Pokémon's legendaries are some of the series' most sought-after Pokémon, but not all of them are worth seeking out. Legendaries are supposed to be the best of the best, but some of them have shortcomings that cannot be ignored. Be it underwhelming stats or poor movesets, sometimes legendary Pokémon fail to justify their rarity.
Legendary Pokémon are generally one of a kind in their respective games, and very difficult to catch by default. It's usually not until the late game that the player even gets the chance to encounter a legendary Pokémon. This is especially true for the box legendaries of each game, which usually only appear near the end of the storyline. Legendary Pokémon usually have high stats or powerful signature moves that make them one of the game's strongest options, and many players use them in their endgame teams for this reason. With powerful non-legendary Pokémon like Slaking in the games, the standards for legendaries need to be high.
However, despite how many good or even great legendaries have graced the series, there are still some that completely failed to measure up. A lacking Pokémon is always disappointing, but the disappointment is even greater when a legendary Pokémon fails to live up to expectations. They may be legendary in lore and reputation, but their actual performance does not live up to that lofty title.
#3 - Moltres Is The Weakest Of Kanto's Legendary Pokémon
The original batch of legendary Pokémon that debuted in Pokémon Red & Blue are still some of the most iconic in the series. Of course, the biggest example would be Mewtwo, who has been a major fan favorite since the original games, and is still held up as one of the strongest and coolest Pokémon. The legendary birds of Kanto are also well-respected as the original legendary Trio, but when ranking Pokémon's legendary birds, Moltres always comes up short.
Sharing a typing with popular starter Charizard was the first of Moltres' problems, but not the last. Although Moltres boasted respectable stats, its movepool in Red & Blue was laughably bad even by first-generation standards, and especially by legendary standards. Thankfully, later generations would give Moltres a much-needed upgrade, but it still lagged behind its fellow legendary birds. Articuno had a major advantage against the powerful Dragon type, and Zapdos' Electric/Flying combination was a unique and very effective combo. Of all the original legendaries, Moltres was easily outclassed.
Moltres is not necessarily a bad Pokémon, but it arguably suffers from the expectations of being a legendary Pokémon. Legendaries are supposed to be the best that the series has to offer, and Moltres' bad first impression made it look like a cut below the rest of the pack. Sword & Shield's Galarian legendary bird variants helped Moltres keep some relevance, but it is still the weakest of Kanto's legendary Pokémon.
#2- Regidrago Is Pokémon's Most Disappointing Legendary Titan
The legendary titans of Hoenn, also known as the Regis thanks to their naming theme, recieved an expansion in Sword & Shield's Crown Tundra expansion with Regieleki and Regidrago. The two broke some traditions for the titans, lacking their Fighting-type weakness and having stronger offensive stats. In the Crown Tundra, the player is given a chance to catch one of either Regieleki or Regidrago while the other becomes inaccessible. Unfortunately, Regieleki has a much stronger argument than Regidrago.
Regidrago's main selling point is its base 200 HP, one of the highest HP stats among all Pokémon. However, its very low defenses are on par with many starter Pokémon rather than legendaries, so strong opponents can still rip large chunks out of its HP, especially since Regidrago's speed is only average. However, despite Sword and Shield's Regis both having interesting designs, Regieleki easily comes out ahead. Although Regieleki is very fragile with a predictable moveset, it is the fastest Pokémon in existence, almost guaranteed to strike first with its boosted Electric-type moves. That gives Regieleki a much stronger niche than Regidrago's role as a pseudo-wall.
The fact that the player has to forego Regieleki in order to get Regidrago is its biggest flaw. Regidrago doesn't have any major strengths or unique roles that it can boast over Regieleki, who has a very strong, albeit niche role that it can bring to a team. Regidrago's main strength is the fact that it can hit hard with Dragon-type moves thanks to its Dragon's Maw ability, but since the games already have so many strong Dragon-types, that doesn't do a lot to help Regidrago's case.
#1- Regigigas Is The Most Flawed Legendary Pokémon
Introduced in Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, Regigigas is the creator of the legendary titans. Before players were laughing at Regigigas slow walk in BDSP, it was the first Normal-type legendary Pokémon, a giant with an incredible Attack score and solid stats all-around. Its intended role is obvious. It should be one of the biggest powerhouses in the Pokémon universe, and on paper, it looks like it could be. However, Regigigas instead has a reputation as the worst legendary Pokémon in existence, and a lot of that reputation comes down to its ability.
Regigigas is the only Pokémon with the Slow Start ability, easily one of the worst in Pokémon history. Slow Start halves Regigigas' Atack and Speed for the first five turns of the battle, rendering it slow and ineffective. With how quickly battles move in Pokémon, this alone completely destroys Regigigas' viability in a fight against decent competition, because it isn't even able to use its real power. Among Pokémon abilities that should be removed, Slow Start tops the list because it absolutely ruins Regigigas.
Regigigas is a particularly sad example, because its lore gives it incredible potential to be great. Unfortunately, being saddled with the worst ability in the game turned it into a joke instead. When most Pokémon fans are asked what the worst legendary Pokémon is, Regigigas is usually the answer.
For the most part, legendary Pokémon do live up to their reputation in one way or another. However, the more lacking legendaries can't help but feel like a letdown, especially since players will likely be heavily anticipating them before their first encounter. Hopefully, the future of Pokémon will feature legendaries that do not fall short of expectations.
