Pokémon LEGEND (TCG)
- Pokémon Legend redirects here. For other uses, see Legendary (disambiguation).
Ho-Oh LEGEND, an example of a complete Pokémon LEGEND
Pokémon LEGEND are a variant of Pokémon found in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. They only feature Legendary Pokémon. They first appeared in the HeartGold & SoulSilver expansion as one of two replacement variants for Pokémon LV.X. Pokémon LEGEND are Pokémon consisting of two different cards: the first is the top half of the card and the second is the bottom half of the card. Pokémon LEGEND always have LEGEND at the end of their names, distinguishing them from normal Pokémon card names. For example, a Pokémon LEGEND card depicting Lugia is called Lugia LEGEND. However, both halves of a single Pokémon LEGEND have the same name, so only two copies of a complete Pokémon LEGEND can be used in a deck.
Both halves of a Pokémon LEGEND must be played to the Bench at the same time, and count as one card while in play. Outside of play, each half is treated as a separate card.
Pokémon LEGEND have the unique stage of LEGEND, therefore making them unevolved Pokémon that are also not Basic Pokémon. As they are not Basic Pokémon, Pokémon LEGEND cannot be put into play at the start of the game. While not in play, the only characteristics of a Pokémon LEGEND that can be referenced are their card type, name, Pokémon type and stage. (These characteristics are printed on both pieces of a Pokémon LEGEND) Since all other attributes are not included on both cards, those attributes cannot be referenced by other cards while the Pokémon is not in play. (The most common examples of effects that would attempt to reference attributes in this manner are effects that search for cards in the deck.)
In terms of the design of a complete card, the illustration takes up three-quarters of the entire space, with the card text positioned around it on the bottom half of the second card, broken into pieces as if the text was being pushed aside by the illustration. The entire card is also holographic. All Pokémon LEGEND are either fully illustrated or cooperatively illustrated by special effects wizard Shinji Higuchi, and are the only cards to display the illustrator name in both English and Japanese.
Starting from the Unleashed set, Pokémon LEGEND cards are introduced that depict two Pokémon on a single game object instead of just one. These cards are named after both Pokémon, connected by an ampersand, and use LEGEND as a suffix. For instance, one such card depicts both Rayquaza and Deoxys. It has the name Rayquaza & Deoxys LEGEND. These cards have two types and two Weaknesses, representing the types and weaknesses of each Pokémon. When these Pokémon LEGEND are Knocked Out, the opponent takes two Prize cards instead of one. Oddly, Unleashed was only the second set of the HeartGold & SoulSilver series, and only Pokémon LEGEND with two Pokémon were printed in the following sets. This means the only set with Pokémon LEGEND that feature one Pokémon is HeartGold & SoulSilver, and even then there are only two such entities.
Pokémon that have appeared as Pokémon LEGEND
In other languages
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This article is part of Project TCG, a Bulbapedia project that aims to report on every aspect of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. |
