Myths and legends involving Legendary and Mythical Pokémon
Throughout the Pokémon world, ancient myths have been recorded about legendary Pokémon.
Towers in Ecruteak
There's a legend that has been passed down by Ecruteak Gym Leaders for many years:
- Two towers... Two Pokémon... But when one burned down, both Pokémon flew away, never to return.
700 years before Generation II, the people of Ecruteak built two nine-tier towers with the hopes of fostering friendship and hope between Pokémon and humans. They were the Brass Tower in the west, which was said to awaken Pokémon, and the Tin Tower in the east, where Pokémon were said to rest. Both towers became the roost of powerful flying Pokémon: Ho-Oh and Lugia.
However, about 150 years before the games' events, a lightning bolt struck the Brass Tower. It was engulfed in flames that raged for three days. A sudden downpour finally put out the blaze, but it had already burnt to the ground. Three nameless Pokémon perished in the fire. But Ho-Oh descended from the sky and resurrected them. The Pokémon are said to embody three powers: the lightning that struck the tower, the fire that burned the tower, and the rain that put out the fire. When the Pokémon appeared, they struck terror in those who saw their rise. The three Pokémon, knowing their own power, fled, running like the wind off into the grassland.
Ho-Oh and Lugia haven't been seen since the fire. According to legend, when the souls of Pokémon and humans commune, upon the emergence of a Trainer who has the ability to touch the souls of Pokémon, Ho-Oh will return from the heavens.
A similar legend is addressed in the anime. In A Ghost of a Chance, Morty says the two towers are the original Tin Tower, which burned down, and a rebuilt one. He says that invaders came and tried to steal Ho-Oh, who resisted and fled, and then they burned down the tower. When the legend is revisited in For Ho-Oh the Bells Toll, however, the story more closely parallels the game version, but the war aspect remains. Ash Ketchum seems to fulfill the prophecy as a Trainer who has the ability to touch the souls of Pokémon, as he has often encountered both Ho-Oh and Suicune.
Ruins of Alph
- Main article: Ruins of Alph
The Ruins of Alph provide a link to an ancient civilization. Although no one knows exactly who built them, research indicates that the ruins are from about 1500 years ago. Along the walls is an ancient language based on the shapes of the various Unown. In Pokémon Crystal, an ancient message can be found and decoded if the player can correctly perform certain tasks:
- Our words shall remain here for the ages
- Thus we shall erect a Pokémon statue outside
- They possess great insight and refuse the outside world
- We humans must learn to walk in harmony with them
- We depart for their sakes
The message appears to be from the ancients in regard to the Unown.
Legend of the Regis
In addition to the Unown, Braille has also been used to tell legends. In Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, the player can use the Braille to uncover Regirock, Regice, and Registeel.
The legend, found on various rocks in the Sealed Chamber, reads:
- In this cave we have lived.
- We owe all to the Pokémon.
- But, we sealed the Pokémon away.
- We feared it.
- Those with courage, those with hope.
- Open a door. An eternal Pokémon waits.
Because the message is in singular instead of plural, it is likely that the Pokémon being referred to is Regigigas, and that the people of Snowpoint City wanted to seal Regigigas away, and created three keys, the legendary golems, that had to be obtained to awaken Regigigas. To make it as hard as possible to reawaken Regigigas, the people of Snowpoint City sealed the legendary golems away in another region.
Shamouti Island
An ancient prophecy circulates around the Orange Islands that says:
- Disturb not the harmony of Fire, Ice, or Lightning
- Lest these Titans wreak destruction
- Upon the world in which they clash
- Though the Water's Great Guardian shall arise to quell the fighting
- Alone its song will fail
- Thus the earth shall turn to ash
- O Chosen One
- Into thine hands bring together all three
- Their treasures combined tame the Beast of The Sea
- From the trio of islands, ancient spheres shall you take
- For between life and death, all the difference you'll make
- Climb to the shrine to right what is wrong
- And the world shall be healed by the Guardian's song...
A festival is held on Shamouti Island to honor the Chosen One.
The Guardians of the Water Capital
The island city of Alto Mare's history is intertwined with the following tale:
| Japanese | English | |
|---|---|---|
| 昔々、アルトマーレという島におじいさんとおばあさんがいました。 | A long time ago on an island called Alto Mare there lived an old man and a woman. | |
| ある日、二人は海岸で、小さな兄弟がけがをしているのを見つけました。 | One day, they found two wounded children on the seaside. | |
| おじいさんとおばあさんの手厚い看護で二人がみるみる良くなっていきました。 | With the old couple's careful nursing, the children got better quickly. | |
| しかし突然、邪悪な怪物が島を攻めてきたのです。 | But then suddenly an evil monster appeared and attacked the city. | |
| 島はたちまち怪物に飲み込まれました。 | The island was instantly swallowed up by the monster. | |
| と、その時、おじいさんとおばあさんの目の前で二人の姿は変わっていきました。 | But then before the man's and the woman's eyes, the children transformed. | |
| 二人は夢幻ポケモン、ラティオスとラティアスだったのです。 | They were the mirage Pokémon Latias and Latios. | |
| 二匹は空から仲間を呼び寄せました。 | The two of them called their friends from the sky. | |
| 彼らは、邪悪な闇を追い払う力を持って来てくれました。 | They brought the power to drive away the evil darkness. | |
| それは、「心のしずく」という宝石だったのです。 | That power was a jewel called the Soul Dew. | |
| 島には平和が戻りました。 | Peace returned to the island. | |
| それからというもの、「心のしずく」のあるこの島に、ラティオスとラティアスはしばしば立ち寄るようになりました。 | And after that, Latias and Latios often visited this island, where the Soul Dew is. | |
| この島が邪悪な怪物に襲われる事はその後、二度とありませんでした。 | The island was never attacked again by the evil monster. |
Note: The legend sequence was cut from the dub version of the movie, so there is no official English translation.
Sinnoh myths
- Main article: Sinnoh myths
