Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a game that seeks to break the mold of what the series has done so far, but it's proved that it's not above trolling its fanbase. Magikarp, the famously-weak Fish Pokémon that most rush through its evolution into the powerful Gyarados, has a research requirement that ultimately feels like a joke at the player's expense. If they truly want to complete the first-ever Hisui Pokédex, then they're going to have to put up with the weakest Pokémon in the game for a lot longer than they're used to.
Research requirements are a feature introduced in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. They're a new way of filling out the game's Pokédex, and a far cry from the traditional method of simply capturing or evolving each species of Pokémon once. Legends: Arceus' safari is better than Pokémon Snap's, and the requirements lead players to explore the wilds of Hisui in their entirety. Players have to capture certain amounts of Pokémon in different ways, and see them use different moves certain amounts of times. Some of them are more time-consuming than others, but one stands out as the funniest and most annoying of all.
The reason Magikarp's research requirement is a troll is because players have to see it use the move Splash, Magikarp's signature move, a grand total of 100 times. The company and the developers are likely poking fun at Magikarp's uselessness and the fact that most players rush it into its powerhouse of an evolved form if they use it at all. One hopes that jokes like this are few and far between in Pokémon's future, and the series doesn't include too many more meme-worthy trolls in Gen 9. Legends: Arceus is part of Pokémon's core series, so things like this mean that there could be more coming in future Gens, and while it's quite funny, it could easily prove too much.
Magikarp Is Mocking Pokémon Legends: Arceus Players
Magikarp, like most Pokémon in the game, has a research requirement that requires players to see it use a move a certain number of times. Like many, that move is the species' signature move, which in Magikarp's case is Splash, the move that does absolutely nothing. This requirement is more of a sick joke than anything, however. Instead of 10, 20, or even 40 times, like the caps for some requirements, players will have to see Magikarp use Splash a total of 100 times in order to complete its research. Legends: Arceus is different from normal Pokémon games, but not all changes are for the better. This requirement will take a lot of grinding and healing in order to complete.
With such a massive requirement, especially on Magikarp specifically, it's likely that the developers were poking fun at Pokémon players when they made it. Most simply grind Magikarp to evolve it into Gyarados as soon as possible, so forcing players to battle with it for so long gives it an ironic twist. Game Freak may even have extended the joke to mock itself as well, since Magikarp is stated to be useless in most every mention of it in the games and anime.
Hopefully, the inordinate effort needed to fully complete Magikarp's research requirements isn't an indicator for any grind that could be introduced to future titles. The next games are impossible to predict at the moment, and even the real-life country that inspires Pokémon's Gen 9 can't be said for certain. If the series continues with the new themes that Pokémon Legends: Arceus has introduced, or even takes them further, then hopefully there won't be any more trolling by the developers.