Characters / Pokémon: Generation V - Cobalion to Genesect

Main Character Index > Pokémon: Generation V Families > Victini to Zoroark (494-571) | Minccino to Volcarona (572-637) | Cobalion to Genesect (638-649)

This page has the tropes for Pokémon numbered 638 to 649 in the National Pokédex.

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Swords of Justice: Cobalion (Cobalon), Terrakion, Virizion, and Keldeo

0638: Cobalion / Cobalon (コバルオン kobaruon)
0639: Terrakion (テラキオン terakion)
0640: Virizion (ビリジオン birijion)
0647: Keldeo (ケルディオ kerudio)

Cobalion

Terrakion

Vizirion

Ordinary Form Keldeo

^{Resolute Form Keldeo}

Resolute Form Keldeo debuts in Black 2 and White 2

A legendary quartet (a legendary trio and a Mythical Pokémon) that are based on hoofed animals and inspired by the French novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. When gathered at the Moor of Icirrus or Pledge Grove, Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion will teach Keldeo its own signature move, Secret Sword. In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, Keldeo needs to examine the rock in order to learn Secret Sword, gaining a new form, the Resolute Form.

According to legend, the trio distrust humans because of the war that endangered the Pokémon living in Unova. The reason is because of war between two human factions, which resulted in a forest fire in the Moor of Icirrus. The lives of many wild Pokémon that lived there were endangered because of it. Ensnared by the smoke, they could not escape and their demise seemed certain, until three figures appeared. Terrakion shaped the earth and created passage by which to escape, Virizion used its speed to shield the Pokémon from sparks and embers, while their leader, Cobalion, ushered Pokémon to safety. Despite their efforts, the forest eventually burned to the ground. However, amongst the ashes, the three came across a lone Pokémon known as Keldeo who was separated from its parents. The trio adopted Keldeo into their group and taught it the knowledge and moves necessary in order to survive. Over time, Keldeo began to surpass its teachers before leaving the forest, though it is unknown why it left. The trio proceeded to fight back the armies, overwhelming them with their combined might. Legends of them continue to be told today, and it has been said that if human conflict ever again threatened the safety of Pokémon, that they would return to quell the fighting and preserve a climate of peace.

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• Absurdly Sharp Blade: In Pokémon Shield, Keldeo's horn in its Resolute Form is said to have transformed into a sword capable of cutting through anything.
• The Apprentice: After losing its family in a forest fire, Keldeo was taken in by the musketeer trio and trained by them.
• Armor-Piercing Attack: A partial example in their Secret Art, Sacred Sword. Sacred Sword ignores any defense and evasion boosts that the opponent has, although it cannot penetrate Reflect.
• The Baby of the Bunch: Keldeo is the youngest member of the Swords of Justice, raised by its fellow members after losing its parents in a fire.
• Badass Adorable: Keldeo is a "cute" Mythical that also fits right in with the "badass" Musketeer trio.
• Badass Crew: A trio (or quartet) of rare Pokémon that use their horns like swords, owing to their inspiration.
• Balance, Speed, Strength Trio: The three are based on the Three Musketeers. Cobalion, the resolute leader, is based on Athos; Terrakion, the bruiser of the group, is based on Porthos; Virizion, the effeminate one, is based on Aramis. With Keldeo included, they’re now a Power Stable.
• Big Brother Instinct: Terrakion, if its Sword Pokédex entry is anything to go by.
  It will mercilessly crush anyone or anything that bullies small Pokémon.
• Colourful Theme Naming: Cobalt blue, terracotta, and viridian, respectively. Cobalion and Virizion have their namesakes as main colors, while Terrakion has it as accents. Their apprentice Keldeo wears feathers of their colors after they teach it its own exclusive Secret Art.
• Conveniently an Orphan: Keldeo's parents died in a forest fire.
• Cosmetic Award: Keldeo's Resolute Forme boils down to this — nothing changes about it stat-wise, and all it shows is that Keldeo knows Secret Sword.
• Cute Bruiser: Keldeo is small and cute, but it has the second-highest Special Attack of all Water-types.
• Cutting Off the Branches: The player can catch them in Black/White, but they appear in the sequels with no comment, implying that they canonically never did so.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Keldeo's parents and home were lost when a fire broke out in the Moor of Icirrus, and it's all but spoken that said parents had died in the fire. This may or may not have also rendered Keldeo the last of its kind.
• Death Glare: Cobalion's glare is said to make even the most unruly Pokémon obey it. Perhaps it's not so surprising that it's generally considered the quartet's master.
• Disc-One Nuke: A Wi-Fi event that ended February 12th, 2013 allowed you to obtain a level 50 Keldeo in Black 2/White 2 before you even finish Bianca's tutorials, although it will have issues obeying you since it's considered a traded mon. However, its stats are far better than anything you will have for at least half of the game, will be nearly impossible for anything early game to kill it, and one-shots any Pokémon when it does decide to attack.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Terrakion is part Rock-type.
• Elemental Powers: Each one has a different secondary type.
• Extra-ore-dinary: Cobalion is part Steel-type.
• Expy: They're inspired by the main characters of The Three Musketeers. Cobalion represents Athos, the oldest and the leader of the group. Terrakion represents Porthos, the strongest, heaviest, and largest member of the group. Virizion represents Aramis, the most feminine, vain, and romantic member of the group. Keldeo is d'Artagnan, the young apprentice and later additional member of the three legendary swordsmen.
• Feather Motif: Keldeo's Resolute Forme has three feathers in the colors of its masters on its mane.
• Gameplay and Story Integration:
  • The game story states that Keldeo surpasses his teachers after they taught him to survive. His stats actually are mixed with this statement, as while he doesn't have the best attack (Terrakion does; Keldeo's attack is actually the worst of the four), defense (Cobalion does), or special defense (Virizion does), Keldeo has the best special attack of them all.
  • When used as a following Pokémon, Keldeo will follow the trainer into and over water, referencing its ability to walk on water.
• Green Thumb: Virizion is part Grass-type.
• Happily Adopted: According to Keldeo's backstory, it was separated from its parents during a forest fire at the Moor of Icirrus, and they are heavily implied to have died. It was later found by the other Musketeers, who took it in and trained it.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Cobalion sacrifices itself in the final battle of Rumble Blast.
• Heroic Willpower: Keldeo's Sword Dex entry describes its Resolute Form as Keldeo invoking this to grow in power and form.
• Honor Before Reason: If a Pokémon hits any of them with an already less-effective Dark-type move, their Justified ability raises their attack power.
• Horn Attack: Their Natural Weapon through which Sacred Sword and Secret Sword (for Keldeo) are channeled.
• Humans Are the Real Monsters: Their thoughts on people until the main character befriends them. This aspect of their personality is conspicuously absent in Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice.
• An Ice Person: Downplayed. Unlike nearly every other Water-type, Keldeo has almost no Ice attacks, only able to use the lackluster and really widely distributed Icy Wind. Ice Beam, Blizzard, and the other Ice-type standbys that Water normally has access to aren't options.
• Inconsistent Dub: Despite their Colourful Theme Naming, in Pokédex 3D and the English dub of Pokémon: Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice, Cobalion and Virizion are pronounced as Co-BALE-ion and Vir-EYE-zion, respectively.
• Informed Ability: Supposedly, Keldeo's swifter when resolute, but its Resolute Forme has no impact on its Speed stat whatsoever. In fact, his transformation has no effect on his overall stats, instead being an indication that he's carrying his Secret Art.
• Kryptonite Is Everywhere: While Terrakion has good defense stats and HP, it has 7 weaknesses: Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, Steel, Psychic, and Fairy.
• Laser Blade: How Sacred Sword is portrayed in the anime; a third horn made of energy.
• Lightning Bruiser: All four members of the quartet, with different focuses (their Speed stat is the same). Cobalion and Virizion are somewhat more defensive (focusing on Defense and Special Defense, respectively)^note though they are somewhat frail on the other side, with Cobalion being vulnerable to special attacks and Virizion being vulnerable to physical attacks, while Terrakion and Keldeo are much more offensive. Keldeo's Resolute Forme also makes it swifter (so the Pokédex says, anyway).
• Magic Knight: Despite being the Swords of Justice and having a physical-based Secret Art, only one member of the trio (Terrakion) is a Magically Inept Fighter. Cobalion and Virizion have balanced Attack and Special Attack stats, and Keldeo is a special attacker.
• Making a Splash: Keldeo is based on the kelpie, a mythological horse from Celtic folklore said to haunt the rivers and lochs of Scotland and Ireland by walking on water and loves to lure children in, drown them, then eat them alive — barring their liver and heart.
• Master Swordsman: All four of them can be considered this due to their inspiration and Legendary status. Virizion in particular is described to be very skilled, possibly more so than Cobalion and Terrakion.
• The Musketeer: Appropriately enough, all of the main three can be used this way, though Terrakion less so due to its higher Attack stat, low Special Attack, and barely existent special movepool. In fact, Cobalion and Virizion are equally proficient with physical and special attacks. Keldeo can also function this way, just like the trio before it. In fact, thanks to it excelling in Special Attack and having access to Secret Sword — a pseudo-physical move — it's even more useful as such than the other three. (However, its physical Attack is as lackluster as Terrakion's Special Attack.)
• Natural Weapon: Presumably, since they aren't exactly lugging physical swords around. The attack description of Sacred Sword states that they use their horns to perform the attack. Like the rest of the Musketeers, Keldeo uses its horn to attack. It only has the one, however, though it gets an impressive makeover in Resolute Forme.
• No Biological Sex: Even though they're all based on male characters. Despite this, Virizion telepathically speaks with a female voice in the anime, and is referred to as female in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity despite a lack of gender mechanics. For Keldeo, however, its Japanese voice actress refers to it as a male, and it has a very masculine voice in the English dub.
• Nonstandard Character Design: Unusually for Fighting-type Pokémon, all three members are quadrupeds. In this case, the Fighting-type is tied more to honor and nobility than martial arts.
• Not Quite Flight: In Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice, Keldeo can do so by firing water out of the bottom of its hooves.
• Odd Name Out: Keldeo is the only member of the group whose name isn't based on a color and doesn't end in -ion.
• Olympus Mons: The trio are the resident "B-List Legendary trio" of Unova, though they share the spot with Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus. Keldeo is the sixth ranger to the trio, becoming a quartet.
• Our Kelpies Are Different: Keldeo is a unicorn that uses its horn as a sword and can blast water out of its hooves. In Pokémon Sword and Shield, it can be found in the Crown Tundra, which is based on Scotland.
• Permanently Missable Content: Initially the case with Keldeo — being a Mythical Pokémon, it was only available through events, making it obtainable only during a specific period of time, outside of which it was completely unavailable. No longer the case after the release of the Crown Tundra in Sword and Shield, which features a Keldeo that can be caught without the need of an event, as a Post-Final Boss for the Swords of Justice story.
• Perpetual Frowner: Terrakion is always shown frowning in its artwork and sprites/models. Averted in Pokémon: Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice, where it is seen to smile on a couple occasions.
• Perpetual Smiler: Virizion always has a grin on its face in artwork and sprites/models.
• Purposely Overpowered: Since Keldeo is a Mythical Pokémon, it has restricted usage in the Battle Subway, official tournaments, and random Wi-Fi due to being a Mythical Pokémon. Despite this, Keldeo has the exact same base stat total as the musketeer trio (which aren't restricted), to the point of having the exact same distribution as Terrakion aside from their ATK and SP.ATK being switched, so it's difficult to call it "overpowered".
• Really 700 Years Old: All three lived before humans and Pokémon lived together, and none of them look any bit old in the present. You wouldn't think it just from looking at it, but Keldeo's pretty old, considering the three Musketeers raised it long ago before they went into hiding.
• Recurring Element: One of the main Legendary trios that are Infinity -1 Swords and legal in official tournaments, though they are later joined by a fourth. Like Deoxys and Shaymin, Keldeo is a Mythical Pokémon who only had one forme in the first two games of its debut generation, but was given a brand new forme in the succeeding games. Unlike Shaymin's Sky Forme, however, the Resolute Forme is purely cosmetic.
• Required Party Member: In Sword and Shield's Crown Tundra DLC, you need to have Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion in your party while cooking curry in front of a pot in Ballimere Lake in order for Keldeo to appear while in its Resolute Forme to catch.
• Secret Art:
  • Keldeo is the only Pokémon to learn Secret Sword, a special Fighting-type move that targets the opponent's Defense, allowing it to bypass Pokémon with high Special Defense. However, prior to Pokémon Sword and Shield, it couldn't naturally learn it — it had to be taught to it^note as Keldeo originally had to be transferred into Sword & Shield, there was no Secret Sword move tutor in-game, so they made it part of Keldeo's natural moveset, able to be easily relearned. Additionally, as long as Keldeo knows it, it will remain in its Resolute Form from Black 2 and White 2 onwards.
  • In the fifth generation games, the Swords of Justice were the only Pokémon to be able to learn Sacred Sword, a physical Fighting-type move that ignores the target's Defense and Evasion boosts. X and Y started distributing this move to other Pokémon, though the amount of Pokémon that can learn it is still very scarce (and, with the exception of Kartana, they can all use some sort of melee weapon).
• Secret Character: So secret that Keldeo's existence was only officially recognized in February 2012.
• Shown Their Work: The types of the main trio are linked to the true last names of the musketeers. Fère, Pierrefonds, and Herblay referencing iron, stone, and herbs.
• Single Specimen Species: Zig-Zagged. Keldeo had parents, meaning it can apparently breed, but it is unknown if there are any others like it.
• Signature Move: Sacred Sword, an attack that ignores the target's Defense and Evasion boosts. It was also exclusive to them in their debut generation.
• Sixth Ranger: Fourth ranger to be exact, Keldeo.
• The Smurfette Principle: Zigzagged with Virizion. All of them are genderless and based off of the all-male Three Musketeers, but Virizion has a female voice in the anime and is referred to as female in Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity.
• The Stoic: Terrakion. While the other two show a wide range of emotions in Pokémon-Amie, it never changes its expression at all.
• True Companions: With each other.
• Unicorn: Keldeo is a unicorn crossed with the aforementioned kelpie.
• Uniqueness Decay: Not so much Keldeo itself, but how it attains Secret Sword. Originally, it could only learn it via the rest of the Musketeer trio (Black/White), or from visiting Pledge Grove, where the trio's spirits appear to Keldeo (Black 2/White 2). In Generation 6 and 7, bog-standard Move Tutors somehow know Secret Sword and can teach it to Keldeo, with neither hide nor hair of the rest of the Musketeers to be seen. In Generation 8, the move simply became one of its naturally learned moves, though the Move Reminder is required to get it.
• Useless Useful Spell: When compared to its fellow members, Keldeo's Justified is much less useful. It has to activate twice before its Attack surpasses its Special Attack in most cases, and Secret Sword works on its Special Attack to hit enemies' physical Defense anyway.
• Walk on Water: Justified, as Keldeo is based on a mythological horse creature that can do that. The Pokédex says this is achieved by blasting water out of its hooves.

Forces of Nature: Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus, and Enamorus (Tornelos, Voltolos, Landolos, and Lovetolos)

0641: Tornadus / Tornelos (トルネロス torunerosu)
0642: Thundurus / Voltolos (ボルトロス borutorosu)
0645: Landorus / Landlos (ランドロス randorosu)
0905: Enamorus / Lovetolos (ラブトロス rabutorosu)

Incarnate Forme Tornadus

^{Therian Forme Tornadus}

Incarnate Forme Thundurus

^{Therian Forme Thundurus}

Incarnate Forme Landorus

^{Therian Forme Landorus}

Incarnate Forme Enamorus

^{Therian Forme Enamorus}

Therian formes debut in Black 2 and White 2

Enamorus debuts in Legends: Arceus

Tornadus and Thundurus are twin terrors that race across the land, uprooting, drenching, and setting fire to anything which is unfortunate enough to be in their path. The destruction is caused by their battles with one another, motivated by a rivalry or enmity with each other that has continued since time untold. For collectors, this means Pokémon that are rarely encountered may be displaced by their winds. You know that one of them is in the area by the path of destruction. To farmers and everyone else, they are simply a nuisance. Thankfully, the twins have a retainer, Landorus, who is far more benevolent. If you know how to contact him, he will calm them down, as well as help restore the land.

They were introduced in Generation V as all looking similar to each other apart from color and tail shape, having the form of masculine, ogrish humanoids whose lower bodies are covered in (or consist of) a cloud-like substance, but an item known as the Reveal Glass would later be uncovered that can cause them to transform into vastly different forms: Tornadus becomes bird-like, Thundurus becomes dragon-like, and Landorus becomes tiger-like. It is believed these animalistic Therian Formes are their original appearance, albeit for unknown reasons they are normally encountered in their humanoid Incarnate Formes.

Legends: Arceus introduces their Fairy-type sister, Enamorus. She brings about waves of new life with the love she brings, and like Landorus is on the benevolent side. Her incarnate form is feminine to match the others' masculine tones, and the Reveal Glass transforms her into a form resembling a softshell turtle.

Their Therian Formes were long theorized to be based on the Four Gods, which was confirmed when Enamorus was eventually revealed with her Therian Forme representing the Genbu turtle the group had formerly lacked.

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• Action Bomb: Unlike Tornadus and Thundurus, Landorus is able to learn Explosion.
• Action Initiative: Tornadus and Thundurus have the ability Prankster, which gives all Status moves +1 priority.
• Badass Armfold: Their Incarnate Formes' default pose, across all media.
• Bash Brothers: Tornadus and Thundurus love using their power together to be jerks to humans.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Enamorus is a benevolent being who spreads love and life, but she will mete out wrathful retribution on those who would disrespect the things she stands for.
• Blow You Away: They all have this, but Tornadus holds the honor of being the first pure Flying-type ever, and is the only one of the four to learn Flying-type moves by leveling up.
• Disc-One Nuke: If you bought the Dream Radar side game, you could catch all three of the Kami Trio in Therian forme and send them to Black 2 and White 2 before even leaving the first town. Dream Radar-acquired Kamis would also have their hidden abilities once you obtain the Reveal Glass to change then into Incarnate formes — Defiant^*Attack raises two stages if the opponent lowers its stats for Tornadus and Thundurus, and Sheer Force^*Damaging moves with a secondary effect would lose the effect in exchange for boosting its power for Landorus.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Landorus is part Ground-type.
• Divergent Character Evolution: Their Therian formes in Black 2 and White 2 are different in both appearance and stats, and are based on the Four Gods. Additionally, while Tornadus and Thundurus sport identical base stat distributions in their Incarnate formes, their stats become more diversified in their Therian formes.
• Emotion Bomb: Enamorus' Secret Art Springtime Storm uses winds imbued with both love and hatred.
• Face of a Thug: Compared to Tornadus and Thundurus (since all three have the same Kubrick Stare), Landorus is far more benevolent. It will quell any fight between Tornadus and Thundurus, and it helps enrichen the soil with the nutrients on its tail, leading to bountiful crops.
• Family Theme Naming: Combined with Elemental Motifs, the four have their names share the same suffix tacked onto their personal name, with English and Japanese using Aeolus for a Religious and Mythological Theme Naming, as it's a name shared by several mythical Greek characters that each can be linked thematically to at least one of the Forces.
• Fascinating Eyebrow: Landorus expresses this in both formes' Sugimori drawings.
• Feather Boa Constrictor: Enamorous's snake-like tail is wrapped around her neck like a scarf.
• Fertility God: Landorus draws power from storms to nourish the soil and crops and Enamorus brings love that sparks new waves of births.
• Flying on a Cloud: In their Incarnate Formes, all of them have clouds for (or at least covering) a lower body.
• Fog Feet: All four of them in their Incarnate Formes, having torsos mounted on clouds with wispy tails, leaving their lower body anatomy unclear.
• The Four Gods: Each of the Forces of Nature's Therian Formes is based on a different member of the quartet, albeit only in what animal they're based on and not their actual colour or seasonal affinity. Tornadus is the Vermillion Bird, Thundurus the Azure Dragon, Landorus the White Tiger, and Enamorus the Black Tortoise.
• Gaia's Vengeance: Enamorus' Therian Forme is said to be used when it metes out wrathful punishment on those who disrespect life.
• Gender-Blender Name: The Forces of Nature started as a trio of three male-gendered masculine Pokémon that were named accordingly with the classical masculine "-us" suffix. When a female, feminine fourth member was introduced with Enamorus in Legends: Arceus, her name followed the pattern with the masculine suffix.
• Genie in a Bottle: Though they aren't actually based on genies, they have a striking resemblance to the common image of one.
• "Get Back Here!" Boss: Tornadus/Thundurus (depending on the version) are Roaming Pokémon in Black/White. They're not half as aggravating as the rest, since they leave an obvious calling card, and the player is given the always-successful Master Ball almost immediately before they appear. All four are very quick to zip away in their clouds in Legends Arceus, making it difficult without stealth items to break their barriers and get the chance to catch them.
• Gonky Femme: Like her brothers, Enamorus is a fairly strange-looking creature in both of her forms, but she’s also a pink, heart-adorned goddess of springtime and love.
• Green Thumb: Landorus is well-regarded by farmers for making the land fertile. Both the Black and White Pokédex entries confirm this ability. The only Grass-type move it can learn is Grass Knot via TM, though.
• God Is Good: Landorus is nice to farmers and makes their lands fertile, to which the farmers return the favor. Enamorus is reponsible for bringing life to the Hisui region with its love. Tornadus and Thundurus, however...
• A Head at Each End: Downplayed for Enamorus, who has a tail resembling a snake's head in both of her formes (which is not an actual head), as a reference to how the Black Turtle is often depicted as a turtle with a serpent for a tail.
• Healing Factor: Tornadus in Therian Forme has Regenerator as his ability, allowing him to recover some damage by switching out.
• Jerkass Gods: Tornadus and Thundurus fly around wrecking everything for no real reason other than their ancient feud with each other. Thankfully, Landorus and Enamorus are far nicer.
• Lightning Bruiser:
  • They all have good stats all-around; their bad stats are only such when compared to other Olympus Mons.
  • Landorus has above average bulk, good offensive stats, and nice Speed. While his Therian form is slower than his Incarnate form, his Attack is increased to 145 and he gains the Intimidate ability, which lowers the opponent's Attack.
  • Tornadus' Therian form. While his Attack and Special Attack stats are lowered, it's still solid. In exchange, he becomes slightly faster and his Defense and Sp.Defense are increased, as well as having Regenerator.
• Love Goddess: Enamorus fills this role, being a Legendary Pokémon representing love and life and having a very feminine (though not exactly beautiful) design.
• Magic Knight: All of them have good Attack and Special Attack stats, with Tornadus, Thundurus, and Enamorus leaning more towards the Special side and Landorus leaning toward the Physical side.
• Mighty Glacier: Enamorus's Therian Forme has very high overall stats save for her Speed, which is quite low.
• Monstrous Humanoid: In their Incarnate Formes, the four are among the most humanlike Pokémon in the series, with only their horns, skin color, Fog Feet and tails acting as non-human attributes.
• Olympus Mons: Though Tornadus and Thundurus aren't revered as gods (at least, not nice ones), Landorus is. The animé even calls them the Forces of Nature, with the ability to control the weather.
• One-Gender Race: Unlike most Legendary Pokémon, the first three members are always male. Pokémon Legends: Arceus would introduce a female member of the group, Enamorus.
• Oni: The trio's Incarnate Formes resemble oni with their humanoid appearance and horns. In fact, Tornadus was even supposed to be colored red like a traditional oni.
• Our Dragons Are Different: Thundurus's Therian Forme resembles an Eastern-styled dragon and is based on the Azure Dragon of the Four Gods, making it the first obviously "non-Dragon dragon" Pokémon since Gen II. Unlike Pokémon like Charizard and Gyarados, however, it can't learn Dragon-type moves.
• Our Fairies Are Different: Enamorus is part Fairy-type and governs love and new life.
• Panthera Awesome: Landorus's Therian Forme is a large feline, presumably a tiger.
• Permanently Missable Content: In order to access Landorus in Pokémon Black and White, Tornadus and Thundurus need to be in the player's party. However, one of those two has to be the player's own, so hopefully you didn't trade, migrate, or release your in-game Legendary before catching Landorus, or else it will never show up. Later games thankfully lack this requirement.
• The Phoenix: Tornadus' Therian Forme is based on the Vermillion Bird and has Regenerator as its ability, which it shares with Ho-Oh (another, and a much more faithful, take on the Eastern phoenix mythos).
• Pink Means Feminine: To symbolize its status as the Token Female, Enamorus is predominantly colored pink.
• Post-End Game Content:
  • In Pokémon Black and White, Landorus can only be battled during the postgame, as the Abundant Shrine is located in the eastern half of Unova (which is blocked off until then). Even then, the player needs Tornadus and Thundurus before it will appear.
  • In Legends: Arceus, the original trio is only catchable in the postgame, and you have to catch the three genies first to get their sister, Enamorus, to appear.
• Protection from the Elements: Enamorus's Therian Forme's Overcoat ability protects it from the residual damage of Sandstorm and Hail.
• Raijū: While Thundurus is primarily based on Raijin, the thunder god that raijus were sometimes associated with, its beastlike Therian forme is more heavily based on the raiju itself.
• Red Baron: Since Landorus helps enrichen the soil with the nutrients on its tail, leading to bountiful crops, people have hailed it as "The Guardian of the Fields".
• Required Party Member: In all games it appears in until Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Landorus can only be battled when Tornadus and Thundurus are in the party.
• Seasonal Baggage: Seasonal Motif variation. The Secret Arts of the Forces of Nature each evoke a particular season. Tornadus' Bleakwind Storm is associated with winter (through its frostbite effect), Enamorus' Springtide Storm is associated with spring, Landorus' Sandsear Storm is associated with summer (through its burn effect), and Thundurus' Wildbolt Storm is associated with autumn (given that thunderstorms are associated with autumn, at least in Japan).
• Secret Art: With the introduction of Enamorus in Legends: Arceus, all four of them have their own unique attacks.
  • Tornadus gets Bleakwind Storm, a Flying-type move that has a chance to leave the target with frostbite.
  • Thundurus gets Wildbolt Storm, an Electric-type move that has a chance to leave the target paralyzed.
  • Landorus gets Sandsear Storm, a Ground-type move that has a chance to leave the target burned.
  • Enamorus gets Springtide Storm, a Fairy-type move that either raises all of her stats in Incarnate Forme, or lowers the target's defenses in Therian Forme.
• Shock and Awe: Thundurus is part Electric-type.
• Shown Their Work: True to part of what inspired her design, Enamorus is always female and her serpent-like tail invokes the serpents the Genbu turtle was said to mate with to reproduce (the turtle in art often being depicted as mating with serpents or being a turtle/serpent hybrid).
• Sibling Rivalry: Tornadus and Thundurus are known for having an intense rivalry, which often results in humans and Pokémon getting caught in the crossfire of their fights. As a result, Landorus has to break up the two to prevent further destruction.
• The Smurfette Principle: Enamorus is the only female member of the Forces of Nature.
• Spikes of Doom: Thundurus's tail spikes shoot bolts!
• Squishy Wizard: Enamorus has very good Attack, Special Attack, and Speed, but her Defense is below average and her Special Defense is just average. Her Therian Forme turns her into a Mighty Glacier instead.
• The Stormbringer: Thundurus and Tornadus. According to their Pokédex entries, the former constantly fires off lightning bolts and leaves nothing but charred remains in his wake, while the latter zooms through the sky so fast he blows away everything in his path. The tails of their Incarnate Forms generate thunderstorms that can be tracked in-game (by land in Pokémon Black and White and in Soaring Mode in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire). Their power is further referenced in the folktale of "the Great Landorus", according to which the two Forces of Nature wreaked enough destruction across Unova that their leader, Landorus, had no choice but to stop them.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, your character is tasked with battling four (Enamorus was introduced in this game) figures with different elements who provide a higher challenge than what the player has grown accustomed to in between defeating a major antagonist and moving on to fighting the champion/catching the final Pokémon. They're effectively the template for the Elite Four in the mainline games.
• Trickster God: Tornadus and Thundurus fly all around the Unova region, causing stormy weather and ruining crops. Their ability, Prankster, also reflects this.
• Trickster Twins: Tornadus and Thundurus have Prankster as their ability in their Incarnate Formes. They also have identical base stats.
• Underground Monkey: In a first for any group of Pokémon, the differences in their Incarnate Formes aren't as notable and are mostly recolors, other than their tails, hairstyles, mustaches, and number of horns. This is justified for Tornadus and Thundurus, as Fuujin and Raijin are often portrayed as looking near-identical aside from color. Enamorus, being a very feminine answer to the first three's masculinity, breaks from their mold quite a bit more in her Incarnate Forme.
• Uniqueness Decay: Tornadus had the distinction of being the only pure Flying type until Pokémon Sword and Shield introduced Rookidee and Corvisquire.

Tao Trio: Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem

0643: Reshiram (レシラム reshiramu)
0644: Zekrom (ゼクロム zekuromu)
0646: Kyurem (キュレム kyuremu)

Reshiram

Zekrom

Kyurem

^{White Kyurem}

^{Black Kyurem}

Black Kyurem and White Kyurem debut in Black 2 and White 2

Unova's main Legendary trio, a group of monochromatic dragons. Once a single dragon, they split into three separate beings after the two brothers that owned them had a conflict of truth vs. ideals, resulting in a heated battle that nearly destroyed the ancient Unova region. Each of them represents a different aspect of the yin-yang mythos and philosophical concept, and controls a different element. Reshiram (the white birdlike one) represents yang and truth and spews fire out of its tail, while Zekrom (the black metallic one) represents yin and ideals and infuses its body with electricity.

Kyurem (the gray one) is said to be the husk of the original dragon. It represents wuji, or void, and may be the strangest of the trio; in its regular forme, it's a frail-looking dragon with power over ice, and is fixated on repairing its body with truth or ideals. However, in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 onwards, it can absorb Reshiram or Zekrom to bring itself one step closer to completion and become stronger. Reshiram and Zekrom were the first Generation V Pokémon revealed to audiences outside Japan.

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• Abled in the Adaptation: In the games, Kyurem is a husk who looks to complete itself by absorbing Reshiram or Zekrom. In Pokémon: Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice, Kyurem is able to change between its forms at will, under the justification of it being born at the same time as Reshiram and Zekrom and thus being able to harness their powers.
• Ambiguously Evil: A legend in Lacunosa Town implies that Kyurem would arrive, snatch up humans, and then devour them. While nothing confirms this as absolute fact, that the townsfolk built a wall to keep it out and hide indoors when night falls suggests a degree of truth is present.
• And I Must Scream: It's implied that Reshiram and Zekrom are still conscious while they're fused with Kyurem. In Black 2 and White 2, N says he can still hear them while they're fused with Kyurem, and in Pokémon Generations, White Kyurem manages to resist Ghetsis for a brief moment when N calls out to Reshiram.
• Artificial Limbs: All three formes of Kyurem have ice covering what is assumed to be missing bits of its body.
• The Assimilator: Representing Wuji, the absence of Yang and Yin, Kyurem aims to forcibly assimilate what it is missing into itself. Unlike most examples, Kyurem isn't trying to do so for malevolent (or misguidedly benevolent) reasons. It just wants to be whole again.
• Awesome, but Impractical: Black and White Kyurem's Secret Arts, Freeze Shock and Ice Burn, are (discounting the Z-Move Subzero Slammer) the strongest Ice-type attacks at 140 base power, complete with a 30% chance of inflicting paralysis/burn on the opponent. They also take a turn to charge up, have five uses, and can miss with 90% accuracy. Freeze Shock has it especially rough, as it was the physically-oriented Black Kyurem's only physical Ice-type attack until Generation VIII.
• Badass in Distress: Team Plasma have been keeping Kyurem locked up for a while by the time you encounter them at Opelucid.
• Berserk Button: If Reshiram or Zekrom feel people are not being sufficiently truthful or idealistic enough, they will go on a rampage.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: Reshiram's ultimate goal is to help a hero create a world of truth, and Zekrom's to help create a world of ideals. They will therefore perform whatever their hero tells them to do to achieve their respective ends, which is how they are willfully obedient to antagonistic figures such as N.
• Boss Battle: Each of them. Reshiram or Zekrom in the climax of Black and White (depending on the version) and White Kyurem or Black Kyurem in the climax of Black and White 2 (again, depending on the version).
• Breaking Old Trends: In Black and White, both Reshiram and Zekrom are the first mascot legendaries in the series to be encountered by the player that are the colour opposite of their box art's title: Reshiram (white-coloured) is encountered in Black while Zekrom (black-coloured) is encountered in White. Averted in the sequels Black 2 and White 2 where the mascot legendaries the player encounters match the game's title and the mascot legendary's colour.
• Broken Angel: Kyurem is what's left of the original dragon that split to become Reshiram and Zekrom, leaving it a broken husk.
• Combination Attack: Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt get powered up and longer animations when the other one was used before it.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist:
  • Whereas the super-ancient trio (Kyogre, Groudon and Rayquaza) represent Earth and the Pokémon of Myth (Dialga, Palkia and Giratina) represent space, the Tao Trio (Reshiram, Zekrom and Kyurem) represent human concepts of truth and yin, ideals and yang and emotional voidness.
  • Unlike the previous legendary trio teams who were separate entities on their own since day one, the Tao Trio were once a single dragon before they were separated into three entities due to a conflict between two brothers over truth and ideals.
  • Kyurem is this to Giratina and Rayquaza from Platinum and Emerald, who are the third members of their group and are Dragons. However, Kyurem sets itself apart from the benevolent Rayquaza and the malevolent Giratina, as it is a Broken Angel who yearns for connection after being separated, even allying with Team Plasma in the sequel (forcibly done by Ghetsis) and it can transform into two forms through Absofusion via the DNA Splicers, unlike Giratina who can only transform to its Origin Forme through the Distortion World or the Griseous Orb and Rayquaza who can only transform through Mega Evolution.
• Cutting Off the Branches: In Pokémon Black and White, you're able to catch Kyurem in the Giant Chasm after Team Plasma's defeat. Except you didn't, since the premise of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 relies on Ghetsis getting there first.
• Dark Is Evil: Zekrom in Pokémon Black, where it serves the Anti-Villain N. Black Kyurem fits this trope in Black 2 when it's under Ghetsis' control.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Zekrom, by default. It's a monstrous black dragon with a white angelic counterpart, but awaits a hero who wishes to create a world of ideals and doesn't willingly serve a truly evil Trainer such as Ghetsis.
• Depending on the Writer: Kyurem can turn into Black/White Kyurem in the anime without using Reshiram and Zekrom at all.
• Divided Deity: Reshiram and Zekrom used to be one being, until the twin brothers who commanded it began to argue whether to fight for truth and ideals. Thus the original dragon split into two, with Zekrom embodying yin and siding with the ideals-focused brother, and Reshiram embodying yang and siding with the truth-focused brother. Kyurem is said to be what remains of the original dragon, and can merge with either Zekrom or Reshiram.
• Dracolich: Technically, Kyurem is a zombie dragon.
• Draconic Abomination: Reshiram and Zekrom are far easier to relate to and understand in human terms than the average abomination, but they are still horrifically powerful demigods capable of destroying entire continents. Kyurem, meanwhile, is a quasi-undead being that most likely isn't even truly sentient and is literally a physical incarnation of nothingness, representing the void left behind when the original being split into three, and it's consumed by an all-important desire to become whole again. Additionally, the original being is strongly hinted to have been an alien.
• Dinosaurs Are Dragons: Inverted, Reshiram somewhat resembles feathered dinosaurs.
• The Dragon:
  • Quite literally, too. In Pokémon Black and White, Reshiram or Zekrom (depending on the version) is captured by N, the leader of Team Plasma. This continues into Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, but N's made the switch from Anti-Villain to full-fledged hero.
  • In the 14th movie, instead of serving N, the opposite dragon serves Damon.
  • Kyurem to Ghetsis in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, albeit through mind control.
• Dragons Up the Yin Yang: Quite literally, in that Reshiram and Zekrom stand for yang and yin, respectively. Their overall behavior and mythology is similar to depictions of dragons in East Asian folklore, and Reshiram and White Kyurem even look like stylized Eastern dragons.
• Dragons Are Demonic: The part Dragon-type Kyurem is feared by the inhabitants of Lacunosa Town for eating people in the past.
• Dragons Are Divine: Both Reshiram and Zekrom are Dragon-types revered as deities representing truth and ideals.
• Evil Is Deathly Cold: Ghetsis commands Kyurem in Black 2 and White 2. To a lesser extent, Kyurem in the 15th movie too, though it isn't evil, just a violent Blood Knight.
• Feathered Dragons: Reshiram is a birdlike dragon with feathered wings.
• Feathered Fiend: Reshiram, but only if you're playing against it. It's a birdlike dragon that serves the antagonists in White.
• Fire, Ice, Lightning: Each of them have a secondary type corresponding to this dynamic. Reshiram and Zekrom represent Fire (heat) and Electricity, both of which are the main types of energy known to man. Kyurem represents the lack of energy, explaining its Ice typing. Being an energy-less empty husk also explains its looks: Compared to other Legendary Pokémon, it looks really weak, skinny, wrinkled, and old.
• Five-Second Foreshadowing: When exploring the Giant Chasm in Pokémon Black and White, the player might have heard from the locals of Lacunosa Town about a story regarding a man-eating monster that lives nearby. Then you reach a pond, and a loud cry pierces the area as a flash-freeze occurs moments before you confront Kyurem itself.
• Foil: Reshiram and Zekrom to each other; Zekrom's black technological looks and neon blue lightning to Reshiram's white birdlike looks with natural flames. Kyurem turns out to be a foil to both, representing a void.
• Fusion Dance: Kyurem's alternate formes — Black Kyurem (Kyurem & Zekrom) and White Kyurem (Kyurem & Reshiram). Of note is that, being formes of Kyurem, the entire fusion process is of the one-sided "Power Booster" variety — Kyurem reduces Reshiram or Zekrom back to the Light/Dark Stone and absorbs them into its own body. Ghetsis calls this process "Absofusion". In the anime, Kyurem also retains the same consciousness, voice, and personality when in its alternate formes and simply switches between them at will.
• Genius Bruiser: In the anime, all three dragons are depicted with telepathic speech and human-like sentience despite their bestial appearance, a contrast to the similar Legendary trios in other generations which are depicted as more animalistic.
• Giant Flyer: Both Reshiram and Zekrom are flying dragons roughly the size of an elephant. Zekrom is probably more justified in this, as it appears to be levitating rather than actually flying.
• Glacier Waif: Reshiram, which, for some reason, is slower than the more heavily-built Palkia, Slaking, and Regigigas.
• Grey-and-Grey Morality:
  • Like most Pokémon, neither Reshiram nor Zekrom seem to have any especially "virtuous" or "evil" intentions, despite their contrasting appearances. The various forms of canon show both dragons filling both heroic and villainous roles, although as antagonists they tend to perform a Heel–Face Turn along with their trainer (N in the games or Damon in the anime), which is induced by a Heel Realization. Kyurem seems to be the least benevolent of the trio; in the games, it is said to have hunted the humans living in Lacunosa Town, while in the anime, it's a Blood Knight who refuses to back down until a fight is officially over.
  • According to their backstory, Reshiram stands for truth while Zekrom stands for ideals.
  • The 15th movie applies this to Kyurem as well. It looks terrifying, but it has a strong sense of honor and finds cowardice and arrogance to be deplorable. At the end, it helps Keldeo and the Swords Of Justice stop a building from collapsing on the heroes because Keldeo tells Kyurem it would rather save its friends even if it means losing the battle against it.
• Hybrid Monster: Kyurem's alternate forms are the result of fusing with Reshiram or Zekrom.
• An Ice Person: Kyurem is part Ice-type.
• Irony:
  • Blue Flare is Reshiram's Secret Art, even though its tail glows red; meanwhile, other Pokémon that use actual bluish flames in their designs like Mega Charizard X, Alolan Marowak, Hisuian Typhlosion, and Chandelure cannot learn the move and in fact use red fire in all their Fire-type move animations.
  • Zekrom and Reshiram represent yin and yang respectively. Yin is attributed to the female gender while yang is attributed to the male gender. Yet in most cases, Zekrom is depicted as male while Reshiram is depicted as female due to their designs.
  • Reshiram stands for truth, while Zekrom stands for ideals, and yet everyone in media that they've obeyed has a heart that is perfectly balanced between the two, and thus able to command both in the alternate versions of the games and movies.
• It Only Works Once: In Gen VII, Black Kyurem finally got a reliable physical Ice-type attack in the Z-Move Subzero Slammer, which is both physical and at its strongest when running off of Freeze Shock. Once it's used up, though, Kyurem's stuck with Freeze Shock.
• Jack of All Stats: Kyurem's base form has balanced stats leaning towards offense and HP.
• Large Ham: All three of them, in the anime. They speak telepathically with extremely deep, melodramatic voices.
• Larynx Dissonance: Although Reshiram was given a "ladylike" design according to Ken Sugimori, it (like Zekrom and Kyurem) speaks with a very manly voice in the 14th movie. Justified, as it's a genderless entity.
• Light Is Not Good: Reshiram in Pokémon White, where it serves under N while he's still an Anti-Villain. White Kyurem in White 2, where it serves Ghetsis.
• Lightning Bruiser: Though fairly slow compared to other Olympus Mons, like the past three generations of box Legendaries. Kyurem's alternate formes are this even compared to other Olympus Mons; they hit even harder than Reshiram and Zekrom while retaining Kyurem's slightly higher speed.
• Literal Split Personality: Reshiram and Zekrom, according to the mythology. Kyurem is actually what is left of the Pokémon that Reshiram and Zekrom split from.
• Magic Knight: All of them have good mixed attacking stats, with their secondary attacking stat at Base 120. Kyurem's attacking stats are both 130, though.
• Mighty Glacier: Reshiram and Zekrom have speed as their lowest Stat; Reshiram is specially oriented, and Zekrom is physically oriented. Kyurem is only slightly faster.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: All three use European dragons as a basis. While Zekrom has the most "traditional" build out of the three, Reshiram has a wyvern body type^note two wings and no arms with birdlike and canine-like features, and Kyurem uses features of the Tyrannosaurus rex to add to its abstract design.
• Monochromatic Eyes: Kyurem's eyes are yellow and, in contrast to Reshiram and Zekrom, completely lacking pupils and irises. Absorbing either Zekrom or Reshiram grants it more complete eyes.
• Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: They're giant Legendary dragons that represent ideological concepts, command a specific element each, take on angelic/technological/undead appearances with generators for tails, can fuse with each other, and are heavily implied to be of extraterrestrial origin.
• No Biological Sex: All three of them are genderless. For the record, Ken Sugimori says Reshiram is supposed to be feminine in design while Zekrom is masculine to contrast each other, and all three were given masculine voices in the anime movies.
• Non-Human Undead: If Reshiram and Zekrom split away from their original body, it would logically be dead. Yet the frozen, withered, and lifeless husk somehow came to take on a new life as Kyurem (complete with blank eyes that only become more alive when either Reshiram or Zekrom are absorbed).
• Obviously Evil: Subverted for Zekrom, since it's only technically "antagonistic" in Black, where it serves as The Dragon to Anti-Villain N. Same goes for the Reshiram version of the 14th movie, where it is depicted as an Anti-Villain that performs a Heel–Face Turn along with its trainer, Damon.
• Olympus Mons: Unlike the previous Legendary trios, they represent ideologies, although they also represent certain elements.
• Orange/Blue Contrast: With Reshiram and White Kyurem being the orange contrasting Zekrom and Black Kyurem's blue. Do take note, however, that this is a Downplayed Trope; the colors only show up as their powers manifest once they start battling.
• Our Angels Are Different: Reshiram's feathery wings and white color bring angels to mind.
• Our Dragons Are Different: Reshiram and Zekrom both behave similar to Eastern dragons, as intelligent deities that work alongside humans and stand for metaphysical concepts (Eastern ones, at that). Reshiram looks the part too due to its mammalian and birdlike features, while Zekrom more closely resembles a Western dragon due to its more reptilian/saurian build. Both of them also have energy generators for tails. Meanwhile, Kyurem is more erratic both in terms of appearance and behavior.
• Our Zombies Are Different: Kyurem is believed to be the husk of the original dragon that Reshiram and Zekrom split from. When it changes forme by fusing with one of them, it becomes less "dead".
• Oxymoronic Being: Kyurem is a dragon made out of ice, one of the Dragon-type's traditional weaknesses. It goes even further as White Kyurem; have you ever heard of a dragon covered in ice... that also has power over fire?
• Pale Females, Dark Males: While they are sexless, Ken Sugimori has noted that their designs were meant to invoke femininity for Reshiram and masculinity for Zekrom. Reshiram is white while Zekrom is black.
• Physical God: All three, though Kyurem has certainly fallen in power somewhat. It can rise again, somehow...
• Playing with Fire: Reshiram is part Fire-type. Though it never becomes a true Fire-type, White Kyurem also has Reshiram's tail turbine, and can use Fusion Flare.
• Poor, Predictable Rock: Unlike other mascot Legendaries, they have very shallow movepools outside of their STAB attacks. Even when taking said attacks into account, they don't have very much choice when it comes to moves affiliated with their strongest offensive stat. Black Kyurem is hit the worst, with the only physical Ice move it can learn being Freeze Shock, which, due to its two turn charge and low PP, can be quite situational.
• Power Copying: Kyurem can power up to use Reshiram and Zekrom's moves and abilities. Of course, the powerups in question consist of Reshiram and Zekrom themselves!
• Power Incontinence: Kyurem's broken self is unable to fully handle its ice powers, which is why ice forms on its outside.
• Power Limiter: The ice covering Kyurem's body is also keeping its power in check.
• Power of the Void: Kyurem, the living remnants of the Original Dragon, represents wuji, or a lack of yin or yang. Fittingly for a creature based on such emptiness, it's part-Ice, as coldness can also be a sign of little energy. Kyurem itself is also desperate to fill its void, which can be partially achieved through Absofusion.
• Power-Up Letdown: Black Kyurem gains a massive 170 Attack stat (the fifth-highest of all Pokémon as of Gen VII) and a powerful physical Ice-type move to go with it... unfortunately, it has a difficult time using that Attack, since not only does it lack an effective physical movepool outside of STAB, but Freeze Shock, in addition to being Awesome, but Impractical, is the only physical Ice-type move it can possibly learn.^*It can use a Power Herb to skip Freeze Shock's charge-up, or use Icium Z to make it a physical Subzero Slammer, but those are only good for one turn.
• Prehistoric Animal Analogue: Zekrom and Kyurem have characteristics of theropod dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex. Though not immediately obvious, Reshiram's body structure is similar to a giant pterodactyl, right down to the "wing-fingers", while its feathers and bipedal stance give it the look of a raptor.
• Psychic Powers: Reshiram knows Extrasensory upon encounter. Although Zekrom knows the Psychic-type Zen Headbutt, the move does not imply Psychic Powers as much as Reshiram's equivalent move does. They can both have the move named Psychic, however, and so can Kyurem.
• Purposely Overpowered: Restricted usage in the Battle Subway, official tournaments, and random Wifi.
• Raptor Attack: Reshiram appears to have maniraptoran dinosaurs among its inspirations. Downplayed in that it has feathers (though some of it might be fur) and long, powerful wings. White Kyurem looks the part even more by having many of the same features on a more saurian build.
• Recurring Element: Like Kyogre and Groudon, Reshiram and Zekrom are opposite-colored ancient beasts that had a titanic feud long long ago that nearly destroyed their respective region, and glow red and blue when powered up. Reshiram also has a similar stat distribution to Kyogre, while Zekrom's stats are similar to Groudon. Kyurem (in its normal forme), like Rayquaza, is found in the first set of paired games way off in some sidequest, with no apparent connection to the main duo (and even has a similar, albeit much weaker, stat distribution). In Black 2 and White 2, Kyurem's alternate formes and antagonistic role make it more similar to Giratina as well.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: Zekrom is a black dragon Pokémon with red eyes. Subverted in that Kyurem is the "evil" one in the trio, and the closest that Zekrom came was being owned by an Anti-Villain in the Black versions of the game and the 14th movie, and apparent villain Oda Nobunaga in Pokémon Conquest.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Along with being a powerful fighter, Zekrom has red eyes.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: If sprite animations are anything to go by, Kyurem embodies this in its two formes — Black Kyurem slams its fists on the ground and shakes it while charging up, while White Kyurem just calmly tilts back and forth. Ironically, the former glows blue while the latter glows red.
• Red Right Hand: One of Kyurem's arms and wings is frozen (or made out of ice) in each of its alternate formes.
• Required Party Member: In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, both Reshiram and Zekrom need to be in the party in order to find and battle Kyurem.
• Riddle for the Ages: Just what was the original dragon Pokémon that the three used to be? What did it look like, and how powerful was it? If Black/White Kyurem (with their base stat total of 700) are two-thirds as strong as it, then it's possible it was almost as strong as Arceus, if not stronger.
• Ridiculously Small Wings: Zekrom and Kyurem have small wings situated on top of giant draconic bodies, but it doesn't stop them from being able to use "Fly".
• Romanticism Versus Enlightenment: The main contrasting themes of Zekrom and Reshiram. Zekrom represents ideals while Reshiram represents truth.
• Sealed Badass in a Can: Zekrom and Reshiram were turned into the Dark and Light Stones following the war that devastated Unova, and over the course of Pokémon Black and White, N and the player bring them back to their original forms.
• Secret Art: The three have a ton of these:
  • Reshiram learns Fusion Flare, and Zekrom learns Fusion Bolt; Kyurem can learn either one in place of Scary Face after absorbing the respective dragon. The two moves are special and physical (respectively), and one move doubles in power when used immediately after the other.
  • At Level 100, Reshiram and Zekrom respectively learn Blue Flare and Bolt Strike. Both moves have 130 power and 85% accuracy, but the former is special and can cause a burn, while the latter is physical and can deal paralysis.
  • Kyurem is the only Pokémon that knows Glaciate; a relatively weak Ice-type move that hits both enemies in a Double Battle and lowers their Speed by one stage. ^note In comparison to Icy Wind, Glaciate is slightly stronger, but slightly less accurate. Black Kyurem replaces Glaciate with Freeze Shock; a hard-hitting physical move that takes two turns to use and can paralyze the target. Likewise, White Kyurem replaces it with Ice Burn, which acts the same but causes a burn instead.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: In terms of appearance, Reshiram is the Sensitive Guy and Zekrom is the Manly Man.
• Shock and Awe: Zekrom is part Electric-type. Black Kyurem gains some attributes (such as an electricity-generating tail) despite not actually being an Electric-type.
• Signature Move: Reshiram has Fusion Flare and Zekrom has Fusion Bolt. These moves are said to be even more powerful if they're used in tandem.
• Single Specimen Species: Outside of the myths describing it, the three's original state as one dragon Pokémon is never seen, heard, or described anywhere else. Naturally, as the result of said Pokémon splitting into three beings, the trio counts as one too.
• Stealth Pun: Kyurem is the Boundary Pokémon, which is written Kyoukai in Hiragana. Kyoukai is also the Hiragana for counselling or admonishment, and Kyurem is a Stealth Mentor in Kyurem and the Swords of Justice.
• Sword of Plot Advancement:
  • In Pokémon Black and White, you are forced to capture them; defeating them won't even give you experience. There is, however, a way to do Sequence Breaking. If you have a full party and your 24 boxes are full as well, the game will allow you to proceed without catching them, saving the chance for later. Good luck catching over 720 Pokémon before your first Elite Four run, though.
  • Surprisingly inverted with Kyurem in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, however: you can't capture it when you first face it in the story (the given reason being that Ghetsis's staff prevents Poké Balls from working on it, but the fact that it's in its Black/White state and catching it would give you two Pokémon is likely the Doylist reason). Only when confronted in the Playable Epilogue in its original form can it be caught.
• T. Rexpy: Base Kyurem closely resembles a Tyrannosaurus due to its build, posture and forelimbs, although it's more of a Draconic Abomination with features of classical European dragons as well as Tyrannosaurus.
• Technicolor Fire: Reshiram's Secret Art is Blue Flare, for which it spews bright blue flames. While its tail normally glows red, this is justified as the blueness of the attack is due to its higher temperature. Shiny Reshiram's fire is purple.
• Top-Heavy Guy: Black Kyurem, due to its gigantic muscular arms and short legs.
• To Serve Man: An old legend in Lacunosa Town describes Kyurem dragging people away and eating them, but it's unknown if it's true or not. At the very least, whatever it was doing back then was enough to scare the townsfolk into surrounding Lacunosa Town with a rock wall and enacting a curfew.
• Undying Loyalty: The original dragon was so loyal to the two trainers it followed that it left its body and split into two different dragons to still be able to follow them after their relationship went sour and they parted ways.
• Useless Useful Spell: Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt double in power when used in succession of one another. However, this effect is only practical in Double Battles; since Reshiram and Zekrom are Dragon-types, they resist Fire and Electric moves. It's most obvious in the final battle with N in Pokémon Black and White — not only are you powering up his own dragon's Fusion move, but you're better off spamming Dragon Breath to deal super-effective damage.
• Wings Do Nothing: Reshiram flaps its arms while flying, but Zekrom does not. Kyurem's wings, meanwhile, are completely frozen over and can't move... but if they unfreeze, they can absorb Reshiram/Zekrom into Kyurem's body. This doesn't stop Kyurem from being able to learn and use Fly, though.
• Worf Had the Flu: Their existence as a trio is proof of this alone. They used to be one, presumably very powerful, Pokémon, but as the Original Dragon's trainers had irreconcilable differences in the world they wanted to create, Zekrom, Kyurem, and Reshiram were born and the original's power was split significantly and has remained that way for quite some time.
• Wolverine Publicity: Zekrom in Generation V. For some reason, it was featured prominently in the first two episodes of the Best Wishes anime, was revealed long before Reshiram for the 14th movie, and is the most prominent Pokémon in both the Pokémon RéBURST manga and Pokémon Conquest. This is weird, since Reshiram proved to be much more popular than Zekrom in Japan in the 15th anniversary poll. ^note It's the other way around in America, but most of the above Zekrom appearances were exclusive to Japan, where Reshiram is presumably more popular.
• Yellow Lightning, Blue Lightning: Zekrom's lightning, particularly Fusion Bolt, is often colored blue. This carries over to Black Kyurem, who surges with blue electrical energy. A shiny Zekrom or Black Kyurem has green colored electricity instead. Notably, Bolt Strike was colored yellow in Gen V, but was changed to blue in Gen VI to better fit its proprietor.
• Yin-Yang Clash: It's their main motif.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: Played with. Being Pokémon, the player can have both Zekrom and Reshiram in their party, and use them in Double Battles, but you can't fuse both of them back into Kyurem again.

Meloetta

0648: Meloetta (メロエッタ meroetta)

Aria Forme Meloetta

^{Pirouette Forme Meloetta}

The third Mythical Pokémon of Gen V, Meloetta is a dual Normal-type that can either be part Psychic or part Fighting. Its story is that long ago, it sang and danced to bring joy to the hearts of people and Pokémon alike. When sorrow descended onto the world, it lost its melody along with its red shoes. When taken to a certain Move Tutor that varies on region, they'll teach the lost song to Meloetta and it will be able to access its other forme.

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• Ascended Extra: Although it never got a movie like its fellow Mythicals did, it instead got a long arc dedicated to it in the anime, travelling with Ash.^*Though it is more or less recycled from Johto's aborted Celebi arc.
• Awesome, but Impractical: Pirouette Forme has great Attack, great Speed, passable physical bulk, and has STAB coverage that can hit just about anything for at least neutral damage, except Ghosts (and it can use Shadow Claw to deal with them). Unfortunately, Meloetta cannot start a battle in Pirouette Forme; it needs to have a moveslot handy for the move Relic Song and then use the attack in battle to make use of that Forme.
• Beehive Hairdo: In Pirouette Forme, it wraps its long hair up into one.
• Brown Note: Aside from Relic Song, it can learn other sound-based moves like Round, Hyper Voice and Perish Song.
• Cute Monster Girl: Technically not female (or male either), but it has a very feminine appearance and is very cute and sweet.
• Dance Battler: Mainly in Pirouette Forme.
• Emotion Control: According to the Pokédex, it sings using a special vocalization method that can control the feelings of those that listen to it.
• Little Black Dress: No matter what forme it takes, Meloetta will always wear a black dress with some design changes depending on the forme.
• Magic Idol Singer: Its Aria Forme resembles an idol with its long hair and earpiece, and its transformation into Pirouette Forme (especially in the animé) is reminiscent of a magical girl's transformation.
• Magic Music: Its Secret Art Relic Song needs to hit to activate its transformation between either Formes and has a chance of lulling opponents to sleep.
• Make Some Noise: It can learn shouting attacks like Uproar and Hyper Voice.
• Mechanically Unusual Class: For its ability to radically alter its base stats mid-battle. The only other Pokémon that can do that without Mega-Evolving are Zen Mode Darmanitan, Power Construct Zygarde, and Minior^note all of which can only do it while at low health, Aegislash^note who must use King's Shield to turn back to Shield Forme, and Wishiwashi^note who must be higher than Level 19 to do so in addition to being at low health, and even then they need specific abilities to change; Meloetta can switch from Physical Glass Cannon to Special Mighty Glacier whenever it finds a turn to use Relic Song.
• Meaningful Name: It's a melodius pirouetteing being that looks like a cute young girl.
• Mighty Glacier: Aria Forme on the Special side, as it boasts hefty Special Attack and Defense, with rather good HP to back up the latter. It isn't necessarily slow, though; it's just not as fast as Pirouette Forme, and is considerably easier to outspeed.
• Multiform Balance: Aria Forme has higher Special Attack and Special Defense while Pirouette Forme is faster and more physical attack-focused.
• The Muse: Its Aria Forme has said to have inspired musicians into writing songs. It might be based on the muses of Classical Mythology.
• Musical Assassin: Mainly in Aria Forme.
• No Biological Sex: It doesn't have a gender, though it has a feminine appearance (and voice, in the anime).
• Non-Elemental: Part Normal-type in both forms.
• Olympus Mons: It's the first one to change types with an in-battle move, whereas others needed an item before doing so.
• The One Who Wears Shoes: Or at least wore shoes — it's said to have had a pair of red ones (unusually for Pokémon, and despite its pointed legs), then lost them.
• Permanently Missable Content: As a Mythical Pokémon, this was initially the case for Meloetta once events giving it away for specific games dried up, but it became freely available in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's Indigo Disk DLC.
• Psychic Powers: In Aria Forme, it's a Normal/Psychic-type.
• Purposely Overpowered: The Battle facilities, official tournaments, and random Wi-Fi often prohibit Meloetta (as they do for every Mythical/major Legendary Pokémon).
• Recurring Element: Of Shaymin, as a Mew-clone-esque Pokémon that gets a forme change in the follow-up version. It may have also started one itself, as a feminine-looking humanoid Mythical Pokémon, being followed by Diancie in Generation VI and Magearna in Generation VII.
• Riddle for the Ages: Meloetta's red shoes are off-handedly mentioned by a musician in Gen V, then never elaborated on afterwards. Who knows what — if anything — they did for Meloetta.
• Secret Art: It's the only Pokémon to learn Relic Song, but only by Move Tutor. It deals a decent amount of damage, has a chance to put the target to Sleep, and causes Meloetta to change between its Aria and Pirouette formes.
• Secret Character: Though it was present in Gen V's data for years beforehand, it wasn't until March 1, 2012 that Meloetta was officially revealed (though it was accidentally leaked via a poster for Pokémon: Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice a few days prior).
• Skintone Sclerae: Its stark white face bleeds into its eyes (though its Sugimori art hides it by making the edges of the eyes longer).
• Status Effects: Its Secret Art, Relic Song, has a small chance to induce Sleep.

Genesect

0649: Genesect (ゲノセクト genosekuto)

Genesect

The last Pokémon in the Unova Pokédex, Genesect was Team Plasma's attempt at creating the strongest Pokémon ever. 300 million years ago, during the Paleozoic Era, it was feared as the ultimate hunter. After being resurrected from a fossil, Team Plasma gave it a number of cybernetic enhancements, including armor that made it a Steel-type and Download as an Ability. Most prominently, a cannon capable of using a powerful laser (dubbed "Techno Blast") was attached to its back, and various Drives that change the laser's type were created for it.

At some point, N had research halted and the P2 Laboratory closed, claiming that Pokémon are perfect beings and science damages their natural beauty. However, one lone scientist named Dudley remained, and continued development by himself out of the belief that Genesect is necessary for Team Plasma's goals.

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• Action Bomb: Genesect can learn both Self-Destruct and Explosion.
• Action Initiative:
  • It can learn Quick Attack, though a Move Reminder is necessary to do so.
  • An event Genesect based off of the Red Genesect from Genesect and the Legend Awakened came with the attack Extreme Speed, a priority move that normally lets the user go before others when used.
• Adaptive Ability: Its Ability, Download, automatically raises one of Genesect's offensive stats depending on which one of the enemy's defenses is weaker. Unlike other Pokémon with the ability (read: the Porygon line), Genesect actually has the stats and moves to make use of both boosts.
• Artificial Human: Though using an organic creature as a base, much of Genesect's power can be attributed to Team Plasma's cybernetic enhancements. Its entire body (at least from the outside) also appears to be completely manufactured with steel armor.
• Artistic License – Physics: Suffice to say, Techno Blast doesn't act anything like real lasers, which can't be altered into flamethrowers and the like. This is especially true for the Douse Drive; your guess on how a laser can gain the properties of water of all things is as good as anyone else's.
• Awesome, but Impractical: Techno Blast. Sure, having a powerful attack that can change types sounds amazing... until you realise that, in addition to only having five types out of eighteen to choose from, it can't get STAB on it, it can't inflict statuses, it has only five uses, and changing Techno Blast's type requires Genesect to hold a Drive that does nothing else but that. In Gen V, it was outright inferior to Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, and Flamethrower (all of which Genesect can learn, just to add insult to injury) due to having 85 base power instead of the current 120.
• Backpack Cannon: It has a large cannon on its back, which was created by Team Plasma as one of its enhancements.
• Balance Buff: The power of Techno Blast was raised by almost a third (from 85 to 120) in Gen VI. Genesect still needs to hold an otherwise useless item to change the type of the move, but at least it's more destructive and useable than it was in its debut.
• BFG: It has a large cannon mounted on its back. In addition to firing all sorts of lasers and projectiles, Genesect can also fold up into it to fly around at high speeds.
• Big Creepy-Crawlies: It's a Bug-type, and indeed the very first Bug-type Mythical Pokémon in the series (discounting Arceus with an Insect Plate or Buginium Z).
• Bioweapon Beast: An ancient predator re-created and cybernetically enhanced by Team Plasma with a Backpack Cannon.
• Casting a Shadow: Can learn Shadow Claw, which is useful against Ghost Types, as they resist Genesect's Bug STAB.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: You can tell what type Techno Blast currently is by the Drive inserted into the back of its cannon; Normal is orange, Fire is red, Water is blue, Ice is white, and Electric is yellow. The color of the laser is also affected (though the Normal-type version is green^*White in Gen V).
• Combat Pragmatist: Can get Dark Pulse, giving them another way to break through Ghost-types.
• Computer Equals Tapedrive: Although they look more like large and blocky floppy disks than anything, the Techno Blast-altering Drives appear to use tape in their construction if their Japanese name (Cassettes) is anything to go by.
• Confusion Fu: Has a great movepool with a lot of powerful attacks such as Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt. In addition, thanks to having equal offensive stats, it can use both physical and special moves to great effect.
• Cyborg: It's a prehistoric life form that has been enhanced with cybernetics.
• Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Subverted. Back when N was still a villain and firmly believed Science Is Bad, he tried to halt the Genesect project from being completed because he thought this would happen. Genesect ultimately ended up like any other Pokémon (though the Pokédex in Black notes that it was feared in the past as a strong and ruthless hunter, so it may not have had much to lose anyway).
• Deity of Human Origin: While Genesect was born naturally in the Paleozoic period, it only became a powerful Mythical Pokémon thanks to Team Plasma resurrecting it and giving it cybernetic upgrades (granted it is stated to already be an incredibly powerful and feared apex predator prior to its upgrades).
• Depending on the Writer: Although Genesect's cannon is an artificial device Team Plasma attached to it, some Pokédex entries say they "upgraded" it, as if Genesect always had a cannon.
• Disc-One Nuke: A Wi-Fi event for it coincided with the release of Black 2/White 2, allowing players to obtain one at Level 15 at the very start of the game. Even at that relatively low level, it massively outstrips every opponent in the early parts of the game — although you do need at least one badge to get it to obey you.
• The Dreaded: According to the Pokédex, its power as a hunter made it feared by its contemporaries in prehistory.
• Eating Machine: It can eat food, even with a mouth that never opens.
• Elemental Powers: It can change the type of its Techno Blast move by inserting one of four Drives into its cannon slot.
• Exotic Eye Designs: Genesect's eyes have two circles inside them, giving them an almost alien look compared to other Bug-types' eyes.
• Extra-ore-dinary: It seemingly has a Steel type as a result of Team Plasma's modifications, as all fossil Pokémon but Genesect (before generation VIII's fossil Pokémon were introduced) are Rock-types.
• Foil: To Mewtwo (particularly its anime and manga incarnations), due to their similar backstories (being artificial Pokémon created by an evil team to be the strongest of them all) and how Genesect's typing would be an effective counter to the Psychic-type Pokémon. The sixteenth movie is built around this, though it ironically dilutes the connection by using a different Mewtwo with no relation to Team Rocket.
• Fossil Revival: It was revived from the fossil of an apex predator and given cybernetic enhancements.
• Freeze Ray: It can learn Ice Beam via TM, and Techno Blast becomes an Ice-type move with the Chill Drive (though ironically it can't inflict the Frozen status).
• Glowing Mechanical Eyes: Genesect's eyes glow red during its attack animations. Unusually, said eyes appear to be organic behind the red glass, but who knows if they're its real eyes or just cybernetics.
• Hammerspace: The orange-ish Drive Genesect uses for its Normal-type Techno Blast disappears when it is given a different Drive. It's not sent to your inventory, and it comes back from nowhere the moment it holds something other than a Drive.
• An Ice Person: Holding the Chill Drive imbues the cannon on its back with cold properties, making Techno Blast deal Ice-type damage.
• Last Disc Magic: Its Drives become this in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2; in order to get them, the player needs to take Genesect to the P2 Laboratory... which requires beating the game first. Considering the event that distributed it allowed players to have it early on, odds are it forgot Techno Blast for a more useful move before then.
• Last of His Kind: Since only one was resurrected and modified by Team Plasma, this renders Genesect the only living member of its species (provided that one doesn't see said modifications as rendering it a brand new species unto itself).
• Late Character Syndrome: Surprisingly averted; the one event that distributed Genesect for Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 coincided with the games' release, and since it came in at Level 15, a player could easily have it with them for the entire adventure (though it did need Badges in order to obey them).
• Lightning Bruiser: It has great offenses with above-average defenses and speed.
• Lightning Gun: Genesect's cannon can use the Shock Drive to fire an Electric-type Techno Blast. It can also learn Thunderbolt through a TM.
• Living Relic: It was revived from a fossil and turned into a cyborg.
• Magic Floppy Disk: In the semi-futuristic world of Pokémon, what format does Genesect's cannon use to turn Techno Blast into different types? Big, chunky cassettes. However, it makes slightly more sense when one learns that the cassette tape format isn't considered obsolete in Japan (as of this writing; it certainly wasn't during Gen V and Genesect's real-world inception).
• Magic Knight: Both its Attack and Special Attack are equal to each other and decently high, letting it hit hard with Physical or Special attacks.
• Making a Splash: Holding the Douse Drive imbues the cannon on its back with water properties, making Techno Blast deal Water-type damage.
• Mechanical Insects: It is not only a metallic bug, but also a prehistoric insect that was revived and given robotic enhancements by Team Plasma to make the most powerful Pokémon ever. Giving it different "drives" allows it to change the type of its signature move Techno Blast, and it can fold its limbs to transform into a flying saucer.
• Meaningful Name: It's a genetically re-created and re-engineered insect that achieved a genesis into a Deity of Human Origin thanks to Team Plasma's efforts.
• Minor Major Character: You'd think that a Mythical Pokémon created by Team Plasma would have an important role in the story of Black and White or the sequels. Unfortunately, thanks to being a Mythical Pokémon, nobody ever brings it up in normal gameplay, and it doesn't even have a sidequest where it's battled (ala Victini in Liberty Garden).
• Mundane Utility:
  • Genesect has the ability to fold itself up and fly around... making it a useful Fly HM Slave.
  • Among Pokémon Sun and Moon's slew of unused Pokémon walking animations is Genesect in its flight form◊, suggesting it would've followed the player by always flying around.
• Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: It's a prehistoric cybernetic insect predator with a Backpack Cannon that shoots Frickin' Laser Beams that can also turn into a hoverboard!
• No Biological Sex: It might have had a gender before its revival and mechanization, though it's genderless now.
• Non-Elemental: Not holding any of the Drives makes Techno Blast deal Normal-type damage.
• Non-Standard Character Design: Even given the usual Mechanical Lifeforms vibe of Steel-type Pokémon, Genesect looks a lot more robotic and mechanical than Pokémon. Even its status as a cybernetic bug isn't immediately obvious at first glance, given its cannon, unusual eyes, and human-like (and unmoving) grin.
• Olympus Mons: Notably, it's the first (and so far, only) Mythical Pokémon to naturally be a Bug-type.
• Perpetual Expression: Its (presumably artificial) face never changes beyond its Slasher Smile.
• Person of Mass Destruction: It was made by Team Plasma to be the strongest Pokémon ever, and it's not hard to imagine they'd have put it to use had N not intervened.
• Phlebotinum Rebel: Seeing how it's a Mythical Pokémon that isn't used by Team Plasma (or Dudley, for that matter), one can only assume Genesect flew the coop some time after it was finished. It becomes even more of a rebel should the player choose to use it against Team Plasma.
• Playing with Fire:
  • Holding the Burn Drive imbues the cannon on its back with fiery properties, making Techno Blast deal Fire-type damage.
  • A special event Genesect comes with the move Blaze Kick, a flaming kick that deals Physical damage and has a higher chance to inflict a Critical Hit.
• Prehistoric Monster: Back in ancient times, it was "feared as the strongest of hunters". It was revived with cybernetic enhancements to put it on par with the modern Olympus Mons in power level.
• Purple Is Powerful: It's a super predator made even stronger with technology and is mostly purple.
• Purposely Overpowered: Restricted usage in the Battle facilities, official tournaments, and random Wi-Fi, just like all other Mythical Pokémon.
• Recurring Element: A Mewtwo-esque final Legendary/Mythical, like the original Mewtwo and Deoxys. It seems to also take cues from Mewtwo's origin in the manga and animé canons (namely being made by an evil team to be the strongest Pokémon of all).
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: This creature was an apex predator for a reason, though who knows if its red eyes are a result of Plasma's cybernetics or not.
• Red Ones Go Faster: In Genesect and the Legend Awakened, the Big Bad shiny Genesect (which is red-colored) moves extremely fast and knows Extreme Speed. Said Genesect was made available as a downloadable event for people who saw the movie in Japan, and it not only has a Hasty Nature^*which boosts Speed but reduces Defense, but it has a perfect Speed IV, knows Shift Gear to boost its Speed further, and holds a Choice Scarf.
• Required Party Member: In order to obtain the Drives in Gen V and Gen VI, a certain NPC needs to be shown Genesect. It's no longer the case in Gen VII, as Colress gives them out after becoming the Champion whether the player has Genesect or not.
• Riddle for the Ages: We may never find out what Genesect's original appearance, power and possibly even name pre-roboticization was.
• Secret Art: Techno Blast, which is a high-power Normal-type move, but changes types depending on what Drive is held.
• Secret Character: Only available via special distributions, just like every other Mythical Pokémon. Its existence wasn't officially acknowledged until July 14, 2012, two years after Gen V's beginning.
• Series Continuity Error: Genesect has a Pokédex entry and obtainable Drives in OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire, despite those games taking place several years before Pokémon Black and White, and therefore before N (as Team Plasma's king) cancelled the project. By all accounts, it shouldn't even exist yet at that point.
• Shock and Awe: Holding the Shock Drive imbues the cannon on its back with electrical properties, making Techno Blast deal Electric-type damage.
• Single Specimen Species: The prehistoric version probably wasn't, but there very likely isn't going to be any more of the enhanced kind in the games. Averted in the animé, where at least five of the enhanced kind exist, one being shiny.
• Slasher Smile: Sports this as part of its Perpetual Expression.
• Sliding Scale of Gameplay and Story Integration: The first Genesect distributed (which happened during Pokémon Black 2 and White 2's initial release) have "Plasma" as their Original Trainer; a nod to the Pokémon's origins as Team Plasma's creation.
• Slow Laser: Techno Blast's animation depicts the attack as the typical slower-than-light energy bolt. In Super Smash Bros., it uses Techno Blast as both this and an instantaneous Wave-Motion Gun.
• Status Buff: Download raises its Attack or Special Attack depending on the enemy's defenses. An event Genesect also came with Shift Gear, which boosts its Attack by one stage and Speed by two stages on each use.
• The Stoic: In Pokémon-Amie and Pokémon Refresh, Genesect shows little to no emotion (aside from a slightly altered cry in certain situations, and thanks to its Perpetual Expression) and almost never moves out of its hunched, zombie-like pose (when it does, it takes on an Ass Kicking Pose as a sign of disapproval).
• Super-Soldier: Team Plasma enhanced it with cybernetics in a bid to create the world's strongest Pokémon. It's telling how successful they were when other Bug-types can only match its base stat total. When Mega Evolved.
• Temporary Online Content: To date, Genesect has only ever been available via internet-based events that inevitably end. Since getting the Drives prior to Gen VII required having it, the Drives are also this in all games before then.
• That Man Is Dead: It's unclear if "Genesect" is the Pokémon's birth name, or if it was given by Team Plasma to the specimen they mechanized. Regardless, no canon has ever depicted Genesect as being upset about being altered into something fundamentally different, so it probably embraces its new form.
• Transforming Mecha: It has the ability to fold itself into a disc-like form to fly around. It unfolds out of it when released from a Poké Ball, and it's depicted in this form in an unused animation◊ from Pokémon Sun and Moon.
• Travel Transformation: Genesect has a high-speed flight configuration where it turns into a flying saucer-like object for travel.
• Turned Against Their Masters: What happens if you use it against Team Plasma in the Unova games (though strictly speaking, Team Plasma aren't Genesect's masters owing to N cancelling the project and Dudley finishing it independently).
• Uniqueness Decay: The number of Drive sets have increased in number since Gen V, obviously so players are able to collect them. There are explanations either given or implied, however — with more being made from the original designs, bought off a shady market, and even held by Colress (despite him not being part of the original project).
• Useless Useful Spell: Techno Blast initially had 85 base power, 5 PP and could be one of five types, but four of those types required a held item that gave no benefit other than changing Techno Blast's type, Genesect couldn't get STAB from any version of it, and other moves had more power, PP and had the chance for additional effects. In the end, only the Water-type version was effective due to Genesect's limited options for countering Fire-types. Gen VI buffed it by giving it 120 base power, but since it still requires a held item and denies STAB/additional effects to Genesect, it still doesn't see much use.
• Weak to Fire: Due to its Bug/Steel typing, Fire is the only type that is super effective against it, and it deals quadruple damage to it.
• Weaponized Animal: Genesect is a weaponized ancient apex predator, and is the only Pokémon to use a manmade weapon (most others have natural weapons or are totally manmade themselves).
• We Can Rebuild Him: Team Plasma revived it from a fossil, then subsequently cybernetically altered it to use as a weapon.

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