PokeMonth: Top 10 Legendary Pokemon
Legendary Pokemon are among the most symbolic aspects in the entire franchise.
Whether they signify a global situation (Groudon and Kyogre), the maturation of your skills (Reshiram and Zekrom), or serve as a final test for players (Mewtwo), there has always been a sense of something greater when it comes to these Pokemon.
The reason being, of course, that there actually is something greater to them. They’re stronger, rarer, and are much harder to catch when compared to every day Pokemon.
After 6 generations and over 700 Pokemon to choose from these days, we have quite a stable of Legendaries in the PokeWorld.
But which rank among the best?
I asked a few friends, consulted my knowledge of the games, and even refreshed on my Pokemon Mythology to come up with my list of the Top 10 Legendary Pokemon.
Let’s do it:
10. Darkrai
Darkrai is one of the few Pokemon to stand out from the clusterf*ck of legendaries in Gen IV. White some of this has to do with its wicked design, the real differentiator here is its general usability.
Darkrai’s access to the move Dark Void—a sleep-inducing attack with 80% accuracy—combined with Dream Eater and the dark Pokemon’s Bad Dreams ability creates…well, a nightmare.
9. Raikou
If there was ever a case for a Pokemon to be on the list based on design alone—Raikou would be it.
It takes a backseat to both Entei (3rd Movie) and Suicune (4th Movie) in terms of prominence. It did make an appearance in the near-perfect Pokemon Chronicles anime, but that show wasn’t as widely distributed as the main series.
It’s a pain to catch— helping to usher in a new age of roaming Pokemon.
To top it off, it’s not all that great in battle either (unless you swiped one of the Gamestop event Raikous, which had Extreme Speed and Aura Sphere).
With all this in mind, why did I include Raikou on the list?
Because it looks badass, and it’s a literal thunder cat…or dog….or whatever.
The end.
8. Giratina
What better origin for a creature in a children’s video game to have than one which parallels that of the Devil?
Now, Giratina’s hexapedal Altered Form in Diamond/Pearl was already a huge hit with fans. But the introduction of its basilisk-resembling Origin Form and the Distortion World subplot in Platinum gave it an elevated ambiance of sinister.
Giratina’s signature move, Shadow Force—an unblockable 120 base power attack—and unique typing helps ensure that the devilish leviathan is just as appealing to battle with as it is to look at.
7. Groudon
Boy, did ORAS really help Groudon turn it around.
Don’t get me wrong—we loved Groudon in Gen III. The main reason was its Drought ability, which let us Fire Blast the hell out of opponents with 100% accuracy and use Solar Beam without having to charge for a turn.
But it was at a clear disadvantage when pitted against its counterpart, Kyogre….a water type. Good one, Game Freak.
Enter Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, which granted Groudon a borderline unfair Primal Form that rendered all water attacks against it completely useless.
We’ve always loved Groudon for its design, and now it’s just as menacing in battle.
6. Latios
Latios is basically what you would get if you combined Lugia with a small jet plane.
And you know what? We loved it.
Serving as a direct counterpart to the nicer-looking (and relatively useless) Latias, Latios has enough offensive stats and accessibility to a range of attacks to make it an absolute juggernaut.
Throw in the fact that its signature item, the Soul Dew, literally DOUBLES its Special Attack and Special Defense stats, and…you’re a cheater. A big fat cheater.
Shame on you, Latios, for being so OP.
Latios was also featured alongside Darkrai in the Pokemon anime, as a member of Tobias’ team when he battled against Ash in the Pokemon League semifinals.
Clearly, the anime doesn’t have the same ban on legendaries that we all honor in real life. No ubers allowed, bro.
5. Ho-Oh
If you can handle the temptation to pronounce its name as a certain insult, Ho-Oh is quite the Pokemon.
An awesome design, signature move Sacred Fire, and interesting origin story make this phoenix into one of the most beloved mascots in the series.
Ho-Oh is also the center of what might be the best moment of the anime show.
At the end of the very first episode of Pokemon, Ash sees Ho-Oh flying across the sky near a rainbow. We would later find out that the spotting of Ho-Oh is supposed to guarantee eternal happiness to whoever sees it.
What’s interesting about this is that the episode aired before the Gold and Silver video games had even been hinted at, meaning that Ho-Oh’s appearance came two years before we would ever figure out what Pokemon it was.
It’s this sort of mythology and foreshadowing of what Pokemon had in store that makes Ho-Oh my personal favorite Legendary Pokemon.
For what it’s worth.
4. Rayquaza
Just when we were starting to think that the Dragon type had reached its peak with Salamence, we eventually journeyed far enough into the game to come across the Sky Pillar.
What we found there was none other than the granddaddy of all Dragons—Rayquaza. The reason being that Rayquaza is just that: a huge freaking dragon.
Its access to Extreme Speed, black shiny sprite, and backstory as the master of both Groudon and Kyogre added to the Rayquaza hysteria that dominated Generation III.
If that wasn’t enough, the developers went ahead and gave fanboys more to drool about in ORAS when they unveiled Rayquaza’s Mega form, which literally elevated the serpent into near-Godlike status.
Seriously—Rayquaza is banned from ALL tiers of Pokemon battling. Even Ubers.
A Pokemon that now resides in its own tier deserves to be this high on the list.
3. Mew
Mew isn’t particularly powerful (it has 100 across the board for each base stat), doesn’t have the sexiest design, and isn’t as ridiculously rare as it used to be with the numerous Gamestop giveaways that have occurred over the years.
But when you’re the original Pokemon from which every species since is derived from, you command a good amount of respect.
So much respect that two Pokemon, Mewtwo and Ditto, were spawned solely by the mere attempts at replicating a Mew.
As the OG Pokemon, Mew has the hilariously troll-worthy ability to learn every single TM and HM the game can offer.
Yes—that includes Fly, Steel Wing, Dig, Dive, and Selfdestruct.
Although Mew is distributed quite widely today, the fact that even Nintendo was unaware of its inclusion in Gen 1 makes many of us still feel a sense of accomplishment when we’re able to get our hands on one.
Whether or not Mew came before the PokeGod Arceus or not is still up for debate, but Arceus lacks the same kind of connection with fans that Mew has.
2. Lugia
What a difference a role in a movie can make.
Pokemon are generally known to only speak with repeating their own name or grunting out nonsensical growls.
So whenever one is able to break this norm and gain a speaking role—like Meowth of Team Rocket—it stands out in the minds of fans.
Such was the case for Lugia in the second Pokemon Movie, The Power of One.
Hearing Lugia speak gave it another dimension to add to its already awesome design and unique Flying/Psychic typing.
It almost made us forget that it straight up gets its ass handed back to it by Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos.
Almost.
As an example of how effective a simplistic design can be, Lugia lands at Number 2.
1. Mewtwo
Oh, come on—don’t act surprised.
The fact that Mewtwo was featured as a playable character for the Super Smash Bros. Melee—and then brought back by popular demand for the Wii U version should be enough evidence to exemplify how much of a boss Mewtwo is.
If that isn’t enough, there’s plenty of other reasons to choose from.
With new legendaries being released each generation, the series has done an exceptional job at maintaining Mewtwo’s place at the top of the mountain. Gaining two Mega Evolutions in Gen VI was downright unfair, but it’s not like anyone was complaining about the King returning to its throne.
Mewtwo’s main role in the very first Pokemon movie helped establish its complex backstory and create the first Pokemon in the series that fans felt a personal connection to.
It even gave a quote at the end of the film which fans have held onto as we have navigated life:
“I see now that the circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are”
Cheers, Mewtwo.