Is Greninja in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
No. As of 2023, the fan-favorite ninja frog Pokémon Greninja is still not available in Pokémon Legends: Arceus – neither in the base game nor any released DLC or updates so far.
What we know about Greninja‘s absence
First introduced in Pokémon X & Y, Greninja instantly became a competitive battler‘s darling as the final evolution of Kalos starter Froakie. With its menacing tongue scarf, hidden shuriken, and anime popularity via Ash-Greninja, Greninja grew into one of the most beloved Water-types in recent franchise history.
Unfortunately, Greninja is one of 63 Pokémon strangely missing across all Nintendo Switch Pokémon titles so far, including Legends: Arceus. Other unsupported fan favorites span from Mythicals like Hoopa and Meloetta to Hoenn starters such as Mudkip.
According to Serebii‘s latest Pokémon Legends: Arceus Pokédex data, Greninja‘s entire evolutionary line remains unavailable. This includes its unevolved forms, the bubbly Froakie and its moody middle stage Frogadier.
While Graninja‘s absence stings, even for veterans, Legends: Arceus also leaves out several other Pokémon pillars. Just a few other shockingly excluded species:
| Generation | Missing Pokémon |
|---|---|
| Kanto | Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle lines |
| Johto | Chikorita, Cyndiquil, Totodile lines |
| Hoenn | Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip lines |
| Sinnoh | Chimchar line |
| Unova | Oshawott, Tepig lines |
Lacking so many classic starter families and their evolved forms deals a blow to veteran fans. But just why are so many iconic species excluded from legends?
What new Pokémon shine instead?
While Legends: Arceus gives many veterans the cold shoulder, it introduces a bounty of new Hisuian regional variants and divergent evolutions to discover.
Some of the most intriguing examples include:
- Hisuian Growlithe and Arcanine, swapping their classic orange fur for majestic white coats
- The fierce axe-wielder Kleavor, marking Scyther‘s first real evolved form
- Overqwil, an alternate path from Basculegion that reinvents Basculin entirely
- Enamorus, present in game data but not officially available yet
Below are a few other unique new species found only in ancient Hisui so far:
| Number | Name | Type | Origin Species/Evolution |
|---|---|---|---|
| false | Wyrdeer | Normal/Psychic | Stantler |
| false | Basculegion | Water/Ghost | Basculin |
| false | Sneasler | Fighting/Poison | Weavile |
| false | Hisuian Lilligant | Grass/Fighting | Petilil |
These creative new Pokémon offer intriguing type combinations and movesets unavailable among existing creatures. For example, Hisuian Arcanine’s added Rock-type gives it key resistances Greninja lacks. And Sneasler’s access to Poison and Fighting attacks provide excellent type coverage.
As a battle enthusiast, seeing so many unique strategic possibilities emerge from these fresh regional forms makes up somewhat for the absence of powerhouses like Greninja. At least at the start of this brave new Legends era…
Potential for DLC surprises?
So if Greninja isn‘t catchable now, will we ever see it added to Pokémon Legends: Arceus in future updates? As an insider industry analyst, I speculate the chances are strong.
Game Freak has proven more than willing to inject new Pokémon into Switch games via Expansion Passes. Both Sword/Shield and Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl saw DLC introduce over 200 previously unsupported species months after launch.
Given Legends: Arceus‘ expansive open world and stylistic departure from past games, developers likely recognized an all new Hisuian Pokedex was needed at launch. This fresh selective roster paved the way for the game‘s pioneering mechanics and systems.
But now with that ambitious foundation established, Legends: Arceus looks well positioned to incorporate highly anticipated veterans like Greninja. As early sales and reviews indicate a breakout success, bolstering Legends with fan service DLC makes sound business sense to drive engagement even higher. An influx of returning starters, Mythicals and their shiny variants would perfectly fit that bill.
Story-wise, encounters with rare travelers from other lands or discoveries of migrant Pokémon thought long extinct could elegantly weave once unavailable species back into the Hisui region. Rifts in space-time caused by clashes with Dialga, Palkia or even Arceus himself may warp familiar faces back onto the scene.
Or, after establishing peace in Hisui, our hero could embark overseas to faraway regions still teeming with rare Pokémon – only to return someday leading a motley migration back to ancestral Hisui.
As a passionate Pokémon veteran, I eagerly await the day we can welcome species like Greninja back into the Legends fold. But for now, the wide open wilderness of Hisui still hides plenty of unique new Pokémon mysteries left to unravel in the interim.
So fellow fans – what are your thoughts and theories? Which classic Pokémon would you be most thrilled to see added someday as future Legends: Arceus DLC?
