alot of legendaries are overstated by the fans and sometimes even company.
mew's legendariness for example is so overstated. its just a long-lived genetic progenitor in a world with fossil Pokémon and even manmade Pokémon. Thats not nothing but its not some cosmic godliness. Mew is just rare doesnt sound like theres much else to it
Mew: THEORIZED to be a genetic progenitor
Mewtwo: literally just a clone of Mew
Legendary Birds: just powerful and rare birds
Ho-Oh: more culturally significant than anything but carries immense creative power apparently. If any Pokémon are singular existences Ho-Oh MIGHT be one of them, but then again why does it have a shiny if thats the case. And if we're casting shinies aside I'll say all we get here is rarity and apprent revival powers, which is not super unique in the Pokémon world but is still exceptional. Revered, crazy rare, top notch strength- cosmic? No.
Lugia: Still very culturally significant to Johto but with even less powers than Ho-Oh. All but confirmed that there are multiple. Just a big, extremely rare, very powerful sea Pokémon
Celebi: This one is a bit more cosmic as it can manipulate time (Time is a construct of the mind though so this one uh im not gonna inspect too much). Still comes across more like an elusive forest sprite with amazing powers rather than some god
Groudon & Kyogre: Legends say they created the land and sea but thats almost certainly cultural myth. Just seem like long-lived, very powerful Pokémon. A big theme here with legendaries is more how ancient and culturally hyped they are. And with that you can imagine why theyre hard to find or catch. Either too strong to subdue, too rare to encounter or both. But these arent things that dont apply to other Pokémon, and we also know in Pokémon that no Pokémon is invincible or all powerful. But these guys are on the much higher end of capture difficulty.
Rayquaza: Almost certainly just another extremely rare, long-lived dragon Pokémon who has accrued cultural significance in Hoenn likely even unknowingly due to the actions of more than one Rayquaza. I theorize theres probably a few Rayquaza active at any given time each with huge territory in the sky and the one in Hoenn was just more active/older.
Latis need no explanation, theyre confirmed to have multiple and they seem more rare and intelligent than anything
Deoxys is just from space, albeit more recently and directly than Starmie or Clefairy. For all we know it could be common in its home planet like UBs
Regis: JUST ANCIENT. Thats it. Theyre more interesting bc their intrigue lies in just that- being ancient. Theyre also sealed off so theyre unlikely to be encoutered but clearly its not impossible to study the legends and find them
Jirachi: sleeping for 1000 years then granting any wish by manipulating existing matter is pretty crazy. Again, its just an ability- not some integral cosmic role. But the ability itself has huge implications but the thing is, Jirachi is almost always asleep and never around people so the power doesnt get used at all basically. But if I must give some concession i'll class him with Celebi.
Dialga and Palkia: the original "cosmic" legendaries that started this mess. Aside from time again being a mental construct i'll give these guys a pass as they seem like wild forces of cosmic nature that dont seem like theyd ever wind up in a human's possession- extensions of Arceus' powers in many ways.
Arceus: nothing needed. He's a creator god essentially. Even that is tied up in a lot of myth, but its got enough creative power to warrant that I guess. No complaints on him probably mostly bc I dont care but even his untouchableness is called into question even in his own movie
Cresselia and Darkrai: just some rare and reclusive Pokémon with dream related powers. So Hypno and Musharna if it was super reclusive and looked cooler, and was somewhat stronger but I mean many Pokémon can inflict sleep, cause nightmares and eat dreams so.....
Kyurem, Reshiram and Zekrom: just big powerful dragons. Only relevant literally because a human used them long ago. Just big powerful dragons, maybe a bit on the higher end of both metrics but still just dragons
Meloetta: this thing isnt even trying to be cosmic in the slightest but gets swept up with all the cosmic projection on legendaries. And this is an unfortunate one because as a Pokémon its really awesome but people throw it in that pile of "must ignore, can't connect"
Genesect: literally just a revived fossil Pokémon, only exceptional bc tbey went out of their way and souped him up some and threw a cannon on his back. Okay so you Blastoise-ified Kabutops congratulations but tell me why it would be impossible to subdue and catch it? Rare to find as many probably werent made? Sure but theres a movie where they moved as a whole tribe so it seems like many were revived.
Victini: the victory thing is pure myth. It just has a lot of power and energy it can share. Pure hype
Genie trio: these guys seem more like forcs of nature but again there seem to be several of each- theyre just super rare. Also how many Pokémon can influence the weather?? ALOT. Extremely rare? You bet. Top tier power? Kind of. Not too strong to capture thats for sure.
I dont even have to keep going but I can. People have forgotten that LEGENDARY and MYTHICAL are concepts that describe more how something is viewed by people rather than the thing itself. A rock can be mythical if it looks cool enough and gets associated with some myth
Legendary: stuff of legends, at one time including Arcanine but it seems he became demystified through proximity
Mythical: stuff of myth. Zoroark toes this line heavily, but he's missing the stats and also despite his media they held back just short of official labeling and let him cruise as a Lucario or Absol-esque entity. So mythical for the movie hype but then wasnt given game-related flags to denote being in the mythical class.
Well, I know where I stand and convincing or failing to convince others doesn't add or remove anything from my life. But I've just noticed a lot of trainers bogged down by this honestly arbitrary and uninvestigated idea which actually flies in the face of the very lore its supposed to pull from and doesnt do much but limit people from engaging with some cool Pokémon.
Befriending DOLiS my Darkrai helped me realize this more clearly- while they can be appreciated for their unique qualities, theyre Pokémon just like the others and all Pokémon are unique in their way. I implore you to focus on understanding Pokémon more and the connections you foster with the ones youre drawn to. Dont let other people's ideas rule out over your own just because its other people, and cause you to go your life not enjoying things you clearly have a yearning to engage with^^
well ive reached my annual quota of interrogating communal ideas!
tschüss~
mew's legendariness for example is so overstated. its just a long-lived genetic progenitor in a world with fossil Pokémon and even manmade Pokémon. Thats not nothing but its not some cosmic godliness. Mew is just rare doesnt sound like theres much else to it
Mew: THEORIZED to be a genetic progenitor
Mewtwo: literally just a clone of Mew
Legendary Birds: just powerful and rare birds
Ho-Oh: more culturally significant than anything but carries immense creative power apparently. If any Pokémon are singular existences Ho-Oh MIGHT be one of them, but then again why does it have a shiny if thats the case. And if we're casting shinies aside I'll say all we get here is rarity and apprent revival powers, which is not super unique in the Pokémon world but is still exceptional. Revered, crazy rare, top notch strength- cosmic? No.
Lugia: Still very culturally significant to Johto but with even less powers than Ho-Oh. All but confirmed that there are multiple. Just a big, extremely rare, very powerful sea Pokémon
Celebi: This one is a bit more cosmic as it can manipulate time (Time is a construct of the mind though so this one uh im not gonna inspect too much). Still comes across more like an elusive forest sprite with amazing powers rather than some god
Groudon & Kyogre: Legends say they created the land and sea but thats almost certainly cultural myth. Just seem like long-lived, very powerful Pokémon. A big theme here with legendaries is more how ancient and culturally hyped they are. And with that you can imagine why theyre hard to find or catch. Either too strong to subdue, too rare to encounter or both. But these arent things that dont apply to other Pokémon, and we also know in Pokémon that no Pokémon is invincible or all powerful. But these guys are on the much higher end of capture difficulty.
Rayquaza: Almost certainly just another extremely rare, long-lived dragon Pokémon who has accrued cultural significance in Hoenn likely even unknowingly due to the actions of more than one Rayquaza. I theorize theres probably a few Rayquaza active at any given time each with huge territory in the sky and the one in Hoenn was just more active/older.
Latis need no explanation, theyre confirmed to have multiple and they seem more rare and intelligent than anything
Deoxys is just from space, albeit more recently and directly than Starmie or Clefairy. For all we know it could be common in its home planet like UBs
Regis: JUST ANCIENT. Thats it. Theyre more interesting bc their intrigue lies in just that- being ancient. Theyre also sealed off so theyre unlikely to be encoutered but clearly its not impossible to study the legends and find them
Jirachi: sleeping for 1000 years then granting any wish by manipulating existing matter is pretty crazy. Again, its just an ability- not some integral cosmic role. But the ability itself has huge implications but the thing is, Jirachi is almost always asleep and never around people so the power doesnt get used at all basically. But if I must give some concession i'll class him with Celebi.
Dialga and Palkia: the original "cosmic" legendaries that started this mess. Aside from time again being a mental construct i'll give these guys a pass as they seem like wild forces of cosmic nature that dont seem like theyd ever wind up in a human's possession- extensions of Arceus' powers in many ways.
Arceus: nothing needed. He's a creator god essentially. Even that is tied up in a lot of myth, but its got enough creative power to warrant that I guess. No complaints on him probably mostly bc I dont care but even his untouchableness is called into question even in his own movie
Cresselia and Darkrai: just some rare and reclusive Pokémon with dream related powers. So Hypno and Musharna if it was super reclusive and looked cooler, and was somewhat stronger but I mean many Pokémon can inflict sleep, cause nightmares and eat dreams so.....
Kyurem, Reshiram and Zekrom: just big powerful dragons. Only relevant literally because a human used them long ago. Just big powerful dragons, maybe a bit on the higher end of both metrics but still just dragons
Meloetta: this thing isnt even trying to be cosmic in the slightest but gets swept up with all the cosmic projection on legendaries. And this is an unfortunate one because as a Pokémon its really awesome but people throw it in that pile of "must ignore, can't connect"
Genesect: literally just a revived fossil Pokémon, only exceptional bc tbey went out of their way and souped him up some and threw a cannon on his back. Okay so you Blastoise-ified Kabutops congratulations but tell me why it would be impossible to subdue and catch it? Rare to find as many probably werent made? Sure but theres a movie where they moved as a whole tribe so it seems like many were revived.
Victini: the victory thing is pure myth. It just has a lot of power and energy it can share. Pure hype
Genie trio: these guys seem more like forcs of nature but again there seem to be several of each- theyre just super rare. Also how many Pokémon can influence the weather?? ALOT. Extremely rare? You bet. Top tier power? Kind of. Not too strong to capture thats for sure.
I dont even have to keep going but I can. People have forgotten that LEGENDARY and MYTHICAL are concepts that describe more how something is viewed by people rather than the thing itself. A rock can be mythical if it looks cool enough and gets associated with some myth
Legendary: stuff of legends, at one time including Arcanine but it seems he became demystified through proximity
Mythical: stuff of myth. Zoroark toes this line heavily, but he's missing the stats and also despite his media they held back just short of official labeling and let him cruise as a Lucario or Absol-esque entity. So mythical for the movie hype but then wasnt given game-related flags to denote being in the mythical class.
Well, I know where I stand and convincing or failing to convince others doesn't add or remove anything from my life. But I've just noticed a lot of trainers bogged down by this honestly arbitrary and uninvestigated idea which actually flies in the face of the very lore its supposed to pull from and doesnt do much but limit people from engaging with some cool Pokémon.
Befriending DOLiS my Darkrai helped me realize this more clearly- while they can be appreciated for their unique qualities, theyre Pokémon just like the others and all Pokémon are unique in their way. I implore you to focus on understanding Pokémon more and the connections you foster with the ones youre drawn to. Dont let other people's ideas rule out over your own just because its other people, and cause you to go your life not enjoying things you clearly have a yearning to engage with^^
well ive reached my annual quota of interrogating communal ideas!
tschüss~