#24: Guardians of the GaLAKESy

[Cherrim]

This trio is my least favourite trio out of every single one so I can't even really pick a favourite. I don't like their designs because they are all so similarly shaped and coloured that I can't tell them apart. It's not obvious which colours go with which spirit's motif (unlike the cool icy blue for Articuno, lightning yellow for Zapdos, red fire for Moltres, etc.) and beyond that... I don't really understand what "knowledge", "willpower", and "emotion" have to do with each other? Maybe the important parts of a decision making process or something? It's such an unintuitive trio for me and aside from catching them once for the Pokédex I've never given them any thought.

I caved into curiosity after writing this and looked up what they had to do with each other and apparently they're based on the "Imperial Regalia of Japan" which is VERY unintuitive to me despite actually having studied this stuff before. I think part of it is that the typical English translations for the virtues they're meant to represent aren't necessarily used in the English fandom (for example, "valor" vs "willpower"), but it's also because I don't even recall Sinnoh being even remotely Japanese as far as its lore goes. I'd expect and accept that sort of thing from Johto where the Japanese influence in the region's culture is very obvious, but Sinnoh felt so different. I know this is originally a Japanese series but by this point in the games, it was very much an international phenomenon so going with such a specifically Japanese folklore for a Legendary trio... it's a weird choice, in my opinion. They're definitely not intuitive to foreigners, especially compared to all the other trios in the series.

Anyway, based on what they stand for, knowledge is the concept that is most important to me of the three... but I also kind of just want to pick the pink one because I like pink. I think it says a lot about how important these Pokémon are to me that I don't even know which one is the pink one or, quite frankly, couldn't even guess which one belongs to which name... in order to answer this question. :(

 

[OminousFlare]

Azelf is the best, naturally. Uxie comes a close second though, with its defense stats - but seriously, if you're thinking of using such a Pokemon as a tank instead of something like Snorlax or Metagross, you have issues.

 

[Sirfetch’d]

I like Azelf the most, mostly because when I originally played through Pearl I used one on my team and absolutely loved it. It's offensive power accompanied by it's cast movepool is really unmatched by the other two. Uxie is great defensively and design wise but I still think Azelf is the best of the three haha. Not really a fan of Mesprit. I didn't like how it roamed and the other two didn't. It just made a Pokemon that wasn't that great more of a pain to catch and that was another turn off for me.

 

[OminousFlare]

Not really a fan of Mesprit. I didn't like how it roamed and the other two didn't. It just made a Pokemon that wasn't that great more of a pain to catch and that was another turn off for me.

Not to mention that Mesprit is the worst of the lot. It's just another Nintendo gimmick for casuals. Weak-sauce Pokemon for weak-sauce players.

 

[Pendraflare]

Azelf for me. Its usability in battle is by far the best of the three, with Nasty Plot, and some strong attacking stats to back it up with. And the blue pixie is just the neatest design on my end. Mesprit is alright, but Uxie, not so much.

 

[Dazel]

My favourite is Uxie. I like how it's a bit different, what with the closed eyes and the memory wiping. I also feel as though it's the most important of the three.