Ok, once again:
Moltres (?????, Faiy??, Fire) is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise. Moltres is one of the three Legendary Birds, which also include Articuno and Zapdos.
"Moltres" comes from the words "molten", because it is a fire-type, and "tres", Spanish for "three", denoting that Moltres is numerically the third (uno, dos, tres) of the Legendary Birds.
Moltres may be based on the Arabian phoenix.
Characteristics
Moltres is a large bird that is literally ablaze with fire. It has an orange body, a small pointed beak, and where its plumage should be are flames of a searing intensity. In its traits, it is based on the Arabian phoenix.
Moltres can be seen as the avian embodiment of an inferno (compare with Ho-oh). It can freely create and manipulate fire, and it constantly looses flaming embers from its wings. Indeed, its wings are laden with enough fiery material that with every flap, a dazzling flare of flames is created to illuminate the night sky and overwhelm any person who might be in the area to see it.
Moltres is an elusive creature, seen about as rarely as the other two members of the Legendary Bird triad to which it belongs: Articuno and Zapdos. When Moltres thinks it is in the least bit possible danger (an unlikely scenario given Moltres’ power), it will summon a flash of fire and seemingly disappear, flying out of sight very fast.
Incredibly, Moltres’ body seems unharmed by contact with molten lava; it only restores Moltres' health. When its body is injured for any reason, it will head towards a volcano and dip its body in the molten magma to heal its wounds.
In the video games
Moltres, as a Legendary Pokémon, is a mission-centered Pokémon because only one exists in certain versions of the Pokémon game and is encountered in a pre-determined environment. In Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon Green, and Pokémon Yellow, Moltres is found in a side area in the Victory Road cave. In the Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen remakes, though, Moltres has moved to a different location, which is on the top of Mt. Ember on the first Sevii island (it can be accessed before defeating the Elite Four). In addition, a Shadow Moltres can be snagged from Cipher Grand Master Greevil in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, in Citadark Isle. Moltres also appears as a boss in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon.
Moltres has impressively high statistics all around, with no base stat lower than 85, and its highest stat is a Special Attack rating of 125. This combines very well with Moltres’ Fire-type and array of powerful Fire-type moves to form a very strong offensive fire-based force. The main drawback to Moltres in terms of Legendary Pokémon is that it only learns attacks of the Fire, Flying, and Normal types, giving it a very limited movepool variety. Charizard, for instance, which is also a fire- and flying-type, can learn even ground-type moves, giving it an edge against rock, electric, poison and other fire-type Pokémon. However, Moltres can be taught Steel Wing by Technical Machine, and when purified in Pokémon XD it also holds the strong Psychic-type attack Extrasensory. Both go a long way in giving Moltres an effective sense of variety.
Moltres will become a devastating Pokemon if it is taught a variety of moves based on Fire-type. A strong and straightfoward moveset will be Heat Wave, Wing Attack/Aerial Ace, Double Edge and Steel Wing. Its major weaknesses will be taken off by a simple Steel Wing. Moltres will be a powerful sweeper if it has the moveset above.
In Super Smash Bros Melee, Moltres can be released from a pokeball as an item and severely damage anyone who comes in contact with it.
In Pokemon Snap. A large egg blocks the course near the end of the level. Knocking the egg into a river of lava using an Item causes it to hatch into Moltres, who circles for a time before flying into the distance.
In the animé
Prior to Pokémon: The Movie 2000, Moltres had only appeared in myth and imagery. In Episode 17, “Island of the Giant Pokémon,” a giant Moltres chases Team Rocket through the night on an island seemingly filled with all sorts of giant-sized Pokémon. It is revealed later that, like all said Pokémon, Moltres was merely a semi-sentient animatronic.
In the episode "All Fired Up", where Ash and company have made it to the opening ceremony of the Pokémon League, a ball of fire comprised of the essence of Moltres is featured as the symbol of competition, much like the ceremonial torch seen in the Olympics. Ash is to relay the "Flame of Moltres" to the Indigo League Torch in this manner in order to signify the commencement of the games. However, Team Rocket had their eyes on the valuable flame, and soon seized it and attempted to use it to harm Ash. However, the flame had a mind of its own (possibly posessed by Moltres's soul?), and it backfired against Team Rocket, sending them to blast off once again.
The first official appearance of Moltres was in "Pokémon The Movie 2000: The Power of One", along with the other two legendary birds (Zapdos and Articuno). It was one of the two birds that the villainous collector, often referred to as both Gelardan and Lawrence III, captured to allow him access to Lugia's power, but the upset of the balance that occurred as a result nearly caused a worldwide weather catastrophe as Moltres was driven to wage war with its two rivals. They were quelled once Ash and Lugia fulfilled the prophecy related to the birds.
Another episode that doesn't feature Moltres, but is worthy of note in conjunction with the character, is "The Fortune Hunters", the final episode of the Johto Journeys season. In it, James of Team Rocket reads his fortune in a Pokémon fortune telling book, a personality test based on each person's birthdate. He is delighted to discover he is a "Moltres type". The book elaborates, "No matter what difficulties befall them, the Moltres type will always prevail and, just like a real Moltres, the Moltres type personality soars high above all others and triumphs". James nicknamed himself "James the Mighty Moltres" for the remainder of the episode and his determination and confidence increased greatly, making him much more resourceful and helpful to the team. Sadly, for James, the book was a fake created by fellow Team Rocket members Butch and Cassidy. Learning this destroyed James' confidence and he instantly went back to being a loser. (As a side note, James discovers his real personality type at the end of the episode from the real fortune telling book, and screams, aghast, "Oh, no! It can't be!", though it is never revealed exactly which Pokémon he is associated with. It's said that he is the Victreebel type and it explains why he screamed, since he's always bitten by it.)
Moltres in the Skyridge set.The first fully corporeal Moltres seen on the show itself is seen in the Pokémon Chronicles episode "The Search for a Legend", where Richie and Silver try to climb Mt. Ember to find Moltres, but Butch and Cassidy are tagging to try to capture the legendary bird. This episode has, so far, not been seen anywhere outside of Japan and Canada (a dubbed version has recently been aired on YTV, implying that it has been dubbed, but not aired). However has recently been aired in europe.
In the trading card game
Moltres, in all cases a Basic Fire-type Pokémon, has had plenty of cards under its name:
Fossil
Gym Heroes (as Blaine’s Moltres)
Gym Challenge (as Rocket’s Moltres)
Skyridge
EX Firered & Leafgreen (as Moltres EX, a secret hidden card - 115/112)
EX Team Rocket Returns (as Rocket’s Moltres EX, as a pure Dark type)
In addition, Moltres appeared as the 24th promotional card. It was one of three legendary bird cards handed out at random at theatrical showings of Pokémon: The movie 2000 (during the second week in theatres).
Ok, done!
Moltres (?????, Faiy??, Fire) is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise. Moltres is one of the three Legendary Birds, which also include Articuno and Zapdos.
"Moltres" comes from the words "molten", because it is a fire-type, and "tres", Spanish for "three", denoting that Moltres is numerically the third (uno, dos, tres) of the Legendary Birds.
Moltres may be based on the Arabian phoenix.
Characteristics
Moltres is a large bird that is literally ablaze with fire. It has an orange body, a small pointed beak, and where its plumage should be are flames of a searing intensity. In its traits, it is based on the Arabian phoenix.
Moltres can be seen as the avian embodiment of an inferno (compare with Ho-oh). It can freely create and manipulate fire, and it constantly looses flaming embers from its wings. Indeed, its wings are laden with enough fiery material that with every flap, a dazzling flare of flames is created to illuminate the night sky and overwhelm any person who might be in the area to see it.
Moltres is an elusive creature, seen about as rarely as the other two members of the Legendary Bird triad to which it belongs: Articuno and Zapdos. When Moltres thinks it is in the least bit possible danger (an unlikely scenario given Moltres’ power), it will summon a flash of fire and seemingly disappear, flying out of sight very fast.
Incredibly, Moltres’ body seems unharmed by contact with molten lava; it only restores Moltres' health. When its body is injured for any reason, it will head towards a volcano and dip its body in the molten magma to heal its wounds.
In the video games
Moltres, as a Legendary Pokémon, is a mission-centered Pokémon because only one exists in certain versions of the Pokémon game and is encountered in a pre-determined environment. In Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon Green, and Pokémon Yellow, Moltres is found in a side area in the Victory Road cave. In the Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen remakes, though, Moltres has moved to a different location, which is on the top of Mt. Ember on the first Sevii island (it can be accessed before defeating the Elite Four). In addition, a Shadow Moltres can be snagged from Cipher Grand Master Greevil in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, in Citadark Isle. Moltres also appears as a boss in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon.
Moltres has impressively high statistics all around, with no base stat lower than 85, and its highest stat is a Special Attack rating of 125. This combines very well with Moltres’ Fire-type and array of powerful Fire-type moves to form a very strong offensive fire-based force. The main drawback to Moltres in terms of Legendary Pokémon is that it only learns attacks of the Fire, Flying, and Normal types, giving it a very limited movepool variety. Charizard, for instance, which is also a fire- and flying-type, can learn even ground-type moves, giving it an edge against rock, electric, poison and other fire-type Pokémon. However, Moltres can be taught Steel Wing by Technical Machine, and when purified in Pokémon XD it also holds the strong Psychic-type attack Extrasensory. Both go a long way in giving Moltres an effective sense of variety.
Moltres will become a devastating Pokemon if it is taught a variety of moves based on Fire-type. A strong and straightfoward moveset will be Heat Wave, Wing Attack/Aerial Ace, Double Edge and Steel Wing. Its major weaknesses will be taken off by a simple Steel Wing. Moltres will be a powerful sweeper if it has the moveset above.
In Super Smash Bros Melee, Moltres can be released from a pokeball as an item and severely damage anyone who comes in contact with it.
In Pokemon Snap. A large egg blocks the course near the end of the level. Knocking the egg into a river of lava using an Item causes it to hatch into Moltres, who circles for a time before flying into the distance.
In the animé
Prior to Pokémon: The Movie 2000, Moltres had only appeared in myth and imagery. In Episode 17, “Island of the Giant Pokémon,” a giant Moltres chases Team Rocket through the night on an island seemingly filled with all sorts of giant-sized Pokémon. It is revealed later that, like all said Pokémon, Moltres was merely a semi-sentient animatronic.
In the episode "All Fired Up", where Ash and company have made it to the opening ceremony of the Pokémon League, a ball of fire comprised of the essence of Moltres is featured as the symbol of competition, much like the ceremonial torch seen in the Olympics. Ash is to relay the "Flame of Moltres" to the Indigo League Torch in this manner in order to signify the commencement of the games. However, Team Rocket had their eyes on the valuable flame, and soon seized it and attempted to use it to harm Ash. However, the flame had a mind of its own (possibly posessed by Moltres's soul?), and it backfired against Team Rocket, sending them to blast off once again.
The first official appearance of Moltres was in "Pokémon The Movie 2000: The Power of One", along with the other two legendary birds (Zapdos and Articuno). It was one of the two birds that the villainous collector, often referred to as both Gelardan and Lawrence III, captured to allow him access to Lugia's power, but the upset of the balance that occurred as a result nearly caused a worldwide weather catastrophe as Moltres was driven to wage war with its two rivals. They were quelled once Ash and Lugia fulfilled the prophecy related to the birds.
Another episode that doesn't feature Moltres, but is worthy of note in conjunction with the character, is "The Fortune Hunters", the final episode of the Johto Journeys season. In it, James of Team Rocket reads his fortune in a Pokémon fortune telling book, a personality test based on each person's birthdate. He is delighted to discover he is a "Moltres type". The book elaborates, "No matter what difficulties befall them, the Moltres type will always prevail and, just like a real Moltres, the Moltres type personality soars high above all others and triumphs". James nicknamed himself "James the Mighty Moltres" for the remainder of the episode and his determination and confidence increased greatly, making him much more resourceful and helpful to the team. Sadly, for James, the book was a fake created by fellow Team Rocket members Butch and Cassidy. Learning this destroyed James' confidence and he instantly went back to being a loser. (As a side note, James discovers his real personality type at the end of the episode from the real fortune telling book, and screams, aghast, "Oh, no! It can't be!", though it is never revealed exactly which Pokémon he is associated with. It's said that he is the Victreebel type and it explains why he screamed, since he's always bitten by it.)
Moltres in the Skyridge set.The first fully corporeal Moltres seen on the show itself is seen in the Pokémon Chronicles episode "The Search for a Legend", where Richie and Silver try to climb Mt. Ember to find Moltres, but Butch and Cassidy are tagging to try to capture the legendary bird. This episode has, so far, not been seen anywhere outside of Japan and Canada (a dubbed version has recently been aired on YTV, implying that it has been dubbed, but not aired). However has recently been aired in europe.
In the trading card game
Moltres, in all cases a Basic Fire-type Pokémon, has had plenty of cards under its name:
Fossil
Gym Heroes (as Blaine’s Moltres)
Gym Challenge (as Rocket’s Moltres)
Skyridge
EX Firered & Leafgreen (as Moltres EX, a secret hidden card - 115/112)
EX Team Rocket Returns (as Rocket’s Moltres EX, as a pure Dark type)
In addition, Moltres appeared as the 24th promotional card. It was one of three legendary bird cards handed out at random at theatrical showings of Pokémon: The movie 2000 (during the second week in theatres).
Ok, done!
Oh, and the fourth one... uhh... he's in that mystery pile right now...
