Lake guardians

Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf

The lake guardians, sometimes referred to as the lake trio or the legendary pixies, is a term used to describe the legendary trio residing in the three lakes of Sinnoh: Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. They are meant to 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).

Unlike previous trios, all three of the lake trio are of a single type, the Template:Type2, though like the others, they share an ability: Levitate. According to legend, when Arceus created the universe it created Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, and therefore is believed to be their master. According to one of Azelf's Pokédex entries, all three of them were born from the same egg.

It is interesting to note that each of the members of the lake trio has one of the qualities of the Abrahamic God: Uxie is omniscient, Mesprit is omnipresent, and Azelf is omnipotent. They could also be equated to, respectively, the Greek/Roman deities of Athena/Minerva, Poseidon/Neptune, and Zeus/Jupiter. Another parallel for the trio rests within Norse Mythology. Odin along with his brothers Vili and Vé bestow upon Ask and Embala various corporeal and spiritual gifts similar to those the trio represent. Odin gave soul and life; Vili gave wit (intelligence) and sense of touch; and Vé gave countenance (appearance, facial expression), speech, hearing, and sight. It should also be noted that parts of their name come from fantasy creatures, pixies, sprites and elves, respectively. The other parts of their names come from pronouns: you (Uxie), me (Mesprit), and us (Azelf).

The members of the lake trio are tied for the lightest legendary Pokémon, and, tied with Rotom, are second for the lightest of all Pokémon (after Gastly and Haunter).

Moveset similarities

Lv.	Uxie  Psychic	Mesprit  Psychic	Azelf  Psychic
Start	Rest
	ConfusionPtHGSS
6	Imprison
16	Endure	Protect	Detect
21	ConfusionDP
	SwiftPtHGSS
31	Yawn	Lucky Chant	Uproar
36	Future Sight
46	Amnesia	Charm	Nasty Plot
51	Extrasensory
61	Flail	Copycat	Last Resort
66	Natural Gift
76	Memento	Healing Wish	Explosion
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 games

Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum

The three pixies are obtainable after the defeat of Team Galactic at Mt. Coronet. Uxie resides at the northern tip of Sinnoh, Acuity Cavern; Mesprit, after being encountered in Verity Cavern, will roam throughout Sinnoh; and Azelf sits at the mid-eastern part of Sinnoh, sitting in Valor Cavern.

• Lake Uxie.png

  Uxie

• Lake Mesprit.png

  Mesprit

• Lake Azelf.png

  Azelf

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon

The three are also 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.

In the anime

Main article: Lake guardians (anime)

File:Mesprit Azelf Uxie anime.png

In the anime

All three first appeared in forms similar to souls, floating above their respective lakes, to the Diamond & Pearl series'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 duration of 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, J was able to capture all three of them. Team Galactic was then able to control them using red gems. With their power, Cyrus was able to summon Dialga and Palkia during the next episode.

When the gems 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.

Trivia

• The two circles in each of the Pokémon's caves are the relative positions of the other two, when compared to a map of Sinnoh.
• The lake trio is the only trio whose members are all the same type. However, the legendary birds and the dragon trio share secondary types.
• The lake trio are the first set of legendary Pokémon since the legendary birds to have their names changed for the English language versions of the game - from Yuxie, Emrit, and Agnome to Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf.
• The lake trio help the player through the Distortion World in Pokémon Platinum.
• Each of the lake trio's heads is a slightly different color than a color of something on the rest of their bodies: Uxie's head is close to the color of their eyes, Mesprit's head is close to the color of the gems on their forehead and tails, and Azelf's head is close to the color of their actual bodies.
• The lake trio contains 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 is a different version of their cavern music.
• None of the lake trio can learn HM moves.
• Each of the members' abilities have some connection to a Pokémon's stat. Uxie gives knowledge (ability), Mesprit gives emotions (nature and happiness), and Azelf gives willpower (stats and moves).
• Each member of the lake trio has appeared to one of the three current main characters of the anime:
  • Mesprit appeared to Dawn, highlighting her ability to understand what Pokémon feel, in Following a Maiden's Voyage.
  • Azelf appeared to Ash, highlighting his courageous actions without fear of his own harm, in Pruning a Passel of Pals.
  • Uxie appeared to Brock, highlighting his superior knowledge of Pokémon to his companions, in Uncrushing Defeat!.
    • Coincidentally, the genders of the three main characters are parallel to the trio's genders in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness.
• The lake guardians are sometimes referred to in Japan as the "UMA trio" or "UMA combination", with "UMA" standing for "unidentified mysterious animal". Coincidentally, "UMA" is the initials of their English names.
• All members of the lake guardians learn sacrificing moves at level 76. Uxie to lower both attack stats of the opponent, Mesprit to heal a party member, and Azelf to highly damage the opponent.
• The lake guardians are the only trio that have not been featured in any of the Ranger games.