Legendary birds

Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres

Artwork from the Pokémon Global Link

Legendary birds (Japanese: 伝説の鳥ポケモン Legendary bird Pokémon) is a collective term used to refer to the trio of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. They are also known as the winged mirages (Japanese: 幻の翼 phantom wings). In the Crown Tundra, their Galarian versions have been referred to as Legendary wings.

Being the first Legendary trio, they set the standards for future trios; that is, they all share similar attributes and—in the case of most of the future trios—are considered equal among themselves. Like the other trios later would, the Legendary birds share a master in Lugia (in the anime and some games, at least), as well as two common traits: their Flying-type and their Ability, Pressure.

In The Crown Tundra, all three Legendary birds received a Galarian form. They all still share the Flying type, but they each have different Abilities and their respective primary type is changed.

History

In the anime, Professor Oak states that Articuno's and Moltres' combined powers of ice and fire are the source and cradle of the oceans, and that Zapdos' electric energy creates the currents and streams, which is why the three ancient creatures are closely bound to the guardian of the ocean, Lugia.

Similar movesets

Lv.	Articuno  Ice  Flying	Articuno  Psychic  Flying	Zapdos  Electric  Flying	Zapdos  Fighting  Flying	Moltres  Fire  Flying	Moltres  Dark  Flying
1	Gust		Peck		Gust
	Mist	Psycho Shift	Thunder Wave	Focus Energy	Leer
5	Powder Snow	Confusion	Thunder Shock	Rock Smash	Ember	Payback
10	Reflect		Light Screen		Safeguard
15	Ice Shard	Hypnosis	Pluck		Wing Attack
20	Agility
25	Ancient Power
30	Tailwind		Charge	Brick Break	Incinerate	Sucker Punch
35	Freeze-Dry	Psycho Cut	Drill Peck		Air Slash
40	Roost	Recover	Roost	Quick Guard	Roost	After You
45	Ice Beam	Freezing Glare	Discharge	Thunderous Kick	Heat Wave	Fiery Wrath
50	Hail	Dream Eater	Rain Dance	Bulk Up	Sunny Day	Nasty Plot
55	Hurricane		Thunder	Counter	Hurricane
60	Mind Reader		Detect		Endure
65	Blizzard	Future Sight	Magnetic Flux	Close Combat	Burn Up	Memento
70	Sheer Cold	Trick Room	Zap Cannon	Reversal	Sky Attack
Moves in bold are STAB. Moves in italics do no damage.

Base stat comparison

Pokémon	Articuno	Zapdos	Moltres
HP	90	90	90
Attack	85	90	100
Defense	100	85	90
Sp. Atk	95	125	125
Sp. Def	125	90	85
Speed	85	100	90
Total	580	580	580

Galarian forms

Pokémon	Articuno	Zapdos	Moltres
HP	90	90	90
Attack	85	125	85
Defense	85	90	90
Sp. Atk	125	85	100
Sp. Def	100	90	125
Speed	95	100	90
Total	580	580	580

In the core series games

Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow

In Generation I, the Legendary birds are scattered around the Kanto region in different locations according to their type. Articuno is deep within the Seafoam Islands, Zapdos is in the abandoned Power Plant on Route 10, and Moltres is in Victory Road.

• 

  Articuno

• 

  Zapdos

• 

  Moltres

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

In FireRed and LeafGreen, the Legendary birds retain their placement from Generation I, with the exception of Moltres, which has been moved to Mt. Ember in the Sevii Islands from Victory Road.

• 

  Articuno

• 

  Zapdos

• 

  Moltres

Pokémon Emerald

While it is impossible to capture any of the birds in Pokémon Emerald, if one challenges Brandon for the Gold Brave Symbol, he has them in his possession.

Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness

Greevil's team includes Shadow versions of all three birds.

File:LGPE Legendary birds.png

Artwork of the Legendary birds from Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!

Pokémon Platinum

While it is impossible to capture the Legendary birds in Diamond and Pearl, they can be found roaming the Sinnoh region in Pokémon Platinum. The player may encounter them after visiting Pal Park and then speaking to Professor Oak in Eterna City.

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

The Legendary birds appear once more in HeartGold and SoulSilver, and much as before, are in the same locations as before except for Moltres, who has moved once again, to Mt. Silver. Also due to the Power Plant no longer being abandoned, Zapdos is found outside the Power Plant and will only appear once all 16 Badges are acquired.

Pokémon X and Y

In Pokémon X and Y, one bird roams around Kalos while the rest are absent. The bird that appears depends on what starter Pokémon is chosen at the beginning of the game: Articuno will roam if players choose Chespin, Zapdos will roam if Fennekin is chosen, and Moltres will roam if Froakie is chosen. It appears on random routes after the player beats the Pokémon League and cannot be battled, but once it is found ten times, it retreats to the Sea Spirit's Den where it can be battled.

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, all three birds can be found in the Ultra Space Wilds by following a red Ultra Wormhole to the Cliff World during the Ultra Warp Ride minigame.

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!

In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, the three Legendary birds appear in the same capacity they do in the Generation I games. Unlike most Pokémon in the game, the player must defeat them in a timed battle before getting the chance to catch them.

• 

  Articuno

• 

  Zapdos

• 

  Moltres

Pokémon Sword and Shield

In Pokémon Sword and Shield, the three Legendary birds found in the Crown Tundra all have Regional Forms with different types and different Abilities. Articuno is a Psychic-type instead of an Ice-type with the Ability Competitive, Zapdos is a Fighting-type instead of an Electric-type with the Ability Defiant, and Moltres is a Dark-type instead of a Fire-type with the Ability Berserk. Unlike their Kantonian equivalents, each one also has a signature move, and each of these signature moves has an effect that evokes their original type.

The Kantonian counterparts of the Legendary Birds can also be encountered and captured in Dynamax Adventures. The Galarian Legendary Birds can be encountered at Dyna Tree Hill. After a cutscene occurs and A Legendary Tree of a Legendary Three! starts, the birds will scatter all across Galar. Galarian Articuno can be encountered in Crown Tundra and will battle the player after testing them with an illusion. Galarian Zapdos can be found in the Wild Area where the player must catch up the Zapdos. Finally, Galarian Moltres can be found in Isle of Armor where the player need to stand in front of Moltres while it circles around the area in order to battle it.

The Shiny forms of all three have the same coloring as the normal coloring of their Kantonian forms.

• 

  Galarian Articuno

• 

  Galarian Zapdos

• 

  Galarian Moltres

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

In Pokémon Shining Pearl, the Legendary birds can be encountered at Ramanas Park. They are located in the Kanto Room which is unlocked after capturing the Legendary titans. 3 Kanto Slates are needed to unlock them as only one Legendary bird can be encountered at a time.

The Legendary birds are unobtainable in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond.

In spin-off games

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team/Rescue Team DX

In Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team and their remake, Rescue Team DX, each of them guard a dungeon: Zapdos has Mt. Thunder, Moltres has Mt. Blaze, and Articuno has Frosty Forest. Each appear on the last floor of their respective upper dungeon sections as bosses, and cannot be recruited until the credits roll. Once the player recruits all three, and Pitfall Valley and Stormy Sea have been cleared, he or she can talk to Alakazam and go to their Friend Area, Legendary Island, which will unlock access to Silver Trench, the domain of their trio master, Lugia.

Pokémon Rumble

In Pokémon Rumble, each bird serves as the S-rank boss of a specific stage in Normal Mode: Articuno has Rocky Cave, Moltres has Fiery Furnace, and Zapdos has Eternal Tower.

Pokémon Battle Trozei

All three birds have a chance to appear on Stage 5 of the Mountain of Order. Only Articuno is initially available as a boss; however, if the player manages to defeat it in one attack, they then get the chance to fight Zapdos. This also applies to beating Zapdos flawlessly, where Moltres can be fought immediately afterward.

Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon

The Legendary birds can be obtained after reaching Platinum Rank in Super Mystery Dungeon, and are challenged consecutively--once one dungeon is beat and the player has connected with the Legendary, they get access to the next, and so on. Articuno is encountered at Blue Point on the Grass Continent, while Moltres is battled at Red Point and Zapdos at Yellow Point, both on the Air Continent. Their trio master, Lugia, is again fought after the Legendary birds, in Sea Shrine.

In the anime

Main series

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.

Main article: Legendary birds (M02)

The Legendary birds in the anime

The Legendary birds appeared in The Power of One, where they were central to the movie's plot. In it, they were described as the titans of fire, ice, and lightning, guardians over Fire, Ice, and Lightning Islands. They were sought after by a collector, Lawrence III, who intended to use them to draw out Lugia.

Lawrence III succeeded in capturing Moltres first, using strange, electrified rings to contain it, rather than a Poké Ball. He then subsequently kept it on his ship as he hunted out Zapdos, who used Moltres's absence from Fire Island as a signal that it would be able to expand its territory. Shortly after, Ash and his friends discovered this to be the case. Lawrence III captures Zapdos as well, drawing the group in as well, due to their boat's similar size to the birds. The group escaped, and, using their Pokémon, managed to free Zapdos and Moltres. The Legendary birds have been infuriated, however, and began fighting, destroying Lawrence III's airship just as he attempted to capture Articuno. The three continued their fight outside, and finally, Lugia revealed itself.

The three birds teamed up to take Lugia down, but it recovered and retured to the surface. As Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres continued to fight, Ash was tasked to bring the treasures from their respective islands to Shamouti Island's shrine in order to help Lugia to quell the fighting and prevent the destruction of the world. Though he almost didn't make it, Ash managed to do so, and the birds made peace, returning to their islands.

Another set of Legendary birds appeared in An Electrifying Rage! in a fantasy.

Pokémon Origins

The Legendary birds appeared in File 4: Charizard, where Red caught them with Ultra Balls.

In the manga

Magical Pokémon Journey

Only Articuno has appeared in Magical Pokémon Journey, specifically in The Legendary Articuno!.

Movie adaptations

The Legendary birds appeared in Mirage Pokémon Lugia's Explosive Birth.

Pokémon Adventures

Main article: Legendary birds (Adventures)

The Legendary birds in Pokémon Adventures

Red, Green & Blue arc

The Legendary birds were sought by Team Rocket, following their failure to control Mewtwo. Articuno was caught at Seafoam Islands, Zapdos was caught at the Power Plant, and Moltres was caught at Indigo Plateau. They were then placed under the control of Team Rocket's three Commanders; Koga, Lt. Surge, and Sabrina, respectively, who used them against Red, Blue, and Green at Silph Co., using the power of their respective Gym Badges to force them to do their bidding. During the battle, they were accidentally fused together into a single being called the Thu-Fi-Zer. The combination Pokémon was defeated by the Pokédex holders' starter Pokémon, causing it to split up again and freeing the Legendary birds.

Gold, Silver & Crystal arc

During the years following their escape, Green caught the Legendary birds in order to help her overcome her fear of birds. She used them during the climax of the chapter to fight against Lugia and Ho-Oh at Ilex Forest while they were under the Masked Man's control. Following this chapter, it's unknown whether she released them or put them in her Box.

FireRed & LeafGreen arc

In this chapter, Green revealed that she had first visited the Sevii Islands years before Red and Blue in order to catch Moltres on Mt. Ember.

Pokémon Battrio: Aim to be Battrio Master!

Kanto Nankai used the Legendary birds during his match against Ryū Tendō in ABM01.

Pokémon Pocket Monsters

Articuno appeared in Will You Risk Your Life To Play The Magic Game?!. It was caught by Red using a Master Ball in The Legendary Pokémon Appears!!.

Zapdos appeared in Regain the Deserted Power Plant!. Another one appeared in PMDP11.

Moltres appeared in The Legendary Moltres Appears!!.

All of the Legendary birds appeared in Get Lugia!.

Pokémon Zensho

All of the Legendary birds appeared as a silhouette in Saffron City.

In Cinnabar Island, Satoshi helped Blaine to catch Articuno at Seafoam Islands.

Trivia

• In the localized versions of Generation I games, a Bird Keeper in Route 14 states: "The 3 legendary Pokémon are all birds of prey." However, in the Japanese dialogue, he simply says that they are three birds.
• In Generation I, the Legendary birds all had different base stat totals—Articuno's was 485, Zapdos's was 490, and Moltres's was 495. Since Generation II, when the Special split occurred, all three Legendary birds have had an equal base stat total of 580.
• In the English dub of The Power of One, these Pokémon are referred to as "titans".
  • In The Official Pokémon Encyclopedia, they are referred to as the Titan trio.
• Although legends are said to be incapable of breeding, Pokémon Snap shows all three birds being born from eggs, which means they were bred in some way.
• The last part of each of the members' names is a number in the Spanish language—one (Articuno), two (Zapdos), and three (Moltres)—and it reflects their National Pokédex order.
• Starting with Pokémon Platinum, they are the only Legendary trio to be both fully stationary and roaming as wild Pokémon in the various games they appear in. In comparison, the lake guardians have one of their trio who roams, while Suicune of the Legendary beasts roams in Pokémon Gold and Silver, but is stationary in Pokémon Crystal, as well as in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
• Since there were only four tracks of battle music in the Generation I games (wild, Trainer, Gym Leader/Elite Four, and Champion), normal wild battle music is played when the Legendary birds and Mewtwo are encountered. In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, a special remix of the normal wild battle theme is used for the Legendary birds, Mewtwo, and the Legendary beasts when encountered. However, the Legendary birds have never had a battle theme composed specifically for them, unlike other Legendary trios.
  • In The Crown Tundra, their Galarian counterparts get their own battle theme.
• The Shiny Colorations of the Legendary birds in their regional forms are colored to match the normal coloration of the Kantonian ones.
• All of the Legendary birds are capable of learning Agility naturally; however, from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl to Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, they were able to learn this move at different levels.
• Excluding roaming, Moltres is the only one of the trio to change location, and it does so twice.
• The Legendary birds can be caught in the most games of all Legendary Pokémon, as they can be caught in thirteen core series games in Japan (twelve internationally, seven in Korea).
• Kantonian Zapdos is the only one of the trio not to have a double weakness to Rock (or, for that matter, any double weakness).
  • Kantonian Zapdos is also the only one of the trio to have a weakness to Ice, though Moltres was weak to Ice as well in Generation I.
  • Galarian Zapdos is the only one of the trio not to have a weakness to Rock.
• The Legendary birds are the only Legendary Pokémon group to have Regional form counterparts.

In other languages

Legendary birds Language Title Chinese Cantonese 傳說的鳥寶可夢 Chyùhnsyut-dīk Níuh Pokémon Mandarin 傳說的鳥寶可夢 / 传说的鸟宝可梦 Chuánshuō-de Niǎo Pokémon Czech Legendární ptáci French Pokémon oiseaux légendaires German Legendären Vogel-Pokémon Hungarian Legendás madár Italian Pokémon leggendari alati Korean 전설의 새포켓몬 Jeonseol-ui Sae Pokémon Brazilian Portuguese Pássaros Lendários Spanish Pokémon pájaro legendarios

Winged mirage Language Title Chinese Cantonese 幻之翼 Waahn-jī Yihk Mandarin 幻之翼 Huàn-zhī Yì * 梦幻之翼 Mènghuàn-zhī Yì * French Mirages ailés German Mythischen Schwingen Italian Miraggi alati Korean 환상의 날개 Hwansang-ui Nalgae Spanish Seres alados