From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
The Swords of Justice (Japanese 聖剣士 Sacred Swordsmen) is a collective term to refer to the quartet of Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, and Keldeo. They are also commonly referred to by fans as the legendary musketeers.
The group is based on the French novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, père. Cobalion represents Athos, the oldest and de facto leader of the group. Terrakion represents Porthos, the strongest, heaviest, and largest member of the group. Virizion represents Aramis, the most feminine, vain, and romantic member of the group. Keldeo represents d'Artagnan, the youngest by far and the latest addition to the group. The group has challenged humans in legends in order to protect other Pokémon from losing their homes to human expansion.
All of the Pokémon share a secondary type, Fighting-type, and all share the Ability Justified. Many of their moves refer to swordplay, something the musketeers specialized in, such as Swords Dance and their signature move, Sacred Sword.
When gathered at the Moor of IcirrusBW, Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion will teach Keldeo its own signature move, Secret Sword. This method has been changed in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, as Keldeo needs to be taken to Pledge Grove to examine the rock in order to learn Secret Sword.
Similar movesets
Base stat comparison
In the anime
The Swords of Justice in the anime
- Main article: Swords of Justice (M15)
The Swords of Justice all made their anime debuts in Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice. Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion train their youngest member, Keldeo, but before the Colt Pokémon finishes its training, it decides to test its strength against Kyurem. The Boundary Pokémon proves to be too much for Keldeo who flees from the battle, but is actively pursued by Kyurem who wants to finish their match. Keldeo is then found by Ash and his friends who help it to end the battle with Kyurem.
In the manga
Virizion, Cobalion, and Terrakion in Pokémon RéBURST
Virizion was the first to debut in Pokémon Adventures, appearing in A Direct Attack and a Daunting Defense, where it attacks Black and White as they cross the Skyarrow Bridge, cutting up their clothing. Black later decides to capture the Swords of Justice to battle against Team Plasma and seeks out Virizion, having seen it before. He manages to find both Virizion and Terrakion near Mistralton Cave with the help of Shōko and Trish, where he battles against both of them with Buoh. Trish decides to battle with her Heatmor but is interrupted by Cobalion showing up and knocking everyone down. Trish's torch causes an explosion inside the cave, and the three Pokémon work to get everyone out, then kidnap Trish and Shōko's Pokémon. Black tracks them using Musha's dream eating abilities, and he manages to free the girls' Pokémon after telling the three legends that Trish and Shōko truly love their Pokémon. Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion then disappear into the distance, much to Black's disappointment since he never captured them.
The Swords of Justice, excluding Keldeo, are captured by the organization Great Gavel and turned into Burst Hearts. Their Burst Hearts are then given to the three generals: Amu, Ganku, and Rovy.
Trivia
- Apart from Arceus when holding the Fist Plate, they are both the only legendary Fighting-type Pokémon and the only quadrupedal Fighting-type Pokémon.
- All of the musketeer members have HP and Speed stats of 91 and 108, respectively.
- They also have base stat values of 72-90-90-129, distributed differently.
- Each member of the quartet specializes in a certain stat, with Cobalion in Defense, Terrakion in Attack, Virizion in Special Defense, and Keldeo in Special Attack.
- Cobalion, Virizion, and Keldeo all share a type combination with only one other Pokémon: Lucario, Breloom, and Poliwrath, respectively. Terrakion has a unique type combination.
- The Swords of Justice have their own battle transition, like the Tao trio and the kami trio. The screen will pause, fade to black, and then a sword will slash through the screen as the glass breaks into pieces and the battle begins.
- The senior trio share their heights with the legendary beasts:
- Entei and Cobalion are both 6'11" (2.1 m).
- Suicune and Virizion are both 6'07" (2.0 m).
- Raikou and Terrakion are both 6'03" (1.9 m).
