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.
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 😭
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
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
All i know is that i played Alpha Sapphire as a kid. And my favourite pokemon was Blaziken. I’ve recently come to like Lucario, Absol, and Mawile. Those are my true edgelords 🔥🔥
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. 😂
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.
@@SkillHunterThousandManPlani 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
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 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 would except for one key characteristic. Pokemon marketed the “fake” legendaries and pushed them to be perceived as such. They never really ever marketed absol.
@@No-ScopeNibbligan The Pokemon Company might not have realised what they'd created at first, but they marketed the heck out of Absol when it pretty much instantly became popular. Absol even starred in a movie outside its own generation (the 6th movie is otherwise a 3rd gen movie), that's almost Pikachu levels of special treatment.
@@No-ScopeNibbligan Obviously I meant that in regards to what I was actually talking about; being given starring roles outside of their native generation. Why even waste either of our time with such a bad faith reply?
@ if my reply was “bad faith” and a “waste of time” it makes no sense to continue. Thats a bigger waste of time. You just wanna hear yourself talk. You arent the main character and there are other opinions than your own. Shocking, i know. You’ll outgrow it one day im sure.
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.
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?
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 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.
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
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.
@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.
I classify Greninja as the "Cool starter type" aling with: - Charizard (Gen 1) - Typhlosion (Gen 2) - Blaziken (Gen 3) - Infernape ? (Gen 4) - No opinion on Gen 5 And so on... I may be wrong feel but thats my take
@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 ?
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
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.
watching this video makes me think the Diamond and Pearl remakes missed another major opportunity: not making Riley more of a main character. but, by then it was too late. the hype of the movie and Mystery Dungeon game long since past. it, probably would've just been received as more cash grabbery by the fans
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
The stars really aligned for Greninja. It was going to be Ash’s Kalos starter and be a Smash Bros. fighter before the public really saw it, and then it became insanely popular, which was then elevated by the anime and being in Smash. They gave it two signature moves. They gave it the sickest hidden ability ever. It has one of the coolest shinies ever made. It was the 20th fastest non-Legendary. They knew it would be a smash hit and rightly so.
@@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.
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 fact that in base B/W you don't see Zoroark at all up until N pulls it out, and even then you only really discover it was a cool new pokemon after you hit it once made if feel so special to me as a kid. My only gripe would be that they missed the opportunity to make N disguise it as something weak to psychic lmao.
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.
your videos make me feel like pokemon is good again ❤❤ back when i was a kid and the nostalgia and magic was there and the pixel graphics. i don't know how to explain it. i love new pokemon don't get me wrong, but the games just lost their magic in a way i can't really describe.
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.
it’s so funny after black and white and sun and moon, i used all of the rest of these on my team playing through the game. toxtricity was so fun. and riolu is my favorite pokémon
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.
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
Type: Null is essentially a retread of Mewtwo; a manmade legendary pokemon created in the false image of a god, which wound up being too vicious, volatile, and uncontrollable to be used by its own creators. I don't dislike it for that; I think they're distinct enough. They're both really narratively strong pokemon with very cool designs. Mewtwo may be a legendary, but it was the first "Lucario-like". Or rather, the proto-Lucario.
It's all but forgetten these days, since it was mostly fans rather than nintendo hyping it up, but marill aka "pikablu" fits this group in many ways. It was hyped up heavily as one of the few known pokemon for its generation in pre-release, was shown in the anime before the games, and its a bit ridiculously rare in it's home generation. A lot of its popularity was born of rumors and false speculation, which is why its popularity basically immediately died down.
Greninja was a slow burn, it did not have the immediate fanfare it does now. Seeing it outside the games definitely helped with its appeal, because the gen 6 3D model did not have an immediate wow factor with its design.
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.
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
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
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
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.
Always thought Zoroark was interesting because it's portrayal in the film was...a feral, concern mother archetype which was so far different from Lucario but everyone kind of sees it as edgelord
11:50 sakurai stated himself actually, that greninja was chosen for smash 4 before XY even released, given what he had on him at the time. I love him to death in smash but i dont really play him in other places like unite
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.
I think the reason there isn't a Pokemon that clearly fits this archetype in the last 2 gens is because the main series essentially divorced from the anime. The main mascot of SwSh is basically Charizard not Ash's Charizard just Charizard yes there are the occasional anime themed events but the sense that the 2 things are connected is pretty much gone
It's always bugged me that Rilou (who evolves in the day) does not have a night time evo. I mean, it's right there game freak. An even edgier dark/fighting or dark/steel type Pokemon.
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
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
What's the problem with other pokemon getting lore, I don't get it
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 😭
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?
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
We’re just not going to acknowledge Arcanine? The ACTUAL first fake Legendary Pokémon?
why not?
But that's the thing. It _is_ a legendary. Both by species name but also by original intention too. I agree with your point though.
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
If we're talking Gen 2, you can't avoid saying Red Gyarados.
All i know is that i played Alpha Sapphire as a kid. And my favourite pokemon was Blaziken. I’ve recently come to like Lucario, Absol, and Mawile. Those are my true edgelords 🔥🔥
So Droomish became a furry at the age of 13? That explains so much.
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
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
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
My boy Gallade was unlucky to be introduced at the same time as Lucario.
They haven’t fully neglected it. Mega Gallade and Iron Valiant exist, after all.
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.
@@SkillHunterThousandManPlani 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
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
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?
The two getting their own dedicated high quality animation short recently helps too.
Definitely should have included Absol in your list properly; it fits this archetype perfectly.
It would except for one key characteristic. Pokemon marketed the “fake” legendaries and pushed them to be perceived as such. They never really ever marketed absol.
@@No-ScopeNibbligan The Pokemon Company might not have realised what they'd created at first, but they marketed the heck out of Absol when it pretty much instantly became popular. Absol even starred in a movie outside its own generation (the 6th movie is otherwise a 3rd gen movie), that's almost Pikachu levels of special treatment.
@ Pikachu has a thanksgiving parade ballon and was minted on legal currency in new zealand. If absol is on pikachu level then im Elon Musk.
@@No-ScopeNibbligan Obviously I meant that in regards to what I was actually talking about; being given starring roles outside of their native generation.
Why even waste either of our time with such a bad faith reply?
@ if my reply was “bad faith” and a “waste of time” it makes no sense to continue. Thats a bigger waste of time. You just wanna hear yourself talk. You arent the main character and there are other opinions than your own. Shocking, i know. You’ll outgrow it one day im sure.
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.
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?
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.
0:54 No one gonna talk about how the animators did an oopsie and made Lucario's legs all blue 👀?
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 😂
Chespin was the best first form of the three. Screw the haters.
What a great vid boss 👍
Solid pull on absol as the proto archetype guy too
Toxtricity does have some mythos. It has the carving(?) of its Gigantamax form into the hillside of the Grass gym town
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
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.
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.
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.
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
I classify Greninja as the "Cool starter type" aling with:
- Charizard (Gen 1)
- Typhlosion (Gen 2)
- Blaziken (Gen 3)
- Infernape ? (Gen 4)
- No opinion on Gen 5
And so on...
I may be wrong feel but thats my take
As children, my cousin and I referred to this group as "part-time legendaries" and also included the likes of Spiritomb, Absol, and Volcorona
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!
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
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
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!
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.
watching this video makes me think the Diamond and Pearl remakes missed another major opportunity: not making Riley more of a main character. but, by then it was too late. the hype of the movie and Mystery Dungeon game long since past. it, probably would've just been received as more cash grabbery by the fans
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
The stars really aligned for Greninja. It was going to be Ash’s Kalos starter and be a Smash Bros. fighter before the public really saw it, and then it became insanely popular, which was then elevated by the anime and being in Smash.
They gave it two signature moves. They gave it the sickest hidden ability ever. It has one of the coolest shinies ever made. It was the 20th fastest non-Legendary. They knew it would be a smash hit and rightly so.
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.
@@LuigiTheMetal64 "There is no strategy?" In what, battles? Of course there is.
I think the fake legendary lore aspect of it started to fade as game freak added so many dlc legendaries and mythicals
alolan marowak hisuian typhlosion and ceruledge should be on this list but they’re all underrated
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!
3:46: Using Stone Edge on a Hydreigon? 🤔🤔🤔
That’s what I said 😭😭😭🙏
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
Marowak was the first "Lucario", just in an age where that kind of marketing wasn't quite as strong yet for pokemon.
For gen 8 there are also statues of toxtricity in the water gym town
The fact that in base B/W you don't see Zoroark at all up until N pulls it out, and even then you only really discover it was a cool new pokemon after you hit it once made if feel so special to me as a kid. My only gripe would be that they missed the opportunity to make N disguise it as something weak to psychic lmao.
Love the junk warrior cameo❤
I definitely get where you're coming from with Silvally, but unlike the others Silvally is an Actual Legendary.
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.
your videos make me feel like pokemon is good again ❤❤ back when i was a kid and the nostalgia and magic was there and the pixel graphics. i don't know how to explain it. i love new pokemon don't get me wrong, but the games just lost their magic in a way i can't really describe.
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.
YES! A new Droomish Vid is my fav kinda Saturday~
droomish x lucario slowburn fan fics when
it’s so funny after black and white and sun and moon, i used all of the rest of these on my team playing through the game. toxtricity was so fun. and riolu is my favorite pokémon
Type Null/SIlvally is an amazing concept: a man made pokemon, an attempt to recreate god and use them as a weapon against alien invaders
Id argue for corviknight, its a big dark metal bird thats based on a raven which is typically associated with super edgy stuff
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.
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
i never knew the lore about type knull and silvally i didn’t know it was THAT cool lore wise and i LOVE lore might be my 2nd fav pokemon now😊
i feel like aegislash can be placed into this categories as well
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
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
The Type:Null/Silvally part sounds like you're talking about Doom Lore lmao
The way uou called it Slayer tho...
I have fond memories of downloading the Pokémon sun and moon demo even though I'd already beaten the full game because I wanted Ash-Greninja
Type: Null is essentially a retread of Mewtwo; a manmade legendary pokemon created in the false image of a god, which wound up being too vicious, volatile, and uncontrollable to be used by its own creators. I don't dislike it for that; I think they're distinct enough. They're both really narratively strong pokemon with very cool designs. Mewtwo may be a legendary, but it was the first "Lucario-like". Or rather, the proto-Lucario.
It's all but forgetten these days, since it was mostly fans rather than nintendo hyping it up, but marill aka "pikablu" fits this group in many ways. It was hyped up heavily as one of the few known pokemon for its generation in pre-release, was shown in the anime before the games, and its a bit ridiculously rare in it's home generation. A lot of its popularity was born of rumors and false speculation, which is why its popularity basically immediately died down.
Only thing is Silvally is a full on Legendary. It's confirmed.
Greninja was a slow burn, it did not have the immediate fanfare it does now. Seeing it outside the games definitely helped with its appeal, because the gen 6 3D model did not have an immediate wow factor with its design.
the soprano's shot took me out😭i love u
yk all of a sudden the incineroar balance makes more sense
it fits
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.
Toxtricity literally has a statue dedicated to it tho?
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
11:03 TOADALLY AWESOME MENTIONED
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
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
6:25 I share a birthday with that riolu
The Zoroark movie is amazing and is still my favorite to this day 😊
Hisuian Zoroark meant that it got to be this for Legends Arceus as well!
Although there's also Sneasler...
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.
Rotom really fits a lot of this criteria well
Expected an Absol mention. Great video though
I thought Absol was a legendary for way too long as a kid lmao
Always thought Zoroark was interesting because it's portrayal in the film was...a feral, concern mother archetype which was so far different from Lucario but everyone kind of sees it as edgelord
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
11:50
sakurai stated himself actually, that greninja was chosen for smash 4 before XY even released, given what he had on him at the time. I love him to death in smash but i dont really play him in other places like unite
Early as hell don't know what to say. I predict Ceruledge will be in this video.
I was right
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.
I think the reason there isn't a Pokemon that clearly fits this archetype in the last 2 gens is because the main series essentially divorced from the anime. The main mascot of SwSh is basically Charizard not Ash's Charizard just Charizard yes there are the occasional anime themed events but the sense that the 2 things are connected is pretty much gone
Even legendary are not that anymore as some evolve and can be found in many ways.
Id certainly consider absol! It also had more special anime/other media appearances
You didn't talk about the 1st Pokemon in this design archetype... ABSOL
What?
When I was a kid I always thought Absol was a legendary
Zoroark should have been on the thumbnail.
It's always bugged me that Rilou (who evolves in the day) does not have a night time evo. I mean, it's right there game freak. An even edgier dark/fighting or dark/steel type Pokemon.