Do We Even Need Legendary Pokemon Anymore?
Who's your favourite Legendary Pokemon? No wait, don't tell me. It's either a) the box Legendary from the first game you played, b) from Gen 1 or 2, or c) both. Legendary Pokemon have been a core part of Pokemon's formula, and a driving force in the endgame, since the very first instalment. But do we even need them anymore? Scarlet & Violet seems to think we don't, and it's probably on to something.
Legendary Pokemon have, for a long time, been very dull. They're just vaguely some weird energy/cosmic thing, and they are caught between a Geodude and a hard place. They constantly seem to feel pressure to raise the stakes, and with a literal god already on the roster, there's no real room to grow. Meanwhile, opting for a smaller scale Legendary with a less eccentric design runs into trouble competing with the likes of Zapdos, Suicune, and Lugia. Not to mention at that point, do you even need to be a Legendary, if you're trying to just be a regular Pokemon?
Related: Pokemon Should Stop Baiting A New Eeveelution If There Isn't One
We saw both of these problems with Sword & Shield. The box dogs were instantly (and unfavourably) compared to the Johto dogs, and while having a ruffle like a shield made thematic sense, it looked a little silly. The sword in the mouth looked cooler, but didn't really make any sense from a logistics point of view. Then there was the Eternatus, the bigger Legendary, which was just a weird red skeleton and quickly earned the nickname 'Space Chicken' from disgruntled fans. This is not a problem exclusive to Sword & Shield, but it feels as though it might be getting worse. While there are still some good ones now and then, Legendaries have been on a downward trend. Alola brought us Ultra Beasts in a
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