorthanks to special minerals found in the region of Hisui, changing its type into Bug/Rock, which is on par with Pokemon like Crustle, for example. The lore surrounding Kleavor continues delivering, and the following bit explains how the stones found on the Pokemon end up being chipped during encounters, and that these parts were once used by people of Hisui to craft different tools.
This is particularly newsworthy because it shows how much of an impact wild Pokemon can have (and apparently already have had) on the evolution of human society in the series. With this in mind, and especially because of all the news concerning Kleavor, it’s easy to see that the contrary might just be true as well. But what sort of impact humans could possibly have on the way Pokemon evolve inPokemon Legends: Arceusand other games is still up for speculation at this point.
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Pokemon Legends: Arceus Raises Questions About the Role of Humans in Evolutions
However, precisely because Scyther evolving into Scizor normally requires aMetal Coat, it’s possible that the Generation 1 Pokemon evolves into Kleavor inPokemon Legends: Arceusbecause there is no Metal Coat yet. As a matter of fact, it’s not impossible that Metal Coats were manufactured by mankind and used on Pokemon through some experiments to determine to what degree they would adapt and evolve, manifesting a new type: Steel. Steel-type Pokemon did not exist back in Generation 1 and they were only introduced in Generation 2 games, but it doesn’t mean that they weren’t already around from a lore point of view.
Truth be told,Pokemon Legends: Arceusalready features a few confirmed Steel-type Pokemon, so they are not some sort of invention of mankind, but rather humans might have used studies on them to create items like the Metal Coat. With it not being inPokemon Legends: Arceus, it would make sense for Scyther to evolve into something else - namely, Kleavor - if exposed to some different sort of material. Another question remains, though, and that’s what is going to happen with Onyx inPokemon Legends: Arceus.
The notorious Rock-type Pokemon can be seen in trailers forPokemon Legends: Arceus, and some sources state thatSteelixis going to be featured in the game as well. And yet, there is no sign of Steelix anywhere in trailers, so it’s unclear if it’s an educated guess or if it comes from an official confirmation that’s using the name either correctly, indicating that the Pokemon is indeed there, or as a placeholder. If it turns out to be the latter, then it’s very likely that Onyx will evolve into some new Pokemon in ways similar to those of Kleavor, and thus prove how much of an impact the relationship between humans and Pokemon can have on wild critters and how they change.
Pokemon Legends: Arceuswill release exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on July 07, 2025.
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