The ride Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus are all helpful in their own ways, but some are more useful than others. In the newest entry in the long running Pokémon series, players explore the region of Hisui and use strategy and stealth to capture Pokémon within their environments instead of exclusively through turn-based battles. As a result, Pokémon Legends: Arceus places a very heavy focus on exploration.
To explore the entire Hisui region, players enlist the help of special Pokémon to use as mounts. Similar to the Ride Pokémon in Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon, the Pokémon mounts in Legends: Arceus help players traverse tricky terrain such as steep cliffs and vast water. Players can only climb so high on their own - and there’s no swimming in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, either - so some areas are effectively off-limits until the proper Ride Pokémon is unlocked. These Pokémon make traversing Hisui easier and encourage players to return to older zones to explore places they couldn’t reach before.
Each Ride Pokémon in Legends: Arceus is very useful for a variety of reasons. There will be times when a player will want or even need to use a certain Ride Pokémon. When trying to traverse the zone quickly, Hisuian Braviary can’t be beat, although to move quickly and closer to the wild Pokémon and crafting materials that can be picked up, Wyrdeer is the best choice. But when looking at the Ride Pokémon from the perspective of allowing players to get to new, challenging to reach places, some are more effective than others. The following Ride Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus are listed in order from least to most useful when it comes to getting players to the toughest reaches of Hisui.
Ursaluna Is Legends: Arceus' Least Useful Ride Pokémon
Ursaluna is the second Ride Pokémon players team up with in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Ursaluna can climb some cliffs easier than the player can, but can’t reach nearly as many places as the other Ride Pokémon. What Ursaluna is best at is finding hidden treasure. This can range from helpful items like evolution stones to Old Verses, key items consisting of ancient Hisuian poetry that provide additional lore and world-building. Players won’t be using Ursaluna to reach new locations, but it’s still a very helpful Ride Pokémon to have when gathering materials. Ursaluna also helps make the Pokémon Legends: Arceus Gone Astray quests easier to complete, too.
Legends: Arceus' Hisuian Braviary Is A Great Ride Pokémon
Hisuian Braviary is a flying mount that allows players to travel quickly in the air high above Hisui. Its speed makes traversing the region quick, and is very helpful when trying to reach a location that isn’t close to a warp point, or when looking to pick up dropped satchels. But there’s only one location that requires Hisuian Braviary to visit: Avalugg’s Legacy. All other locations can be scaled by other Ride Pokémon.
Hisuian Braviary can be used to visit new places for the first time, but players will likely want to be closer to the action when first foraying into a new location so they can catch any new Pokémon they see and pick up materials they pass by. Once players know what to expect, however, the Hisuian Braviary flying mount in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is one they’ll certainly call on often. Not only is it fast, but it’s relatively safe from harm from wild Pokémon attacks.
Wyrdeer's Jump Helps Reach Areas Early In Pokémon Legends: Arceus
The first Ride Pokémon players unlock in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is Wyrdeer, and it’s one of the best for reaching new places. Its hooves have good traction against cliffs like Ursaluna’s paws, but where Ursaluna might get stuck, Wyrdeer can jump. This jump helps players reach higher platforms that might have once been inaccessible to them. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and Wyrdeer helps dedicated players scale certain cliffsides early if they choose to brave the unknown beyond them.
Sneasler Is One Of Legends: Arceus' Most Versatile Ride Pokémon
Once players unlock Sneasler, there’s almost no going back. Although the concept of scaling steep cliffs may seem simple, the Sneasler mount Pokémon in Legends: Arceus is one of the game’s most versatile. Climbing mountainsides while still being able to pick up materials such as salt and various mushrooms is incredibly helpful. Sneasler can also climb up to smaller platforms easier than Wyrdeer and Ursaluna, and Sneasler walks faster than the player character, to boot. It’s easy to spend a lot of exploration time wandering around Hisui snug in Sneasler’s basket, picking up materials along the way. But players who want to catch nearby Pokémon or get materials out of trees or ore deposits will need to dismount Sneasler to do so, just like with all the previously mentioned Ride Pokémon.
The Best Way To Cross Water In Legends: Arceus Is Riding Basculegion
The subject of an adorable recent Pokémon Legends: Arceus TV commercial, Basculegion is the game’s most useful Ride Pokémon for reaching new areas, and one of the best mounts overall. Aside from flying with Hisuian Braviary, players can’t cross large bodies of water without Basculegion - and players flying across the water on Hisuian Braviary won’t be able to toss any Poké Balls at wild Pokémon they see. Basulegion is the only Ride Pokémon that allows the player to throw items as well as their own Pokémon. If a player notices a wild Pokémon they want to catch or battle, they can do so from Basculegion’s back. Basculegion also has an impressive double jump to help avoid attacks from wild Pokémon and leap over obstacles, and it also has an added bonus: when focusing while in the air, time slows down, allowing players to carefully target any nearby Pokémon.
The Pokémon Basculegion may have an eerie origin story, but it’s still the most helpful Ride Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Simply being able to traverse water is huge since the player can’t do so by themselves. Being able to capture wild Pokémon at the same time only sweetens the deal. As helpful as mount Pokémon such as Wyrdeer and Ursaluna are, players will find themselves dismounting frequently whenever they want to catch a nearby Pokémon or send out their own Pokémon to mine for materials. Although it makes sense that the player can’t reach for their Pokémon or items while riding Sneasler or Hisuian Braviary, the ability to toss items and Pokémon from atop Wyrdeer and Ursaluna could have made them even more helpful than they already are.