I would argue the intended Lucario archetype for Gen 7 was actually Lycanroc, because they tried giving it several layers of special treatment. It has its own Z-move, it has its own signature move in Accelerock, and it has multiple forms, one of which was event-exclusive. There was only one other non-starter, non-legendary Gen 7 mon to get its own Z-move: Mimikyu. I posit that Lycanroc getting underwhelming reception led to a hard pivot to Mimikyu as Gen 7's golden child, where its potential was always seen but originally intended to just be its own thing.
I agree with the idea and support of Lycanroc. But off the top of my head, Eevee and Kommo-o also got their own Z-moves. This was the gen before Eevee was a (playable) starter and Kommo-o is just a pseudo-legendary.
@@chuck6330 Oh yeah, I forgot Kommo-o. I lumped it in with the legendaries in my mind because it was the pseudo-legendary. But outside of legendaries, starters, Lycanroc, Mimikyu, and Kommo-o, everything that got one was from Gen 1 (kind of; Alolan Raichu, like, half-counts). It seems clear to me who they thought were special.
To add on to this, I swear I remember that in the lead up to Sun and Moon, prerelease material stated that Rockruff had some sort of unknown, mysterious connection to the game's starters, and then it just didn't. It might've been a mistranslation, but I think they had much bigger plans for Lycanroc that they just ended up dropping.
03:00 I'd argue the first proto-lucario was actually Blaziken. The developers have talked about how their intent behind the design was for the player to be disappointment by their cute little chicken turning into this big mean looking thing, but how the positive reception and people thinking it was cool was somewhat unexpected. Blaziken's unexpected reception was probably what gave them the idea to make Lucario in the first place, even if Blaziken itself was something of an accident.
Absol existed in that same generation, with a visual style that's very similar to what a Lucario-like should be. It seems like Gen III definitely laid the groundwork for this phenomenon to happen.
Continuing off of this, Blaziken was also given some special treatment in Gen 6. Mega-Blaziken was the only gen-3 starter to receive a mega-evolution in X&Y, as a mystery gift for players who bought the game at release. (Sort of like for Victini in Black & White!) Blaziken fits the bill, with special attention from game freak, a humanoid figure, some extra anime attention, etc. I feel it should be included, if Greninja is.
@@Hijiri_MIRACHION Yeah Gen 3 was when they really started to experiment with meaner/cooler looking Pokemon. The devs are also on record talking about how Gen 1 designs were all supposed to be at least partly cute, and how they felt they took this too far in Gen 2, making too many cutesy designs. Taken together with some of the leaks, we know they were experimenting with some extremely edgy designs for Gen 3, even if that was ultimately reigned in a ton.
Blaziken was also the first pokemon that came to my mind during the story in the opening. I was this kid a few years earlier, and the pokemon was Blaziken
I feel like spiritomb is a good example of a fake mythical. It’s quite different to the fake legendaries because we don’t really see it that often, but it feels very mythical to encounter, especially in legends arceus. It also has very mysterious lore and a cool design like other mythicals
@@ChronoSquareapparently, the official criteria to be considered a legendary Pokemon is the inability to produce eggs no matter what (the leaked docs do mention this specifically, and even note Volcarona and its pre evo as not legendary because of it).
@@kyubeycoobie3568 Yeah Manaphy and Phione are weird cases, tho Manaphy doesn't lay eggs of it's own species but it's also a mythical. Phione is also hilariously neither a legendary nor a mythical, it's its own thing for no reason (they even specificy to not make it public, at that point, why even bother making a distinction?). P.S: Yeah I reread the thing, and they also agree that it is confusing for no reason 😭
Whenever I try to pronounce it, it just sounds like legendary without the L. Which makes you sound like you have a speech impediment. Thus I don't see it being a great name for this design algorithm.
@@jackdorsey7820 After some thought, I think we should call them champion pokemon. Since their designs kinda reflect champion digimons in both designs and aesthetic. ( Lucario is missing one or two extra limbs or necklaces or tails to fully embrace the digimon art style.) Not to mention these pokemon are literally gamefreaks champions, the name fits.
@@TheForgidbearbackersi like that idea but when i hear champion pokemon i think of pokemon in the hall of fame that you beat the champion with, if you get me, but i do love the name
Somebody else already said this too, but when I think of the Gen 7 representative for this trope my mind immediately goes to Lycanroc, *not* Type Null. Type Null might have all of the in-game lore and depth and importance tied to it to make it an edgy fake legendary, but in terms of the fanbase's meta reception it's unquestionably Lycanroc. The midnight form straight up looks like a combination of Lucario and Zororark, and if that wasn't enough, it also got a third form based on the one Ash uses in the anime... just like Greninja.
I feel like Absol, while not necessarily being PART of this archetype, could be tangential to it, as it always seems to be looming over certain major plot-relevant set-pieces in the games -- namely those where major disasters or calamities either have or will soon occur. Places like Route 120 in Hoenn, just north of Mt. Pyre, where one of the Orbs for your game's respective box Legendary is stolen by a team leader, setting off a chain of events that nearly lead to an ecological apocalypse, or on the higher reaches of Mt. Coronet in Sinnoh, accessible when the player is first headed to the Spear Pillar to stop Cyrus's universe-altering schemes. It certainly has the edgy bit down, with its most relevant design point, the horn that gives it its powers of disaster prediction, being shaped like a friggin' scythe blade, while still (at least in my opinion) being a pretty cute lil' creature. Also, fun (though not super-related) fact: Absol is the only non-Legendary Pokémon featured on the cover art for Pokémon Box Ruby and Sapphire for the GameCube (the other 'Mons featured are Groudon, Kyogre, Latios, Latias, and the original Regi Trio).
Also in lore Absol has this reputation for causing the catastophes when they're actually the warning that the catastrophes are coming. Being misunderstood is prime edgy energy.
I also was introduced to Pokemon during gen2 Johto, i thought Charizard and Gyarados was the coolest back then, favorit Eeveelution was Jolteon and i did like Pikachy. But out of the pokemons that were introduced in gen 2, Sneazle was the coolest one. I sure didn't know how the games worked with Special and Fysical but i sure did think Sneasel was cool (if i had any, i never made it that far). I wish Wivile was more like Sneasler in its looks
Funny you didn't mention what to me felt like the most blatant attempt at Lucario 2.0: Zeraora. Granted, they did classify it as a mythical Pokemon so it doesn't fit, but it's so clearly attempting to fit that same role in the minds of edgy teens. 😂
The fact that the Memory Drives don’t allow Silvally to get a boost like the Arceus Plates, AND they give them no boost against Ultra Beasts, AND they don’t allow them to shift types at will, is a CRIME.
@@yonkodudeIsn't the whole point of Type: Null's existence all about it being too strong? Silvally is supposed to have been so dangerous that it had to be restrained and locked away, and it was made to be strong already. Even if that weren't the case it's a shame that such a cool design is left behind with such garbage stats. Why couldn't they have at least given it an even 100 across the board?
I’ve always found it funny that Gamefreak tried really hard to make a “Greninja 2.0” twice in both Cinderace and Meowscarada. All of them have the ability Protean (Libero is just a renamed Protean), were the starter Pokémon for their respective anime’s protagonist, were the first starter of their region to be playable in Unite, are all very Humanoid, and for Greninja and Cinderace specifically, the only starter of their trio to have two unique moves (Water Shuriken/Mat Block and Pyro Ball/Court Change respectively)
And the funny part about both of them is that while Greninja is overall perceived as cool, both Cinderace and Meowscarada are mostly perceived as cute furrybait. They wanted a Greninja 2.0 but they made a Braixen 2.0.
I remember the lead up to X and Y; Froakie wasn't the _least_ liked starter, since Chespin still existed -- but a lot of people just really didn't like it. It was always pretty surprising to see how quickly that turned around once the final forms were revealed (poor Fennekin...)
@@ChronoSquare And in that particular capacity, Delphox is the most popular of the gen 6 starter final evos. Delphox has 5259 images on e621, compared to 3009 for Greninja and 579 for Chesnaught. Braixen, of course, has 8129.
In my mind, Kubfu and Urshifu always felt like successors to Lucario and Zoroark. They are two stage evolution anthropomorphic mammals, you can only get one per game and this time they really are legendaries though they don't really feel like it.
I think that you're underselling Ceruledge/Armarouge a bit. They do get special treatment - one of the main storylines has one of the Team Star bosses (the Fire type one) reunite with a Charcadet that she abandoned after leaving the school to lead her squad. It's obviously not as involved as a Zoroark event, but it still is more than Lucario ever got. I also would argue the fact that you need a special item to evolve Charcadet into the version-specific evolution, both having their own signature move (with Ceruledge's especially being mega edgy, called Bitter Blade lol) and both of them being featured in the marketing leading up to the game's launch speak a lot to the fact that they're kinda the "cool and edgy" mascot designs of the generation.
It was a neat idea to look at this archetype through out the series history and while I mostly agree with your picks, I feel like the trend only truly holds for Lucario and Zoroark. Like those are the definitive "edgy fake Legendaries," while the rest of the gens never quite tick all the boxes to fit the bill.
When I was a little baby and I saw the zoroark movie for the first time I thought she was the coolest dude around The moment I found zorua on my oras game I lost it, I was so happy. It's a memory that will forever live with me
@johnalddrumph456 I hope I don't disappoint you too much, because I can't remember most of the specific methods lol. What I DO remember is constantly going around places like Meteor Falls, the Tanoby Ruins, all of the Regi chambers, just about every route in Hoenn and the Sevii Islands. I never did find him but it always felt like he was there somewhere just out of reach, as if I was getting closer with each place I inspected. Of course, as a kid these games seemed endless, like the world would just keep going on forever and ever. I even had dreams about discovering a route that I had never seen before and finding a static Lucario encounter sometimes lmao. Man, it was so fun to be wrong. So much exploring, even if it was technically for nothing, brought countless hours of happiness from getting immersed and taking it all in.
I love this topic! It’s one that I’ve thought about a lot as the generations have gone on. I thought you were right on the money with Toxtricity! You echoed my exact thoughts! I did think it was interesting that you chose Armorouge and Ceruledge for Gen 9. My thoughts have been that it’s actually Gholdengo. I know it doesn’t fit the aesthetic, but I feel like it gets a special spotlight as Pokémon number 1000.
the type:null storyline has ALWAYS been so cool to me. i remember standing in the labs and reading those journal entries off the shelf, and then it evolved and was that much cooler
@@LuigiTheMetal64they replaced them with more fun mechanics They’re basically akin to tourist attractions which is cool Contrary to what people believe this proves that it’s not the same game every time and it’s not “stale” if things are always being changed up
@@madnessarcade7447 Replacing the overworld effects from Abilities is never fun. It removes the value from any Pokémon to do only battles. There is no strategy.
One things you forgot about toxtricity give it an edgy factor, if everyone remember the hill in grass type gym leader area. A lot of people couldn’t figure what it was until turns out it was that Pokemon in Gmax from just a thought.
Nice video Edgy Pokémon have been around from the beginning Lucario just made popularized the trope for example Gen 1: nidoking, Gengar, and garyados. Gen 2: Houndoom, Tyranitar, scizor, freakin Umbreon. Gen 3: Sceptile, Abosl (I mean look at it). My main thing with this archetype of Pokémon is that they make them better in battle I mean it’s weird promoting Cereuledge so much when Armourouge is seen as the better battler in game by competitors.
One of the coolest things about playing explorers of sky after red rescue team was that I got to play as a Lucario. It really felt like I was that legend from before completing all those challenges and adventures, really really cool.
I'm not sure if this counts, but even if it wasn't specifically marketed, I feel like Nidoking was the gen 1 equivalent to Lucario. It was SUPER popular back then.
Personally, I really like ceruledge in particular but moreso because of the color scheme and typing rather than how badass it looks the Hisuian Zoroark line as well (especially the shiny ones) for the same reasons but also because of the inspiration behind it
On a broader note, i appreciate your ending comments about the archetyoes that seem to arise over time in oart due to community reception. One project i've had on the backburner is kind of an "all-star dex". Essentially identify the archetypes and go through the Gens and pick out your favorites and create your own. Kind of a similar exercise to how i would make a rom hack. We have starters, legendaries, pika-clones. But what about the "Big Rock"- Golem, Gigalith, Coalossal, Naclstack, etc? The 3-stage psychic- Alakazam, Gardevoir, Gothorita, Hattenna, etc? The early bird- Pidgey, Hoothoot, Tailow, Staravia, Pidove, Fletchling, Pikipek, Rookidee, and Wattrel? Its not always perfect (maybe Hoothoot and Tailow are closer to Spearow because they are onky 2 stages?), but fun stuff to think about.
I enjoy when pokemon can be caught super early in game but pokemon please let them be obtainable in game. That and special events that give you a chance to get one or see their story and development of certain mons. It's very fun and fleshed out the story and world
The most famous fake legendaries are the Mythicals. They mistranslated the term for decades despite the Japanese having a solid grasp on the categories by Gen 2, and by the time English media split them in Gen 6 the fandom was too dug in to adjust by and large. Gen 1 is kind of weird on it's own though yeah. Dragonite was a legendary in Gen 1 media, Arcanine was in the Pokedex and some pre-release stuff, it's messy
I think of all the edgy, bipedal animal ones like Lucario, Zoroark, Zeraora, etc as NQMs: Not Quite Mewtwos. They're all either fierce, stoic, cunning, or something else, and all of them fist pump or adopt some kind of wide-legged martial art stance. Mewtwo was right to stop cloning Pokemon after the first movie; the company decided to try and clone him instead.
Ceruledge is my 6th favorite Pokèmon OVERALL, so by default he's my favorite in this list as well. *Sirfetch'd is my 2nd favorite, but you didn't wanna count him here
I think gen 9s special pokemon is terapagos, it's just like type null a real legendry that is different than the rest. When Pokemon Scarlet and Violet came out you could play the game 10 times and never even know this Pokemon existed, Terapagos could only be found in optional lore and we didn't know what it looked like or what Terapagos' name was, then the DLC unlike the sword and shield DLC is a continuation of the base game and is about terapagos and its secrets. Terapagos also has a big role in the New Era for the anime that is completely different from Ash's Era, revealing a brand new from and story about an ancient adventurer and a group of special Pokemon and a big new group of villains
That wouldn’t count sense terapagos is the third legendary not a normal Pokémon. Plus to fit this criteria they have to look edgy, menacing, or “ Badass” (for a lack of better term). Terapogos looks and is cool but it’s more cute then something like a ceruledge.
I think I much prefer zoroark's beta design where it actually has a tail. I always found its hair being its tail feeling really awkward. It seems to be much more tied to alder than N in its design.
I didn't realize toxtricity was supposed to be one of their edgelords. It's been one of my favorites since it came out, awesome typing and I like the design. Just surprised you think its one of their Pseudo Pseudo legendaries.
Nice video! Also, what about Gens 1, 2, 3, and 9? Do pseudo legendaries count? I WOULD say Gen 3's is Latios; a cool Pokemon appearing in a gen before it's official release! (Pokemon Heroes, imo Pokemon's most forgotten movie). But Latios IS a legendary, so... And for Gen 1, I'd say Mewtwo but again Mewtwo IS a legendary... For real though, Gen 1's is probably Alakazam. Or Scyther. Gen 2's is Scizor. Or Tyranitar. T-Tar was badass in the Celebi movie! Gen 3's is Absol or Salamence (edgier Dragonite). And Gen 9 I'm not too familiar with yet so I don't know. And Gen 4's can also be Garchomp. Again, if pseudo-legendaries count too.
I would argue for a lot more as part of the group - So for Gen 4 we obviously have Lucario but also Spiritomb and Rotom - both had a really unique lore and encounter method with Rotom having legendary music even Gen 5 we have Zoroark obvs - but also Volcarona easy, with the static encounters in both games - lore of it being worshiped and temporarily replacing the Sun Gen 6 we got Ash-Greninja I guessss I see what you mean with it but…. Starterrrr Gen 7 I mean, yeah Silvally/Type Null fits perfectly except they are legendaries… maybe Mimikyu if you really squint Gen 8… I think just none, toxtricity is cool but it doesn’t feel legendary at all Gen 9 Yeah Ceruledge and Armourodge easy or however you spell them
I used to have full blown arguments with my mates as a kid cause they firmly believed that Lucario was a legendary Pokémon because of the movie it was in whereas I, a person with a brain, was like na
I really liked the topic of this video. There are a lot of possible categories beyond the official and "pseudofficial" ones, such as regional birds and pseudolegendaries Having said that, although I agree that Silvally's story is cool, I found this Pokémon to be rather disappointing. There was so much pre-release hype and mistery around it, implying it would have a big role in the game's history... just for it to become part of Gladio's character development. And it's "made as an image of the greatest of the Pokémon gods, for it to be able to fight againts legendaries as an equal" just turned to be... a Normal Pokémon with stats and an ability based on Arceus', but worse; nothing exciting, just a balanced jack of all trades Speaking of Gen 9, for me the closer thing to an "almost legendary" would be Cyclizar, as it has a major role in the region of Paldea and being directly conected to the box legendaries, something really weird to see on "normal, not special" Pokémon (I can only think of Carbink at the moment). But it's too easy to find in the wild and too common among NPCs to have any mistery around it, and visually it doesn't seem like an edgy character
While definitely not to the same extent, and lacking in "edginess" factor, I'd consider Rotom another progenitor of this archetype. I wholly thought it was a legendary until gen 6 when we found it in the garbage if all places
For gen 8 overall id honestly say hisuian zoroark, it technically isnt from sword and shield but did get alot of attention on legends arceus and during the games promotion
I guess all Pokémon that feel like an individual character more than a part of a species of creatures can fit the archetype. Lucario was a character first, then "a" Lucario
LETS GO! Finally the underrated legendary getting some attention! Silvally/Type: Null will always be my favorite Pokémon! It hurts me when people just dismiss it as a poor-man's Arceus, he has so much more depth!
I don't think this is really its own category of pokemon that is intended to exist (at least, not anymore) and more a feeling you're ascribing to them, honestly. I think it's sort of a by-product of the time period of the late 2000s and early 2010s of edgy things just kind of being popular at the time. I don't think Type:Null fits into the archetype super well as being *genuinely* special, and since then nothing as been really comparable to the popularity, intentional or otherwise, of mons like Lucario
For gen 7 im seeing alot of lycanroc and type null, but i feel another good fit, even if it doesnt have as much story importance would be the jangmo-o line. Theres a baby form, its final form embodies that cool asthetic, and alson another pattern that i noticed, is bipedal. Alot of the examples that were given in this video follow that rule, with the exception of type: null of course. Just a thought though
tbh i cant stand these industy-plant pokemons more power to their enjoyers tho i call this archetype “industry-plant” because that’s really are there is to it
@alephnull4044 I hope so, maybe I just not hear correctly, but I hear thirteen, and not thirty, so did he make a mistake, or did I not hear correctly ?
Aegislash was Definitely designed to be the cool new "edgy mon for teens" (it felt that way for me), but Greninja popped off so much more than GameFreak likely anticipated. It's okay, Delphox, you're still my beloved wizard fox
Let's call them champion pokemon, derived from the champion stages of digimons. And the fact they are literally gamefreaks Champions. In terms of in game presentation, and popularity amongst the fans relatively speaking of course.
The thing about Pokemon is that it's just a Pikachu show. Only Pikachu has a voice line in all games. All other Pokemon even up until now are just garbled garbage noise on their voice lines. Pokemon shot themselves on the knee cap after they released more and more Pokemon on the list. The thought of 150 to 250 was cool at first. So yeah, it's just a Pikachu game
You never went back to aegislash 😢 and no volcarona? Even though in gen 5 it has a static encounter, and is the latest 1st evolution. Its the $500 magikarp and riolu egg on steroids. I’d even have mentioned gyarados as a stretch. But silvally IS a legend.
Edgelord bait (5th grader syndrome) but also furry bait. Through the combined powers of these two demographics combined, they rose to the top picks of the whole fanbase. 😂
omg hi lucario 😍😍😍
Lucaroo could easily be mythical
Scizor did it first but gamefreak didn’t believe in it to be a fan favorite
Hi
Lucario is near the top in other ways too... 😏 _if you know what I mean_
Lucario is lucario.
I would argue the intended Lucario archetype for Gen 7 was actually Lycanroc, because they tried giving it several layers of special treatment. It has its own Z-move, it has its own signature move in Accelerock, and it has multiple forms, one of which was event-exclusive. There was only one other non-starter, non-legendary Gen 7 mon to get its own Z-move: Mimikyu. I posit that Lycanroc getting underwhelming reception led to a hard pivot to Mimikyu as Gen 7's golden child, where its potential was always seen but originally intended to just be its own thing.
I agree with the idea and support of Lycanroc. But off the top of my head, Eevee and Kommo-o also got their own Z-moves. This was the gen before Eevee was a (playable) starter and Kommo-o is just a pseudo-legendary.
@@chuck6330 Oh yeah, I forgot Kommo-o. I lumped it in with the legendaries in my mind because it was the pseudo-legendary. But outside of legendaries, starters, Lycanroc, Mimikyu, and Kommo-o, everything that got one was from Gen 1 (kind of; Alolan Raichu, like, half-counts). It seems clear to me who they thought were special.
@@King_Hehehe Eevee’s Z-Move + Baton Pass + Power Trip Krookodile helped me sweep up at the Battle Tree, it’s so beautifully broken
To add on to this, I swear I remember that in the lead up to Sun and Moon, prerelease material stated that Rockruff had some sort of unknown, mysterious connection to the game's starters, and then it just didn't. It might've been a mistranslation, but I think they had much bigger plans for Lycanroc that they just ended up dropping.
YOUR MINDDDD
03:00 I'd argue the first proto-lucario was actually Blaziken. The developers have talked about how their intent behind the design was for the player to be disappointment by their cute little chicken turning into this big mean looking thing, but how the positive reception and people thinking it was cool was somewhat unexpected.
Blaziken's unexpected reception was probably what gave them the idea to make Lucario in the first place, even if Blaziken itself was something of an accident.
Absol existed in that same generation, with a visual style that's very similar to what a Lucario-like should be. It seems like Gen III definitely laid the groundwork for this phenomenon to happen.
Continuing off of this, Blaziken was also given some special treatment in Gen 6. Mega-Blaziken was the only gen-3 starter to receive a mega-evolution in X&Y, as a mystery gift for players who bought the game at release. (Sort of like for Victini in Black & White!)
Blaziken fits the bill, with special attention from game freak, a humanoid figure, some extra anime attention, etc. I feel it should be included, if Greninja is.
@@Hijiri_MIRACHION Yeah Gen 3 was when they really started to experiment with meaner/cooler looking Pokemon. The devs are also on record talking about how Gen 1 designs were all supposed to be at least partly cute, and how they felt they took this too far in Gen 2, making too many cutesy designs.
Taken together with some of the leaks, we know they were experimenting with some extremely edgy designs for Gen 3, even if that was ultimately reigned in a ton.
Blaziken was also the first pokemon that came to my mind during the story in the opening. I was this kid a few years earlier, and the pokemon was Blaziken
why would they deliberately try to disappoint players who picked torchic?
I feel like spiritomb is a good example of a fake mythical. It’s quite different to the fake legendaries because we don’t really see it that often, but it feels very mythical to encounter, especially in legends arceus. It also has very mysterious lore and a cool design like other mythicals
Kinda like Volcarona for Gen 5
or rotom gen 4
I feel like while it definitely doesn't fit the mold completely, Volcarona comes really close to this concept.
Yea it has its own shrine and all
its not a legendary even, which is really wild to me.
@@ChronoSquareapparently, the official criteria to be considered a legendary Pokemon is the inability to produce eggs no matter what (the leaked docs do mention this specifically, and even note Volcarona and its pre evo as not legendary because of it).
Manaphy
@@kyubeycoobie3568 Yeah Manaphy and Phione are weird cases, tho Manaphy doesn't lay eggs of it's own species but it's also a mythical.
Phione is also hilariously neither a legendary nor a mythical, it's its own thing for no reason (they even specificy to not make it public, at that point, why even bother making a distinction?).
P.S: Yeah I reread the thing, and they also agree that it is confusing for no reason 😭
Why didn’t you call them Edgendaries
Whenever I try to pronounce it, it just sounds like legendary without the L.
Which makes you sound like you have a speech impediment. Thus I don't see it being a great name for this design algorithm.
ed-genderies.
Something something gender
@@jackdorsey7820 After some thought, I think we should call them champion pokemon.
Since their designs kinda reflect champion digimons in both designs and aesthetic. ( Lucario is missing one or two extra limbs or necklaces or tails to fully embrace the digimon art style.)
Not to mention these pokemon are literally gamefreaks champions, the name fits.
@@TheForgidbearbackersi like that idea but when i hear champion pokemon i think of pokemon in the hall of fame that you beat the champion with, if you get me, but i do love the name
Edgydary
Somebody else already said this too, but when I think of the Gen 7 representative for this trope my mind immediately goes to Lycanroc, *not* Type Null. Type Null might have all of the in-game lore and depth and importance tied to it to make it an edgy fake legendary, but in terms of the fanbase's meta reception it's unquestionably Lycanroc. The midnight form straight up looks like a combination of Lucario and Zororark, and if that wasn't enough, it also got a third form based on the one Ash uses in the anime... just like Greninja.
Also tpe:null IS legendary.
except the third form is properly written unlike Greninja's lol
I feel like Absol, while not necessarily being PART of this archetype, could be tangential to it, as it always seems to be looming over certain major plot-relevant set-pieces in the games -- namely those where major disasters or calamities either have or will soon occur. Places like Route 120 in Hoenn, just north of Mt. Pyre, where one of the Orbs for your game's respective box Legendary is stolen by a team leader, setting off a chain of events that nearly lead to an ecological apocalypse, or on the higher reaches of Mt. Coronet in Sinnoh, accessible when the player is first headed to the Spear Pillar to stop Cyrus's universe-altering schemes. It certainly has the edgy bit down, with its most relevant design point, the horn that gives it its powers of disaster prediction, being shaped like a friggin' scythe blade, while still (at least in my opinion) being a pretty cute lil' creature.
Also, fun (though not super-related) fact: Absol is the only non-Legendary Pokémon featured on the cover art for Pokémon Box Ruby and Sapphire for the GameCube (the other 'Mons featured are Groudon, Kyogre, Latios, Latias, and the original Regi Trio).
Also in lore Absol has this reputation for causing the catastophes when they're actually the warning that the catastrophes are coming. Being misunderstood is prime edgy energy.
I started with gen IV and always assumed Absol was a legendary from small glimpses of it out of the games. Top tier mix of cool/cute
I began with Gen 2, and for me Scizor was the embodiment of cool.
For me it was Grovyle in Gen 3. Him getting the pseudo-Greninja treatment between the anime & PMD explorers isn't talked about enough imo
I also was introduced to Pokemon during gen2 Johto, i thought Charizard and Gyarados was the coolest back then, favorit Eeveelution was Jolteon and i did like Pikachy.
But out of the pokemons that were introduced in gen 2, Sneazle was the coolest one. I sure didn't know how the games worked with Special and Fysical but i sure did think Sneasel was cool (if i had any, i never made it that far). I wish Wivile was more like Sneasler in its looks
You could also make a video about Pokemon who felt completely legendary but in the end they were just ordinary Pokémon like Absol, Rotom and Volcarona
Definitely should have included Absol in your list properly; it fits this archetype perfectly.
Funny you didn't mention what to me felt like the most blatant attempt at Lucario 2.0: Zeraora. Granted, they did classify it as a mythical Pokemon so it doesn't fit, but it's so clearly attempting to fit that same role in the minds of edgy teens. 😂
If it doesn't fit, Type: Full project doesn't due to being a sub-legendary. It doesn't regardless due to the Rockruff family existing, but still.
Zeraora’s an industry plant
We’re just not going to acknowledge Arcanine? The ACTUAL first fake Legendary Pokémon?
why not?
The fact that the Memory Drives don’t allow Silvally to get a boost like the Arceus Plates, AND they give them no boost against Ultra Beasts, AND they don’t allow them to shift types at will, is a CRIME.
But he is a failure. He is SUPPOSED to have those abilities but due to being a failure it cant use them.
@@yonkodude I know :( But man is Silvally underwhelming in competitive
Yeah, some of the alola legendarys need more love...
Also Marshadow is pretty cute.
@@kurenian maybe we get a hidden ability called RKS success and it allows them to switch forms
@@yonkodudeIsn't the whole point of Type: Null's existence all about it being too strong? Silvally is supposed to have been so dangerous that it had to be restrained and locked away, and it was made to be strong already. Even if that weren't the case it's a shame that such a cool design is left behind with such garbage stats. Why couldn't they have at least given it an even 100 across the board?
I’ve always found it funny that Gamefreak tried really hard to make a “Greninja 2.0” twice in both Cinderace and Meowscarada. All of them have the ability Protean (Libero is just a renamed Protean), were the starter Pokémon for their respective anime’s protagonist, were the first starter of their region to be playable in Unite, are all very Humanoid, and for Greninja and Cinderace specifically, the only starter of their trio to have two unique moves (Water Shuriken/Mat Block and Pyro Ball/Court Change respectively)
And the funny part about both of them is that while Greninja is overall perceived as cool, both Cinderace and Meowscarada are mostly perceived as cute furrybait. They wanted a Greninja 2.0 but they made a Braixen 2.0.
It didn't work because they actually gave the other Gen 8/9 starters attention instead of leaving them to rot like Chesnaught and Delphox.
@@INTCUWUSIUA Which is fine by me. 😸
Mmmmm protein
@@INTCUWUSIUA and both clear Greninja ez
0:54 No one gonna talk about how the animators did an oopsie and made Lucario's legs all blue 👀?
So Droomish became a furry at the age of 13? That explains so much.
I remember the lead up to X and Y; Froakie wasn't the _least_ liked starter, since Chespin still existed -- but a lot of people just really didn't like it. It was always pretty surprising to see how quickly that turned around once the final forms were revealed (poor Fennekin...)
ironic now how Braixen seems to be most liked... ("liked")
Man, Froakie is so cute though
@@ChronoSquare And in that particular capacity, Delphox is the most popular of the gen 6 starter final evos. Delphox has 5259 images on e621, compared to 3009 for Greninja and 579 for Chesnaught. Braixen, of course, has 8129.
@@INTCUWUSIUA dang the bara furries aren't taken to Gen 6 i guess 😂
Toxtricity does have some mythos. It has the carving(?) of its Gigantamax form into the hillside of the Grass gym town
In my mind, Kubfu and Urshifu always felt like successors to Lucario and Zoroark. They are two stage evolution anthropomorphic mammals, you can only get one per game and this time they really are legendaries though they don't really feel like it.
What a great vid boss 👍
Solid pull on absol as the proto archetype guy too
Originally I was PISSED to not see shiny sploink on the list, but then I remembered it's not a FAKE legendary it's a REAL legendary
I think that you're underselling Ceruledge/Armarouge a bit. They do get special treatment - one of the main storylines has one of the Team Star bosses (the Fire type one) reunite with a Charcadet that she abandoned after leaving the school to lead her squad. It's obviously not as involved as a Zoroark event, but it still is more than Lucario ever got.
I also would argue the fact that you need a special item to evolve Charcadet into the version-specific evolution, both having their own signature move (with Ceruledge's especially being mega edgy, called Bitter Blade lol) and both of them being featured in the marketing leading up to the game's launch speak a lot to the fact that they're kinda the "cool and edgy" mascot designs of the generation.
Lucario got a movie
@@tokofukawap4055 I didn't know the Lucario movie got shown in the games, could you point me towards that?
It was a neat idea to look at this archetype through out the series history and while I mostly agree with your picks, I feel like the trend only truly holds for Lucario and Zoroark. Like those are the definitive "edgy fake Legendaries," while the rest of the gens never quite tick all the boxes to fit the bill.
I love lucario and the mystery of mew , I rewatch it all the time. Love to see it in your vid. And your mom being a breloom is a funny visual joke
It's Mimikyu. The answer is Mimikyu. The answer is ALWAYS Mimikyu.
The answer to what? 🤔
@@Tyler-q3keverything
^
@number1-willstetsonsimp ok, I'm not against that.
Also pineapple on pizza is good, change my mind.
@@Tyler-q3k it's not real pizza without pineapple.
When I was a little baby and I saw the zoroark movie for the first time I thought she was the coolest dude around
The moment I found zorua on my oras game I lost it, I was so happy. It's a memory that will forever live with me
My boy Gallade was unlucky to be introduced at the same time as Lucario.
I spent hours upon hours upon HOURS trying to get Lucario in Gen 3 thanks to Red Rescue Team and the Lucario movie.
Genuinely curious as to what methods you tried using lol
@johnalddrumph456 I hope I don't disappoint you too much, because I can't remember most of the specific methods lol.
What I DO remember is constantly going around places like Meteor Falls, the Tanoby Ruins, all of the Regi chambers, just about every route in Hoenn and the Sevii Islands. I never did find him but it always felt like he was there somewhere just out of reach, as if I was getting closer with each place I inspected. Of course, as a kid these games seemed endless, like the world would just keep going on forever and ever. I even had dreams about discovering a route that I had never seen before and finding a static Lucario encounter sometimes lmao.
Man, it was so fun to be wrong. So much exploring, even if it was technically for nothing, brought countless hours of happiness from getting immersed and taking it all in.
3:46: Using Stone Edge on a Hydreigon? 🤔🤔🤔
That’s what I said 😭😭😭🙏
I definitely get where you're coming from with Silvally, but unlike the others Silvally is an Actual Legendary.
Ok, this brought back vivid memories of me playing the D/P demo at Walmart! I had forgotten about the Lucario until you mentioned it. WOW!
I love this topic! It’s one that I’ve thought about a lot as the generations have gone on. I thought you were right on the money with Toxtricity! You echoed my exact thoughts!
I did think it was interesting that you chose Armorouge and Ceruledge for Gen 9. My thoughts have been that it’s actually Gholdengo. I know it doesn’t fit the aesthetic, but I feel like it gets a special spotlight as Pokémon number 1000.
Play pokemon unite and the number of people with 20-40 dollar greninja skins is craaaaazy
Where's Pikablu?
My friend told me you had to get this mist stone from Bill after completing the Pokedex and fighting the elite 4 151 times!
YES! A new Droomish Vid is my fav kinda Saturday~
the type:null storyline has ALWAYS been so cool to me. i remember standing in the labs and reading those journal entries off the shelf, and then it evolved and was that much cooler
greninja was cool then battle bond was deleted and protein got nerfed..............moving on
Scrapping the fun mechanics has always been a problem with Pokémon games these days.
@@LuigiTheMetal64they replaced them with more fun mechanics
They’re basically akin to tourist attractions which is cool
Contrary to what people believe this proves that it’s not the same game every time and it’s not “stale” if things are always being changed up
@@madnessarcade7447 Replacing the overworld effects from Abilities is never fun. It removes the value from any Pokémon to do only battles. There is no strategy.
One things you forgot about toxtricity give it an edgy factor, if everyone remember the hill in grass type gym leader area. A lot of people couldn’t figure what it was until turns out it was that Pokemon in Gmax from just a thought.
Nice video
Edgy Pokémon have been around from the beginning Lucario just made popularized the trope for example
Gen 1: nidoking, Gengar, and garyados.
Gen 2: Houndoom, Tyranitar, scizor, freakin Umbreon.
Gen 3: Sceptile, Abosl (I mean look at it).
My main thing with this archetype of Pokémon is that they make them better in battle I mean it’s weird promoting Cereuledge so much when Armourouge is seen as the better battler in game by competitors.
As children, my cousin and I referred to this group as "part-time legendaries" and also included the likes of Spiritomb, Absol, and Volcorona
that’s okay you didn’t talk about absol bc absol is too girlypop and too c word but the video was still pretty good
One of the coolest things about playing explorers of sky after red rescue team was that I got to play as a Lucario. It really felt like I was that legend from before completing all those challenges and adventures, really really cool.
I'm not sure if this counts, but even if it wasn't specifically marketed, I feel like Nidoking was the gen 1 equivalent to Lucario. It was SUPER popular back then.
Personally, I really like ceruledge in particular but moreso because of the color scheme and typing rather than how badass it looks
the Hisuian Zoroark line as well (especially the shiny ones) for the same reasons but also because of the inspiration behind it
21:39
You're 13 and have this awesome channel?! I'm so jealous!
On a broader note, i appreciate your ending comments about the archetyoes that seem to arise over time in oart due to community reception. One project i've had on the backburner is kind of an "all-star dex". Essentially identify the archetypes and go through the Gens and pick out your favorites and create your own. Kind of a similar exercise to how i would make a rom hack.
We have starters, legendaries, pika-clones. But what about the "Big Rock"- Golem, Gigalith, Coalossal, Naclstack, etc? The 3-stage psychic- Alakazam, Gardevoir, Gothorita, Hattenna, etc? The early bird- Pidgey, Hoothoot, Tailow, Staravia, Pidove, Fletchling, Pikipek, Rookidee, and Wattrel? Its not always perfect (maybe Hoothoot and Tailow are closer to Spearow because they are onky 2 stages?), but fun stuff to think about.
11:03 TOADALLY AWESOME MENTIONED
7:41 If I'm not mistaken, the art shown here (bottom) is by teafoxillustrations.
I was 100% sure gen7's pick would have been Mimikyu
Edgelords of Pokemon :
Kanto - Nidoking (Toxic , big and spiky)
Jhoto - Tyranitar (Big and evil looking)
Hoenn - Sceptile (Reptile)
Sinnoh - Lucario (Loyal comrade)
Unova - Krookdile (Edgy reptile)
Kalos - Greninja (Evil Ninja with Bond transformation)
Alola - Incineroar (Big, intimidating, VGC King)
Galar - Grimmsnarl (Evil Fairy)
Paldea - Ceruledge (A ghost knight with lots of malice)
the soprano's shot took me out😭i love u
I enjoy when pokemon can be caught super early in game but pokemon please let them be obtainable in game.
That and special events that give you a chance to get one or see their story and development of certain mons. It's very fun and fleshed out the story and world
droomish x lucario slowburn fan fics when
The Zoroark movie is amazing and is still my favorite to this day 😊
Early as hell don't know what to say. I predict Ceruledge will be in this video.
I was right
The most famous fake legendaries are the Mythicals. They mistranslated the term for decades despite the Japanese having a solid grasp on the categories by Gen 2, and by the time English media split them in Gen 6 the fandom was too dug in to adjust by and large.
Gen 1 is kind of weird on it's own though yeah. Dragonite was a legendary in Gen 1 media, Arcanine was in the Pokedex and some pre-release stuff, it's messy
I think of all the edgy, bipedal animal ones like Lucario, Zoroark, Zeraora, etc as NQMs: Not Quite Mewtwos.
They're all either fierce, stoic, cunning, or something else, and all of them fist pump or adopt some kind of wide-legged martial art stance.
Mewtwo was right to stop cloning Pokemon after the first movie; the company decided to try and clone him instead.
Ceruledge is my 6th favorite Pokèmon OVERALL,
so by default he's my favorite in this list as well.
*Sirfetch'd is my 2nd favorite, but you didn't wanna count him here
Love the junk warrior cameo❤
I think gen 9s special pokemon is terapagos, it's just like type null a real legendry that is different than the rest.
When Pokemon Scarlet and Violet came out you could play the game 10 times and never even know this Pokemon existed, Terapagos could only be found in optional lore and we didn't know what it looked like or what Terapagos' name was, then the DLC unlike the sword and shield DLC is a continuation of the base game and is about terapagos and its secrets.
Terapagos also has a big role in the New Era for the anime that is completely different from Ash's Era, revealing a brand new from and story about an ancient adventurer and a group of special Pokemon and a big new group of villains
That wouldn’t count sense terapagos is the third legendary not a normal Pokémon. Plus to fit this criteria they have to look edgy, menacing, or “ Badass” (for a lack of better term). Terapogos looks and is cool but it’s more cute then something like a ceruledge.
Expected an Absol mention. Great video though
I think I much prefer zoroark's beta design where it actually has a tail. I always found its hair being its tail feeling really awkward. It seems to be much more tied to alder than N in its design.
I didn't realize toxtricity was supposed to be one of their edgelords. It's been one of my favorites since it came out, awesome typing and I like the design. Just surprised you think its one of their Pseudo Pseudo legendaries.
Even legendary are not that anymore as some evolve and can be found in many ways.
Nice video! Also, what about Gens 1, 2, 3, and 9? Do pseudo legendaries count?
I WOULD say Gen 3's is Latios; a cool Pokemon appearing in a gen before it's official release! (Pokemon Heroes, imo Pokemon's most forgotten movie). But Latios IS a legendary, so... And for Gen 1, I'd say Mewtwo but again Mewtwo IS a legendary... For real though, Gen 1's is probably Alakazam. Or Scyther. Gen 2's is Scizor. Or Tyranitar. T-Tar was badass in the Celebi movie! Gen 3's is Absol or Salamence (edgier Dragonite). And Gen 9 I'm not too familiar with yet so I don't know. And Gen 4's can also be Garchomp. Again, if pseudo-legendaries count too.
I would argue for a lot more as part of the group -
So for Gen 4 we obviously have Lucario but also Spiritomb and Rotom - both had a really unique lore and encounter method with Rotom having legendary music even
Gen 5 we have Zoroark obvs - but also Volcarona easy, with the static encounters in both games - lore of it being worshiped and temporarily replacing the Sun
Gen 6 we got Ash-Greninja I guessss I see what you mean with it but…. Starterrrr
Gen 7 I mean, yeah Silvally/Type Null fits perfectly except they are legendaries… maybe Mimikyu if you really squint
Gen 8… I think just none, toxtricity is cool but it doesn’t feel legendary at all
Gen 9 Yeah Ceruledge and Armourodge easy or however you spell them
I used to have full blown arguments with my mates as a kid cause they firmly believed that Lucario was a legendary Pokémon because of the movie it was in whereas I, a person with a brain, was like na
7:11 Perfect sound effect here 🤣
I really liked the topic of this video. There are a lot of possible categories beyond the official and "pseudofficial" ones, such as regional birds and pseudolegendaries
Having said that, although I agree that Silvally's story is cool, I found this Pokémon to be rather disappointing. There was so much pre-release hype and mistery around it, implying it would have a big role in the game's history... just for it to become part of Gladio's character development. And it's "made as an image of the greatest of the Pokémon gods, for it to be able to fight againts legendaries as an equal" just turned to be... a Normal Pokémon with stats and an ability based on Arceus', but worse; nothing exciting, just a balanced jack of all trades
Speaking of Gen 9, for me the closer thing to an "almost legendary" would be Cyclizar, as it has a major role in the region of Paldea and being directly conected to the box legendaries, something really weird to see on "normal, not special" Pokémon (I can only think of Carbink at the moment). But it's too easy to find in the wild and too common among NPCs to have any mistery around it, and visually it doesn't seem like an edgy character
While definitely not to the same extent, and lacking in "edginess" factor, I'd consider Rotom another progenitor of this archetype.
I wholly thought it was a legendary until gen 6 when we found it in the garbage if all places
For gen 8 overall id honestly say hisuian zoroark, it technically isnt from sword and shield but did get alot of attention on legends arceus and during the games promotion
I guess all Pokémon that feel like an individual character more than a part of a species of creatures can fit the archetype.
Lucario was a character first, then "a" Lucario
Hisuian Zoroark meant that it got to be this for Legends Arceus as well!
Although there's also Sneasler...
silvally mentioned 🔥
LETS GO! Finally the underrated legendary getting some attention! Silvally/Type: Null will always be my favorite Pokémon! It hurts me when people just dismiss it as a poor-man's Arceus, he has so much more depth!
I don't think this is really its own category of pokemon that is intended to exist (at least, not anymore) and more a feeling you're ascribing to them, honestly. I think it's sort of a by-product of the time period of the late 2000s and early 2010s of edgy things just kind of being popular at the time. I don't think Type:Null fits into the archetype super well as being *genuinely* special, and since then nothing as been really comparable to the popularity, intentional or otherwise, of mons like Lucario
For gen 7 im seeing alot of lycanroc and type null, but i feel another good fit, even if it doesnt have as much story importance would be the jangmo-o line. Theres a baby form, its final form embodies that cool asthetic, and alson another pattern that i noticed, is bipedal. Alot of the examples that were given in this video follow that rule, with the exception of type: null of course. Just a thought though
i am so happy to see respect on the name of type: null and silvally. many will not appreciate its value but real ones know
I like the term pseudo-mascot for these pokemon.
Id certainly consider absol! It also had more special anime/other media appearances
Lucario sure is "provocative" have you seem how many searches he has on a certain site
Garchomp, *the* embodiment of edgy, is crying in a corner right now. PS: Houndoom?
Toxtricity literally has a statue dedicated to it tho?
tbh i cant stand these industy-plant pokemons more power to their enjoyers tho
i call this archetype “industry-plant” because that’s really are there is to it
i feel like aegislash can be placed into this categories as well
yk all of a sudden the incineroar balance makes more sense
it fits
At 0:29, you are 13 ? Seriously, your voice sound like an adult ! 😅
Surely there's no way he's 13. He talks like a (very intelligent) adult.
@alephnull4044 I hope so, maybe I just not hear correctly, but I hear thirteen, and not thirty, so did he make a mistake, or did I not hear correctly ?
@@generalwd40 He was narrating a story of his past, when he was 13 in 2006
@sunflower-tm1xh Ah ok, that make way more sense ! 😅
@@sunflower-tm1xh Makes a lot more sense!
Shoutout to lokix definitely underrated
0:33 Brother I’m 16 and my voice is an octave up from yours
Edit: nvm I get it you were getting into your character
Aegislash was Definitely designed to be the cool new "edgy mon for teens" (it felt that way for me), but Greninja popped off so much more than GameFreak likely anticipated.
It's okay, Delphox, you're still my beloved wizard fox
Sivally should have received 110 in all of its stats as a half baked Arceus.
Let's call them champion pokemon, derived from the champion stages of digimons. And the fact they are literally gamefreaks Champions.
In terms of in game presentation, and popularity amongst the fans relatively speaking of course.
another droomish banger
The thing about Pokemon is that it's just a Pikachu show. Only Pikachu has a voice line in all games. All other Pokemon even up until now are just garbled garbage noise on their voice lines. Pokemon shot themselves on the knee cap after they released more and more Pokemon on the list. The thought of 150 to 250 was cool at first. So yeah, it's just a Pikachu game
You never went back to aegislash 😢 and no volcarona? Even though in gen 5 it has a static encounter, and is the latest 1st evolution. Its the $500 magikarp and riolu egg on steroids. I’d even have mentioned gyarados as a stretch.
But silvally IS a legend.
Edgelord bait (5th grader syndrome) but also furry bait.
Through the combined powers of these two demographics combined, they rose to the top picks of the whole fanbase. 😂
Furries are LGPT
happy 13th birthday droomish 🎂
14:36 METEOR HERD DETECTED. A-RANK PURSUIT PTSD ACTIVATED.
Id argue that gen 5 has 2 lucarios and the other one is volcarona
This vid is saucy