All right, adjusted the list.
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Legendary Pokes - One of a kind or just super-rares?
- Thread starter Scorpio
- Start date
But doesn't the existence of Giratina and the whole 'Dialga/Palkia' birth event in HG/SS at least suggest the possibility of alternate universes in the Pokemon world? I'm personally more invested in the idea of multiple 'creators' of these universes existing, because the idea of a single Arceus governing all the mortal realms having been caught by some plucky trainer completing their Pokedex is terrifying.
Legendary Birds: Super rare. They're pretty much just very powerful Pokemon. Also they make nests so it assumed they also breed, they're just very exclusive about it.
Mew: Super rare. Being its (supposedly) the ancestor of all Pokemon, that mean probably in the beginning there were only Mew. However Arceus made them with unstable DNA so that they would rapidly evolve into different kinds of Pokemon based on their environment. So probably 99.9~% of all Mews have turned into different species of Pokemon. However, for one reason or another, some Mews have been able to keep their form and able to keep a stable breeding population (and they also probably have a long life span).
Mewtwo: Super rare. HEAR ME OUT! I have reasons. Though many Mewtwo are probably man made (there must have been a team of scientists working to make Mewtwo along with Mr. Fuji, and I wouldn't be surprised if some moved onto other shady groups with the secrets of making Mewtwo), I wonder if a "natural" Mewtwo is possible. A few times we've seen there being two Mewtwo's who existed prior to when it was possible to make a Mewtwo: Pokemon Conquest & Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs. So I'm wondering whether a Mew's transformation into a Mewtwo isn't just its evolution trigger malfunctioning. Remember that Mew is suppose to have the ability to evolve into different Pokemon, this evolution usually occurring for various reasons which dictates how the Mew should change. But what if this evolution process suddenly activated without any of those reasons, it just malfunctioned and told Mew to evolve? What would Mew evolve into? My guess is that Mewtwo is the result of the evolution trigger malfunctioning, evolving Mew into a Super Mew. In recent times shady scientists cloned a Mew and then discovered a way to activate this trigger, thus they think they made a new Pokemon.
Legendary Beasts: Super rare. Just because the most well known ones were created by Ho-oh when the Brass Tower burned down doesn't mean there aren't others. As just said, Ho-Oh created them so it probably has a way to create more. The Legendary Beasts are pretty much Ho-Oh's heralds and you'd probably want a few around just in case something happens to one of them. And with multiple of them existing, who says they aren't able to breed?
Ho-Oh & Lugia: Super rare. Like the Legendary Birds they're just very powerful Pokemon. So powerful that known ones are treated like deities, but that doesn't mean there isn't another Ho-Oh or Lugia somewhere else in the world.
Celebi: Due to Celebi's ability to time travel I don't think it can be said for certain whether there are different Celebi or all the Celebi are just ones from different points in time. If I were to pick one I'd say super rare, each major forest has its own Celebi, but there's only one in each forest and if you see anymore it's just the same Celebi from a different point in time. In addition I think all this time traveling has made Celebi immortal (or at least not able to age) so even if it does get captured EVENTUALLY whoever caught it will release it (whether because they only needed it temporarily to that person dying). Once released it'll go back to th point in time when it was caught and resume its duty of protecting its forest.
Legendary Golems: Super rare. Though made to seal away Regigigas, I wouldn't be surprised if more were made to assure they were "extra keys" lying around just incase Regigigas needed to wake up yet they can't find a set of Regis they made.
Eon Duo: Super rare. They're known to breed and the Soul Dew is a soul of a dead Latios/Latias. They're just very powerful Pokemon.
Weather Trio: One of a kind, sorta. Being incarnations of the land, sea, and air; though there's probably only one active at any time which can live indefinitely, if one to somehow die another would be created by its element (probably via an epic event) to maintain natural balance.
Jirachi: Super rare. They're just very powerful Pokemon who also enter thousand years hibernation which makes them even rarer. This is of course only for wild ones, but since they can naturally live thousands of years traveling with a trainer for a century isn't so bad and when its finally released it can go back to its thousand years sleep cycle.
Deoxys: Super rare. Just a powerful Pokemon who are from space. Heck, maybe they're only rare on the PokeEarth, maybe somewhere in the PokeUniverse there is a planet who's populated with variations of Deoxys. Sort of like a Space Mew (of course they would still have normal Mew's DNA in them).
Lake Guardians: Super rare. Though all are created from Arceus, since they're meant to have given the gift of emotions, knowledge, and willpower a considerable number of them were probably needed and placed all over the world and their power left to effect the inhabitants for possibly hundreds of thousands of years, if not millions. Being made by Arceus they're probably immortal.
Creation Trio: One of a kind, but more can be created if need be. They're essentially deities and they maintain time, space, and the Distortion World. They're pretty much indestructible, but even if one were to die somehow Arceus can simply create another. And being made from Arceus they're also immortal, and just because they're traveling around with a trainer doesn't mean they can't do their job as well.
Arceus: Super rare, sort of. Do you REALLY think you're capturing Arceus? Arceus is probably a massive universe-wide consciousness that has no definite form. Wat you're catching is just merely an avatar of Arceus, Arceus's chosen representation. The avatar has sort of its own consciousness but it knows its part of Arceus, yet it was made with a lower level consciousness to be able to interact with the beings living in its universe. The cosmic consciousness Arceus is busy maintaining the universe while the avatar Arceus are probably dealing with "smaller" tasks. And if one just so happens to get caught, no big deal, another could be easily created to take its place not to mention its immortal so eventually it'll get released.
Lunar Duo: Super rare. Just very powerful Pokemon.
Sea Guardians: Super rare. They're known to have eggs. Just very powerful Pokemon.
Heatran: Super rare. Just very powerful Pokemon. They even have defined genders.
Regigigas: Super rare. Not much is known about Regigigas except that it moved continents. Like the Legendary Golems, its possible it was created to do this task so more could have also been created. They shaped the Pokemon World and then a whole batch of Legendary Golems were created to seal them once their job was done. It's also likely it's immortal since it's essentially a living statue, an ancient robot.
Shaymin: Super rare. Just very powerful Pokemon.
Victini: Super rare. Just very powerful Pokemon.
Swords of Justice: One of a kind, sorta. I believe the Swords of Justice aren't born as they are but somehow transformed into what they are. They're the protector of Pokemon in the Unova region. And while one is probably only active at a time, if it were to die another Pokemon could be turned into one to replace it. In addition it seems like it's possible for new species to the Swords of Justice to be created, as evident by Keldeo. Keldeo of course was a very special case, but who knows if circumstances may come again and a fifth Swords of Justice could come into existence.
Forces of Nature: One of a kind, sorta. Like the Weather Trio, the Forces of Nature are incarnations of natural forces: Wind, Storms, and Fertility. If one were to die a new one would be created to take its place. They're likely to be immortal because of that. In addition, since they're more instigators of these forces rather then maintaining it, there's no problem with it traveling around with a trainer until they're released.
Tao Trio: Oh boy. I'm going to say one of a kind, sorta. Like Arceus I sort of see the Original Dragon not as a single being but a powerful consciousness that created an avatar. This Avatar sided with a king and when the king died it had to side with his sons. However each son wanted different things so not to be conflicted it split into 3 Pokemon: two sided with the sons while the other was what remained of the original dragon as it awaited for the time it can recombine. Eventually the ancient kingdoms the sons created fell and from it a unified Unova came into existence, however Reshiram and Zekrom became so much individuals they refused to fuse back with Kyurem and instead sought to continue the vision of the son they sided with. They're all immortal. Also since they really don't maintain any sort of natural balance there's no problem of them traveling around with a trainer.
Meloetta: Super rare. Just very powerful Pokemon.
Genesect: Going with super rare. We don't know how many Team Plasma created before N cancelled the project, and even then who's to say all the scientists stopped?
Mortality Duo: One of a kind, sorta. Like the Weather Trio and Forces of Nature, they represent a natural force: life and death. Infact they're almost impossible to kill because of that. Though I imagine if one were to perish another would be created by the force of nature it represents to maintain balance.
Zygarde: One of a kind, sorta. It shares a relation with the Mortality Duo which we'll probably see more of in XY2. Thus the same rule for those two apply for it.
Diancie: Super rare. Known to transform from a Carbink, there are probably a few Carbink kingdom with each having a Diancie queen.
(I'll hold my judgement about the other two Kalos Event Pokemon)
So yeah, pretty much my answer is that they're either super rare of if they're one of a kind another would be created if it was to die.
Mew: Super rare. Being its (supposedly) the ancestor of all Pokemon, that mean probably in the beginning there were only Mew. However Arceus made them with unstable DNA so that they would rapidly evolve into different kinds of Pokemon based on their environment. So probably 99.9~% of all Mews have turned into different species of Pokemon. However, for one reason or another, some Mews have been able to keep their form and able to keep a stable breeding population (and they also probably have a long life span).
Mewtwo: Super rare. HEAR ME OUT! I have reasons. Though many Mewtwo are probably man made (there must have been a team of scientists working to make Mewtwo along with Mr. Fuji, and I wouldn't be surprised if some moved onto other shady groups with the secrets of making Mewtwo), I wonder if a "natural" Mewtwo is possible. A few times we've seen there being two Mewtwo's who existed prior to when it was possible to make a Mewtwo: Pokemon Conquest & Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs. So I'm wondering whether a Mew's transformation into a Mewtwo isn't just its evolution trigger malfunctioning. Remember that Mew is suppose to have the ability to evolve into different Pokemon, this evolution usually occurring for various reasons which dictates how the Mew should change. But what if this evolution process suddenly activated without any of those reasons, it just malfunctioned and told Mew to evolve? What would Mew evolve into? My guess is that Mewtwo is the result of the evolution trigger malfunctioning, evolving Mew into a Super Mew. In recent times shady scientists cloned a Mew and then discovered a way to activate this trigger, thus they think they made a new Pokemon.
Legendary Beasts: Super rare. Just because the most well known ones were created by Ho-oh when the Brass Tower burned down doesn't mean there aren't others. As just said, Ho-Oh created them so it probably has a way to create more. The Legendary Beasts are pretty much Ho-Oh's heralds and you'd probably want a few around just in case something happens to one of them. And with multiple of them existing, who says they aren't able to breed?
Ho-Oh & Lugia: Super rare. Like the Legendary Birds they're just very powerful Pokemon. So powerful that known ones are treated like deities, but that doesn't mean there isn't another Ho-Oh or Lugia somewhere else in the world.
Celebi: Due to Celebi's ability to time travel I don't think it can be said for certain whether there are different Celebi or all the Celebi are just ones from different points in time. If I were to pick one I'd say super rare, each major forest has its own Celebi, but there's only one in each forest and if you see anymore it's just the same Celebi from a different point in time. In addition I think all this time traveling has made Celebi immortal (or at least not able to age) so even if it does get captured EVENTUALLY whoever caught it will release it (whether because they only needed it temporarily to that person dying). Once released it'll go back to th point in time when it was caught and resume its duty of protecting its forest.
Legendary Golems: Super rare. Though made to seal away Regigigas, I wouldn't be surprised if more were made to assure they were "extra keys" lying around just incase Regigigas needed to wake up yet they can't find a set of Regis they made.
Eon Duo: Super rare. They're known to breed and the Soul Dew is a soul of a dead Latios/Latias. They're just very powerful Pokemon.
Weather Trio: One of a kind, sorta. Being incarnations of the land, sea, and air; though there's probably only one active at any time which can live indefinitely, if one to somehow die another would be created by its element (probably via an epic event) to maintain natural balance.
Jirachi: Super rare. They're just very powerful Pokemon who also enter thousand years hibernation which makes them even rarer. This is of course only for wild ones, but since they can naturally live thousands of years traveling with a trainer for a century isn't so bad and when its finally released it can go back to its thousand years sleep cycle.
Deoxys: Super rare. Just a powerful Pokemon who are from space. Heck, maybe they're only rare on the PokeEarth, maybe somewhere in the PokeUniverse there is a planet who's populated with variations of Deoxys. Sort of like a Space Mew (of course they would still have normal Mew's DNA in them).
Lake Guardians: Super rare. Though all are created from Arceus, since they're meant to have given the gift of emotions, knowledge, and willpower a considerable number of them were probably needed and placed all over the world and their power left to effect the inhabitants for possibly hundreds of thousands of years, if not millions. Being made by Arceus they're probably immortal.
Creation Trio: One of a kind, but more can be created if need be. They're essentially deities and they maintain time, space, and the Distortion World. They're pretty much indestructible, but even if one were to die somehow Arceus can simply create another. And being made from Arceus they're also immortal, and just because they're traveling around with a trainer doesn't mean they can't do their job as well.
Arceus: Super rare, sort of. Do you REALLY think you're capturing Arceus? Arceus is probably a massive universe-wide consciousness that has no definite form. Wat you're catching is just merely an avatar of Arceus, Arceus's chosen representation. The avatar has sort of its own consciousness but it knows its part of Arceus, yet it was made with a lower level consciousness to be able to interact with the beings living in its universe. The cosmic consciousness Arceus is busy maintaining the universe while the avatar Arceus are probably dealing with "smaller" tasks. And if one just so happens to get caught, no big deal, another could be easily created to take its place not to mention its immortal so eventually it'll get released.
Lunar Duo: Super rare. Just very powerful Pokemon.
Sea Guardians: Super rare. They're known to have eggs. Just very powerful Pokemon.
Heatran: Super rare. Just very powerful Pokemon. They even have defined genders.
Regigigas: Super rare. Not much is known about Regigigas except that it moved continents. Like the Legendary Golems, its possible it was created to do this task so more could have also been created. They shaped the Pokemon World and then a whole batch of Legendary Golems were created to seal them once their job was done. It's also likely it's immortal since it's essentially a living statue, an ancient robot.
Shaymin: Super rare. Just very powerful Pokemon.
Victini: Super rare. Just very powerful Pokemon.
Swords of Justice: One of a kind, sorta. I believe the Swords of Justice aren't born as they are but somehow transformed into what they are. They're the protector of Pokemon in the Unova region. And while one is probably only active at a time, if it were to die another Pokemon could be turned into one to replace it. In addition it seems like it's possible for new species to the Swords of Justice to be created, as evident by Keldeo. Keldeo of course was a very special case, but who knows if circumstances may come again and a fifth Swords of Justice could come into existence.
Forces of Nature: One of a kind, sorta. Like the Weather Trio, the Forces of Nature are incarnations of natural forces: Wind, Storms, and Fertility. If one were to die a new one would be created to take its place. They're likely to be immortal because of that. In addition, since they're more instigators of these forces rather then maintaining it, there's no problem with it traveling around with a trainer until they're released.
Tao Trio: Oh boy. I'm going to say one of a kind, sorta. Like Arceus I sort of see the Original Dragon not as a single being but a powerful consciousness that created an avatar. This Avatar sided with a king and when the king died it had to side with his sons. However each son wanted different things so not to be conflicted it split into 3 Pokemon: two sided with the sons while the other was what remained of the original dragon as it awaited for the time it can recombine. Eventually the ancient kingdoms the sons created fell and from it a unified Unova came into existence, however Reshiram and Zekrom became so much individuals they refused to fuse back with Kyurem and instead sought to continue the vision of the son they sided with. They're all immortal. Also since they really don't maintain any sort of natural balance there's no problem of them traveling around with a trainer.
Meloetta: Super rare. Just very powerful Pokemon.
Genesect: Going with super rare. We don't know how many Team Plasma created before N cancelled the project, and even then who's to say all the scientists stopped?
Mortality Duo: One of a kind, sorta. Like the Weather Trio and Forces of Nature, they represent a natural force: life and death. Infact they're almost impossible to kill because of that. Though I imagine if one were to perish another would be created by the force of nature it represents to maintain balance.
Zygarde: One of a kind, sorta. It shares a relation with the Mortality Duo which we'll probably see more of in XY2. Thus the same rule for those two apply for it.
Diancie: Super rare. Known to transform from a Carbink, there are probably a few Carbink kingdom with each having a Diancie queen.
(I'll hold my judgement about the other two Kalos Event Pokemon)
So yeah, pretty much my answer is that they're either super rare of if they're one of a kind another would be created if it was to die.
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So this is the way I've come to understand everything in the pokemon universe. From the world egg came arceus an arceus created the egg for himself. An probably creates the eggs for all pokemon. Since no ones ever seen a pokemon lay one. From him of course came the trio who rule antimatter space an time. Now he creates latios an latias to search for life within their realms. They find deoxys born from a mutated space virus. Arceus uses them an creates mew from his one primordial essence to start the base genome of all pokemon. Mew thier genetics an deoyxs thier evolutionary blueprints an primordial ancestors. The first pokemon they create was heathen a pokemon that can reproduce an be considered male an female. They decided after that that they shouldn't let any true legendary breed. Arceus also creates Groudon an kygore to form the plants land masses an seas. An a rayqaza to control them. Shamin to help the land flourish. An the gjin to help give the needed weather for life to thrive. Qrceus takes care of creating all the true legendary pokemon. Jerachi however was born around the time of deoxys an was never discovered by latios. The 1rst 1000 yrs pass an jerachi arrives an grants a wish to an innocent boy how wanted to help an have control over pokemon. This made qll man have the power to become trainers an thus started the arceus legends. Oh shit skipped a part. Mr.mime an jinx mate an create the first man pokemon they become their own race an species an developed logic an reason instead of abilities an powers as well as suppressed hidden physic powers. Now lets fast forward red almost becomes the most powerful trainer if he beats gold. Arceus plans on killing him if he wins. Of course he loses. Fast forward even later. The world's dieing an so to are all the planets an all thier pokemon! Meaning each planet has thier own set of rayqazas an Groudon. Etc... arceus creates celebi an casts himself in the world egg. An celebration rewinds him back to the very beginning again for him to start anew. Celebi like arceus technically thiers only one of them. But they create different versions of themselves throughout each parallel time loop. Thus thier beyond space an time an even death. Even if a portion ceases for a moment like celibi did in the 4 movie.
That would also explain the infamous female-sounding Mewtwo that appeared in the Genesect movie.
It’s also sounds like Mewtwo is the second stage of the possible evolutionary line Mew is rumored to have.
Legends: Arceus pretty much confirmed this. Having it actually talking helps clear things up.
Considering Type:Null is an artificial Pokemon thought to having only 3 members, only for more to be produced after their blueprints were brought to Galar, all someone needs is Mew DNA and Mewtwo blueprints to make Mewtwo. Heck, if we ignore that Mew having the DNA of all Pokemon is a false understanding of actual evolution, someone could reverse engineer regular Pokemon DNA into Mew DNA to circumvent finding actual Mew.
The world had so much hope back then, didn't it?
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Game Canon does have multiple encounter-able Groudon/Kyogre/Rayquaza as noted, and, anime-wise, one thing I remember in a weirdly distinct manner regarding the first of those is the Jirachi movie, where the villain was an ex-Team Magma scientist trying to clone them "A Groudon", at least in the dub, using Jirachi's absorbed power. Both he and Team Magma in flashback refer to Groudon as a singular instance of a species rather than terms that would suggest a One-of-a-Kind (OOAK) titan that they are replicating, and I would assume Team Magma is supposed to have done their homework on Groudon info (at least before the "this would kill literally everything" section on Drought).
What muddies this a lot is how since ORAS, they've been introducing a multitude of explanations for multiverse or timeline scenarios that would allow even OOAK to show up in multiples as a result of stuff like the Ultra Wormholes. Who's to say that second Groudon you encountered is native to your world? Maybe it got plucked out of a "Sapphire" Universe that now only has Kyogre to be found despite lore referencing both species
What muddies this a lot is how since ORAS, they've been introducing a multitude of explanations for multiverse or timeline scenarios that would allow even OOAK to show up in multiples as a result of stuff like the Ultra Wormholes. Who's to say that second Groudon you encountered is native to your world? Maybe it got plucked out of a "Sapphire" Universe that now only has Kyogre to be found despite lore referencing both species
Honestly, the more the series goes on the more I'm convinced that no (or at the very least almost none) of the legendary Pokemon are unique, at least not in the games or the anime. The Adventures manga for some reason has a seeming obsession with making every legendary Pokemon unique (apart from Deoxys) even when this makes very little sense.
The fact that trainers in the various battle facilities use the lower-tier legendaries is enough to convince me that all those species are not unique. Even if you wanted to argue that the random NPCs aren't canon, many of the Frontier Brains use legendaries. So it is completely plausible to me that there are multiple Cresselia running around Sinnoh and multiple Regirock and Latias in Hoenn. Etc. That's enough for the games - the anime has multiple sets of the Kanto birds, the Johto beasts, and the Regis show up. I've always thought that the three in the Orange Islands are special individuals among their species (much like the Regi trio in the 8th movie, among others), but they're not unique.
As for the upper tier legendaries - the same goes. Even when there isn't concrete proof (like there being multiple Lugia) there is enough context or implication to support that conclusion, like Eagun saying "a Ho-oh" in Colosseum (emphasis mine) or the existence of at least two Rayquaza in the anime (one shiny, one not). Even in the case of Zacian and Zamazenta, they're only legendary because of what they accomplished - it's just those two individuals in SwSh that are the actual legends. As with several of the mythicals (which I'll get to in a moment) Zacian and Zamazenta might just be two very powerful and rare Pokemon species of which the two in Galar are the most famous instances.
There are some instances where it's less clear, like with the tao trio or the aura trio. Those two trios might plausibly be unique, given their backstories. However, I'm inclined to say that Xerneas and Yveltal are not unique (Diantha's comment that they can only be found in the Kalos region aside) because Zygarde is not, given what we know about it from its appearance in the Alola games. Hell, Dexio and Sina challenge you with a Zygarde of their own, though of course that Zygarde is only part of the larger whole. It may be that there really is only one "true" Zygarde, but that it can split itself into multiple individuals. But even though the player can only gather 100 cells in one save file, it's entirely within reason that more than 100 can exist at once.
As for mythicals - well, no. Hardly any of these can credibly be said to be unique.
Anyway, this got long but TL;DR - if you're still under the impression that legendary Pokemon are unique then nah, sorry, you're wrong. The only ones I would concede could possibly be one of a kind are Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, and Keldeo at a very hearty push, and I'm sceptical of even those.
The fact that trainers in the various battle facilities use the lower-tier legendaries is enough to convince me that all those species are not unique. Even if you wanted to argue that the random NPCs aren't canon, many of the Frontier Brains use legendaries. So it is completely plausible to me that there are multiple Cresselia running around Sinnoh and multiple Regirock and Latias in Hoenn. Etc. That's enough for the games - the anime has multiple sets of the Kanto birds, the Johto beasts, and the Regis show up. I've always thought that the three in the Orange Islands are special individuals among their species (much like the Regi trio in the 8th movie, among others), but they're not unique.
As for the upper tier legendaries - the same goes. Even when there isn't concrete proof (like there being multiple Lugia) there is enough context or implication to support that conclusion, like Eagun saying "a Ho-oh" in Colosseum (emphasis mine) or the existence of at least two Rayquaza in the anime (one shiny, one not). Even in the case of Zacian and Zamazenta, they're only legendary because of what they accomplished - it's just those two individuals in SwSh that are the actual legends. As with several of the mythicals (which I'll get to in a moment) Zacian and Zamazenta might just be two very powerful and rare Pokemon species of which the two in Galar are the most famous instances.
There are some instances where it's less clear, like with the tao trio or the aura trio. Those two trios might plausibly be unique, given their backstories. However, I'm inclined to say that Xerneas and Yveltal are not unique (Diantha's comment that they can only be found in the Kalos region aside) because Zygarde is not, given what we know about it from its appearance in the Alola games. Hell, Dexio and Sina challenge you with a Zygarde of their own, though of course that Zygarde is only part of the larger whole. It may be that there really is only one "true" Zygarde, but that it can split itself into multiple individuals. But even though the player can only gather 100 cells in one save file, it's entirely within reason that more than 100 can exist at once.
As for mythicals - well, no. Hardly any of these can credibly be said to be unique.
- Mew isn't, demonstrably
- Celebi may or may not. As others pointed out, what appear to be multiple instances of Celebi may just be the same one appearing at different points in time. Yet the anime shows us two distinct Celebi, which cannot be the same individual since one is shiny. Since Celebi is described by the Pokedex as appearing wherever beautiful forests exist, it's entirely within reason to think that there might be more than one. Maybe, chicken-and-egg, it's the lush forest that actually creates a Celebi?
- Jirachi could be argued to be this, but no. As someone else noted, we've seen several in various canons. Nothing in its Pokedex entries points to it being unique - just that it sleeps for a thousand years.
- Manaphy and Phione demonstrably are not, so no point spending time on this one
- Shaymin - again, nope
- Darkrai - again, no. Nothing points to Darkrai being unique, especially since Cresselia isn't. Again, the one in Sinnoh has the legend around it, but there's nothing to say that (as someone said earlier) there are as many Darkrai as there are nightmares.
- Arceus - okay, you got me on this one. I haven't played Legends:Arceus all the way through so others will know this better. But I am attached to the "avatar" theory mentioned a couple of posts back so glad to see it be sort of confirmed.
- Victini - mmm, maybe but probably nah. None of Victini's dex entries really point to uniqueness. In fact, it's more the opposite - "It is said that Trainers with Victini always win, regardless of the type of encounter." Yes, that might just mean that multiple trainers have used the same Victini, but I think you can interpret that as there being more than one as well.
- Meloetta - super rare, but again, I'm inclined to think not unique. I appreciate this might be a little repetitive because my logic in general is the same for each mythical - unless they are explicitly said to be unique, I don't see why they should be. The one in Unova is probably the best-known, but others could very easily exist.
- Keldeo - Keldeo's an interesting one because it's not so much a mythical because of its any innate specialness. Rather, it became a legendary Pokemon because it was taught by others to fight. So then, if Keldeo isn't innately a mythical, this raises the question of why other Keldeo don't exist that cannot fight as well as the one we know. But maybe they did. What if multiple Keldeo used to exist in Unova? What if the young Keldeo the Swords of Justice adopted was the only one they were able to save from the destruction of their home? That would make the Keldeo we see a unique individual, possibly because it's the last of its kind. But that jars with the presumption that the Swords of Justice are not unique species. Curious. Leaving this one as a "maybe" for now.
- Genesect - definitely not
- Diancie - nope, the Pokedex confirms this
- Hoopa - no reason it should be. It's a phenomenally rare and powerful Pokemon but, again, nothing points to it necessarily being unique
- Volcanion - see previous
- Magearna - the Original Colour variant seems to confirm it, although the Pokedex is cagey and says that it's just the way it looked when it was first created. But the fact that Mohn was able to purchase one from an antique shop in the anime would seem to suggest that it is not a priceless, unique being (and his is shiny to boot). I mean, you literally have to already have one to get the gift Magearna in Home. I'm giving this one a solid "no".
- Marshadow - much as with Hoopa and Volcanion, nothing points to this being the only one of its kind. It's just a phenomenally rare and powerful species.
- Zeraora - see previous
- Zarude - literally lives in a pack, wow it's like they've given up on any sense of mystique at this point
Anyway, this got long but TL;DR - if you're still under the impression that legendary Pokemon are unique then nah, sorry, you're wrong. The only ones I would concede could possibly be one of a kind are Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, and Keldeo at a very hearty push, and I'm sceptical of even those.
Ok, but there's one thing that hasn't quite been considered here. There's an implicit assumption that there is a chronological order to events that is used to justify a lot of reasoning here.
HOWEVER some Pokemon simply don't follow this. Dialga is the Lord of Time. It can be whenever it wants, wherever. It's not inconceivable (however I do concede it is unlikely) that in HGSS, you are literally witnessing the creation of the one Dialga and Palkia, who are later time-travelled back to the beginning of the Universe.
You may notice I leave out Giratina. That's because I don't think it's anything like the other two in terms of power level or importance. All that its Pokedex entries tell us is that it an extremely dangerous and aggressive Pokemon that was sealed away in the Distortion World as punishment. All its special abilities quite conceivably stem from just having spent so long in a place that doesn't follow the normal rules of time and space, and hence learning to do things that we, with our limited understanding of life outside these two concepts, consider extremely abnormal. I think it is very likely, at the very least, there were multiple Giratina. The only allowance that can be considered against this, is that only one might have found a way to survive in this hostile place where nothing exists. But I don't think so.
Keldeo is pretty heavily implied to not be unique IMO. The one you meet is just one that has been taught to fight with the other Swords of Justice, who saved it from humans. There's probably loads out there somewhere, and while all of them have the potential to learn Secret Sword, very few actually do, because they don't get taught by the other Swords. This is what Resolute Form is all about. The Swords all having genders is a giveaway too.
The Unova trio explicitly being created in a human event is, as others have mentioned, a standout. BW2 explicitly letting you obtain the member of the duo you didn't get in BW by being given it by N suggests uniqueness. This one I guess will remain unproven until the identity of the legendary Dragon is revealed. A further question to consider: are those three the only forms it can take? Perhaps under different circumstances, Unova could have had a different legendary trio. So I'm inclined to concede these three were created in a one-off event by the actions of humans and even if there were multiple legendary Dragons, that doesn't imply multiple Reshiram, Zekrom or Kyurem.
HOWEVER some Pokemon simply don't follow this. Dialga is the Lord of Time. It can be whenever it wants, wherever. It's not inconceivable (however I do concede it is unlikely) that in HGSS, you are literally witnessing the creation of the one Dialga and Palkia, who are later time-travelled back to the beginning of the Universe.
You may notice I leave out Giratina. That's because I don't think it's anything like the other two in terms of power level or importance. All that its Pokedex entries tell us is that it an extremely dangerous and aggressive Pokemon that was sealed away in the Distortion World as punishment. All its special abilities quite conceivably stem from just having spent so long in a place that doesn't follow the normal rules of time and space, and hence learning to do things that we, with our limited understanding of life outside these two concepts, consider extremely abnormal. I think it is very likely, at the very least, there were multiple Giratina. The only allowance that can be considered against this, is that only one might have found a way to survive in this hostile place where nothing exists. But I don't think so.
Keldeo is pretty heavily implied to not be unique IMO. The one you meet is just one that has been taught to fight with the other Swords of Justice, who saved it from humans. There's probably loads out there somewhere, and while all of them have the potential to learn Secret Sword, very few actually do, because they don't get taught by the other Swords. This is what Resolute Form is all about. The Swords all having genders is a giveaway too.
The Unova trio explicitly being created in a human event is, as others have mentioned, a standout. BW2 explicitly letting you obtain the member of the duo you didn't get in BW by being given it by N suggests uniqueness. This one I guess will remain unproven until the identity of the legendary Dragon is revealed. A further question to consider: are those three the only forms it can take? Perhaps under different circumstances, Unova could have had a different legendary trio. So I'm inclined to concede these three were created in a one-off event by the actions of humans and even if there were multiple legendary Dragons, that doesn't imply multiple Reshiram, Zekrom or Kyurem.
You can kind of hand wave multiple God Pokémon through the fish bowl logic.
For example your goldfish is probably aware you exist. When you stick your hand into its bowl it sees a fraction of your power. Stick your other hand in the bowl, or even a couple feet, and there's still only one of you. But from the fish's perspective there's multiple avatars capable of influencing its world.
So imo most depictions of Arceus, Dialga etc are avatars. There might be multiple avatars but each merely represents a fraction of their power being used in our world. The Arceus you capture in LA isn't really God, you're just kind of holding its hand and leading that piece of it.
This also explains how Arceus can be OHKOed by Banded Rampardos Head Smash while simultaneously being able to create galaxies by farting.
For example your goldfish is probably aware you exist. When you stick your hand into its bowl it sees a fraction of your power. Stick your other hand in the bowl, or even a couple feet, and there's still only one of you. But from the fish's perspective there's multiple avatars capable of influencing its world.
So imo most depictions of Arceus, Dialga etc are avatars. There might be multiple avatars but each merely represents a fraction of their power being used in our world. The Arceus you capture in LA isn't really God, you're just kind of holding its hand and leading that piece of it.
This also explains how Arceus can be OHKOed by Banded Rampardos Head Smash while simultaneously being able to create galaxies by farting.
how far did you scroll to even find this, this is like the first smogon thread i ever posted in wtf
I have no reason to think legendaries are one-of-a-kind at all since so many trainers canonically have different individuals of the same species of legendary. The only legendary I ever thought was one and only was Arceus and that's before I knew that there was a Hall of Origin one in the game in addition to an event which I found out afterwards.
I wonder... Is the event Arceus just a copy given to trainers and the Hall of Origin one the REAL Arceus? If so, I caught the real one way back on December 28, 2015!!!
I wonder... Is the event Arceus just a copy given to trainers and the Hall of Origin one the REAL Arceus? If so, I caught the real one way back on December 28, 2015!!!
I've always thought of there being multiples of most legendries
Eh, Japanese doesn't have articles, so it's probably a dub thing... but can anyone check the originals just in case?
And what about the new legendaries? The xinese ones may not be unique, but Koraidon and Miraidon? With all this new thing of Paradox pokemon, where would this two come from? And the six legendaries with their Paradox form are unique? If they come from some kind of alternative universe they shouldn't be unique in their earth, but they are in our earth now, unless there's more than one in the area zero it's imposible to find another one. Is there some kind of explanation about that anywhere?
