Are Legendary Pokémon Too Weak?

[Lugia_Da_Boss]

In every Pokémon game I play, the legendaries aren't really worth all the trouble. By the time they are catchable, your Pokémon are usually just as powerful if not more powerful. Not only that but you also have to climb up mountains/other really annoying places and waste ultra and master balls on them. Usually they at least fit in my team but in White, my Zekrom was my team's weakest Pokémon by a long way and so I had to put it in the PC and leave it to gather dust.

This is pretty ridiculous to be honest, these Pokémon are really hard to get and then when you finally get them, they're mediocre. Do you think legendaries are too weak?

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

They are pretty weak compared to your main party because your main party stays with you and you train them for a long time so it's pretty obvious that they are weaker than your party ;)

I personally like the fact that they are kinda weaker. It makes the training worthy ;)
Though in B2W2 legendaries are on pretty high levels so they are, at least in my opinion, more than usable ;)
I'm, in fact, training Latias, Reshiram and even White Zekrom ;) It's pretty nice challenge =)

 

[Lugia_Da_Boss]

They are pretty weak compared to your main party because your main party stays with you and you train them for a long time so it's pretty obvious that they are weaker than your party ;)

I personally like the fact that they are kinda weaker. It makes the training worthy ;)
Though in B2W2 legendaries are on pretty high levels so they are, at least in my opinion, more than usable ;)
I'm, in fact, training Latias, Reshiram and even White Zekrom ;) It's pretty nice challenge =)

But what's the point of getting the legendary Pokémon then?

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

But what's the point of getting the legendary Pokémon then?

In fact we shouldn't even get them since they represent balance of world but let's not care about that...
The point is to have some kind of reward for your achievements. It's up to you whether you use them or not ;)
We are not forced to catch legendaries besides the ones that are needed for story to continue but we don't need to catch the others ;)

 

[Sydian]

They're weaker when you get them, like any other wild Pokemon, because they don't have as many EVs stacked on them like the rest of your team. Take the time to handle that, and it'll be just fine.

But what's the point of getting the legendary Pokémon then?

I don't think that's the main concern here, from what you're saying. You seem more concerned with "why use them?" since the question is "why are they so weak?" You don't have to use them. Even in BW, you can decline the offer and Reshi/Zek will go to your PC. But there are a lot of reasons to get them. RNG them for trading purposes, catch them to EV train, for your Pokedex, etc. But no one's making you use them if you think they're that bad.

 

[Lugia_Da_Boss]

So, none of you think that it's weird that most Pokémon trained for a short while by ten year olds(most of your chars are ten) are stronger than the Pokémon that control time, space, ground and all that?

 

[Sydian]

That's just game mechanics lol. Would you like it better if you faced the legendary and it was fully EVd? That'd just be overkill. But you know, everything has a weak point. Nobody said the legendaries were invincible to everything and could never be defeated or caught.

 

[Lugia_Da_Boss]

That's just game mechanics lol. Would you like it better if you faced the legendary and it was fully EVd? That'd just be overkill. But you know, everything has a weak point. Nobody said the legendaries were invincible to everything and could never be defeated or caught.

I never said they should be really powerful. It's just that they should at least put up a good fight instead of fainting after a couple of hits.

 

[Sydian]

You must be extremely overleveled if that's happening to you. Which, I usually am too, but it's just something that never bothered me lol. Like I said, no one in the game ever states "omg it's invincible it can't be beaten" so it's not like it has that kind of complex going for it. I guess just don't use them if you think they're not strong enough? Most people find them completely broken and dislike using them, so it's odd to see someone saying that they're weak.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

So, none of you think that it's weird that most Pokémon trained for a short while by ten year olds(most of your chars are ten) are stronger than the Pokémon that control time, space, ground and all that?

We are not in anime ;)
Legends in game are just symbols they don't live up to their expectations ;)
If they were then you could use Palkia to cut hole into space and have Sinnoh swallowed up into it.
Or you could command Arceus to destroy the world o.O
That's really not something you should do :D

 

[PlatinumDude]

How weak a legendary is compared to your team depends on how long you've trained the team. If you didn't spend too much time grinding, then that legendary would probably end up sweeping the entire team. Of course, if the opposite is true, then, obviously, your team would be stronger.

Sometimes, people catch legendaries to make the game easier on them.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

Sometimes, people catch legendaries to make the game easier on them.

It's pretty hard to believe considered how most legends are underleveled and obtained too late in game =)

 

[MiTjA]

Legendary doesnt necessarily mean they have to be another league.

Well of course the big plot ones, are supposed to have a headstart with their stats, but for the rest... they're just very rare pokemon.

Think of them as Tyranitars that start out as their final evolution and are hard to catch.


"what's the point of getting the legendary Pokémon then?"
Why not ask
What's the point of getting ANY pokémon then??
They're good for training, battling, trading. Like everything else.

 

[Lugia_Da_Boss]

How weak a legendary is compared to your team depends on how long you've trained the team. If you didn't spend too much time grinding, then that legendary would probably end up sweeping the entire team. Of course, if the opposite is true, then, obviously, your team would be stronger.

Sometimes, people catch legendaries to make the game easier on them.

The level required to beat the last gym in every region is a higher level than the legendaries. They're supposed to be legendary but no, they're about as strong as the eighth gym leader's Pokémon.

Legendary doesnt necessarily mean they have to be another league.

Well of course the big plot ones, are supposed to have a headstart with their stats, but for the rest... they're just very rare pokemon.

Think of them as Tyranitars that start out as their final evolution and are hard to catch.


"what's the point of getting the legendary Pokémon then?"
Why not ask
What's the point of getting ANY pokémon then??
They're good for training, battling, trading. Like everything else.

Please, the mascot legendaries were the ones I was referring to. The only other non-event ones are usually even weaker(and I shouldn't have to go to an event just to get strong Pokémon...).

 

[MiTjA]

Please, the mascot legendaries were the ones I was referring to.

Well they're still not meant to be almighty. Just inherently better equipped.

 

[PlatinumDude]

The level required to beat the last gym in every region is a higher level than the legendaries. They're supposed to be legendary but no, they're about as strong as the eighth gym leader's Pokémon.

Black/White, Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver and Emerald are exceptions. In B/W, Reshiram and Zekrom are just as strong as the strongest Pokemon of the Elite 4, at level 50.

In G/S/C/HG/SS, Lugia and Ho-oh are at a slightly higher level than Clair's highest-leveled Pokemon (Kingdra), at level 45. Some players use them for the upcoming Elite 4 challenge, though, because of their strong signature moves (and for their power/bulk; more emphasis on power for Ho-oh and more emphasis on bulk for Lugia).

In Emerald, Rayquaza's level is way higher leveled than Juan's level 46 Kingdra at level 70.

 

[Clark]

Going by base stats and movepools, yeah, mascot Legendaries are monstrously overpowered compared to your average Pokemon. If you give a Reshiram the same amount of training as an Emboar, the Reshiram is going to be much stronger.

But, like everyone's been saying, there are a few issues with using them in-game. You get them very late in the game, and they're not terribly high in level when you catch them. They come with NO effort values, whereas your team has gained most if not ALL of their effort values by this point. They level up very slowly compared to other Pokemon, meaning their stat boosts come sluggishly. Legendaries are tedious to train, so they don't really show their true potential until you've been grinding with them for a long while.

Personally I don't like to use Legendaries in-game. If you could get them earlier or if they levelled up faster I might would consider it, I guess.

 

[chella182]

But what's the point of getting the legendary Pokémon then?

My answer to that is simple; for dex purposes. I like to complete my Pokédex, so I need to catch them for that. I do sometimes use them in my team if their typing is something I need (I kept Lugia in my team in SoulSilver because I needed a Psychic-type, for example), but mainly I just box them.

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

I don't like legendary Pokemon, but it's not because they're weak; if anything, it's because of their relative strength and overpowered nature in comparison to similar-leveled critters. It just takes part of the fun out for me, personally. Indeed, I've never been under the impression that legendary Pokemon were anything but super-strong.

 

[Olli]

I don't think legendary Pokémon are weak. I know they may be a lower level than the rest of your main team by the time you're able to catch them, but level isn't all that determine a Pokémon power, and in any case you just have to train it up to reach the rest of your team's level.

I myself don't really use legendary Pokémon though whenever I play the games. I do catch them, but that's mainly because individually they're all rare, and though the number of legendaries may have grown, and they've become less special than they once were, it doesn't cover the fact that there are usually only one per game, which is what makes them rare.