The Best Legendary Pokemon Origins

In the Pokémon games, you find yourself on a quest to catch all the Pokémon in the world to fill out the Pokédex. On occasion, you find yourself face to face with a legendary Pokémon, leaving you to wonder. Where did it come from? Well within this article, and a second one to come, we have decided to give you a little insight into the origins of some of the legendary Pokémon that you come across. Not all of the legendary Pokémon are covered, and these are rough speculations provided by folklore.

Mewtwo

Though Mewtwo doesn’t exactly hold any real-life backstory that makes it special, the backstory it does have is twisted enough to provide us with an entertaining story. While scientists studied the DNA they found of Mew, the experimented with creating a clone. Though one of the failed mew clones is believed to be a batch of ditto, the ‘successful’ attempt provided the Pokéverse with the volatile Mewtwo.

Seeking freedom, Mewtwo destroyed the lab in which he was created, along with the scientists who created him (Aside from Mr. Fuji who is presumed to be the owner of the Mansion on Cinnibar Island), then fled to solitude to contemplate his own existence.

This is a dark view of the Pokémon world that is actually the backstory in the show, and Pokémon games when it comes to Mewtwo. Though this theory is an example of how humans actually interact with nature, it leads you to believe if Mewtwo’s existence is actually a message to children to not play God.

The Birds

Covering the most well-known legendary Pokémon from gen 1 Pokémon games, we look for the backstory of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. One by one, we will give a brief analysis of their origin and backstory.

Articuno

Suggestively based on the Persian lore of Simurgh, or a Roc, this mystical bird Pokémon doesn’t have any in-game back story or origin story other than the guardian of its own island/cave.

Zapdos

Like Articuno, there doesn’t seem to be much back story from the games or television show. This bird is suggestively based on the Indian Thunderbird legend, with other suggestions hinting towards an African origin of lightning generated bird (Whose physical representation is a species known as the Hammerkop) that resembles Zapdos.

Moltres

The third of the mystical trio is Moltres, who is suggestively based on Slavic folklore, the Firebird. This beautiful and majestic Pokémon is also believed to be based on a breed of phoenix legend.

Ho-Oh

This legendary Pokémon actually has an amazing backstory and real-life origin. The backstory is that it is the sacred bird Pokémon that overlooks its region from atop its tower. When it’s sister tower that was home to Lugia was burnt to the ground by a lightning strike, three Pokémon perished inside that Ho-Oh brought back to life, making them legendary Pokémon with unique moves and looks.

That being said, its real-life origins are that of the Japanese phoenix, known as Hou-ou. It is no wonder where it got its name from — representing both good times and bad. This ancient celestial bird was said to appear in times of harmony and peace as a symbol of a new era; however, in bad times, it was said to disappear.

Regirock

These Regi three are based on the golems in Hebrew legend with writing on their forehead. They are said to only obey their master, and in this case, the ones that capture them in a poke ball…. err ultra-ball rather (Let’s face it, it took like 40 ultra-balls to catch one). The three have separate representations of the stone age (Regirock), the ice age (Regice), and the iron age (Registeel).

Kyogre

 

On the topic of Hebrew legend, these three forces of nature are actually great representations of the leviathan, behemoth, and Ziz. These three represent the three main domains of the world, water, land, and air. Though the water and land were at war, the air or sky was more of a protector of the others. All three have biblical ties that we would best not to get into so no one is offended. The lore of leviathan is that it was imagined as a giant fish, as Kyogre is. Groudon represents the Behemoth that ruled the land. And Ziz was a great flying bird-like creature, such as Rayquaza.

Conclusion

That concludes the best origins of some of the legendary Pokémon you can find in the games. All this information is indeed speculation, as stated before, but we do hope you enjoyed reading it.

In the future, we hope to add more folklore that inspired Pokémon, so let us know what you think and what Pokémon you’d like to know the inspiration of. Thank you for reading.