Pokemom SV Legendaries
Legendary Pokemon are among the rarest and strongest (though not always) Pokemon in any game. Trainers can only catch one of each unless they trade for a double. They also have a story attached to their existence, such as a guardian for something important to the region or time traveling Pokemon.
Table of Contents
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Legendaries
Koraidon and Miraidon
These are the most apparent legendaries. They are the face of the games and also the easiest to get. They’re your ride for most of the game. However, you can’t catch them until near the end of the story. You can’t use them for battling or anything like that until then.
They represent the past and future of Paldea, brought about by time distortions. In Scarlet, the Pokemon comes from the distant past, along with Koraidon. It is the opposite for Violet, where the theme is the future.
The Pokemon represent the time they come from, with Miraidon being all futuristic while Koraidon looks more primitive. The in-game Pokedex (for the opposite Legendary) notes that they both resemble Cyclizar but are more ruthless. It is believed that Koraidon is a distant ancestor, and Miraidon is a future descendant of that Pokemon. Unlike Cosmog, which evolves into the respective legendary, Cyclizar won’t become the box Legendary.
Koraidon is a Fighting/Dragon type, while Miraidon is Electric/Dragon.
The Stake Ruins Legendaries
If you listen to your history classes, you’ll hear about the stakes scattered across Paldea. Raifort, your history professor, will explain that these mysterious objects are hiding a treasure. For trainers, that would end up being Legendary Pokemon.
These are the four other Legendaries in the game. Each one has 8 stakes, which means you have to find those to get an opportunity to catch them. Ting-Lu’s stakes are scattered around Casseroya Lake. Chien-Pao’s are around West Province Area 1, 2, and 3. The South Province Areas 1, 3, and 5 keep Wo-Chien’s stakes. Lastly, Chi-Yu’s stakes are found in North Province Areas 1 and 2.
Their actual forms are the items of ruin, brought to life by the anger and grudges of their owners. A greedy king had awakened all the negative emotions that gave birth to these Pokemon, which promptly became berserk. They ran rampant throughout Paldea, and they did so until some ancient trainers sealed them away.
Afterward, the items were named the ‘Treasures of Ruin.’
Ting-Lu’s (Dark/Ground) proper form is the ‘Vessel of Ruin,’ the cracked bowl that forms its antlers. It has been animated by the fear the ancient Paldeans felt. Ting-Lu could create earthquakes and deep fissures by slamming its head onto the ground.
Chien-Pao (Dark/Ice) is formed by the hatred of the victims of the ‘Sword of Ruin,’ the broken blades that form its fangs. It is said to be able to control tons of ice and snow and plays about innocently as an avalanche falls.
Wo-Chien’s (Dark/Grass) treasure is the ‘Tablets of Ruin’ that forms its shell. Possessed by the grudge of the royal secretary/recordkeeper, it can drain the vitality of forests in an instant, leaving them barren. The secretary was the one to document the evil deeds of the ancient king, which resulted in the creation of Wo-Chien.
Chi-Yu (Dark/Fire) is a small, fish-like Pokemon formed by the fires of envy. Many people would fight in wars for the ‘Beads of Ruin’ that form its eyes. The flame that makes up the rest of its body lets it swim in flowing lava as if it were water.
So far, these are the only Legendaries for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. There could be more, like in the case of Sword and Shield expansion packs.
But What About Mythical Pokemon?
These Pokemon are only typically obtained through events. Either you go to a specific real-world location where they give out codes, or the latter would be distributed in other ways. They are otherwise unobtainable in the base games.
Examples are:
- Mew
- Celebi
- Deoxys
- Jirachi
- Manaphy
- Phione*
- Darkrai
- Shaymin
- Arceus
- Victini
- Meloetta
- Genesect
- Diancie
- Hoopa
- Volcanion
- Magarena
- Marshadow
- Zeraora
- Meltan/Melmetal
- Zarude
Some of the above have lost their event-only status, as remakes of the previous games make them available. You can consider them part of the Legendary Pokemon group, though the developers have always considered them a different category.
*Phione is only obtainable after breeding Manaphy. The method to get it requires an event-only Pokemon, making it an honorary Mythical Pokemon. There are arguments for and against its inclusion, but it is up to the player’s perspective.
As of writing, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet do not have Mythical Pokemon yet.
Various Fun Facts About Pokemon Legendaries
As of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, there are 66 Legendary Pokemon:
- Gen I: 3 Legendary Birds (Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres) and Mewtwo
- Gen II: 3 Legendary Beasts (Entei, Suicune, Raikou) and the Tower Duo (Ho-Oh, Lugia)
- Gen III: 3 Legendary Titans (Regirock, Regice, Registeel), the Eon Duo (Latios, Latias), 3 Super-Ancient Pokemon (Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza)
- Gen IV: 3 Lake Guardians (Mesprit, Azelf, Uxie), the Creation Trio (Dialga, Palkia, Giratina), Cresselia, Regigigas, Heatran
- Gen V: the 3 Swords of Justice (Verizion, Terrakion, Cobalion), the 3 Forces of Nature (Thundurus, Landorus, Tornadus), the Tao Trio (Zekrom, Reshiram, Kyurem)
- Gen VI: the Aura Trio (Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde)
- Gen VII: Beast Killers (Type: Null and Silvally), 4 Guardian Deities (Tapu Lele, Tapu Fini, Tapu Bulu, Tapu Koko), Cosmog and Cosmoem, and the Light Trio (Solgaleo, Lunala, Necrozma)
- Gen VIII: the Hero Duo (Zacian, Zamazenta), Eternatus, Kubfu and Urshifu, Regieleki and Regidrago, Glastrier, Spectrier, Calyrex, Enamorus (as part of the Forces of Nature)
- Gen IX: Koraidon and Miraidon, the 4 Treasures of Ruin
Among those 66, only the 3 Kanto Legendary Birds have a regional counterpart in Galar’s Crown Tundra. Aside from very different looks, these birds have different types from the original. Articuno becomes Psychic/Flying, Zapdos becomes Fighting/Flying, and Moltres becomes Dark/Flying.
Other Legendaries that take on different forms are the Forces of Nature (Therian and Incarnate), Zygarde, Necrozma, Kyurem, and Calyrex. If you count Primal Reversion and Mega Evolution, Mewtwo, the Hoenn Super-Ancient Pokemon, and Eon Duo are included. Groudon and Kyogre can undergo Primal Reversion. Mewtwo, Rayquaza, and the Eon Duo can Mega Evolve.
Most Legendary Pokemon have no gender, save for a few. Heatran, Kubfu, and Urshifu can be either gender. Latias, Enamorus, and Cresselia are always female. Latios and the rest of the Forces of Nature are always male. Despite this, they still cannot breed.
Manufactured/artificial Pokemon can be Legendary, as in the case of Mewtwo and Type: Null/Silvally. They were based on Mythical Pokemon (Mew and Arceus, respectively), which explains why. Porygon, Voltorb, and a few others came about by human influence but are not considered Legendary.
Cosmog, Type: Null, and Kubfu are the only Legendaries that can evolve. Remember that Cyclizar is only related to Koraidon and Miraidon but cannot evolve. It is also not considered a Legendary Pokemon.
They all have a shiny version. However, these usually have a lock on specific games that keep them from being shiny when you encounter them in-game. You can get them in alternate colorations through other methods.
Enjoy Pokemon Scarlet and Violet!
The most recent games might have too few Legendaries (5 to 6, considering you can only get one of the box Legendaries unless you trade). This is compared to Gen VII ([U]S/[U]M), which had 11 (or 10 because of exclusivity). Still, 5 is plenty, and four of them require some amount of effort to get. It’s easy to leave them alone (which, according to lore, is the right choice) unless you want to collect them all.
Whatever your reasons for catching them or not, continue having fun on your adventures throughout Paldea!
