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>However, Pokémon Legends: Arceus appears to toss all of that out the window. In this game, players compile the first Pokédex, using Poké Balls to capture all the different Pokémon in the Sinnoh region.
>The history of Poké Balls is well-established in the Pokémon games. In the anime, older Poké Balls function differently -- as seen in Pokémon 4Ever and on the sunken ship on the Orange Island episode "A Shipful of Shivers" -- but Poké Balls have a more detailed history in the games. They were invented in the Johto Region from native apricorns. According to the Japanese site Pokémon Daisuki Club, modern Poké Balls were not invented until the 1920s.
>Arceus shows Poké Balls that are at least a century old, but resemble standard, modern Poké Balls. However, the modern version is a product of mass production, not something crafted with Johto's native apricorns. It's unclear how the standard, red and white design for Poké Balls originated -- but the new game may add new details to the lore.
>Pokémon Legends: Arceus will completely alter the origins of the Pokédex. In every version of the canon, the Pokédex was created by Professor Oak and completed by the various trainers assigned to him. While other continuities added some retcons -- the Pokémon anime, for example, states that Pokédex entries were written by Professor Westwood of the Seafoam Islands -- the games maintain that Oak is the creator of the Pokédex.
>However, in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the player is collecting information on a prototype of the Pokédex. This indicates that Professor Oak's idea for the Pokédex didn't come out of aether, but was rather a modernization of what the players in Pokémon Legends: Arceus were in the process of doing. Rather than creating a vital piece of technology, he simply took what was already there and modernized it. This certainly would make Professor Oak a far less profound figure in Pokémon history.
