To say that there’s a plethora of Pokémon would be an understatement. Since the franchise’s launch in 1996, each iteration of the series has brought in a handful of new creatures for the player to collect. However, every Pokémon game has at least one legendary Pokémon that players will find, and possibly catch during the main game.
These Legendary Pokémon symbolized each iteration of the game’s narrative and tied into the region they were in. If you’re someone who plays the games to be the best, you might not use them on your team. But, you have to admit their designs certainly are cool. Here are 10 of the coolest Legendary Pokémon from across the series.
10: Solgaleo
Solgaleo is a solid legendary Pokémon and a perfect way to start off this list. Being the legendary from Pokémon Sun, players would travel with the Pokémon Cosmog. As you worked through the main narrative, you’d see Cosmog evolve into Cosmoem, and depending on the game you were playing, it’d evolve into one of the Legendaries, Solgaleo for Sun, and Lunala for Moon. Solgaleo takes this spot on the list for overall design philosophy, and how that design connects to the narrative of Pokémon Sun. Being a ferocious creature in the form of a lion, harnessing the essence of the sun, the player has to capture it, as it poses a danger when it’s out of control. Combining that with it’s ability to enter Ultra Space, it lands its spot on the list.
9: Giratina
Taking the role of Legendary for Pokémon Platinum, Giratina is a Pokémon that lives within the Distortion World. Giratina has taken an important role in the more recent Pokémon Legends: Arceus, too. As a being in control of an alternate dimension, able to rip open holes in reality, Giratina is a Pokémon that’s cool on its own. However, the design of Giratina also lends to its coolness, being a six-legged red, black, and grey dragon with gold accents. Its Origin form, sporting a more serpentine look, proves to be a more intimidating design. Giratina’s home in Pokémon Platinum, the Distortion world, is what really cements it on this list, giving players a strange and perception-shifting experience as they and Cynthia hunt down Giratina on his home plane.
8: Kyurem
The mascot Pokémon for Black 2 and White 2, Kyurem seems to come off as your run-of-the-mill dragon legendary. While his design on his own is already cool, with his solid ice wings, and his almost dinosaur-inspired look, Kyurem’s real coolness comes from the ability to splice his DNA with two other legendaries in the game. Depending on which version you’re playing, Kyurem can fuse with either Reshiram or Zekrom, becoming White Kyurem or Black Kyurem respectively. The designs of both White and Black Kyurem build upon his original form, giving him a more wispy look as White Kyurem, and a more hardened bestial form as Black Kyurem. Since he’s the one of only Pokémon capable of fusing with others, this ice type is a whole new type of cool.
7: Lugia
Being one of the old guard when it comes to Legendaries, you can’t talk about cool Pokémon without bringing up Lugia. While simple, Lugia’s design mixes together a bird-like beak, winged hands, and a long neck similar to the Loch Ness monster. In the lore of Pokémon, Lugia leads the three legendary birds, being the only force capable of quelling their fighting. Lugia’s legacy as a cool Pokémon was expanded into multiple other appearances as well; Lugia took a center role in Pokémon 2000 and is one of the few Legenaries to have offspring, with a baby Lugia appearing in the anime. Furthermore, Lugia also took a major role in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness with its “Dark Lugia” variant. Lugia’s legacy as a Legendary Pokémon, its popularity as a character, combined with its simple, yet memorable design, make it one of the coolest Legendaries out there.
6: Rayquaza
Introduced in Generation 3, Rayquaza was the legendary that mediated the battle between Kyogre and Groudon in Ruby and Sapphire. Though not important to the plot in the original games, Pokémon Emerald brought Rayquaza to the front of the plot. Rayquaza’s design, despite being a dragon, also takes notes from the design of real-life missiles with the fins on its body. If that’s not cool enough, Rayquaza also took center stage during Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire‘s Delta Episode, where players have to catch Rayquaza to use them to further the plot. Its design is expanded with its Mega Evolution, making the Pokémon look even more menacing. Rayquaza also intimidated players outside of the Pokémon series, being the only Pokémon players fought as a boss in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
5: Necrozma
Necrozma was part of the mainline plot of Sun and Moon, but this crystalline Pokémon got more time in the limelight thanks to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. While its dark crystal body and large hands make it already an intimidating design, where Necrozma really shines is within its ability to fuse with both Solgaleo and Lunala. When commanding Solgaleo’s body they become Dark Mane Necrozma, and while fusing with Lunala, they Become Dawn Wings Necrozma. Now, where Necrozma outdoes Kyurem with its fusing abilities is when Necrozma uses Ultra Burst while holding the Ultranecrozium Z stone. Then, it’ll become a new form called Ultra Necrozma, giving it one extra form over Kyurem. The fact that a single Pokémon can not only fuse with other Pokémon, but become a hyperform in the process, speaks volumes about how cool it is.
4: Ho-Oh
Sitting next to Lugia as a Generation 2 Legendary, Ho-Oh is a Fire/Flying bird Pokémon. While its design is that of a colored bird, Ho-Oh’s significance extends past its appearance in Gold and Silver, and into the mainline Pokémon anime. Ho-Oh can be seen once during the first episode of the Pokémon anime, and multiple times throughout Ash’s journey to become a Pokémon master. In the last episode of Ash’s journey, Ho-Oh makes an appearance, tying a nice bow on not only Ash’s journey, and the viewers, who have been following Ash since the beginning. That alone makes it one of the coolest legendary Pokémon.
3: Palkia
Being in control of space itself isn’t the only thing that makes Palkia a cool Pokémon. Its bipedal design, somewhat reminiscent of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and bright colors blend together to make an intimidating and formidable creature that’s both ancient and futuristic. Its status as one of the Pokémon of Myth in Diamond and Pearl makes it stand out as one of the more unique legendaries of the series, and one of the coolest.
2: Eternatus
One of the more recent legendaries, Eternatus is a Pokémon that’s the cause of Sword and Sheild‘s Gigantamax mechanic. Being the embodiment of this power, the Pokémon is already massive when players encounter it. Its spindly draconic body towering over the player. While this already makes it one of the coolest legendaries out there, it is the sole reason a mechanic such as Gigantamaxing exists in the title. As for the plot of Sword and Shield, having Eternatus force Pokemon to Gigantamax and rampage throughout the Galar region makes it even more intimidating. Its second form, Eternamax Eternatus, transforms it into a writhing pile of tentacles, making it one of the coolest legendaries.
Honorable Mentions
Being that this is a list of the coolest “Legendary” Pokémon, the amount of Pokémon that can qualify as Legendary has been split into subcategories. Some Pokémon are considered “Sub-Legendary,” while others are considered “Mythical Pokémon” As much as we want to put them on the list, they’re not technically legendary Pokémon. However, we’ll give them a shoutout here in this section.
Some honorable mentions include:
- Deoxys, the alien Pokémon with multiple forms, as well as taking over Pokémon as a mascot for a short period.
- Regice, Registeel, and Regirock for being not only one of the more simply designed Pokémon, but also proving that simplicity can be rad.
- Chien-Pao, for its design. It’s a snow leopard made out of snow, with a broken sword for fangs.
- And of course Mew, for being the original Mythical Pokémon.
1: Mewtwo
The coolest legendary Pokémon has to go to Mewtwo. Not only is Mewtwo one of the original legendaries, but his significance, backstory, and design cement him as the coolest legendary Pokémon of all. For starters, Mewtwo’s design is a humanoid version of the Pokémon Mew, which ties into his backstory. Humanity attempted to replicate Mew using science, and the creature that came out was none other than Mewtwo. The Pokémon took center stage in Pokémon: The First Movie, in which it attempts to understand the nature of its existence and the destiny it serves. All of this culminated in a long-lasting legacy, putting Mewtwo into multiple spinoff games and a slot in Super Smash Bros.
If that doesn’t say “The Coolest Legendary,” then we don’t know what does.
