A new trailer for Pokémon Legends: Arceus has revealed that the game will feature boss encounters, as the player will need to defeat powerful noble Pokémon in battle, with the first being Hisuian regional Scyther evolution Kleavor. The Pokémon series has often used human trainers as its boss encounters, in the form of Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, and Champions, but players also have tackled Legendary Pokémon at the climax of games' stories.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is set in the distant past of the Sinnoh region, seemingly long before the formation of the Pokémon League. As such, it makes sense that boss encounters would be powerful Pokémon that reside in the wild, as part of the story seems to involve taming the region so that humans can live there in safety.
It seems Pokémon Legends: Arceus is taking even more inspiration from Zelda: Breath of the Wild than previously expected. A new trailer for the game on The Official Pokémon YouTube Channel has revealed that the player character will take on mighty noble Pokémon, encounters that appear to play out like boss fights. The first confirmed noble Pokémon is Kleavor, the Rock/Bug-type regional evolution of Scyther. The version of Kleavor in the trailer is massive, but it can likely still be captured and used by the player. On the official Pokémon Legends: Arceus website, it was also confirmed the player's mountable Wydeer is also classified as a noble Pokémon.
Kleavor is classed as the Axe Pokémon, as the blades of Scyther's body have been transformed into even larger weapons. It makes sense Scyther would have a new evolution in Pokémon Legends: Arceus and that it would be based on a lower-tech item than Scizor's pincers, as it's possible the Metal Coat item doesn't exist in Pokémon Legends: Arceus's world yet. This is an era with steam-powered Poké Balls, so trade evolutions with items might not happen for a long time.
The idea of boss battles in Pokémon Legends: Arceus involving giant Pokémon is an exciting one, and it fits the concept of exploring a wild frontier well. It's not entirely clear if story progress will be gated behind the noble Pokémon - similar to the ranked hunts in the Monster Hunter series - or if players can simply battle the noble Pokémon when looking for an extra challenge. If nothing else, the battles against noble Pokémon might feature epic visuals in a way the Pokémon series hasn't yet been able to accomplish with its mainline games.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus will be available for Nintendo Switch on January 28, 2022.