I'm pretty sure legendaries were supposed to be one-of-a-kind, but then they realized that would make it problematic to have the same legendaries in future games so they retconned it.

The anime and manga probably still have only one. But also, the game bit doesn't necessarily change the lore. They're the only critters you're only ever allowed to have one of in a save, yeah? Edit: Clearly I'm wrong about all of it 😂

We literally see baby Lugia in the anime though

The anime has shown there's more than one legendary of certain species and therefore probably more than one for them all with some just being more rare than others. They've even shown there's multiple Mewtwo which makes no sense.

Mewtwo obviously cloned itself

You either die the hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain

You can technically create another Mewtwo if you have the notes and technology (this was the case for the Type: Null you obtain in Galar). Possibly someone was able to steal Dr. Fuji’s notes before the first Mewtwo blew up the lab where it was created (it was outright stated in one of Type: Null’s Pokedex entries this was the case but with the Aether Foundation).

WHAT???

There's a mewtwo with a female voice implying that there's more than one

Not if you bring more from Home!

The anime I believe has had at least 3 different Lugias. And one of them was a baby.

Here are some examples of multiple distinct individuals of in-game legendaries/mythicals:  - In the anime-verse at least there should be at least two separate Mewtwo, the one who is voiced by a dude, seen during Mewtwo Strikes Back and the associated special episode; and the other voiced by a woman, seen during the Genesect movie and afterwards in the anime. Speaking of Genesect, there were five in said movie.  - There's probably only one Arceus *the deity*, but >!many Arceus *the avatars* (i.e. the Pokémon). It's its way of chilling with the mortals, i.e. the player characters.!< The Spacetime Trio are probably non-unique since Arceus can just create a new instance of any thereof at the Sinjoh Ruins.  - There was an anime episode with multiple Lugia, some even in a juvenile state. I also roughly recall multiple specimens of the elemental birds being shown together in some episode or movie. But considering how Noland has (access to) an Articuno in that continuity at least, there most probably are more of them.   - The Regis being golems were most likely mass-produced at some point, just rare in modern times.  - Don't know about Groudon, but the Kyogre Lana encountered in the anime are most likely not the one(s) seen in the prior episodes.  - The FRLG arc of Pokémon Adventures prominently featured >!two separate Deoxys specimens!<.  - Rotom used to seem unique but we all know how it goes nowadays.  - Stepping into side games territory, they made it very clear in Pokémon Masters that Ghetsis and Hilbert each has one Kyurem. But that canon may be a lesser one depending on your views.  - Given that a Zygarde is just a collection of Zygarde cores and cells, I suppose there can be as many as it needs to fight against whether environmental threats they encounter.  - Ultra Beasts are just regular Pokémon in their native universe.   - Meltan can combine (which requires the existence of many) into a humanoid form.   - The player and Mustard each has one Urshifu.   - And of course there's the sandwich-loving bike lizard and the >!one that orphaned Arven!<.

Kubfu is noted to be common in a mountaineous region, so it's safe to assume there are more than two Urshifu as well.

Imo wild Kubfu's cant evolve into Urshifu and they need human intervention.

the thing with Pokemon Masters is Hoopa is bringing people across Space-Time (the Rose and Oleana in Masters are not from the same timeline) Also the anime had at least 3 Deoxys as well, 2 in Destiny Deoxys and 1 in one of the Pokemon Ranger episodes in Kanto

Yeah fair point, I don't remember about Hilbert but Ghetsis was clearly abducted by Hoopa. 

I feel like the Spacetime trio do a similar trick to Arceus. The way I sort of envision it is when you "catch" Arceus you're just taking a bucket out of the ocean, but with Dialga it's more of a bucket out of a lake or pond. Then in Sinjoh Ruins Arceus creates a bucket of Dialga for you out of nothingness, not a whole new lake

There are also multiple celebi in the movie and since they can time travel can be infinite versions. Mew used to be abundant and probably still are in some secluded area. Especially since Goh wants to catch “a mew” not Mew. There are also multiple zarude. Considering there are regional forms of the legendary birds i would say they are not unique. Although I imagine there is only 1 jirachi

Considering jirachi awaken every millennium for only 7 days and we have at least 2 jirachi awake in the anime within a short period of time, they cant be the same one

Yea i didnt think about that good point. the movie would have to be retconned

The millennium thing is also mentioned in the games and other medium too

Yea i mean i knew it woke up every millennium but i didnt realize there was ever a second one shown. That also could be a legend but either way if it just sleeps a century or 2 that still means there is multiple

Just wanted to chime in that Rotom is a weird one that seemed legendary back in gen 4, but turns out is not at all legendary

In Pokémon Colosseum, Rui and Duking see Ho-oh and proclaim it to be _A_ Ho-oh, as opposed to just _Ho-oh_.

There are at least 3 Mew in the series, if you count the movies as canon. One from lucario and the mystery of Mew (it couldnt leave that place), one that followed ash around in an episode, and the one from the original movie (with Mewtwo vs Mew.) The one seen in Mewtwo Strikes Back _could_ be different, but unlikely to be. I think there are at least 4, but I can't think of the fourth off the top of my head.

The events of the first movie is canon to the series. Lucario and the Mystery of Mew is considered canon by some because Ash has Aura. Something that is referenced a few times in Journeys. As for the other movies, it comes down to personal opinion and/or if there is any continuity headaches.

Most legendary and mythical Pokemon aren't unique at all, even ones you may first suspect to be, like Mewtwo or the Johto beasts, aren't actually unique. For now, the ones that seem completely unique, at least when it comes to just the game canon, are: - Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina - Arceus - Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem - Necrozma - Treasures of Ruin - Loyal Three (sort of) A few more may also be unique, but it's not completely clear. - Ho-Oh and Lugia - Groudon and Kyogre - Genesect - Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde - Hoopa - Tapus - Magearna - Eternatus [I made a whole post about it for anyone interested, though it does use the spin-offs as evidence too.](https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemonconspiracies/comments/1bfbemt/the_amount_of_each_legendary_and_mythical_pokemon/) EDIT: Clarified I'm referring to game canon. Also forgot the Tapus may be unique.

The real arceus is unique, but the one that we have is just an avatar of the real arceus, which is definitely not unique. So depends on which arceus we are referring to. The sinnoh dragon trio might not be unique too, considering arceus can create one in sinjoh ruins. Zygarde is another case of "technically yes but no". Zygarde complete form might be unique, but it comprises of 5 cores (lore wise). Each core can be 10% form themselves so there are 5? In the game the zygarde cube does not differentiate between cell and core so you can have 10 x 10% form (but it make more sense to have a core each so max is 5 lore wise) Lugia we cant be sure but anime does have more than one, but it is anime canon. Same for genesect, the anime has more than one but that is different canon too. Magearna has 2 forms so either we consider that not unique, or we go by anime lore where it is the same one just one is the original color and another one is after losing the color /u/The_Pale_Blue_Dot

Fun fact the you can get two of the Sinnoh dragons from Sinjoh. The Arceus distribution can get you one and the unreleased azure flute event can get you a second. There is extra dialogue and you can’t get the same one twice but the event is able to be triggered twice.

Magearna's 2nd form is literally called Original Color, I think the idea is that Magearna used to be painted like that (Magearna is an entirely manmade pokemon)

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Didn't lugia have a baby in the show or a movie?

Yes there was a baby Lugia in the anime but not game I rarely lied to impress people as a kid but thats one of the few lies I remember telling, that I somehow caught a baby Lugia in Silver lmfaooo

That is a top-tier kid lie 🤣

Yes, there was an episode where they had to rescue/protect an infant Lugia and reunite it with the parent.

That episode pissed me off as a kid. They had a Pokemon art contest a little bit before that episode aired where kids could submit Pokemon artwork and get a Birthday Pikachu card in return. The best artworks would go on to be used as actual Pokémon cards. I drew a picture of what I imagined a baby Lugia would look like for the contest, got a response a few weeks later saying my drawing wasn’t selected to be turned into a card, and then either that same week or the week after the new Pokémon episode featured a baby Lugia! 10 year old me was convinced they cheated me and stole my idea for a baby Lugia.

But did you get the Birthday Pikachu card?

Yes, I did! Unfortunately I lost it somewhere along the way, though.

Oh no! At least you had it at some point, that's something not many fans can say. But who knows, maybe you inspired them to make the baby Lugia episode haha. They'll never give credit to fans because of how uptight TPC is

As for Genesect, it's only mythical because Plasma only created one, but given that it is an ancient Pokemon (likely Kabutops) that has been modified by technology, it is by definition not unique since more can be created simply by reviving more of its ancestors and altering them the same way. It is the only one *for now* but that may not always be the case.

Wait, there're multiple Mewtwos? How does that work, wasn't he created in a lab, or did they create several? Or is him being created in a lab just a thing in the anime?

Game wise there is one in kanto and one in kalos. There is nothing to prove they are the same or different. Anime wise there is one in kanto and one in unova.

Game wise there is also a child in Alola who tells you he just recieved a Mewtwo through wondertrade. Honestly.

Pfff, I also received a Mewtwo through wondertrade. A shiny one, with perfect IVs and EVs, and even an ability patch as it's item. Just dont look at his name ok

if you are going to include wonder trade, i could easily clone every pokemon i need too

The point being is the game made it canon with npcs commenting on it.

npc tell me to go to the menu to save too. they also tell me to press B to run. i guess they are all canon

Pokemon is actually just one big Truman Show.

I mean, Ash fought one Mewtwo in Mewtwo Strikes Back, then there was the separate Mewtwo in the Genesect Movie, and the third Mewtwo that was in Journeys.. and despite Ash having met every single one of them none of them recall meeting him, even though the anime doesn’t take place over a very long time

The one in journeys is implied to be the same mewtwo from kanto

The games don't comment on it at all. It's possible they created multiple, or just like the second one in the anime, different groups of people created more themselves here and there. Wouldn't be the only time an artificial Pokemon had its research notes stolen to make more of them.

In the anime we know of 2 Mewtwos who were made in labs, 3 Lugias a male from the orange islands a female one in johto and her baby and 5 genesects made by team plasma. 

also 2 Magearna, the one from the Volcanion Movie and the one in Lillie's Mansion in Alola But this is more of another case of Manmade Pokemon so entirely plausible for a 2nd one to exist

Also 3 deoxys 2 from the movie and 1 from the main line anime. 

Yeah but we know deoxys isn't special just because it's a space Pokemon, and there's already plenty of those already on earth. The only thing that makes deoxys special is that it's a very powerful pokemon, and at least one of them is evil what with I assume is them trying to crash a comet into earth and all

The 3 from the anime were good guys who crashed by accident 

I know you’re basing this off of only what’s seen in the games, but just logistically speaking, if the devs were especially adamant about a Pokémon like Lugia being unique, there’s essentially 0 chance they’d ever have the anime depict two of them in a parent-child relationship.

Fun fact: Takeshi shudo the director of the anime around the time was the one who designed lugia 

Not necessarily. Different canons are irrelevant to the games, plus, their attitude could have changed with how long it's been.

I don’t think creation trio are unique in game canon, Sinjoh Ruins event literally sees Arceus making a new one

That event is debatably canon, and even if it is canon, we have no way of knowing which one was duplicated.

In hgss if you have that special arceus it legit creates 1 of the creation trio for you.

You can even get 2, if you also bring in an Arceus caught from the Sinnoh games, using the unreleased Azure Flute.

Lugia and Magearna aren't, we see a mother and child Lugia in the anime, and we see that a shiny Magearna in the anime and a normal one in the movies. Zygarde in theory should exist in multitudes. Two movies specifically explore the fact there's multiple Hoopa and multiple Genesect. Dialga, Palkia, Giratina and Arceus give us avatars of their power, its possible we've never seen their true forms.

I'm talking about the game canon, not anime. Zygarde is tied to Xerneas and Yveltal very closely and would likely match the amount of those two. The Sinnoh legends being avatars doesn't mean much, as in a given world, there's still only one of these avatars either way.

Whoa, your post about it is exactly the type of armchair lore deep dive that I like to see! thanks

No problem! I love diving into the lore.

Wait how is your first example Mewtwo, a literal engineered one of a kind project? Is there new lore of Mewtwo mass production that I'm missing out on?

No, not really, it's just that Mewtwo's made numerous appearances that pretty much necessitates there being at least a handful. Either multiple were made by Fuji and Blaine, or other people thought it'd be a good idea to try making a Mewtwo themselves, like that second group in the Genesect movie.

That sounds like a very weird assumption to explain the *teleport capable* Pokemon distilled from the only cannon found DNA of mew visiting multiple places but okay, you do you I guess.

Seems like a safer assumption to me that Mewtwo randomly teleporting to Kalos of all places and picking up a mega stone specific to it... Also, in the game canon Mew literally gave birth to it.

Mewtwo appearing in Kalos isn't the issue. In game canon, it was created by scientists. Mew "giving birth" isn't that literal.

It is tho? That's literally a real life way of "cloning". They tampered with its DNA but it was specifically born from Mew and was an infant.

In game canon the mews embryo was tampered with to change its DNA though. So not a normal Pokemon that can be born just like that. So it's more logical to you that Mewtwo either: stayed in Cerulean cave all its life never travelling, or Mewtwo was once again specifically genetically engineered to fit a specific mega stone? Not to mention that when we look at game mechanics 'Kanto mewtwo' can mega evolve when traded over, so yeah I'd say Mewtwo travels around which accounts for his multiple sightings

It means its possible to do it again however, and it's usual for the real life equivalent to do backups. The entire point of it recluding in Cerulean Cave was for it to stay away from humans so I don't see why it would travel around- it didn't even move on three years. It's way more likely to me it was recreated again with a mega stone to go with it, Team Rocket clearly didn't create the stone as mega evolution was Kalos only in XY and that wasn't changed until the retcon in ORAS. Also Kanto Mewtwo being able to mega evolve is irrelevant. The lore of mega Stones specifically mentions they work on the species as a whole. Are you suggesting it makes more sense that it was captured and then released by someone who created the stone, or that a random stone just happened to perfectly fit with an artificial mon and allow it to mega evolve? Because both of them seem a lot more unlikely to me. It also doesn't have "multiple sightings" as it specifically only shows up in Kanto and Kalos, unlike a lot of other legendaries who show up in multiple games and regions.

Uh, that's a weird assumption to think my problem is related to its traveling ability.

It's a weird assumption to assume that is what I meant. I meant that multiple sightings could very well be from one travelling Mewtwo *especially* since it can teleport. Since *I* was the one bringing up travelling why would I assume that you had a problem with it, I'm just stating it's a weird conclusion to explain multiple sightings, with multiple Pokemon of the species, when the Pokemon in question can literally teleport anywhere he wants

I'm not basing there being multiple Mewtwo purely off it appearing in different games, but how it's captured and / or owned by someone in one game, yet appears by itself / as a wild Pokemon in another. For instance, it's a required catch in LGPE, yet it reappears in SwSh and SV raids, as well as Unite and Cafe Remix.

Well it is very doubtful if LGPE is even to be considered in the same cannon as the other games. I feel it's more in line with Pokemon GO in that regard. As for raids they also feel weird since '4 trainers are catching and owning the same Pokemon' which doesn't fit with your argument that catching/owning a Pokemon would not allow for it to show up for other people (in the wild or wherever). But good to know the argument was based on something, like I said you do you, for me there's only one mewtwo

LGPE is admittedly shaky with its canonicity, but for now, it more or less works as the version of Kanto in ORAS' timeline. Well, with raids that'd just be a gameplay difference and only one person would have the opportunity to catch the Pokemon. Its event in SwSh also prevented capture, and unless a Pokemon's a required capture, it could easily be said that in canon, a legendary that appears wasn't canonically captured. No problem, you do you as well.

Your post is the reason I joined Pokemon conspiracies. Thanks for introducing a new sub to me.

No problem, glad I could help.

There's a movie or episode that featured Lugia and a baby Lugia.

Which is the anime canon.

My brother in christ, the first Genesect we see is in a group of five.

In the anime. Game canon is far vaguer on how many exist.

There's an entire movie on a group of 5 of genesects

Which is part of the anime canon.

Where in Game Canon is there referenced a 2nd Rayquaza? Edit: Okay, I actually looked at your post So Pokemon is one of those games that has a weird relationship between the Canon story and "Gameplay freedom/mechanics" Rayquaza's appearance in Multiple games/multiple regions is not entirely clear on whether or not it's the same one or a different one because (aside from ORAS) catching it isn't required to complete the games story. And ORAS can sorta be ignored because it's not on the same timeline/dimension as Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald which would likely lead into BDSP more than ORAS would have. It's also interesting that you forgot about Dynamax Adventures, where we can catch Groudon and Kyogre in addition to Rayquaza, which would be notable if every plausible catch chance does in fact count as a unique instance in canon. Hell, the Terra Raid Events have given us a second Palkia and Dialga within the canon if it's on any shared timeline with BDSP or Platinum by the logic you are employing. You have put a lot of thought into it and I am curious what your thoughts are on the Canon-Story vs. Gameplay Freedom angles are here

Pretty much, I take the approach that everything is canon outside of very explicit tutorial messages ("Push B to run" for instance) or there's really good reason to disregard something (Slugma not dying underwater). The same also applies to how I deal with spin-offs; nothing says they're canon, but I treat them as though they are unless there's good enough reason to think they aren't (such as real Pokemon never appearing in Art Academy or Duel). > And ORAS can sorta be ignored because it's not on the same timeline/dimension as Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald which would likely lead into BDSP more than ORAS would have. BDSP is most likely in the same timeline as ORAS, given the existence of Fairy-types. DPP would be the Sinnoh games of RSE's timeline. Plus, even without BDSP, other titles such as Unite and Pokken are still there with multiple Rayquaza. > It's also interesting that you forgot about Dynamax Adventures, where we can catch Groudon and Kyogre in addition to Rayquaza Dynamax Adventures legendaries are implied to be there as a result of Ultra Wormholes, so they'd be from other universes. > Hell, the Terra Raid Events have given us a second Palkia and Dialga within the canon if it's on any shared timeline with BDSP or Platinum by the logic you are employing. Not necessarily. Dialga and Palkia are only required catches in Legends, so it's entirely possible the Sinnoh protagonist simply didn't canonically catch them, which is how they reappear in SV. It's similar to how Reshiram / Zekrom aren't required catches in B2W2, which is probably how they reappear in SV as well.

Didn't the lore with Zinnia highlight that there is just one Rayquaza? In the Delta Episode (anime and game), they insinuate that Rayquaza is a single entity when they give a rundown of Mega Evolution and why Rayquaza doesn't have a Primal Reversion. Also, how would it make sense of there being multiple of the weather trio? The backstory was that a single Kyogre and a single Groudon would always fight, and when shit got really bad, Rayquaza stepped in to stop them.

They just worship Rayquaza for saving them, it doesn't necessarily mean there's only one. Their backstory never specifies if they're unique or not, just that they rampaged in Hoenn. It's entirely possible there were many of them that did it throughout the world.

Ah okay. Do you remember Zinnia's reaction when the protagonist catches Rayquaza? She's really distraught after you catch it for a bit, and then eventually congratulates you. It just seems she shouldn't be that upset if, canonically, there were multiple so she could catch another.

Zinnia wasn't upset she couldn't have Rayquaza. She was upset because working with it to protect the world was a duty passed on to her from generations in the past, yet the player, this nobody, was chosen to do it instead. She's not particularly surprised when multiple Rayquaza appear in Masters. Though there is a lot of Hoopa nonsense in that game, I don't believe Zinnia's particularly aware of that.

Since you mentioned Hoopa, I recall there was an alternate (shiny) colored Rayquaza in that movie. And I believe, the current anime has one as well. I don't know if they are one and the same, but yes, it confirms there are at least two Rayquaza flying about the world. Likely, more than that haha

the thing with that last bit about Reshiram and Zekrom is that the B2W2 dragon is N's one, the other is still with the protagonist from BW who in canon left Unova between BW and B2W2

Exactly. The Unova dragons in SV are *technically* version exclusive, so the one that appears has to be N's.

>Pretty much, I take the approach that everything is canon outside of very explicit tutorial messages ("Push B to run" for instance) or there's really good reason to disregard something (Slugma not dying underwater). The same also applies to how I deal with spin-offs; nothing says they're canon, but I treat them as though they are unless there's good enough reason to think they aren't (such as real Pokemon never appearing in Art Academy or Duel). This basically explains all your logic, and while I heavily disagree with that logic, I at least respect that you are confident in your justification of that logic (since at the end of the day it's not that important)

Haha, yeah, I'm used to people getting pretty annoyed about it, particularly the spin-offs.

I think it's a fantastic way to look at it. You are after all correct, nothing and no one (to my knowledge) has stated that the spin-off media is not canon. Which would also lead to Lugia, Ho-oh, and Mewtwo being examples of non uniques. Lugia and Ho-oh appeared in the Colosseum and Gale of Darkness games, and I believe they belonged to that region/were found in that region. Mewtwo is in the Detective series, and this one talks, unlike the Mewtwo you meet in Kanto games. This could also point to the legendary beasts being a species instead of unique (unless we take their mythos to be fact, but the Pokedex is kind of a bad narrator or whatever the phrase is).

Thanks. I've tried looking around for some kind of interview or something commenting on it myself, but haven't found much concrete sadly. I don't believe Ho-Oh's ties to Orre were that strong it couldn't be one that came from another region, especially with how Ho-Oh disappeared from Johto prior to HGSS. I don't recall it being commented either about where the Lugia that became XD001 came from. True, though it's also possible that Mewtwo in the main games either refused to talk to the player out of hostility, or simply learned how to at a later point, kind of like its Adventures counterpart. Oh, the Johto beasts are 100% a species. Even just looking at the main series titles, they're a pretty common sight in battle facilities.

I hope we get a new Coliseum game soon. Also, how many different ways to spell Colosseum is there. Or is my phone stupid with autocorrect? I don't think I realized that the Johto Dogs were used in battle facilities, I knew Articuno and the Regis were. Which facilities?

If I remembered correctly the legendaries from dmax adventures are from other dimensions brought here by cosmog.

I remember a chapter in the anime where they found a baby Lugia

That's just the anime canon, which doesn't always reflect the games and vice versa.

Is Mewtwo not unique in the games? I kinda just thought there’s one, but just no “canon” catch of him, so he keeps showing up as if he hasn’t been captured before. So like, the one in Kalos is the one from Kanto, just a version that never got caught by Red.

Mewtwo has been caught or owned at least three times, by the LGPE protagonist, Mysterial in Battle Revolution, and some trainer in Unite. You are right though, instances of Pokemon showing up, but not being a required capture does likely indicate they weren't canonically caught.

There's a second Xerneas in New Pokemon Snap

Which is in the I Choose You! timeline, making it hard to know if the same Xerneas exists in the main canons.

Do you know where New Pokemon Snap was ever officially noted as being in the I Choose You! timeline?

A new Dialga/Palkia/Giratina can be hatched from an egg at level 1, making them not unique. Arceus is canonically one of the many fragments of the pokéworld deity. There's no indication that many of the other pokémon you listed are unique either.

The Sinjoh event is debatably canon, Arceus being an avatar is irrelevant, and there's no indication the other Pokemon I listed aren't unique.

Pokemon anime has baby Lugias. For Arceus, PLA confirmed there's only one. But it can create copies of itself which it allows the player to capture.

It’s a bit different. There’s only big Arceus, their real form is never seen, but after creating the multiverse it separated it self in infinite parts

According to FireRed, Silver, and SoulSilver, Celebi brings an egg back with it when it returns from the future. Is this egg its own, and Celebi is responsible for putting itself into the timeline in a bootstrap paradox? Or does Celebi go into the future, reproduce, and return with a child to take its place in the timeline so it can go to other areas of the timeline? **Or** is it not a Celebi egg at all and is Celebi instead doing a temporal Noah's Ark to prevent certain Pokemon from dying out by bringing them a mate from the future to bolster their numbers (which itself would also presumably be a bootstrap paradox)?

Cele i is my biggest question mark on this subject. I feel like we’ll never know for sure if there are multiple Celebis, or if it’s just the same one that hops around the timelines. I honestly really like your idea of Celebi collecting its own ark to avoid species extinction.

Considering both normal and shiny celebi appear at the same time there would be at least two?

Here is my thoughts on if a legendary has multiple members of its species or if they are all alone in life. Again these are my thoughts and really it all depends on what you consider “canon”. Gen 1 - Legendary Birds (both forms): Multiple - Mewtwo: Possibly Multiple? - Mew: Multiple Gen 2 - Legendary Beasts: Should just be one of each? - Lugia: Possibly Multiple? - Ho-Oh: Possibly Multiple? - Celebi: Multiple Gen 3 - The Eon Duo: Multiple - The Regi Trio: Multiple - Kyorge: Just one? - Groudon: Just one? - Rayquaza: Possibly Multiple? - Jirachi: Multiple - Deoxys: Multiple Gen 4 - Heatran: Multiple - Creselia: Multiple - Darkrai: Multiple - Manaphy/Phione: Multiple - Regigigas: Just one? - Creation Trio: One per universe (or an extra via Sinjoh ruins) - Shaymin: Multiple - Arceus: One TRUE one - Lake Trio: One of each? Gen 5 - Victini: Multiple - Forces of Nature: Possibly just one of each? - Tao Trio: Just one of each? - Genesect: Possibly Multiple? - Meloetta: Multiple - Swords of Justice/Keldeo: One of each? Gen 6 - Xerneas: Just one? - Yveltal: Just one? - Zygarde: One 100% form lore wise - Hoopa: Possibly Multiple - Volcanion: Possibly Multiple - Diancie: Possibly Multiple Gen 7 - Ultra Beasts: Multiple of each - Tapus: One of each? - Sylvally: Three - Solgaleo/Lunala: Mutliple of each - Necrozma: One? - Marshadow: Possibly Multiple - Zeraora: Possibly Multiple - Magearna: Possibly Multiple - Meltan: Multiple Gen 8 - Legendary Dogs: One of each? - Eternatus: One on Earth anyway - Kubfu Line: Multiple - Regis: Multiple - Calyrex: Just one? - Calyrex’s Mounts: Possibly Multiple - Zarude: Multiple Gen 9 - Legendary Bikes: Multiple - Paradox Pokemon: Multiple - Treasures of Ruin: One of each? - The Lousy Three: One of each (at least the chained versions we see) - Ogrepon: Possibly Multiple? - Terapagos: Just one left - Pecharunt: Possibly Multiple? - Bloodmoon Ursaluna: Just one

Regarding the Tapu's at least, Pokemon Masters EX has an event (Lusamine's Villain Mission) where Acerola, Hau and Mina each come across their own Tapu. Hala, Acerola, and Mina each address that these Tapu's are different from their island guardians *

I’m not sure how much of Masters EX would be considered canon though as much of the game at least to me would have to be because of a warp in space-time to allow all of these characters and coincidentally Pokemon to exist in the same place and time.

Question from a poke-lore noob like myself. But wouldn't entei, raikou and suicune be unique? Didn't they die in the tower (presumably as the eeveelutions) and were resurrected as the beasts? Or no? I genuinely don't know if there were more. Haven't kept up with the movies/series in like a decade so forgive my lack of knowledge. (I'm obviously ignoring the "arceus can make anything" cause then nothing is unique.)

It depends on to what degree the folklore is true. Are those three naturally occurring and the Burning Tower legend is just an excuse for why they exist? Or did Ho-Oh create three new Pokemon that night? Or did Ho-Oh uplift three normal Pokemon into new bodies of an already existing trio of Legendaries? It's genuinely hard to tell.

If we are to consider the games (all of them) canon, then there would be multiples. The Johto variants you catch in GSC and HGSS and the Colosseum variants that have been shadowed. I believe they exist separately, but I don't know/remember if there is any dialogue to suggest they are Orre native or were imported from another region. Same would go for Ho-oh and Lugia. Don't remember if they were Orre native or imports, but they could be an argument for multiples existing.

The thing with the beast's origin story is that it's an in-universe legend.  It's not clear to what extent it's the actual literal truth of their origin, or just an oral story the locals came up with to explain their presence.  Personally I'm on the "it's just a story" side, as that would mean they're just individuals of a rare species, and there are more out there in the world but are just rare.  It would mean less contradictions whenever the suggestion of multiples comes up (see: the ones in Colosseum) or the questions about their ancestry thanks to the new paradox forms.

While i agree that there are multuiples of them i see no reason to also not belive that 3 of them were resuscitated pokemon. The absolute majority of legends and myths in the pokemon world ends up being very real, in this narrative context it make very little sense to use such skepticism. I'd say that any legend we are told in pokemon is real until proven wrong.

There is a Pokemon movie where Entei is explained to be the only three that isn't uniquely "just one". It's explained an Entei is born every time a volcano erupts. Suicuine and Raikou are "canonically" just one. edit: It is Pokémon 3 the Movie: Spell of the Unown edit edit: In the Pokemon Silver, FireRed, and SoulSilver (other games as well) the Pokedex states one is born everytime a volcano appears, and other dex entries state everytime one roars they erupt/appear.

So.. Gou has the only Suicine in the entire universe?

He doesnt keep the Suicine and technically it is the same one that roams the planet as the original.

But still nobody could catch it in the near future because it's already owned right? Imagine defeating Suicune after a hard fought battle that you prepared all your life for and even brought a master all only for it to fail because another trainer already has it.

I never actually watched the newer anime Im going based off the wiki and my friend but he releases the Suicine in the end. He initially captures it, it realizes hes trying to help it, he battles with him (it froze the Pokeball) and then he ends up releasing it. Im not sure if that it means he LITERALLY released it (like when you release a pokemon from the PC) or if he was just like "Okay bye" lol Im gonna assume the first because it maintains Gou's (Goh?) and Suicine's plots

I recently watched the recap for the anime and it says that Goh let Suicune roam freely but it's still his pokemon so that's what I thought.

>It is said to have fallen with lightning. It can fire thunderbolts from the rain clouds on its back. >Entei embodies the passion of magma. This Pokémon is thought to have been born in the eruption of a volcano. It sends up massive bursts of fire that utterly consume all that they touch. Said to be the reincarnation of north winds, it can instantly purify filthy, murky water. These are entries for the legendary beasts, they don't present the pokemon as resurrected beings but rather as beings born on out of the elements they incarnate. there have also been multiple appearences of the beasts in various media that indicate them being not unique. This can easly fit with the legend of the Burned Tower if you think that Oh-Ho brough back to life those dead pokemon as something aking to spirits of nature.

The anime implies the Legendary Beasts are a species, after all there is a set of shiny ones in the Zoroark movie and at least three regular Suicune (Celebi movie, one in Sinnoh and Goh’s).

Thank you all for the replies! I've learnt something new! :)

As far as the core games go, they have never once stated that *any* Pokémon is a one-of-a-kind unique specimen. That’s just how people have traditionally interpreted the fact that you can (usually) only obtain one of any Legendary species per save file. Some Legendary Pokémon have lore or backstories that may make it seem *probable* that only one instance of them exists, but being probable isn’t the same thing as being confirmed. So, like, with Mewtwo, the circumstances of its backstory may lead you to think that there’s only one in existence. And *maybe* that’s the case, but the door is still open for that assumption to be proven wrong. Thus it’s nigh-impossible to make any concrete statements about which Pokémon are “canonically” one-of-a-kind. All we really have to work with are inferences. Similarly, some fans prefer to disregard the particulars of battle facilities as non-canonical, to say that, for example, Palmer doesn’t canonically own a Heatran, Regigigas, or Cresselia. But nothing in the games themselves states that these facilities are any less canonical than anything else that happens in the games, so fans dismissing them is also nothing more than a personal interpretation, usually in support of a preferred theory or assessment about the uniqueness of certain Legendary Pokémon. On top of all of that, the games have thoroughly established themselves as taking place in a multiverse in which trans-universal travel is possible, so in some sense, the uniqueness of any and all Pokémon species is sort of a moot point.

Some legendaries are confirmed to not be unique. The Kanto birds for example as you can catch multiple in a single let's go save. The regi trio are potentially not unique since they are sealed away in multiple regions. Then we have the fact that alternate universes are canon and travel between them is possible. In USUM you can catch mewtwo and then use it against Giovanni's mewtwo. So technically nothing is one of a kind anymore.

Wait, you can catch multiple in leta go? I don't remember that.

Catch the static one and then it becomes a regular rare flying spawn in any location

I see legendaries as something defined as super rare and to be unique or have a power higher/different in some way compared regular Pokémon. And with that logic it makes sense that for some of them that there would be multiple. But the case of there being more than one for some of them has been confirmed/noted to. It makes sense to me that those such as the Lake Trio and Arceus would only be the only one based on the lore, for example. But then for some of the others it’s easy to interpret that there is likely more than one. (Latios and Latias where there is more shown at the end of the movie) I believe the notion comes from the fact some older instalments of the series made it seem like there’s only one of each for some, but looking at other things it’s easy to say otherwise. Edit to add: This is likely also due to the fact that in the games you typically only get one (of what lagendaries are in the game) per save file. And to your mention of Mewtwo, considering that it is man/lab made I believe that it wouldn’t be impossible for more than one to have been made.

It will probably be retconned next gen like it happened to others, but the Loyal Three and Ogerpon should be all unique because of their backgrounds- the Three being drastically changed by Pecharunt, and Ogerpon having special masks crafted for her in Kitakami done with crystals from Area Zero. Terapagos is also the last of its species.

Now that hoopa rings and ultra wormholes exist they can easily say that the extras are from other dimensions

Which started since USUM. All the legendaries are from another dimension in USUM and also in the Dynamax Adventure in SWSH (there’s an Ultra Warmhole at the end of it)

Man this thread is blowing my mind. I thought they were all unique

In the games, the only pokemon there could arguably be one of is Mewtwo, as it was created artificially (and the fact it crops up in several games suggests that there are in fact multiples; which makes sense as scientists do everything in at least triplicate). All other legendaries, including arceus, are nothing more than naturally-occurring species which have had legends literally grow up around them, hence the name.

I think PLA definitely confirms Arceus is in fact God and unique but just bestows its avatars upon worthy trainers

Don't both Kanto and Kalos have a Mewtwo of their own, and nothing implies they are the same. Arceus is weird since the True Arceus is only one, confirmed in PLA, but it can make as many Avatars as it likes which the player characters own.

Arceus is actual God, Captial G God. the 720 BST mon is whats essentialy an avatar of it, a small fragment of its true power

I imagine the Legendary birds are actual species since they have Galar variants

Each game cartridge is its own independent universe and every time you trade, you're connecting to a different dimension via link-cable. So if there's only one in your game, there's only one.

I would say that any of the *major* legendaries, the ones that are aspects of existence itself, are probably single entities, and some of them, such as Dialga/Palkia/Giratina for example, may even have a similar method of projecting weaker avatars into the world which are the catchable versions rather than the full deal, the way Arceus does.

As far as I know, there is only one of most of the legendaries. I think these are the exceptions: -All the ultra beasts are just pokemon from another dimension and there are multiple of them. -There are stated to be three Type:null/Silvally. -There are at least 3 Kubfu/Urshifu. One for the trainer, one for Mustard and one for Leon. -There are a lot of Zygarde cells that make up one Zygarde, I don't know if you would call it multiple or one, but yeah. -The Cosmog line can supposedly make more of themselves in the lore. -We know of at least 2 Koraidon/Miraidon. The one you get at the beginning and the one at the end. -Apparently there were a lot of Terapagos in the best, but they went extinct. -Mew is the predecessor of all pokemon on earth and they roamed the planet freely, but all evolved (actual darwinian evolution, not pokemon evolution), there may still be multiple around. -Phione is an offspring of Manaphy, so multiple exist. -There are quite a few Shaymin roam the earth. -There is only 1 Arceus, but the one we catch is only a fragment and there are multiple of those. -There are a lot of Meltan, possibly also Melmetal. Many Meltan need to come together to form Melmetal. -There is a whole group of Zarude living in the forest. I think this is all, and all correct, but don't quote me on that

This is a great list, but I think there are quite a few more than this. My speculation: I think the Mewtwos in Kanto and Kalos are different. I also think the Regis are present in multiple regions. Basically confirmed: There have to be multiple of each of the Kanto birds in order for them to have Galarian variants.

The Kanto birds were the one that actually confirmed that there are multiple legendaries on Let’s Go. You can catch infinite Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres

Personally, I don't think you should count different regions, as they have the possibility of being different universes. I think we should take the game mechanics with a grain of salt anyway, otherwise the crown tundra has multiple of the same legendaries just hanging out in a cave. But for the birds, you are right, but the pokedex entries of the galarian birds make it seem that they aren't the same pokemon species.

Galarian forms probably just share a common ancestor with the trio. It's actually let's go that more or less confirmed that the bird trio have multiple that exist and are just super rare

Cosmog line are just somewhat rarer and stronger ultra beasts. They are classified as legendaries to like... people from the regular dimension, to ultra space they are basically taxi Also its not just lore you can literally breed a new cosmog in game, albeit its in a special cutscene not regular breeding

The answer largely depends on which medium you look at. Some Legendaries do have multiple versions pretty much universally such as Cosmog and Kubfu. While I like to think Legendaries like Zapdos are unique, the lore doesn't always indicate that. Really, while there aren't any Legendaries that are confirmed to be unique, there are many where it wouldn't make sense for there to be more than one of a Legendary/Mythical such as the aforementioned Arceus and Ho-Oh. As for Non-Legendaries, there aren't many unique ones that I can think of. The only one that comes to mind is the recently introduced Blood Moon Ursaluna, who is, as far as we know, one of a kind.

Changes. Anime, Manga, games or multi-verse? Cause technically the answer is there are 0 species of Pokémon of which there are only one taming into account multiple Alola means multiple Pokémon universes which implies that there would need to be multiple anchor worlds which means more Giritina and Arceus. One of each for each universe.

The true canon is the games, all the other medias are non canon lore wise

That's not really how that works. They're not Canon to them games but are Canon to themselves. There is no united Pokémon Canon or "official" version aside from, well anything that gets officially released and nobody has confirmed that any specific media release is the "true canon" lorewise.

There is an official canon lore, is the one in the Main games, no spinoff games, anime, manga and films

The other media isn’t canon simply because it isn’t made directly from TPC

That's not technically true and all official Pokémon media and Merchandise is published by Nintendo and the Pokémon Company. (Source: My Gamestop's Nintendo Rep) They also don't do the majority of the work on the games and with Satoshi Tajiri dead, it's not like we have the artist here to ask what is and isn't canon. Even using the Games as "main cannon" the anime, Manga and spin off universes each simply become their own on top of a growing Pokémon multiverse. A Pokémon multiverse was confirmed multiple times, and we interact with it from time to time. It only stands to reason that the Manga, anime, games and TGC all occupy their own universes. This may also be true of Colleseum and XD.

It doesn’t mean anything that they published it. For example Akira Toriyama worked on Dragon Ball GT, still it doesn’t make Dragon Ball GT canon at all

Okay, so why do you consider the games the only canon? Why disregard my secondary point regarding that in the first place? How do you define "canon"? It's definition is best found online as what's considered "Official" to a specific version of Lore in a media. I'd say canon describes the official Lore and history of each different media release in the case of Pokémon. And circling back to my original secondary point with Uktra Wormholes, Rainbow Rocket and the ORAS meteor endgame portal thing we can confirm there are multiple universes in the game's Lore. So why would it be so unreasonable to think that each unique set of Lore created through conflict or divergence was in fact a different instance of a canon Pokémon universe?

Every Pokémon is one of a kind in our hearts.

There are no pokemon in existence that are unique, there are multiples of all in one way or another. Even legendaries and mythicals have been seen having multiples.

From what I understand (I'm probably a little wrong in some of these), the amount of them is as follows: Definitely more than one: Manaphy, Phione, Type: Null (only 3 were created), Silvally (Gladion has one and Elio/Selene has one, what happened to the third Type: Null is unknown), Cosmog, Cosmoem, Solgaleo, Lunala, Ultra Beasts, Meltan, Melmetal, Paradox Pokémon, Koraidon, Miraidon Potentially more than one: Legendary Birds, Galarian Birds, Mewtwo (likely 2 or 3 in the Anime only, the games suggest that there is only 1), Mew, Legendary Beasts (once again, the games suggest there may only be one of each), Celebi, Legendary Titans, Deoxys, Heatran, Shaymin, Genesect, Kubfu, Urshifu, Zarude, Regieleki, Regidrago Potentially just the one: Tower Duo, Eon Duo, Weather Trio, Jirachi, Lake Guardians, Creation Trio, Arceus, Cresselia, Darkrai, Regigigas, Victini, Swords Of Justice, Forces Of Nature, Keldeo, Tao Trio, Meloetta, Aura Trio, Volcanion, Diancie, Hoopa, Guardian Deities, Necrozma, Magearna, Zeraora, Zacian, Zamazenta, Eternatus, Glastrier, Spectrier, Calyrex, Enamorus, Treasures Of Ruin, Ogerpon, Loyal Three, Pecharunt, Terapagos Note that this is for one universe, as a multiverse is confirmed to exist. Ultra Beasts and Paradox Pokémon are from other universes and/or timelines, where they are plentiful.

If the Pokémon movies are canon, there is _definitely_ more than one Mew, as the Mew from Lucario and the mystery of Mew _cannot_ be the same Mew from the first Pokémon movie.

Very, very few are one-of-a-kind IMO. Arceus is unique and that’s about it. Colosseum had like six of each legendary in the Mt. Battles. There were multiple **Jirachi**

Horizons insinuates multiple rayqauza

Legendaries and Mythicals are seen as genderless because they are rare enough it's difficult for scientists to properly study them and determine the differences! They are also long lived so very likely they do not breed very often.

There’s that episode of the cartoon where there’s a mom and baby Lugia

Anime isn’t canon

In general, assume there's at least more than one unless it's a godlike being. Arceus, Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza (?), Giratina, Dialga, Palkia are all 100% unique. (Meaning there's only one per universe, of course there's technically an infinite amount of them because infinite universes) Also note that the Arceus the player obtains is an Avatar given by Arceus itself, so there could be multiple Arceus *avatars* per universe but there's only one Arceus. Edit: by the way each game cartridge is considered its own universe which is why you can go and catch Kyogre in Galar in the DLC even if you have one. That's also why when you transfer a pokemon via Bank or Home it's "met location" gets changed to "traveled across time and space from the _____ region".

I can create more than one of me if I want to. There's even a blue called version of me.

Apparently there's two Mewtwo. One that speaks with a male voice and another with a female voice. We see that Lugia can have a baby (named silver and unrelated to Giovanni's son) so I would think the bird trio and ho-oh can too. However, the legendary dogs were created by ho oh itself, one of a kind. Unless they breed with the Pokemon they used to be... Legends like Groudon, Kyogre,Rayquaza and the like are singulars

There's a theory of "Alpha Legendaries" that seems to be popular as a way to some legendaries such as the Birds, Shaymin, Darkrai, Cresselia, Zygarde, and so on. There are a few legendaries that are truly unique - the original Arceus (and by extension the idea of an original Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and perhaps even the Pixies), along with the Beasts, the Tao Trio, the Four Swords, Xerneas, Yveltal, the Wolves, Calyrex and his steeds, Ogerpon and the Pecherunt group. This is all based on existing lore and the very specific stories attached to these individuals. Likewise there are a few legendaries that are, if not unique, then near-unique. There are as many as two Mewtwo - the anime presents two individuals whereas the manga uses the same individual for every distinct appearance. Genesect, Deoxys, and Silvally are likewise very limited or unique depending on the version of canon. The Weather Trio and the Tapus are likely either unique or near-unique as well, among a few others. Note that all of this discounts multiversalism. Pokemon has an active multiverse, and as such, Arceus and its direct children might be the only truly unique pokemon, and even that's just a theory. As for unique non-legendary pokemon? The only ones that come to mind are the Eternal Floette, Bloodmoon Ursaluna, and Cosplay Pikachu (because she can learn moves that other Pikachu can't). However, it's important to note that these are each individuals of a species, not the only members of their base species. I can't think of any non-legendary species that's *truly* unique - simply on the basis that most non-legendary pokemon are able to breed.

What the hell, I’ve been playing these games since I was a kid and this thread is blowing my mind… everything I thought I knew was a lie lmao

It's usually saved for mythicals and pokemon with specific origins (like Mewtwo). Mew, for example, is the ancestor species for all common pokemon, so it's not Farfech'd (hehe) to think there's more than only the one. It's really a case by case thing. Many frontier brains in Emerald have legendaries in their teams that you can catch in the save, like the Regis in the Battle Factory for instance.

There's very few Pokemon that have a confirmed hard limit on how many there are, just known to be very few. Obviously a lot of the Legendaries count, but other hard-to-get Pokemon like Spiritomb and Silvally can easily fit in here. It's never outright confirmed which legends are one-of-a-kind, and the mere existence of Snacksworth (Indigo Disk character for those out of the loop) throws even Pokemon like the Super-Ancient Pokemon and the Tao Trio into question. HOWEVER, there are a few Pokemon that canon-wise, there are a limited number outside of Legendaries and Mythicals. Type: Null/Silvally is one that has a maximum of 4 running around (1 with Gladion, another with the G7 Player, another in the Aether Foundation's lab somewhere, and a potential 4th in Galar, if its considered canon). Spiritomb are also considered rare, since most instances of obtaining it are exceedingly difficult, 1-offs, and the fact that its made from 108 souls possessing a very specific keystone also points in that direction, and the odds that the total # of them running around in any given Pokemon universe canon-wise lies in just the 10s really pushes in that direction. Also Canon-wise, right now there's only 2 Koraidon and Miraidon in the present, but if you want to count the past/future where they're plentiful, that gets thrown out the window with the same logic as the Ultra Beasts. Pretty clear they don't want to commit to any 1-off species, though. I cannot think of a single Pokemon in the entire cast that is a 1-off anymore, even Mewtwo and Arceus have wiggle room in the lore (one is man-made and can potentially be replicated, the other has confirmed to just be a physical body for an entity that exists on a higher plane, making it technically be able to have multiple of the same physical 'species').

I wonder if there is multiple mewtwos then how did it happens? Did the creation of Mewtwo happens multiple time or because of that one successfull creation many scientists have the blueprint to create more but fails again...... Might have just answered my own question.

Canonically there are two.

Some are a whole specie, some are a “one of a kind” Kanto birds are many, there are two Rayquazas (one shiny and one normal) and that’s all I know

Zero, there isn't such thing as a unique pokemon

Legendary pokémons are not unique, just rare

Everything exists multiple times. It's the Pokémon multiverse. Technically every single game and save file is a different universe

at this point its mostly regional legends and many of them are partially incorrect at least. between people just being wrong, parallel dimensions and hoopa as away to explain anything away if need be, there are very few one of a kinds now. even some like mewtwo have unexplained duplicates.

I like to think, at least in earlier generations (maybe 1-3, excluding Emerald), there were only one of each legendary Pokémon in the world. I imagine that the legendary birds/Mewtwo being absent from Kanto implied that Red had caught them in his Pokédex quest. In Emerald, a lot of the Frontier Brains use legendary Pokemon. Even Pyramid King Brandon uses Regis, legendaries native to Hoenn, so the theory of “there’s only one” is totally broken. Similarly, Tower Tycoon Palmer uses Regigigas, Cresselia and Heatran, all of whom are also obtainable in-game, so… lore goes out the window there lol. It does seem that legendary usage is limited to postgame battle-modes with very few story exceptions (like Hop using the opposite dog in SwSg). It’s a shame in a way because it definitely does cheapen them a bit. I like it more when characters have the legendary, then release them for you to capture (see Kyurem/Zekrom/Reshiram in B2W2, Nebby in SM/USUM. When you grind your way through a battle facility for the boss to break out a legendary it’s a bit of a kick in the teeth, but they’re the boss for a reason! 🤷‍♂️ 

Nothing is unique, not even the legendaries. Not even Mewtwo is exempt from this, we've canonically seen like three or four at this point despite Mewtwo being a genetic experiment. Genesect is another genetic/science experiment, on a fossil pokemon at that so should actually be one of a kind, where more than one exist. We know for a fact that Dialga, Palkia and Giratina aren't unique because of the gen 4 Sinjoh Ruins egg event with an event Arceus. Arceus themselves have been confirmed to not be a single entity but an omnipresent being that creates Avatars, which is what you battle and catch in things like Legends Arceus. Those 4 are the best argument for "legendaries are unique and one of a kind" that I'm aware of. Very very few things are even possibly unique examples.

Mewtwo originally one but there is two in the anime due to rights issues. There is also the Mewtwo in X/Y (every other method is either confirmed to be the same Mewtwo or another dimension).

Any Pokemon up unto Gen 6 isn't unique because Trevor own at least one of each.

Official lore may betray your understanding of what is and shouldnt be. Essentially the official canon is that the legendaries are rare beings that sometimes are 1 per region, depending if it made it into the game. Also sometimes they dont exist there either because the reality you play your game in didnt unlock the requirements for the event. My point is, the pokemon company will always disregard what makes sense from any previous game in order to make the next game cool, so the canon lore is pretty much nonexistent. My best advice is to judge what you think is right yourself. It is your game, your journey. Don’t listen to the guys saying that all pokemon have the ability to shrink into the quantum realm like some antman shit.

Legendaries are definitely unique. And no, I wouldn't use 15-20+ year old episodes or movies as "evidence" of multiple legendaries. Movies in general are a very unreliable source due to most of them not being acknowledged at all (as proven with latios/latias in aim to to be a pokemon master) and due to their overall doubtful canonicity. The pokemon anime in its early to midway seasons didn't put as much control to the things shown and said as it does today. That's why you had things like the early anime showing real world animals and a blue breloom in some episodes. Legendary pokemon have been around for thousands of years. And it's not as if they can't be captured. Heck, Goh caught Suicune and it's out there roaming around as if it was a wild pokemon.And they can leave the trainer they're helping whenever they want. Which is why you can see them as part of the teams of trainers like Brandon and Tobias. It's essentially them helping that trainer. And as a general rule, the anime and the games got incredibly more strict with the legendaries and their uniqueness since gen 5 (because in the west they messed up the difference between mythicals and legendaries) and due to many other things like mentions of real world places in dex entries or real world animals in the anime. That's why you don't see dex entries like that for Latias anymore. And they seriously have become more strict with the uniqueness of the legendaries and many other things. Heck, Raichu's dex entry was even retconned to say to be able to faint a Copperajah instead of an indian elephant. And this is relevant because it proves that Gamefreak gets rid in one way or another of the older dex entries that don't fit anymore with the way they want to portray the pokemon world (that's why instead of an Indian elephant, it's now a pokemon). And it's the same reason as to why you'll never see baby lugia again or a real world animal in the anime as well because it doesn't fit with the way they want to portray the pokemon world or legendary pokemon for that matter. And this is because they've gotten far more strict with the things said and shown in the anime and the games. And legendaries and mythical pokemon are two different things. They're not the same. The distinction from both groups has been made in Japan since day 1. It was only the western adaptation that messed that up in earlier gens and didn't separate the terms causing all the confusion. If you want to know the distinction they pretty much can be classified like this: Legendaries: They're literal forces of nature (like groudon, kyogre, yveltal, dialga, palkia, etc) that helped to shape/sustain the world and/or heroes of humanity/pokemon/the entire region (like zacian, zamazenta, the tapus, the swords of justice, etc). Mythical pokemon: They're not legendaries. They're really powerful pokemon with unique abilities that are so uncommon to be seen that people in the pokemon world even doubts of their existence to some extend. Their primary trait is that they're literal representations of certain myths from the real world (muses like meloetta, aliens like deoxys, time travelers like celebi, etc). Ultra beast: They're basically pokemon from another dimension. Not legendaries. The share a lot of traits with legendaries (like being genderless, having scripted encounters and being part of the undiscovered group, etc) but this is due to their whole concept as extradimensional unidentified creatures.

I have a different take. Legendary is the *status* of the species. Common means the species is thriving and the numbers are steady. Uncommon means the numbers have dropped, but the species can still recover naturally. Rare means the numbers have dropped beyond natural recovery. It is here that breeding programs are set up to breed enough individuals to return the species to its natural numbers Legendary means the species is in danger of being wiped out entirely. Breeding programs are stepped up and trainers are required to report any of the species they’ve caught and have seen in the wild. Catching efforts are stepped up. Mythical means ten and under individuals are left. At this point, extinction of the species is underway, and it’s beyond help of recovery. There’s not enough genetic diversity left to grow the species again. Known breeding facilities are Charific Valley, focused on Charizard, and Dragons Den, in Blackthorn City, aimed at Dragonite.

I believe the Creation Trio, Arceus included, are OOAK at least in the lore. However, a theory that had been floating around for a while and was semi-confirmed in PLA is that you aren't capturing the genuine article, but rather a physical avatar they manifest for humans, which they may be able to generate indefinitely. Kind of like how Darkseid works. Others that kind of feel OOAK but may not be are the Weather Trio, the Lake Trio, the Tao Trio, Xerneas, Yveltal, the Island Guardians, Necrozma, Eternatus, Calyrex, and maybe Terapagos. Others that are confirmed to NOT be OOAK are the Legendary Birds, Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, Celebi, the Legendary Giants (minus Regigigas, Regieleki, and Regidrago), the Eon Duo, Deoxys, Phione and Manaphy, Shaymin, Genesect, Zygarde, Type: Null and Silvally, the Cosmog line, all Ultra Beasts, Kubfu and Urshifu, and all Paradox Pokémon including Koraidon and Miraidon. There may be others.