Pokémon History: Legendary Trios Over the Generations

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Introduction

Throughout the generations, there have been several Pokémon introduced as legendary trios but are often overshadowed by the other legendary Pokémon released along with them with every new installment of games. While the spotlight is often cast on the huge and overwhelming legendaries such as Mewtwo, Rayquaza, and Arceus, this article is specifically for those that exist as sub-legends of sorts, the ones that are often presented in groups of three and have a unique story or pattern tied to their existence. This article will cover many of these often overlooked Pokémon introduced over the generations of Pokémon games.

Articuno's dwelling lies within the cold depths of the Seafoam Islands of Kanto (ironically situated near an island known for volcanic activity), where the icy legend is guarded by a complicated puzzle involving boulders and water currents. The player must strategically use Strength to move the boulders to the basement to create dams that manipulate the cavern's water flow. If done correctly, the obstructions would be cut off from affecting the player and Articuno could then be approached. As evidenced by looking through the binoculars in one of the lookout stations between routes, Articuno sometimes leaves the Seafoam Islands to soar the skies. Zapdos makes its nest in an environment befitting its element as well: Kanto's Power Plant. It is unclear in RBY if the building is in operation or is completely abandoned because electricity for the whole region has to come from somewhere, but the Power Plant's interior is clearly devoid of human activity and is messy, partially destroyed from the inside, and swarming with Electric-type Pokémon. If it is in fact abandoned, it is unknown which came first; either Zapdos destroyed the building from the inside, causing the facility's employees to evacuate permanently and gradually resulted in wild Pokémon making it their habitat, or the building was left alone for political or financial reasons and Zapdos and the other Pokémon made it their home as a result. Only after braving the annoying mess of electric creatures and successfully navigating the maze within could the player make contact with the bird of lightning. Moltres is quite clearly the oddball of the trio, not having a lair that correlates with its element but instead having its home within Kanto's prestigious Victory Road. Some speculate that the burned down Pokémon Mansion on Cinnabar Island was to originally be the lair of Moltres and that it was changed after the sub-plot of Mewtwo's creation was added in later. The journey of finding Moltres was replaced by a mandatory side-quest to obtain the Secret Key so that the player could gain access to the Cinnabar Island Gym. Moltres isn't particularly difficult to find in Victory Road either, and the boulder puzzles required to find it are necessary to get through the dungeon to Indigo Plateau regardless. It is stated in-game that being guided down the side of a mountain at night by the light from the flames of Moltres is what compelled Cinnabar Island Gym Leader Blaine to became a trainer and is likely what influenced him to specialize in Fire-type Pokémon. The place being referenced here may very well be the true domain of Moltres, but further information on it was never provided.

Apart from their original habitats, the three make appearances and are obtainable in several games to follow. In Generation III, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen introduced an island chain known as the Sevii Islands, and among these was Mt. Ember, a cavern with a volcanic environment that suited Moltres far better than its previous habitat in Victory Road; the fire bird could be caught here after the player arrives at One Island, and Articuno and Zapdos could be caught in the same places they are found in RBY. Pokémon XD Gale of Darkness for the Nintendo GameCube introduced an alternative way to obtain this legendary trio in that all three were Shadow Pokémon wielded by Evice's successor and leader of the Cipher organization, Greevil. After taking the birds from him using the Snag Machine and defeating him, they could be purified and sent to the ADV cartridge games with special event moves. In Pokémon Platinum, the three birds become roaming legends after the player acquires the National Pokédex and gains access to the Pal Park. Articuno and Zapdos can be found in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver as roaming legends after the player has all 16 badges, while strangely, Moltres is found in Mt. Silver just inside the Johto region. Only one of the three will roam the Kalos region in Pokémon X and Y, depending on which starter the player chooses; Articuno will appear if the player picked Chespin, Zapdos will appear if Fennekin was chosen, and Moltres will appear if the player got Froakie. All three will flee seconds after encountering them before the player has to time to act, but after meeting them a total of ten times, the one bird will be obtainable in the Sea Spirit's Den and will not flee when approached.

Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres appear in the second Pokémon movie, titled "Pokémon: The Movie 2000: The Power of One." An area called the Orange Islands is where all three birds are found, according to this film, with each bird having its own separate island; Ice Island for Articuno, Lightning Island for Zapdos, and Fire Island for Moltres. It is also revealed in this film that Lugia, the guardian of the seas, is the master of this trio and is the one that keeps the three elements in balance (this suggests that the Orange Islands is perhaps another name for Johto's Whirl Islands). Their connection with Lugia is described by Professor Oak as fire and ice combining to make water, and electrical energy serving to drive and power the movement of the world's underwater currents. It was the intention of wealthy Pokémon collector Lawrence III to capture the three legendary birds and Lugia after it arises to deal with its minions being captured. It is stated that the capture of just one of these birds would throw the water current system of the world out of balance as well as bring other changes as a result, including shifts in climate, dangerous storms, and also potentially flooding all the landmasses of the world, and this became more and more apparent as the collector managed to capture one bird after another. Ash, his friends, and even Jessie and James of Team Rocket fought Lawrence III to release the legendary Pokémon back to their natural habitats and restore peace to the world; they were successful.

According to the ancient lore of Johto, these three Pokémon perished in a fire in the Brass Tower of northwest Ecruteak City and were revived by the legendary Ho-Oh. Other relevant myths claim that each member of this trio is thought to be tied to a force of nature and might have also been born from it; some texts say that Entei was born during a volcanic eruption and that a new one is born every time a new volcano erupts, it is believed by some that Raikou came to the earth with a bolt of lightning, and it is also believed that Suicune is the reincarnation of the north wind. The legend is sometimes told in a darker fashion that directly relates each beast to a part of the disaster that occurred before their divine awakening, in that Raikou represents the lightning that struck the Brass Tower, Entei represents the fire that swallowed them as a result, and Suicune represents the rain that put the fire out. This idea is backed by the order the beasts appear in the Pokédex being in the order of these events. As stated previously, these Pokémon cannot be found by ordinary means and must be found roaming in the wild. In Pokémon Gold and Silver, all three Pokémon are obtainable in the wild after the player goes to the Burned Tower and causes them to flee. It requires a lot of luck to encounter them in the wild the first time, as their location cannot be tracked with the Pokédex until after the player has seen them at least once. Even after their location can be monitored, however, the fact that they flee immediately gives the player only one turn to act under usual conditions and makes them very difficult to catch. The bright side to this is that the beasts retain the damage they take, so if you see one of them later, it will have as much health as it did when it last fled. In Pokémon Crystal, Suicune is visible to the player in several areas throughout the game, but cannot be caught until the player gets the Clear Bell from the director of the Goldenrod Radio Tower and confronts the Water-type beast at the first floor of the Tin Tower in Ecruteak City. A mysterious trainer named Eusine is obsessed in some way with Suicune and has devoted his life to trying to capture it. He is seen throughout Pokémon Crystal chasing Suicune down and battling the player in front of it in the hopes of gaining its respect after he notices that it takes interest in the player.

In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, the member of the trio whose STAB typing is super effective against the starter the player chose will act as a roaming legend throughout the Kanto region. The Legendary Beasts also exist as Shadow Pokémon in the Orre region in Pokémon Colosseum, each one used by an Admin of Cipher, and they are encountered in an order that makes the one the player is facing have an offensive advantage against the last one they faced, which adds to the challenge factor if you managed to catch them. Dakim, a user of the Sunny Day + Solar Beam combination as well as Earthquake in tandem with Protect and Ground-immune partners, is the Cipher Admin who uses Shadow Entei, and he's especially hardcore in that he will knock out his own Entei with Earthquake so the player can't capture it. Venus is the Cipher Admin that uses Shadow Suicune, and she uses other bulky Pokémon with tons of annoying status moves, making her frustrating to face. Shadow Raikou is under the command of Cipher Admin Ein, an advocate of Rain Dance for boosting Water-type moves and making Thunder 100% accurate. After collecting these tainted Pokémon from the Cipher organization using the Snag Machine, they can be purified and sent to the ADV cartridge games. Entei and Raikou are obtainable in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver in the same manner as in GSC, but Suicune's means of encounter changes yet again in these games. After having seen Suicune in several locations in both Johto and Kanto only to have it flee, the player can finally have a chance to capture Suicune near Bill's house in Kanto at the end of Route 25. In the newly released Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire versions, the trio in its entirety is obtainable in the Trackless Forest, a place in the sky that is accessible only if the player is Soaring and has either Lugia or Ho-Oh in their party. A portal here will spawn a battle with one of these beasts depending on the time within the hour. Raikou will appear if the time is 00 to 19 minutes past the hour, Entei will appear for 20–39 minutes past the hour, and Suicune at 40–59.

Entei appears as an illusion in the third Pokémon movie, "Pokémon 3: The Movie: Spell of the Unown." In this film, a researcher from Johto reads a story of the legend of Entei to his daughter Molly and then later disappears into a portal to another dimension while researching Unown's symbolism in ancient ruins. After Molly hears about her father going missing, she plays with some lettered tiles from a box, which for some reason causes a swarm of Unown to teleport from the ruins to where she is. They played with her and appeared to have some strange attachment to her, and when she looked at Entei in the storybook and lamented about how she may never see her father again, the Unown were somehow able to pick up these emotions and decided to create for her an Entei of her own to serve as a substitute for her father, one who would fulfill her every desire. Her psychological trauma from losing both parents (her mother was already deceased) combined with her child-like imagination and her need to find happiness again made this quite a troubling reality, however. With her mind, she was able to turn the house into a crystalline palace which eventually extended throughout the entire city. Molly tells Entei that, now that she has a father (she believes Entei is her father), she just needs a mother so that her family can be complete again, and so Entei hypnotizes Ash's mother, abducts her, and brings her back to Molly. After they become attached, Ash and his friends eventually confront Entei to correct the situation, but because Molly's naivety makes her think that Ash appeared to destroy the happiness that the Unown brought her by fulfilling her wishes, and Entei fights to defend her and her palace. After much conflict and arguing, and after everyone gets on the same page, Entei, Molly, and Ash decide that they must work together to destroy the barrier keeping Unown's bond with Molly intact. After the barrier is finally broken, the illusion of Entei disappears, the Unown teleport back to the ruins, and Molly's father returns to their dimension. The fourth Pokémon movie, titled "Pokémon 4Ever: Celebi - Voice of the Forest," features Suicune and its ability to purify tainted water. While it didn't have a major role in the film, it did assist Ash and his friends with combating The Masked Marauder of Team Rocket and restoring Celebi back to its natural state. The trio as a whole makes an appearance in the thirteenth Pokémon movie, "Zoroark: Master of Illusions," where the three are fooled into thinking Zoroark is attacking the city they defend by a crafty con artist called Grings Kodai. After his actual intentions to take over the town are brought to the forefront and everyone sees through his illusions, Kodai is arrested and peace is restored. Raikou, unfortunately, does not have any sort of significant solo role in any Pokémon movie to date.

The legend surrounding this trio is mostly shrouded in mystery throughout the entirely of RSE in-game, and not a hint of their existence is even uttered by anyone in any of the areas of Hoenn that are necessary for the player to visit (this fact alone caused many players to initially beat the game without ever knowing about them). The only people in the region who seem to know anything, though very little, about the Legendary Golems are the inhabitants of Pacifidlog Town, a small community built on rafts that float on top of a Corsola colony in the oceanic valley between Slateport City and Sky Pillar. The sea route east of Slateport has strong currents that make it impossible to reach Pacifidlog by traversing east from there, but the more important thing guarded by this obstruction is a Dive spot that leads to the ancient Sealed Chamber, which holds the key to unlocking this legendary group of Pokémon. Ironically, the information found in this hidden dungeon is written in Braille, a writing system intended to be used by those who are unable to see, but vision is required to complete the translation in this case. The first room of this chamber contains inscriptions bearing the Braille alphabet and a door in the back that opens when a Pokémon uses Dig. The room behind this entrance contains Braille inscriptions that translate to "In this cave we have lived. We owe all to the Pokémon. But, we sealed the Pokémon away. We feared it. Those with courage, those with hope. Open a door. An eternal Pokémon waits." There is another inscription in the back of this second room that reads "First comes Relicanth. Last comes Wailord." In Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, reading this inscription while having Relicanth in the first party slot and Wailord in the last will trigger an earthquake that opens three individual doors where the Golems dwell. Their positions in the party must be reversed to activate this in Pokémon Emerald, however. After this has been done, Regirock will appear inside the Desert Ruins on Route 111, Regice will appear inside the Island Cave on Route 105, and Registeel will appear in the Ancient Tomb on Route 120, so long as the player follows the instructions on the Braille inscriptions in their respective domains. While it is only slightly referenced in RSE, this trio has a master called Regigigas that is their supposed creator and is not introduced until DPP. It is suggested that all of these Pokémon lived alongside people in ancient times but were so strong that they were sealed away to prevent them from ever becoming uncontrollable. The phrase "We feared it" from the Sealed Chamber inscription likely references Regigigas itself instead of the trio (a group of three wouldn't be called "it"), and since all three of the Legendary Golems must be together for Regigigas to awaken, it is probable that the three were sealed away separately for added security to make it even more difficult to bring it back to life. Unlike the relationships of legendary Pokémon from other generations, the Legendary Golems do not seem to have any connection at all with Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Latias, Latios, Jirachi, or Deoxys.

This trio is obtainable in Pokémon Platinum if the player has a fateful encounter Regigigas in their possession and has defeated Sinnoh's Elite Four, which is highly ironic, considering that it's usually the other way around, with all three Golems needing to be present to make Regigigas awaken. In this version of the game, Regirock is found within the Rock Peak Ruins on Route 228, Regice is obtainable in the Iceberg Ruins deep in Mt. Coronet, and Registeel can be discovered in the Iron Ruins in the inner depths of Iron Island. The trio can be caught in parts in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 by manipulating the Key System in the Unova Link and visiting the Underground Ruins from the Clay Tunnel. Initially, the rooms of the ruins only provide clues for how to open Regirock's chamber, but fulfilling the conditions will change the great door into the entrance of Regirock's chamber as well as all other chambers activated by Keys. The Iron Key is required to unlock Registeel and is only found in Black 2, while the Iceberg Key that is needed to unlock Regice is exclusive to White 2. Regirock, Regice, and Registeel can all be caught in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire in the same manner as in the original Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.

Regirock, Regice, and Registeel make an appearance in the eighth Pokémon movie, titled "Lucario and the Mystery of Mew". In this film, they serve as guardians of the Tree of Beginning, a giant living being of crystalline form that collects sunlight for energy, apparently located in the mountain range above Mt. Moon of Kanto and is believed to be the domain of the super-ancient Pokémon Mew. The Tree has a complicated antibody system consisting of Fossil Pokémon that attack intruders it perceives as threats. Initially assuming that Ash and his friends are harmful, the Legendary Golems fulfill their roles as guardians and attempt to smite them in order to protect the Tree. After it becomes apparent that Ash and Lucario have intentions of restoring the Tree of Beginning once its immune system goes into shock, the group no longer attacks.

The Lake Guardians are modeled after the Imperial Regalia of Japan, or 三種の神器 (Three Sacred Treasures). This legendary trinity consists of the Yasakani no Magatama or 八尺瓊曲玉 (sacred jewel), the Yata no Kagami or 八咫鏡 (sacred mirror), and the Kusanagi or 草薙劍 (sacred blade). Since as early as the 6th century in Japan, these artifacts have been traditionally presented to the emperor as a private part of the enthronement ceremony. According to Japanese lore, the three items were brought down to the earth by Ninigi-no-Mikoto, the grandson of the sun goddess called Amaterasu, and were then passed on to Emperor Jimmu, the grandson of Ninigi and first emperor of Japan. Representing the attributes of the mind (courage, wisdom, and power), it is only right that the names of the three Pokémon contain pronouns which identify those who can exert these qualities; Uxie is a blend of "you" and "pixie", Mesprit is a combination of "me" and "spirit", and Azelf is a portmanteau of "us and "elf". The origin of these Pokémon as far as how they came into being as guardians is never fully explained, but one of Azelf's Pokédex entries does state that all three of the Lake Guardians were born from an egg that came from Arceus, which matches the legend of the Imperial Regalia of Japan having descended to the earth by way of a divine entity. It is the intention of Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic, to capture Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf and use their energy to form the Red Chain needed to control Palkia/Dialga, with his ultimate desire being using the legendary Pokémon to destroy the world, which he believes to be tainted by emotions, and to create a new one without spirit. In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Team Galactic manages to corrupt and capture all three Pokémon and successfully create a Red Chain to control Palkia/Dialga, and in Pokémon Platinum, he creates the Red Chain and somehow makes a duplicate by artificial means with the intentions of controlling both Palkia and Dialga. In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the Lake Trio confronts Team Galactic's leader, Cyrus, atop the Spear Pillar, where he plans to summon Palkia/Dialga and destroys the Red Chain he made with their energy, thus preventing him from destroying the world and creating a new one. In Pokémon Platinum, both Palkia and Dialga are summoned, and the Lake Trio is not powerful enough to match strength with them both, so Giratina is forced to merge the Distortion World with the real world to prevent a chaotic imbalance in time and space. The three Lake Guardians can be approached after the player defeats Team Galactic at the Spear Pillar. They each return to their respective lakes, and Uxie and Azelf can be caught in the caverns of their lakes normally; however, when the player encounters Mesprit in its cave, it escapes and becomes a roaming legend that must be caught by encountering it in the wild.

Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf appear in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 and can be found at the Cave of Being, a cavern found on Route 20 of Unova that is said to be connected with the Sinnoh region in some way. In addition, both the inside and outside appearance of this cave bear an uncanny resemblance to the lake caverns they originate from in Sinnoh. After the player encounters the Lake Guardians here, however, they disperse and must be caught individually at other locations. Uxie is then found outside the museum in Nacrene City, Mesprit will be at Celestial Tower, and Azelf can be found on Route 23. Neither this trio, nor any member of it has been featured in any Pokémon movie.

Conclusion

Many interesting legendary trios exist in Pokémon, and many more have yet to be introduced. Whether they represent a trinity of elements, a triad of ancient significance, or a triangular bond of something more, they are sure to make their marks. Interested to know what the next installment of Pokémon History has in store? You'll have to stay tuned to find out!

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