4th Gen Plates

I personally think these elemental plates were an interesting addition to the games, especially how any Pokémon could use this item, even though these are meant for Arceus.

But one thing that made Plates stand out a bit more were the engravings. Even though each plate didn't have its very own engraving, it made players look forward collecting the plates and make the game a little bit more enjoyable. + all the engravings together create this lovely mini backstory:

"When the universe was created, its shards became this Plate."
"The power of defeated giants infuses this Plate."
"Two beings of time and space set free from the Original One."
"Three beings were born to bind time and space."
"Two make matter and three make spirit, shaping the world."
"The Original One breathed alone before the universe came."
"The powers of Plates are shared among Pokémon."
"The rightful bearer of a Plate draws from the Plate it holds."

Click to expand...

It kinda makes me wish more thought could go into the Legendary items, for example, if they were more versatile, it saves bag space and avoids having an useless item (if the player intends not to use that item).

So what are your thoughts about Plates? Do you care for the little details like so? Do you care for these "legendary items"? How about the backstory that goes with them? Why or why not? Anything else?

Bonus Questions:
Did you use Plates throughout the game? Do you have your Arceus hold a Plate?

I wasn't really take much interest in them, seeing as they are mainly for Arceus and I had better items for my other Pokemon I used. They're a cool concept though and I liked how they were used with Arceus.

I never knew they had these engravings! That's cool to know. I never used them though because I knew they were meant for Arceus, a Pokémon I never managed to get.

Well considering I never got round to using Arceus, I never felt inclined to collect the Plates. I did pick them up if they were there, but I didn't go out of my way to get them all. Cool engravings though!

I enjoy the gimmick of using different types of Arceus depending on the Plate. I feel like they distinguish Sinnoh a bit further in replacing the other elemental items like Miracle Seed (although those other items also being available in Sinnoh seems like overkill and just makes it harder to navigate the labyrinth that is the bags).

Digging them up is fun too.

I did try to collect them where I could, and I experimented with a few. I think it's a shame they were so specific to arceus; I'd like to see some other pokemon or even legendaries whose type could change in this way.