What Are Alpha Pokemon In Pokemon Legends: Arceus?

"Pokemon Legends: Arceus" reimagines the Sinnoh region and the Pokemon we know and love in a feudal Japan-inspired era. Sure, Hisuian forms differentiate some species from their modern day counterparts, but apparently alternate sizes also exist. That's where extremely large Pokemon called "alphas" come into play. 

"Pokemon Legends: Arceus" were released into the wild a little early, thanks to illegally distributed copies that spoiled the game for everyone. It's thanks to this leak that players have been able to research and post screenshots of alphas early on social media. These extra large Pokemon often tower over their regular-sized counterparts and human observers. Players need to catch multiple sizes of the same Pokemon, including alphas, to complete certain research tasks. That being said, many fans might wonder if these giant Pokemon serve any other purposes.

Here's what we know from the "Pokemon Legends: Arceus" promotional descriptions combined with what fans have discovered.

The official "Pokemon Legends: Arceus" website describes alphas with the following: "During your expeditions, you'll sometimes run into alphas: Pokémon that are larger than normal and have glowing red eyes. Alphas will chase you down and attack you when they notice you. They're tough opponents, but they'll become great allies if you manage to catch them. They may even drop rare items if you defeat them in battle." In other words, alphas are the largest Pokemon in the game. Their glowing red eyes and aggressive demeanor set them apart from their smaller Pokemon, too. They can be any type of Pokemon and aren't restricted to certain species.

Pokemon data miners such as Abyzen discovered size values for Pokemon in "Pokemon Legends: Arceus." These values range between 0 and 255 and are assigned at random. The smaller the number, the smaller the Pokemon. On the other hand, alphas always have the max number 255. So they truly are the largest possible size.