The evolution of the legendary trios

[François2]

So I was inspired to start this by the birds v beasts thread that was started in this forum recently, and I guess what I am asking here is what people think of how the legendary trios of each region have been changing over time!

When Pokémon started off, the trio was Kanto's legendary birds. Despite being birds, their designs were all quite different. The same could be said for Johto's beasts. I think Hoenn saw the first leanings towards a somewhat monotonous trio, with Sinnoh going above and beyond - the lake trio were essentially the same pokémon, just with different heads and abilities in battle. Unova went further still, with the legendary "leprosy genies" being differentiated only by colour and tail. Thankfully the Therian formes of said leprosy genies changed that, but why weren't they the original formes?

So the basic question is - do you think that recent generations have had less creative / unique legendary trios, or do you disagree entirely? And do you like the new trios as much as the old?

(in retrospect this may have been better in the general forum, oopsie daisy)

 

[Squirrel]

I found the birds and the beasts to both be very creative trios and I absolutely loved the diversity amongst them, despite their similar concepts, but Hoenn is where it started to change. Don't get me wrong, I love the golems, but I didn't find them to be very creative at all. They're amongst my all-time favourite legendaries (which isn't saying much, but still!) but I don't think they were the most unique Pokémon. However they were branded as a trio of guardians created in the same way, so I was fine with that.

Then we get to the lake trio which were... honestly, awful. I found them to be incredibly dull with no charm at all bar a tiny bit of cuteness, and their designs weren't in the slightest bit creative. At least with the legendary golems they had a unique feel as, although basic, their concepts weren't something I'd have expected to be turned into Pokémon. The lake trio however are your run of the mill fairies with no interesting features and monotonous stats/moves to boot.

Then the kami trio. In my opinion, the worst legendary Pokémon created to date. They're uninspired, foul, and very dull Pokémon with no attractive features to reel you in. They're strong, yes, but that's where the appeal ends for me. I usually have a hard time telling Thundurus and Tornadus apart and Landorus isn't much better than the other two uninspired designs, so I think the diversity and creativity between them is severely lacking. They just seem to me like the same Pokémon with a different costume each time and they're Pokémon I'd much prefer to be without. Are they creative? No. Are they unique? Yes, but for the wrong reasons. Are they diverse? Not even slightly.

So overall it's not a point I'd ever considered before, but I'd say yes, the legendary trios are getting less creative with each generation and I'm dreading Generation VI's. My favourites are the golems and then going in order from Kanto to Unova, so if this trend is anything to follow we'll be seeing something horrid in the next generation. Ideally they'll just scrap the trio idea and try something a bit more creative, but we'll see.

 

[François2]

Ideally they'll just scrap the trio idea and try something a bit more creative, but we'll see.

Or we'll get not only another trio but another foursome, each more horrid than the preceding (and the Musketeers were truly awful). But that's kind of getting into a "DON'T YOU HATE RECENT LEGENDS IN GENERAL" thread, which isn't the purpose here.

I'm not gonna lose all my faith in the concept of trios, though. I think we might see a surprisingly good lot this gen. I have absolutely no logical basis for that, but whatever.

 

[amerininja]

Did you guys no that origionally the first two trios were set to be in the same generation. Look here at the origional Dex by Index #

Spoiler:

Index no. Pokémon Types
HEX DEC MS Name
01 001 Rhydon Ground Rock
02 002 Kangaskhan Normal
03 003 Nidoran♂ Poison
04 004 Clefairy Normal
05 005 Spearow Normal Flying
06 006 Voltorb Electric
07 007 Nidoking Poison Ground
08 008 Slowbro Water Psychic
09 009 Ivysaur Grass Poison
0A 010 Exeggutor Grass Psychic
0B 011 Lickitung Normal
0C 012 Exeggcute Grass Psychic
0D 013 Grimer Poison
0E 014 Gengar Ghost Poison
0F 015 Nidoran♀ Poison
10 016 Nidoqueen Poison Ground
11 017 Cubone Ground
12 018 Rhyhorn Ground Rock
13 019 Lapras Water Ice
14 020 Arcanine Fire
15 021 Mew Psychic
16 022 Gyarados Water Flying
17 023 Shellder Water
18 024 Tentacool Water Poison
19 025 Gastly Ghost Poison
1A 026 Scyther Bug Flying
1B 027 Staryu Water
1C 028 Blastoise Water
1D 029 Pinsir Bug
1E 030 Tangela Grass
1F 031 Missingno. (Scizor) Bird Normal
20 032 Missingno. (Shuckle) Bird Normal
21 033 Growlithe Fire
22 034 Onix Rock Ground
23 035 Fearow Normal Flying
24 036 Pidgey Normal Flying
25 037 Slowpoke Water Psychic
26 038 Kadabra Psychic
27 039 Graveler Rock Ground
28 040 Chansey Normal
29 041 Machoke Fighting
2A 042 Mr. Mime Psychic
2B 043 Hitmonlee Fighting
2C 044 Hitmonchan Fighting
2D 045 Arbok Poison
2E 046 Parasect Bug Grass
2F 047 Psyduck Water
30 048 Drowzee Psychic
31 049 Golem Rock Ground
32 050 Missingno. (Heracross) Bird Normal
33 051 Magmar Fire
34 052 Missingno. (Ho-Oh) Bird Normal
35 053 Electabuzz Electric
36 054 Magneton Electric
37 055 Koffing Poison
38 056 Missingno. (Sneasel) Bird Normal
39 057 Mankey Fighting
3A 058 Seel Water
3B 059 Diglett Ground
3C 060 Tauros Normal
3D 061 Missingno. (Teddiursa) Bird Normal
3E 062 Missingno. (Ursaring) Bird Normal
3F 063 Missingno. (Slugma) Bird Normal
40 064 Farfetch'd Normal Flying
41 065 Venonat Bug Poison
42 066 Dragonite Dragon Flying
43 067 Missingno. (Magcargo) Bird Normal
44 068 Missingno. (Swinub) Bird Normal
45 069 Missingno. (Piloswine) Bird Normal
46 070 Doduo Normal Flying
47 071 Poliwag Water
48 072 Jynx Ice Psychic
49 073 Moltres Fire Flying
4A 074 Articuno Ice Flying
4B 075 Zapdos Electric Flying
4C 076 Ditto Normal
4D 077 Meowth Normal
4E 078 Krabby Water
4F 079 Missingno. (Corsola) Bird Normal
50 080 Missingno. (Remoraid) Bird Normal
51 081 Missingno. (Octillery) Bird Normal
52 082 Vulpix Fire
53 083 Ninetales Fire
54 084 Pikachu Electric
55 085 Raichu Electric
56 086 Missingno. (Delibird) Bird Normal
57 087 Missingno. (Mantine) Bird Normal
58 088 Dratini Dragon
59 089 Dragonair Dragon
5A 090 Kabuto Rock Water
5B 091 Kabutops Rock Water
5C 092 Horsea Water
5D 093 Seadra Water
5E 094 Missingno. (Skarmory) Bird Normal
5F 095 Missingno. (Houndour) Bird Normal
60 096 Sandshrew Ground
61 097 Sandslash Ground
62 098 Omanyte Rock Water
63 099 Omastar Rock Water
64 100 Jigglypuff Normal
65 101 Wigglytuff Normal
66 102 Eevee Normal
67 103 Flareon Fire
68 104 Jolteon Electric
69 105 Vaporeon Water
6A 106 Machop Fighting
6B 107 Zubat Poison Flying
6C 108 Ekans Poison
6D 109 Paras Bug Grass
6E 110 Poliwhirl Water
6F 111 Poliwrath Water Fighting
70 112 Weedle Bug Poison
71 113 Kakuna Bug Poison
72 114 Beedrill Bug Poison
73 115 Missingno. (Houndoom) Bird Normal
74 116 Dodrio Normal Flying
75 117 Primeape Fighting
76 118 Dugtrio Ground
77 119 Venomoth Bug Poison
78 120 Dewgong Water Ice
79 121 Missingno. (Kingdra) Bird Normal
7A 122 Missingno. (Phanpy) Bird Normal
7B 123 Caterpie Bug
7C 124 Metapod Bug
7D 125 Butterfree Bug Flying
7E 126 Machamp Fighting
7F 127 Missingno. (Donphan) Bird Normal
80 128 Golduck Water
81 129 Hypno Psychic
82 130 Golbat Poison Flying
83 131 Mewtwo Psychic
84 132 Snorlax Normal
85 133 Magikarp Water
86 134 Missingno. (Porygon2) Bird Normal
87 135 Missingno. (Stantler) Bird Normal
88 136 Muk Poison
89 137 Missingno. (Smeargle) Bird Normal
8A 138 Kingler Water
8B 139 Cloyster Water Ice
8C 140 Missingno. (Tyrogue) Bird Normal
8D 141 Electrode Electric
8E 142 Clefable Normal
8F 143 Weezing Poison
90 144 Persian Normal
91 145 Marowak Ground
92 146 Missingno. (Hitmontop) Bird Normal
93 147 Haunter Ghost Poison
94 148 Abra Psychic
95 149 Alakazam Psychic
96 150 Pidgeotto Normal Flying
97 151 Pidgeot Normal Flying
98 152 Starmie Water Psychic
99 153 Bulbasaur Grass Poison
9A 154 Venusaur Grass Poison
9B 155 Tentacruel Water Poison
9C 156 Missingno. (Smoochum) Bird Normal
9D 157 Goldeen Water
9E 158 Seaking Water
9F 159 Missingno. (Elekid) Bird Normal
A0 160 Missingno. (Magby) Bird Normal
A1 161 Missingno. (Miltank) Bird Normal
A2 162 Missingno. (Blissey) Bird Normal
A3 163 Ponyta Fire
A4 164 Rapidash Fire
A5 165 Rattata Normal
A6 166 Raticate Normal
A7 167 Nidorino Poison
A8 168 Nidorina Poison
A9 169 Geodude Rock Ground
AA 170 Porygon Normal
AB 171 Aerodactyl Rock Flying
AC 172 Missingno. (Raikou) Bird Normal
AD 173 Magnemite Electric
AE 174 Missingno. (Entei) Bird Normal
AF 175 Missingno. (Suicune) Bird Normal
B0 176 Charmander Fire
B1 177 Squirtle Water
B2 178 Charmeleon Fire
B3 179 Wartortle Water
B4 180 Charizard Fire Flying
B5 181 Missingno. (Larvitar) Bird Normal
B6 182 Missingno. Kabutops Fossil (Pupitar) Bird Normal
B7 183 Missingno. Aerodactyl Fossil (Tyranitar) Bird Normal
B8 184 Missingno. Ghost (Lugia) Bird Normal
B9 185 Oddish Grass Poison
BA 186 Gloom Grass Poison
BB 187 Vileplume Grass Poison
BC 188 Bellsprout Grass Poison
BD 189 Weepinbell Grass Poison
BE 190 Victreebel Grass Poison

Yes the three beasts were put into the system before Charmander!

 

[Therizinosaurus]

I always thought the beasts and birds were great. the golems never really did anything for me, but for what they were I thought they were fine. it was good to have the three separate types that backed each other up, and how they were sort of statues come to life. but gen IV has way too many legendaries, and the pixie trio are completely the same. to this day theyre the only pokemon whose names I don't know (aka I don't know which is which). plus theyre the same type. then gen V gave the kami trio, which was one reason I didn't pick up black until the sequels were almost out. I hated them. their other forms are cool tho.

I hope gen VI is better. they need to scale back the legendaries, which they may be doing with mewtwos new form. if you take their other forms into account (as well as that OTHER trio, which are pretty cool), the gen V trio is pretty good, and an improvement I think

 

[Shizzable]

The first shot at a legendary trio was cool, even though they didn't seem very... Legendary. They got it right with gen 2, having giant, menacing beasts. The best one in my opinion came from generation 3 with all of them having unique, but at the same time loosely connected designs. They got it wrong with the past two gens, though, with one boring deign basically recycled on to two other Pokemon...

 

[CliCliW]

I love the legendary beasts, probably because they got more personality than the Birds I guess, but from there it went downhill. The Golems are okay I guess but the Sinnoh trio were pretty crappy. They all look the exact same.

I don't know much about Unova's cause I've barely seen them in game (I don't have much time logged on it) so I'm reserving judgement on them.

From what we've seen from Gen 6 though I don't actually think we'll get a very conventional trio but we'll wait and see :)

 

[Green Stache]

The older trio legends were cooler in my opinion and actually unique from each other yet still alike. They were also great to use in battle (Mainly the birds and the tiger-like beasts), but the Sinnoh although are pretty much useless and the same, they do have a cool storyline and point to them, and not just random legendaries you end up finding (Regi's kind of have a story line I guess, how you have to figure out the puzzles and the unknown codes).

 

[DamienHelvian]

Birds, Beasts, Golems....Those are all pretty basic but good.
Lake and Kami, those are different, they control things, especially the Kami trio, controlling weather.
I should think up my own trio for my games, as well as working on the three mascots.

 

[François2]

The first shot at a legendary trio was cool, even though they didn't seem very... Legendary. They got it right with gen 2, having giant, menacing beasts. The best one in my opinion came from generation 3 with all of them having unique, but at the same time loosely connected designs. They got it wrong with the past two gens, though, with one boring deign basically recycled on to two other Pokemon...

Perhaps this is more suited to a "what's your favourite trio?" topic (of which I'm sure there are many), but I always thought the birds definitely fit the bill as legendary. They may not have the strong physical presence the beasts have but I always felt a sense of mystery and aloofness (that's definitely a word) from them, due to the nature of being a flying creature, as well as a sense of hidden power (not to be confused with Hidden Power).

I don't know, perhaps I'm biased. The lake trio to me also had a sense of withheld power. They're calm and small but give off a feeling that they could do incredible things if they so desired. The Kami and golem trio never really gave me the same feeling, which is a big reason I'm not a fan of them.

 

[Ayselipera]

I think the past two trios have been pretty horrible. Yes the Golems are a bit similar but they vary enough to pass and I think their back story is interesting enough. The lake trio is just boring. I mean they do have a back story which makes sense and all, but there's just nothing appealing enough about them to make me want to catch them. I think the Kami trio is the worst though. If they were presented to us with their other forms from the start as their regular forms then I think they would of passed a little better.

 

[Aeroblast]

The idea of legendary being actually legendary faded away after Gen IV in my opinion. It's not really a lack of "creativity" per se, but right now there are just too many legendaries in the game now for any of them to have much significance (I would say, except Lugia and Ho-Oh, though that's obviously a bias in my part). Gen V was just a nail in the coffin with more of those "unnecessary" legendaries, though I guess that depends on your opinion.

 

[BraveNewWorld]

The idea of legendary being actually legendary faded away after Gen IV in my opinion. It's not really a lack of "creativity" per se, but right now there are just too many legendaries in the game now for any of them to have much significance (I would say, except Lugia and Ho-Oh, though that's obviously a bias in my part). Gen V was just a nail in the coffin with more of those "unnecessary" legendaries, though I guess that depends on your opinion.

I tend to agree that many legendaries are completely unnecessary and even detract from the experience. Good legendaries add to the lore of Pokemon. Bad legendaries are just there to be there.

Note: I'm going to list those that I feel are good and bad. I'm not saying that they're bad or good pokemon. I'm saying whether I feel they have a firm place in the lore of pokemon or not.

Good Examples
Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres
Mew, Mewtwo
Suicune, Raikou, Entei
Ho-Oh, Lugia
Celebi
Regice, Registeel, Regirock
Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza
Jirachi
Deoxys
Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Arceus
Manaphy
Victini
Zekrom, Reshiram, Kyurem
Genesect

Bad Examples
Latias, Latios
Azelf, Mesprit, Uxie
Cresselia, Darkrai
Phione
Heatran
Regigigas
Shaymin
Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus
Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion
Meloetta

 

[Amore]

Good Examples
Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres
Mew, Mewtwo
Suicune, Raikou, Entei
Ho-Oh, Lugia
Celebi
Regice, Registeel, Regirock
Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza
Jirachi
Deoxys
Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Arceus
Manaphy
Victini
Zekrom, Reshiram, Kyurem
Genesect

Bad Examples
Latias, Latios
Azelf, Mesprit, Uxie
Cresselia, Darkrai
Phione
Heatran
Regigigas
Shaymin
Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus
Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion
Meloetta

Latias, Latios - yeah, they have no backstory, they're just sort of...there. I kinda like that - they're just super-strong and can't breed, therefore legendary.
Azelf, Uxie and Mesprit - Well, they tie in nicely with the Dialga / Palkia / Giratina mythology, so I think they're alright.
Cresselia, Darkrai - unnecessary, yes. Perhaps aren't legendary in the same way say Mewtwo, Rayquaza etc. are but their story backs up. Kinda. A weaker one.
Phione - well its what happens when Manaphy breed outside of Fiore. Kinda neat, first breedable legendary and all.
Heatran - Would've rather had a wild Charizard, or a shiny Camerupt tbh. Decent pokémon but can't see where it fits into the scheme of things.
Regigigas - Never actually sure of its backstory, but I really don't see how you can say he's bad, yet the trio are good. Although his ability is awful, it means he can be so powerful you could see him towing continents, without being overpowered.
Shaymin - I really want them just to be rare, appearing towards thankful people, rather than there supposedly only being one and it being legendary. Definitely one of the weakest ones.
Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus - good excuse for a pure Flying-type. Therian formes look cool, would've rather had them in BW. I do think they're kinda sucky, just a time waster. But at least the Landorus shrine fills space. On the other hand, 2 secondary trios in one region? Why?
Coballion, Terrakion, Verizion - nice story, could've swapped one of them for Tornadus and re-done the types a bit, Tornadus fanned the flames away whilst the pokémon fled? One trio was needed in Unova, its just a shame they gave us two.
Meloetta - what? Don't really know it, seems a little pointless tbh.

You forgot Keldeo - the fourth musketeer. Actually, I kinda like they're based on the Three Musketeers (plus Dartagnan - is that how you spell it?).

 

[Black Dynamite]

i really like zapdos, articuno and moltres. they're a little underpowered compared to the other legendaries but they're nice.

the weather trio and the creation trio are tied for my favorites! unfortunately the creation trio dont look like dragons? they just look like gods. idk if i should even consider them pokemon
regi's are okay :P

the lake trio are like weaker versions of mew with less versatility. i like azelf (stat wise)

the yin/yang trio? or war trio? i got no clue what they're called. but they ALL look great and zekrom is probs one of my favorite pokemon

 

[Shrew]

Beasts > Musketeers > Birds > Pixies > Golems > Kamis
(2 > 5 > 1 > 4 > 3 > 5)

Given my order, I think they're neither getting worse nor better.

The birds originally had no relevance plotwise. GSC fixed this, giving both the birds and beasts some plot relevance. Even then, the most plot and backstory you'll find about the birds is in the anime, Pokemon 2000 the movie. The beasts tied in directly with GSC's plot.

The golems showed that Gamefreak could create a trio that didn't rely on classic fire/electric/water-ice differences, but something more unique. Given how Hoenn's mascots represent what nature embodies (land, sea, skies), having a trio that tied in with the different landmasses found in these tied in well.

I think the Lake Trio (Pixies) deserve more merit than most give. I like that they're all pure psychic--it showed that Gamefreak could create a trio that didn't rely on typical fire/ice/electric or even having to have different types at all. They all represent different parts of the human psyche: willpower, emotion, knowledge. In the past, if you were to choose a favorite of a trio, it would be solely on typing. But with these guys, you could choose based on their personality, and which part of the psyche you most closely identified with. They all had very different stat distributions: willpower being pure offense, knowledge being pure defense, and emotion being all-around--fitting, when considered how fickle and partial emotions can be, from anger to hesitant. I believe comparing them to Mew clones is superficial, considering that they have nothing to do with Mew's backstory, being cat-like, DNA/cloning related, nor even have the same BST *cough*CelebiJirachiVictini*cough*. They should have been more different in their tails and gemstones, however.

The musketeers tied in slightly with the plot of Black/White. During the wars when Zekrom and Reshiram caused strife between humans and pokemon, the musketeers vowed to protect pokemon from the war. Mountains, caves, forests... and a secret musketeer hidden in the sea. Their typings reflected the different types of environments within their reach to protect.

Kamis, ick. They were just color swaps. Even the oldschool Red/Green Nidoking/Nidoqueen sprites were not guilty of this. Therian formes? An improvement, but I'm not impressed by a bird with a mustache, a lion with a rock on its head, or a "serpent" with prominent arms and legs.

 

[ChipmunkGamingInc.]

You, my good friend, have made my point exactly.
Legendary Trios have always been my favourite part of Pokemon games. They were the one thing that shared a similar concept, and you could have all of them in the same game, not begging your friend for his Zekrom for your Reshiram. They might look different, but they still held the same concept.

So why do Landorus, Tornadus, and Thundurus have the EXACT

SAME

CHARACTER MODEL!?!

I mean, you couldn't have done SOMETHING to totally differentiate from the SAME REPETITIVE CHARACTERS???
You could've made one fat, one skinny, given one a sword, one a bridal veil. I mean they're exactly the same.
And this isn't the first time this has happened. The Pixie Trio is the same. The one thing to totally set each apart is their heads.

Don't get me wrong, now. I love these trios, despite my ranting. I use Tornadus all the time. I just can't stand it when GameFreak makes these lazy decisions.
The concept: impeccable. They are well thought out. But that's were the thought seems to end.
The design: lazy all the way. Both of these trios deserved so much more love and attention than what they were given.

This is were my rage ends for now. Please don't think I hate these two trios. I love them, and there concept. But my question is, WHY GameFreak. Just, WHY.

 

[*Riolu Master*]

Yeah I think they're being less creative now a days. You're right about the Unova trio being pretty much the exact same sprite with different colors and minor details.