Pokemon Arceus event: Legendary 'mythical' monster joins Magearna and Meloetta in final giveaway

Another chance to grab Arceus in Pokemon X and Y and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire on Nintendo 3DS.

Attention Pokémon trainers! Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have unleashed the ultra-rare Arceus for a second time as the franchise's 20th Anniversary distribution schedule reaches its finale.

The "Alpha" Pokémon joins the Magearna and Meloetta giveaways in December, ensuring players who missed out during the first Arceus event in August get another chance at snatching up the all-powerful beast.

Unlike the initial Arceus event which required a quick trip to a local Game retail store (GameStop in the US), anyone with a Nintendo 3DS and a copy of either Pokémon X and Y or Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire can obtain the event-exclusive monster using the code "ARCEUS2016".

Here's how to redeem the code on any of the "Gen 6" Pokémon games, although be aware that if you already nabbed Arceus earlier this year, then you will not be able to get a second one (that would be greedy).

Select the Mystery Gift option from the main menu
Make sure your Nintendo 3DS is connected to Wi-Fi and choose Get With Code
Allow your 3DS to connect to the internet and then enter your unique serial code
Once the download finishes start your game as normal
Head to any Pokémon Center and speak with the special delivery NPC to receive your Arceus

The Arceus code expires on New Year's Eve (31 December), so make sure you redeem it before the deadline. As with the earlier Arceus event, your overpowered pocket monster will be Level 100 and will know the moves Judgment, Recover, Hyper Beam and Perish Song. If you want to get a specific Nature or IV spread, be sure to save before you pick your Arceus up from a Pokémon Center.

As for Magearna and Meloetta, you can get the rare pair by following the instructions here, with the former Pokémon Sun and Moon "Legendary" expected to be available via QR Code sometime today (5 December).

Arceus, Meloetta and any other event-exclusive creature picked up during the "Pokémon20" event will be transferable to Pokémon Sun and Moon when the scheduled Pokémon Bank update goes live in January 2017.