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Why do you think its not taboo for trainers to own legendaries anymore?

CyberCubed

Yeah, ok!
The early seasons of the anime made it seem like it was, "taboo" for a trainer to actually capture a legendary. On top of that, legendaries were made out to by mysterious creatures very few people have ever seen, and getting to see them battle was a rare sight.

As the show progressed legendaries became more and more common, even appearing in random filler episodes, and on top of that regular trainers have been shown to own legendaries in Pokeballs.

At this point its no longer unbelieveable to say Ash could capture a legendary at some point, although I imagine it would have to be one of the lesser ones so he doesn't get overpowered.

Anyway, why do you think the writers changed the way legendaries are treated in the series?
 

HoennMaster

Well-Known Member
Brandon is a regular trainer? I believe the head Frontier Brain is more then regular.
 

pokemonloverXD

Ash's fangirl
I think it's b/c the amount of legendaries are rising up, there're alot of them now or it could be that the writers just want to please the fans having the legendaries appear more oftenly
 

ChaosMage

Izit cuz I is black?
I think it's just one of those aspects of the show which wears off over time. It's difficult to maintain this rule that the strongest pokemon can't be caught and trained, but then to also find worthy challenges for Ash. Anyway, in-game the legends fall under certain tiers;

Tier 1: Behemoth Legendaries (Large and powerful, having stat totals of around 670/680 or as high as 720, Often appear as version mascots, and often represent a certain type of duality. Unique in the games and will only ever be caught by the player themselves. Some are unique in the anime and others are not, but none of them have been successfully used by a trainer despite attempts to do so)
Arceus, Mewtwo, Lugia, Ho-oh, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Regigigas, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyuremu


Tier 2: Bonus Legendaries (So named because they are either not part of the game plot, and are caught after you become champion, or are given away as special event pokemon. They always have total stats of 600. In the anime, only two of these have been used by a trainer, that trainer being Takuto. They are very rare but not unique. They can be beaten by "normal" pokemon but they pose a hell of a challenge and can sweep even very powerful teams if they do not have an effective counter strategy)
Post-game: Latias, Latios, Heatran, Cresselia, Randorosu
Event: Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Deoxys, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Victini, Meloetta, Genesect

Tier 3: Lesser Legendaries (Usually in pairs or trios, and usually subordinates to the Behemoth Legendaries in Tier 1. Sometimes have a role in the game plot, and can be caught at various points in the game usually after you have completed certain conditions. They have a stat total of 580 and are often either found in their own sidequest or roaming around the region. In the anime their status has slipped with each generation and now they can be seen in unremarkable episodes or even caught and trained by a skilled enough trainer but this is very rare and they are still a major threat)
Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Uxie, Azelf, Mesprit, Kobaruon, Terakion, Birijion, Kerudio, Torunerosu, Borutorosu


As soon as a trainer shows up with a Tier 1 Legendary, that'll be the point where the show jumps the shark.
 

Lorde

Let's go to the beach, each.
I think it's b/c the amount of legendaries are rising up, there're alot of them now or it could be that the writers just want to please the fans having the legendaries appear more oftenly

Well, the writers don't seem to care much about fan complaints, so I doubt they're showcasing Legendary Pokemon more often just because a few people wanted to see them play bigger roles in the anime. I don't think showcasing tons of Legendary Pokemon in the anime is all that good, however. We had some of the most mysterious Legendary Pokemon become nothing more than common Pokemon lately:

I mean, there was a freaking Heatran at the Lily of the Valley Conference, just sitting there in the registration office. I know it's not the rarest Legendary Pokemon, but seeing it there while everyone around acted so nonchalantly just seems odd. I've yet to meet anyone who was pleased to see Heatran there. And don't get me started on Takuto.

Anyway, I guess things just change and we should expect certain Pokemon to appear more often than they used to: even if we don't see eye-to-eye with the writer's decisions :x
 

An00bis

Wicked Witch
The thing was that there were fewer legendaries (read " 5 ") in Kanto then there were in other regions. Since there were so few legendary Pokemon their appearances were reserved for special occasions. Mind that the original legendary trio wasn't bound to any folklore in the games so what happened in the anime was essentially made up by the writers. The folklore between Mew and Mewtwo was explored in the First Movie.

As time went on more legendaries were added to the series then could be focused on in the yearly movies so they thought of the noble idea of making them appear in the anime more. To justify their appearances most of the legendaries follow plotlines similar to the games that they appear in. Since their role in the games in general was stepped up as the generations went by we saw a significant change in role in the legendary Pokemon in the anime. Back in Generation I the legendary Pokemon were just semi-hidden add ons that the player had to actively seek out to find. Since Generation II many legendaries were integrated into the main story.

The short version: The anime mirrors the games. Legendary Pokemon are no longer rare in the games so the anime followed suit.
 

Marbi Z

Cin-Der-Race!
I HATE it when trainers use Legendaries in the Anime!!! What really ticked me off is when that that stupid Jap in the Sinnoh Leauge used legendaries to beat Ash!!! Ahhhh!!!! I can't stand it!!!! REAL TRAINERS DON'T USE LEGENDARIES!!!
 

GilligBoi

Well-Known Member
Cause people are whiny *****es , I will own and use the pokemon I want to and if you don't like it too bad. Real trainers use every pokemon. Real trainers don't wuss out because a pokemon is 'legendary' or not. Common pokemon can beat legendaries if you train them right and use a good strategy. I have beaten my friends legends with hand trained pokemon like gengar, luxray or a plain old pigeot. It is about the application of skill and detemination not about whining.

I can understand some people not liking cookie cutter teams. But cookie cutter =/= legendary. Lots of teams use some of the same pokemon but you hardly ever hear whining about that. Almost everyone I know uses a charizard, so what that is their choice. Thats another thing that pokemon is supposed to be about, choice. All day you get told what to do at work/school when you catch your pokemon you get to make them how you want them. Its all up to you not the whiny people that are scared to fight a mewtwo.
 

poizonsting

Pokemon master
It's because of the games, basically. In the first generation, we had only 5 legendary Pokemon, and therefore, in the anime they were treated akin to gods. But as more and more new games began to come out, the quota for legendaries in each game also increased. This led to the downgrade of some legendary Pokemon in the anime. While some of them are still considered to be on the "deity" level, legendary Pokemon have become cheap nowadays. Crap Pokemon like Heatran and Phione (debatable, but whatever) are considered to be legendary now, and some lowly trainers even own[spoil]Darkrai and Heatran[/spoil]
 

randomspot555

Well-Known Member
Um...It's Pokemon and the Pokemon Anime promotes the games. =_= (2010 Video Game World Championships)

Yes, they promote the games, not tournaments. They've featured several Pokemon in the series even when they were banned from the official tournament. Dragonite wasn't allowed in tournaments for a while because it evolved at a late level, but that hasn't affected it's several appearances in the anime. Ditto with the Rotom forms, which were banned until the release of HGSS when the Secret Key was no longer required to activate the changing forms. And I'm fairly certain the Darkrai episode where it was featured battling Cresselia was aired before it was originally allowed in tournaments, but I could be wrong.
 

13_luckynumber

Well-Known Member
If those legendary Pokemon you refer to are Latios, Heatran and Darkrai, I will say it is because their role in nature are not very important. They are just called legendary because they are unusually strong.
 

BlueDragonfangirl

Well-Known Member
Cuz as some one else said already, so many keep poping up these days, more and more people are bound to get a few. Wish Ash would catch Mew or one he has a connection to, than that'd make him too powerful :O
 

Marbi Z

Cin-Der-Race!
Cause people are whiny *****es , I will own and use the pokemon I want to and if you don't like it too bad. Real trainers use every pokemon. Real trainers don't wuss out because a pokemon is 'legendary' or not. Common pokemon can beat legendaries if you train them right and use a good strategy. I have beaten my friends legends with hand trained pokemon like gengar, luxray or a plain old pigeot. It is about the application of skill and detemination not about whining.

I can understand some people not liking cookie cutter teams. But cookie cutter =/= legendary. Lots of teams use some of the same pokemon but you hardly ever hear whining about that. Almost everyone I know uses a charizard, so what that is their choice. Thats another thing that pokemon is supposed to be about, choice. All day you get told what to do at work/school when you catch your pokemon you get to make them how you want them. Its all up to you not the whiny people that are scared to fight a mewtwo.
I didn't mean the games... I meant the anime! What really annoyed me was the fact that stupid Jap Takatu used legends to beat Ash... And unfortanatly the Sinnoh leauge. They get enough promotions in the anime and the movies! So I say keep em out of the Pokemon Leauges!
 

GilligBoi

Well-Known Member
I didn't mean the games... I meant the anime! What really annoyed me was the fact that stupid Jap Takatu used legends to beat Ash... And unfortanatly the Sinnoh leauge. They get enough promotions in the anime and the movies! So I say keep em out of the Pokemon Leauges!

*slaps forehead* I knew I shouldn't post when I have had cold medicine. That stuff always dopes me up, sorry lol.

I think it is for 2 reasons- the first being the fact that there are more legendary pokemon and the fact that every show but build on itself to impress the veiwers. Like in every show the villans and heroes get stronger and more powerful, just think of some of your favorites- Dragonball Z, Batman, Yugioh ect.
 
Last edited:

streetlightdsb

Uni hiatus
I think it's just one of those aspects of the show which wears off over time. It's difficult to maintain this rule that the strongest pokemon can't be caught and trained, but then to also find worthy challenges for Ash. Anyway, in-game the legends fall under certain tiers;

Tier 1: Behemoth Legendaries (Large and powerful, having stat totals of around 670/680 or as high as 720, Often appear as version mascots, and often represent a certain type of duality. Unique in the games and will only ever be caught by the player themselves. Some are unique in the anime and others are not, but none of them have been successfully used by a trainer despite attempts to do so)
Arceus, Mewtwo, Lugia, Ho-oh, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Regigigas, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyuremu


Tier 2: Bonus Legendaries (So named because they are either not part of the game plot, and are caught after you become champion, or are given away as special event pokemon. They always have total stats of 600. In the anime, only two of these have been used by a trainer, that trainer being Takuto. They are very rare but not unique. They can be beaten by "normal" pokemon but they pose a hell of a challenge and can sweep even very powerful teams if they do not have an effective counter strategy)
Post-game: Latias, Latios, Heatran, Cresselia, Randorosu
Event: Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Deoxys, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Victini, Meloetta, Genesect

Tier 3: Lesser Legendaries (Usually in pairs or trios, and usually subordinates to the Behemoth Legendaries in Tier 1. Sometimes have a role in the game plot, and can be caught at various points in the game usually after you have completed certain conditions. They have a stat total of 580 and are often either found in their own sidequest or roaming around the region. In the anime their status has slipped with each generation and now they can be seen in unremarkable episodes or even caught and trained by a skilled enough trainer but this is very rare and they are still a major threat)
Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Uxie, Azelf, Mesprit, Kobaruon, Terakion, Birijion, Kerudio, Torunerosu, Borutorosu


As soon as a trainer shows up with a Tier 1 Legendary, that'll be the point where the show jumps the shark.

This is probably the best categorisation of legendaries I've seen, nice one. Though I still think it'd be unlikely that we'd see a trainer with a Mew or Celebi, for example...

I don't think it was ever taboo for trainers to own legendaries, it's just that since Gen 3 there's been a good number of legendaries to pick from, from the writers point of view. If someone had a Zapdos in Gen 1- one out of only five legends to pick from, it just would have been a bit odd; they were rarer and more mystical back then IMO.

Either way it's a good thing. We get to see Ash battling awesome legendaries and it gives us good battles to watch (which, lets face it, is what we're all here to see).
It's also a testament to Ash's skill that the only realistic way the writers saw Ash losing in the league was to chuck a dude with two, and probably more, legendaries on his team.
 
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