10 Video Game Sequels That Broke Canon

Arceus did a lot to reinvent the classic JRPG Pokemon formula. It added new mechanics and new forms of battle, but also some weird changes to the game's canon.

According to the original Pokemon games and most of the titles that followed, the invention of the Pokédex was attributed to none other than Professor Oak. The man said so in the very beginning of your adventures in Pokémon Red and Blue. This information was further confirmed by professors in later games, as well as by some other NPCs discussing the legacy of Oak's research.

When Arceus came out, this whole part of the lore was flipped on its head. The game took place in the distant past, where Arceus had transported a bunch of people from different timelines through mysterious portals. The world was ancient, and there weren't any Pokédexes to speak of, so the main protagonist of the game had to create one in the form of a book.

That book became the first ever catalogue of Pokémon species, something that Oak's device was supposedly meant to accomplish first. This means that either Oak is a fraud, that Arceus broke Pokémon's canon regarding the Pokédex, or both.