Pokémon Scarlet and Violet players were surprised to learn their beloved Alpha Pokémon from Legends: Arceus looked quite different after being transferred from earlier titles via Pokémon HOME this week.
Since Pokémon HOME has been updated to connect to Scarlet and Violet, many fans are transferring their favorite Pokémon to the Gen IX titles from other games such as Pokémon Go and Legends: Arceus. This allows players to reunite with Pokémon they’ve had a bond with or show off rarer ones that might’ve been hard to catch.
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For the most part, these Pokémon retain their traits as they are transferred from one mainline game to another. For example, movesets, Natures, ribbons, and marks shouldn’t be affected by the transfer. However, players have begun to notice the Alpha Pokémon from Legends: Arceus aren’t nearly as big in Paladea as they were in the Hisui region.
In a June 1 Reddit Thread, one player compared photos of their Alpha Lucario in Legends: Arceus to its appearance in Scarlet and Violet—and there’s a big difference.
In Scarlet and Violet, the Lucario is around the same height as the trainer. Meanwhile, that same Lucario towers over the trainer while looking down on them in Legends: Arceus. This is because Alpha Pokémon do not exist in Scarlet and Violet.
“No alphas retain their exact sizing from PLA after being transferred. They should be jumbo mark worthy, but that’s about it. It should also have a mark/ribbon that says it was a former alpha,” one player explained.
Still, the size difference is hard to ignore, and fans decided to have some fun with it.
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“She shrunk in the wash,” a fan joked, comparing the transfer system to a washing machine. “Hand wash only! Cold water only!” another chimed in.
Others came up with theories related to the lore since Legends: Arceus took place long before the present day: “Humans have grown much taller in the last ~150 years.” In other words, maybe the Alpha Lucario didn’t actually shrink. It might just look smaller now next to a larger human in present-day Paldea.
“That is one of the side effects of the time travel,” offered another.
One player also poked fun at how long the community had been waiting for the big Pokémon HOME update: “It took so long for Home to get SV compatibility that Victoria started shrinking from old age.”
