There always seemed to be some kind of vaguely implied set of conceptual relations underneath the true legendary pokémon.
(The ones that are just powerful/special/event I call Mythic Pokemon)
So I tried figuring it out over the years as new generations introduced new legendaries.
With gen IV the interesting "Tree of Legend" emerged from it, and in this post I will recreate it, generation by generation.
---Generation I---
The concept of 3 equally strong legendaries with the same basis, but each embodying a different element.
It all started with these three, known as the legendary birds.
Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres
---Generation II---
It continued the trend Gen I set up, adding the next legendary trio,
with slight type modification (Water instead of Ice) to keep things fresh.
The legendary beasts.
Raikou, Entei, Suicune
Then we have the first 2 mascots, the first truly legendary Pokemon.
Just like the trios, this kind of duo is equal in many ways, while being polar opposites like dusk and dawn, cold and hot, black and white...
The tower Duo.
Lugia and Ho-oh
Ho-oh introduced another key concept, usually referred to as "trio master", or the more generalized term "guardian".
That is a Pokemon which is in some way related to its group, be it back-story or design, usually superior in several ways.
So it is said that Ho-oh revived three Pokemon that perished in the Brass Tower incident, and turned them into the beasts embodying the events of lightning, fire and rain, which destroyed the Tower.
As there are 2 towers, with 2 of these Flying guardians, it would make perfect sense for Lugia to be related to another trio to keep the symmetry.
Since Kanto and Johto are the only closely related regions so far (even sharing the same pokemon league), we can tie the legendary birds to Lugia based on that, although there is no actual relation presented in the games.
---Generation III---
Continuing the tradition, another elemental trio was added.
This time, the types seemed to be more radical, however it was just the next logical step (2 new types instead of 1).
The legendary golems.
Regirock, Regice, Registeel
As the tower duo, this generation too had its contrasting duo of mascots.
The Weather Duo.
Kyogre and Groudon
These two are less sentient guardians, and more like disastrous monsters, also being slightly weaker than the tower duo.
However, they have their own guardian that stops them from causing harm.
Rayquaza
--Connection between Kanto/Johto and Hoenn--
(While the golems still lack their guardian,)
We see that Rayquaza has a similar role to Lugia and Ho-oh, being a guardian-figure. They also look just as diverse as Lugia and Ho-oh do next to each other. When you add the fact that they are all Flying, equally powerful and rest on Towers constructed for them, it becomes impossible to ignore a connection here.
Hence the triangle of the Flying guardians in this picture, connecting the legends of Kanto and Johto, with the legends of Hoenn.
---Generation IV---
This was supposedly the "ultimate" generation, and it shows.
The main legendaries introduced here, actually have creation stories behind them.
The first interesting part is the lack of a new elemental trio (birds, beasts, golems).
Instead we have a trio of Psychic pixies.
The lake guardians.
Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf
They are closely related to this generations mascots, even down to the same main colours.
Dimension trio.
Dialga, Palkia, Giratina
Although their powers equal the Flying guardians from the Gen III connection, they have a guardian-figure themselves.
Arceus
--Hoenn connection--
This generation also added a curious fourth superior golem which is undoubtably related to the legendary golems.
Much like Lugia, the birds guardian, it was introduced a generation later.
Regigigas
Oddly, its strength equals Groudon/Kyogre instead of Lguia/Ho-oh and it is locked away rather than having a sentient guardian role, waiting to be awakened... not to mention it has weird patterns over its body just like them and only in 1 colour (Rayquaza has 3: red, black and yellow. Making it even more clearly superior.)
---The Tree of Legend---
Ironically besides the almost identical look, the lake guardians are surprisingly different.
Mesprit flies away at first sight, roaming the region, while Uxie seems like it is in hybernation.
After noticing this, it dawned on me,
The lake guardians are pixifications (lol) of the I, II, III trios.
-Azelf represents Will. The birds are the only trio that reside at places they chose.
-Uxie represents Knowledge and has closed eyes. The golems are sealed behind puzzles. Both are defensively oriented.
-Mesprit represents Emotion and flees. The Beasts are the only trio that roams the region after meeting them. Mesprit has balanced stats, the beasts are the only trio that balance out each others stats.
This connection completes the Tree of Legend so far.
Here it is:
Note how it resembles the tree of Life from the Kabbalah!
---Generation V---
A new beginning.
Not just did they chose a completely remote and unrelated region for this generation, but even the legends don't seem to fit anywhere in the old picture.
First the elemental trio has returned.
And it has just a minor type modification to the previous (golems). Now, Rock and Steel were used a second time, but Ice replaced by something fresh: Grass.
The legendary musketeers.
Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion
Similar to Regigigas, they have a fourth member.
The Apprentice.
Keldeo
(Perhaps the next 2 trios will also have apprentices instead of guardians?)
Then there is the most contrasting mascots ever. They are black and white, Yin and Yang, Truth and Ideals.
The legendary dragons of Unova
Reshiram and Zekrom
But they also represent energy, two kinds of positive.
Hence there also exists a negative, an empty shell, the Wuji.
Kyurem
I assume this is the beginning of a second Tree of Legend.
We shall see.
--Interesting stuff about the traditional trios--
Since Gen III I noticed that there might be a system behind the trio types.
Most people thought that they just went random with the golems. But I saw the same anomaly as gen II:
Ice-Electric-Fire
Electric-Fire-Water
They replaced Ice with Water...or said differently, they repeated Electric and Fire.
Using the same types all the time would become amazingly boring, so they wouldn't use the same types forever.
So obviously gen III they did not use Fire and Electric for a third time... But, the other one that was left from the start: Ice.
Rock-Ice-Steel
So I kept wondering if they'd continue reusing these types as more trios are added, repeating each once.
Of course gen IV was a disappointment in this, due to giving us the pixifications instead of a proper trio.
But enter Gen V, OH LOOK the musketeers.
Steel-Rock-Grass
(one could argue whether Keldeo counts as the repetition of Water, since its a fourth member instead of a stronger guardian, but just being an event makes me doubt that.)
Which means... next up, Water and 2 unused ones? What are the options?
-Obviously not the secondary types: Flying, Fighting
-Obviously not Normal
-The pixies were enough of Psychic overuse.
-Bug, Dragon, don't feel elemental at all. The gaseous and shadowy aspect of Ghost might.
-Poison
-Dark
-and the most obvious choice of all: Ground
So then, my best guess would be Water, Ground, Something.
I could definitely see the next "lake guardians" being 3 Bugs, or 3 Ghosts... (Gen VIII anyone?)
Maybe the lake guardians are a vent for types they won't use in the diverse trios? That could mean that they intend to reuse each type 3 times, not just twice... but then its much more unpredictable anyway ;D
--Musketeers = western legendary Beasts?--
Its also interesting how the beasts and the musketeers are so alike an different at the same time.
They don't share any type, but both groups are quadrupedal, and their heights are the same:
Entei/Cobalion: 2.1m
Suicune/Virizon: 2.0m
Raikou/Terrakion: 1.9m
Also I'm pretty sure its not just me, they also have similar kinds of personalities, with how Entei/Cobalion look like the proud leaders, Raikou/Terrakion look aggressive, and Suicune/Virizion have a more feminine design, this simply cannot be coincidence.
And it raises an interesting question:
Lets say the next region happens to be right next to Unova (ala Kanto-Johto)... would that mean it will house 3 new legendary birds? Or perhaps just something similar to birds.
-Does this fascinate anyone beside me? xDDD
-Are you also curious what kind of legendaries we will see next?
-Do you think Gen VI and VII will build on V to create a second Tree of Legend?
--And will the next few trios also have "Apprentices" like Keldeo instead of guardians?
-Or is this unintended and several of these connections (pixification of trios, flying guardians..) merely coincidental?
(The ones that are just powerful/special/event I call Mythic Pokemon)
So I tried figuring it out over the years as new generations introduced new legendaries.
With gen IV the interesting "Tree of Legend" emerged from it, and in this post I will recreate it, generation by generation.
---Generation I---
The concept of 3 equally strong legendaries with the same basis, but each embodying a different element.
It all started with these three, known as the legendary birds.
Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres
---Generation II---
It continued the trend Gen I set up, adding the next legendary trio,
with slight type modification (Water instead of Ice) to keep things fresh.
The legendary beasts.
Raikou, Entei, Suicune
Then we have the first 2 mascots, the first truly legendary Pokemon.
Just like the trios, this kind of duo is equal in many ways, while being polar opposites like dusk and dawn, cold and hot, black and white...
The tower Duo.
Lugia and Ho-oh
Ho-oh introduced another key concept, usually referred to as "trio master", or the more generalized term "guardian".
That is a Pokemon which is in some way related to its group, be it back-story or design, usually superior in several ways.
So it is said that Ho-oh revived three Pokemon that perished in the Brass Tower incident, and turned them into the beasts embodying the events of lightning, fire and rain, which destroyed the Tower.
As there are 2 towers, with 2 of these Flying guardians, it would make perfect sense for Lugia to be related to another trio to keep the symmetry.
Since Kanto and Johto are the only closely related regions so far (even sharing the same pokemon league), we can tie the legendary birds to Lugia based on that, although there is no actual relation presented in the games.
---Generation III---
Continuing the tradition, another elemental trio was added.
This time, the types seemed to be more radical, however it was just the next logical step (2 new types instead of 1).
The legendary golems.
Regirock, Regice, Registeel
As the tower duo, this generation too had its contrasting duo of mascots.
The Weather Duo.
Kyogre and Groudon
These two are less sentient guardians, and more like disastrous monsters, also being slightly weaker than the tower duo.
However, they have their own guardian that stops them from causing harm.
Rayquaza
--Connection between Kanto/Johto and Hoenn--
(While the golems still lack their guardian,)
We see that Rayquaza has a similar role to Lugia and Ho-oh, being a guardian-figure. They also look just as diverse as Lugia and Ho-oh do next to each other. When you add the fact that they are all Flying, equally powerful and rest on Towers constructed for them, it becomes impossible to ignore a connection here.
Hence the triangle of the Flying guardians in this picture, connecting the legends of Kanto and Johto, with the legends of Hoenn.
---Generation IV---
This was supposedly the "ultimate" generation, and it shows.
The main legendaries introduced here, actually have creation stories behind them.
The first interesting part is the lack of a new elemental trio (birds, beasts, golems).
Instead we have a trio of Psychic pixies.
The lake guardians.
Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf
They are closely related to this generations mascots, even down to the same main colours.
Dimension trio.
Dialga, Palkia, Giratina
Although their powers equal the Flying guardians from the Gen III connection, they have a guardian-figure themselves.
Arceus
--Hoenn connection--
This generation also added a curious fourth superior golem which is undoubtably related to the legendary golems.
Much like Lugia, the birds guardian, it was introduced a generation later.
Regigigas
Oddly, its strength equals Groudon/Kyogre instead of Lguia/Ho-oh and it is locked away rather than having a sentient guardian role, waiting to be awakened... not to mention it has weird patterns over its body just like them and only in 1 colour (Rayquaza has 3: red, black and yellow. Making it even more clearly superior.)
---The Tree of Legend---
Ironically besides the almost identical look, the lake guardians are surprisingly different.
Mesprit flies away at first sight, roaming the region, while Uxie seems like it is in hybernation.
After noticing this, it dawned on me,
The lake guardians are pixifications (lol) of the I, II, III trios.
-Azelf represents Will. The birds are the only trio that reside at places they chose.
-Uxie represents Knowledge and has closed eyes. The golems are sealed behind puzzles. Both are defensively oriented.
-Mesprit represents Emotion and flees. The Beasts are the only trio that roams the region after meeting them. Mesprit has balanced stats, the beasts are the only trio that balance out each others stats.
This connection completes the Tree of Legend so far.
Here it is:
Note how it resembles the tree of Life from the Kabbalah!
---Generation V---
A new beginning.
Not just did they chose a completely remote and unrelated region for this generation, but even the legends don't seem to fit anywhere in the old picture.
First the elemental trio has returned.
And it has just a minor type modification to the previous (golems). Now, Rock and Steel were used a second time, but Ice replaced by something fresh: Grass.
The legendary musketeers.
Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion
Similar to Regigigas, they have a fourth member.
The Apprentice.
Keldeo
(Perhaps the next 2 trios will also have apprentices instead of guardians?)
Then there is the most contrasting mascots ever. They are black and white, Yin and Yang, Truth and Ideals.
The legendary dragons of Unova
Reshiram and Zekrom
But they also represent energy, two kinds of positive.
Hence there also exists a negative, an empty shell, the Wuji.
Kyurem
I assume this is the beginning of a second Tree of Legend.
We shall see.
--Interesting stuff about the traditional trios--
Since Gen III I noticed that there might be a system behind the trio types.
Most people thought that they just went random with the golems. But I saw the same anomaly as gen II:
Ice-Electric-Fire
Electric-Fire-Water
They replaced Ice with Water...or said differently, they repeated Electric and Fire.
Using the same types all the time would become amazingly boring, so they wouldn't use the same types forever.
So obviously gen III they did not use Fire and Electric for a third time... But, the other one that was left from the start: Ice.
Rock-Ice-Steel
So I kept wondering if they'd continue reusing these types as more trios are added, repeating each once.
Of course gen IV was a disappointment in this, due to giving us the pixifications instead of a proper trio.
But enter Gen V, OH LOOK the musketeers.
Steel-Rock-Grass
(one could argue whether Keldeo counts as the repetition of Water, since its a fourth member instead of a stronger guardian, but just being an event makes me doubt that.)
Which means... next up, Water and 2 unused ones? What are the options?
-Obviously not the secondary types: Flying, Fighting
-Obviously not Normal
-The pixies were enough of Psychic overuse.
-Bug, Dragon, don't feel elemental at all. The gaseous and shadowy aspect of Ghost might.
-Poison
-Dark
-and the most obvious choice of all: Ground
So then, my best guess would be Water, Ground, Something.
I could definitely see the next "lake guardians" being 3 Bugs, or 3 Ghosts... (Gen VIII anyone?)
Maybe the lake guardians are a vent for types they won't use in the diverse trios? That could mean that they intend to reuse each type 3 times, not just twice... but then its much more unpredictable anyway ;D
--Musketeers = western legendary Beasts?--
Its also interesting how the beasts and the musketeers are so alike an different at the same time.
They don't share any type, but both groups are quadrupedal, and their heights are the same:
Entei/Cobalion: 2.1m
Suicune/Virizon: 2.0m
Raikou/Terrakion: 1.9m
Also I'm pretty sure its not just me, they also have similar kinds of personalities, with how Entei/Cobalion look like the proud leaders, Raikou/Terrakion look aggressive, and Suicune/Virizion have a more feminine design, this simply cannot be coincidence.
And it raises an interesting question:
Lets say the next region happens to be right next to Unova (ala Kanto-Johto)... would that mean it will house 3 new legendary birds? Or perhaps just something similar to birds.
-Does this fascinate anyone beside me? xDDD
-Are you also curious what kind of legendaries we will see next?
-Do you think Gen VI and VII will build on V to create a second Tree of Legend?
--And will the next few trios also have "Apprentices" like Keldeo instead of guardians?
-Or is this unintended and several of these connections (pixification of trios, flying guardians..) merely coincidental?
