Lake guardians

It has been suggested that this article be moved to Pokémon of the lakes. Please discuss whether or not to move it on its talk page.

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It has been suggested that this article be moved to Lake Guardians. Please discuss whether or not to move it on its talk page.

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Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf in Pokémon Legends: Arceus

The lake guardians (Japanese: 湖(みずうみ)の神々(かみがみ) lake gods), also referred to as the Pokémon of the lakes, the lake Pokémon, and the Lake trio, are a trio of Legendary Pokémon consisting of Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. A blog by Junichi Masuda referred to them as the UMA combo (Japanese: UMAコンビ UMA Combination), which some Japanese fans reference with the name UMA Trio (Japanese: UMAトリオ UMA Trio). The group resides in the Sinnoh region.

Shared design

All three are Psychic-type and have the Ability Levitate. Starting in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, they share a signature move, Mystical Power.

Origin

The lake guardians represent knowledge, emotion, and willpower, respectively. They are based on the Imperial Regalia of Japan: the Yata no Kagami (wisdom), Yasakani no Magatama (benevolence), and Kusanagi (valor). Additionally, they may draw inspiration from Cherubim, Seraphim, and Thrones—the three highest ranking angel classes in Christianity—characterized by knowledge, love, and valiance, respectively.

Parts of their names come from fantasy creatures: pixies, sprites, and elves, respectively. The other parts of their names come from either the acronym UMA (Unidentified Mysterious Animal; wasei-eigo for cryptid) or personal pronouns: you (Uxie), me (Mesprit), and us (Azelf).

Mythology

According to legend, when Arceus created the universe, it created Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, and gave them the ability to calm and control Dialga and Palkia whenever they were enraged. According to one of Azelf's Pokédex entries, all three of them were born from the same Egg.

As mentioned in their respective Pokédex entries, the lake guardians taught humans the ability to feel emotions, knowledge, and willpower. The lake guardians are said to reside in three lakes in Sinnoh; Lake Acuity, Lake Verity, and Lake Valor. As mentioned in "A Horrific Myth", the lake guardians are known to drive humans away from them by either erasing their memories, losing emotions within three days, or losing willpower.

Similar movesets

The following are the lake guardians' level-up movesets from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Lv.	Uxie  Psychic	Mesprit  Psychic	Azelf  Psychic
1	Confusion
	Rest
7	Swift
14	Endure	Protect	Detect
21	Psybeam
28	Imprison
35	Extrasensory
42	Amnesia	Charm	Nasty Plot
49	Psychic
56	Yawn	Flatter	Uproar
63	Future Sight
70	Flail	Copycat	Last Resort
77	Memento	Healing Wish	Explosion
84	Mystical Power
Moves in bold are STAB. Moves in italics do no damage.

Base stat comparison

Pokémon	Uxie	Mesprit	Azelf
HP	75	80	75
Attack	75	105	125
Defense	130	105	70
Sp. Atk	75	105	125
Sp. Def	130	105	70
Speed	95	80	115
Total	580	580	580

In the core series games

Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl

The lake guardians each live in the cavern at the center of one of Sinnoh's three commonly known lakes: Uxie resides in Acuity Cavern of Lake Acuity, Mesprit resides in Verity Cavern of Lake Verity, and Azelf resides in Valor Cavern of Lake Valor. A secret fourth lake exists, but instead houses Turnback Cave, which contains a portal to the Distortion World and is thus often visited by Giratina.

In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, as well as the remakes Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Team Galactic attempts to capture all three of the lake guardians. Saturn goes to Lake Valor, where Team Galactic drains the lake by blowing it up with a Galactic Bomb. This is the lake the player must go to first. Despite losing to the player, Team Galactic still successfully captures Azelf. Over at Lake Verity, Mars is leading the operation and easily holding off Professor Rowan and Lucas/Dawn. While the player again manages to defeat Mars, Team Galactic still successfully captures Mesprit. Finally, at Lake Acuity, by the time the player arrives, Jupiter has just defeated Barry and successfully captured Uxie.

When the player later storms Team Galactic HQ, it is discovered that Cyrus used the lake guardians to create the Red Chain so that he could control Dialga and/or Palkia. In Platinum, Cyrus then duplicates this Red Chain with his technology to create a second one, as he intends to control both Dialga and Palkia.

In Diamond, Pearl, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl, the lake guardians come to the Spear Pillar when Cyrus summons Dialga^DBD or Palkia^PSP and destroy the Red Chain he is using to control it, as their combined power is equal to that of one of the members of the Pokémon of Myth. This prevents Cyrus from creating his new world without spirit. After doing so, they return to their lakes.

In Platinum, the lake guardians come to the Spear Pillar to attempt to balance out the power of Dialga and Palkia; however, the three lake guardians combined can only balance out one of the two, so they are overpowered. As a result, Giratina is angered by the imbalance and is forced to merge the Distortion World with the real world at the Spear Pillar to prevent them from being destroyed. Cyrus, followed by the lake guardians, enter the Distortion World. Inside the Distortion World, the lake guardians assist the player with the Strength puzzle, then return to their lakes.

The three lake guardians are obtainable after the defeat of Team Galactic at Mt. Coronet. They each return to their lakes, and Uxie and Azelf can be caught in the caverns of their lakes; however, when encountering Mesprit in its cave, it flies off and roams the region.

• 

  Uxie

• 

  Mesprit

• 

  Azelf

Pokémon Black 2 and White 2

After beating the Champion, the player can encounter Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf at the Cave of Being, causing them to fly off to various places in Unova, where the player may then battle them. Uxie heads to Nacrene City and is encountered outside of the Nacrene Museum, Mesprit heads to the top of Celestial Tower, and Azelf heads to Route 23 and is found in part of the Strength puzzle; all three are initially invisible. They are encountered at level 65.

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

The lake guardians can be captured at Nameless Cavern, which can only be accessed by soaring in the sky while there are three or more Pokémon with maximum friendship in the party. Only one member appears at a time, depending on the time of day. Mesprit appears from 4:00 am – 7:59 pm, Uxie from 8:00 pm – 8:59 pm, and Azelf from 9:00 pm – 3:59 am.

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

The lake guardians can be captured at the Water World dimension in the Ultra Space Wilds by using Ultra Warp Ride by reaching blue warp holes.

Pokémon Sword and Shield

In The Crown Tundra DLC, the lake guardians can be caught during Dynamax Adventures at Max Lair.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus

After being banished from Jubilife Village, the player seeks out the lake guardians at Cogita's advice in order to create the Red Chain, which is inferred to be able to close the space-time rift above Mount Coronet. The three Legendary Pokémon issue trials to the player, the passing of which grants them materials: Uxie's Claw, Mesprit's Plume, and Azelf's Fang. Once all three materials have been obtained, the player goes to the Shrouded Ruins, where the lake guardians appear and use them to forge the Red Chain.

After the credits, the player visits the three lakes again in their pursuit of Arceus's Plates. Once the player has caught all three lake guardians, they are rewarded with the Draco Plate.

In the spin-off games

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series

The three lake guardians are found in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness, and Explorers of Sky. They are found in three different lakes and are in charge of protecting three Time Gears.

Pokémon Masters EX

The following sync pairs are formed with the lake guardians in Pokémon Masters EX:

Dex	Trainer		NDex	Pokémon		Type	Weakness	Role	EX role	Base potential	Availability
#001		Scottie & Bettie	#0481		Mesprit	Psychic	Dark			★★★★★	Battle Points

In the anime

The lake guardians in the anime

Main series

Main article: Lake guardians (anime)

All three lake guardians first appeared in forms similar to souls, floating above their respective lakes, to Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl's main characters. Mesprit appeared to Dawn during the start of her journey in Following a Maiden's Voyage!, Azelf appeared to Ash during the Wallace Cup in Pruning a Passel of Pals!, and Uxie appeared to Brock while he was looking for a Berry in Uncrushing Defeat!. Due to these encounters, all three established a connection to the human they each met.

They appeared in their physical forms for the first time in The Needs of the Three!, wherein, after being hired by Team Galactic, Pokémon Hunter J was able to capture all three of them. Team Galactic was then able to control them using fragments of the Red Chain. With their power, Cyrus was able to summon Dialga and Palkia to the Spear Pillar during the next episode. When the Red Chain fragments were broken by Pikachu, Piplup, and Croagunk, the three were set free from Team Galactic's control. They then helped Ash and his friends stop the effects of summoning Dialga and Palkia.

The lake guardians reappeared during Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles in Pokémon Journeys: The Series to help Ash, Brock, Dawn, and Goh in stopping a Heatran that had gone out of control due to Team Galactic's actions.

In this canon, the lake guardians do not actually live in the lakes themselves, as revealed by Saturn. Instead, their home lakes are simply gateways to the dimension from which they observe the Pokémon world.

In the manga

The lake guardians in Pokémon Adventures

The lake guardians in Pokémon Pocket Monsters

The lake guardians in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!

Pokémon Adventures

Main article: Lake guardians (Adventures)

Similar to the anime, the lake guardians all have a connection to the three Sinnoh Pokédex holders Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, and are sought after by Team Galactic.

Pokémon Pocket Monsters

The lake guardians appeared in PMDP13.

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!

The lake guardians were captured by Team Galactic to create the Red Chain so that they can control the Legendary Dialga. They were eventually freed sometime during the battle between Hareta's Empoleon and Cyrus's Dialga. They helped stop Dialga by breaking the Red Chain.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blazing Exploration Team

The lake guardians appeared in BET2.

Trivia

• Acuity, Verity, and Valor Cavern each have two puddles of water which can be compared to the relative positions in Sinnoh of the other two caverns; the lake guardian in each cavern occupies the position of its own location.
• The lake guardians are the only Legendary trio:
  • Whose members are all exactly the same type.
  • Incapable of learning any HMs.
  • That are not a mascot Legendary trio to not receive a 150% power bonus in a Battrio combo, instead receiving 160%.
  • With a base stat total of 580 to not have a base friendship of 35; in fact, they have the highest base friendship of all Legendary Pokémon, at 140, tying for the highest base friendship of all Pokémon.
• In Pokémon HOME, the term "lake guardians" is used in a Research Task to refer to the three Pokémon that the player battles in the lake caverns in Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Hisuian Goodra, Hisuian Zoroark, and Overqwil).
• The lake guardians are the first set of Legendary Pokémon since the legendary birds to have their names changed for non-Japanese languages.
• The lake guardians' designs contain the three subtractive colors of yellow (Uxie), magenta (Mesprit), and cyan (Azelf).
  • In addition, they share the same main colors with Cresselia.
• The trio's encounter music contains several remixed segments of their caverns' music.
• Each of the lake guardians has connected to one of the three main characters of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl anime along with the Pokédex holders of the Diamond & Pearl arc of Pokémon Adventures.
  • Mesprit appeared to Dawn, highlighting her ability to understand what Pokémon feel, in Following a Maiden's Voyage.
  • Mesprit connected to Diamond in Pokémon Adventures because of his strong emotional control, as shown in Problematic Probopass & Mad Magnezone II where even though he was shown to be angry, he never once raised his voice.
  • Azelf appeared to Ash, highlighting his courageous actions without fear of his own harm, in Pruning a Passel of Pals.
  • Azelf connected to Pearl in Pokémon Adventures because of his strong unbending will, as shown in A Conk on Cranidos's Cranium where he is seen helping Platinum in her Gym battle against Roark despite the strain it put on him.
  • Uxie appeared to Brock, highlighting his superior knowledge of Pokémon to his companions, in Uncrushing Defeat!.
  • Uxie connected to Platinum in Pokémon Adventures because of her great wisdom, as shown in Stagestruck Starly where it is revealed that her family, the House of Berlitz, is a family of scholars.
  • The genders of the three main anime characters are parallel to the trio's genders in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness.
• In the Japanese fandom, the lake guardians are sometimes referred as the "UMA trio" or "UMA combination", with "UMA" standing for "unidentified mysterious animal". These are also the initials of the three lake guardians in English, and in their Japanese names (Uxie, Emrit, and Agnome), they use the second letter of Emrit to represent "M".
• All members of the lake guardians learn moves that cause the user to faint at level 77 in Generation VIII to IX (level 76 from Generation IV to VII).
• The lake guardians learn the same TM moves and Move Tutor moves as each other, except that:
  • Only Uxie can learn Giga Drain, Solar Beam (both damaging Grass-type moves), Heal Bell, and Foul Play.
  • Only Mesprit can learn Ice Beam and Blizzard (both damaging Ice-type moves).
  • Only Azelf can learn Flamethrower, Fire Blast (both damaging Fire-type moves), Last Resort, Uproar, and Taunt.
• The lake guardians are tied with each other for the lightest Pokémon with a footprint.
• In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, the places that each of the lake guardians appear in after leaving the Cave of Being align with what they represent. Uxie appears in front of the Nacrene City museum, a place where people go to seek knowledge; Mesprit appears at the Celestial Tower, a place were people express their feelings and mourn; and Azelf appears on Route 23, the path that leads to Victory Road and where a Trainer's courage will be tested.

In other languages

Language Title Mandarin Chinese 湖之眾神 Hú-zhī Zhòngshén Finnish Järven vartijat European French Gardiens des lacs German Hüter der Seen Italian Guardiani del lago* Guardiani dei laghi* Norwegian Innsjøvokterene Polish Strażnicy Jezior Brazilian Portuguese Guardiões do lago European Spanish Guardianes del lago Vietnamese 3 Pokémon của hồ nước

See also

• Uxie
• Mesprit
• Azelf

Groups of Legendary and Mythical Pokémon

Duos

Mew duo

Tower duo

Eon duo

Lunar duo

Sea guardians

Legendary heroes

Paradox duo

Trios

Legendary birds

Legendary beasts

Super-ancient Pokémon

Lake guardians

Pokémon of Myth

Tao trio

Aura trio

Light trio

Loyal Three

Quartets

Swords of Justice

Forces of nature

Guardian deities

Treasures of ruin

Quintets

Legendary giants

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