Many legendaries that have graced our hearts throughout the years, from Kanto to the Galar region. Many of us have taken a look at the cover of the latest Pokémon game and questioned ourselves, "How can I get my hands on this awesome-looking Pokémon?" as we shifted through the internet for tips or guides to find these creatures to add to our ever-growing roster. For many collectors of these pocket monsters, some Pokémon may not be as perfectly designed as others, and sometimes that can be a deal-breaker for the Pokémon fashionistas out there. Let's take a look at the best legendary Pokémon designs from the iconic series.

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Updated on September 13th, 2021 by Russ Boswell: Pokemon has been going strong for over 25 years and shows no signs of stopping. With Pokemon Legends: Arceus on the way, and some reboots for Diamond and Pearl on the horizon, players are engrossed in Pokemon just as much as they were in Generation I. Game Freak has continuously out-done themselves and players have seen some of the coolest looking Pokemon ever in recent years. Legendaries seem to represent some of the best looking Pokemon available and their numbers continue to grow with each subsequent release. But what are the best Legendary Pokemon in terms of design? To help answer that question, the following list has been updated.

20 Mewtwo

Mewtwo from the Pokemon anime

Mewtwo is definitely one of the more well-known legendary Pokémon, and its design fits with its personality pretty well. Mewtwo is extremely powerful and usually comes off as an angry Pokémon with an ego. Its tall height gives it an even more intimidating presence in most situations.

Mewtwo seems almost like a cat in its design while also having some features that might feel like they belong to an alien from outer space. Its long, thick tale looks like it could do some damage, even though Mewtwo is known for using psychic powers. Its three-fingered hands also add to its strange aura as it aims psychic moves at opponents.

19 Zygarde

Zygarde 50 Percent Form From The Pokemon Anime

Zygarde is a pretty strange Pokémon compared to other Legendaries in terms of design. One thing that makes it interesting is that it comes in different forms, with its smallest states being Zygarde Cell and Core, and its largest state being Zygarde Complete Forme.

Each forme has a cool and intimidating design that reminds fans why it's a Legendary Pokémon. Its 10% Forme looks like a black and green dog, its 50% Forme is a large, black and green snake, and its Complete Forme looks similar to a mech suit with a long tail. It's not a Pokémon that you'd want to be up against in a fight, especially if it's already gotten to 50% Forme.

18 Lunala

Lunala in front of the moon

Fans are likely to recognize Lunala from the cover of Pokémon Moon. Its design creatively incorporates moons for the game's title, making them part of its bat-like wings with stars at the ends of them.

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Nearly everywhere you look on Lunala, there's some imagery of the night sky, even on its head where a sort of crescent crown forms around where its ears might be. It might not be as detailed or colorful as some other Legendary Pokémon on this list, but it's still a beautiful Pokémon.

17 Azelf

Azelf from the Pokemon anime

This cute, flying Pokémon is one of the Lake Guardians in the Sinnoh region. The main difference between all the Lake Guardians in their design is their heads, as they all have different colors and shapes.

Azelf seems to stand out amongst the other Guardians, as its design can make it come off as one of the more friendly-looking of all the Guardians. Its head almost looks like it's wearing a blue hat, and its overall blue appearance fits well with its lake environment.

16 Eon Duo

Latios And Latias Flying In The Pokemon Anime

While this entry technically includes two Pokémon, they have super similar designs aside from their different colors. Latios and Latias both have wings and bodies that look similar to a plane, which fits them so well as they are seen hovering above the ground or flying through the air.

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While much of their arms, necks, and heads are mostly white, their blue and red designs give them a nice pop of color in an otherwise somewhat simplistic design. While they might not look exactly the same, it's still very obvious that they're a great pair together.

15 Genesect

Imagine if The Terminator happened to be sent to a Pokémon region instead of the past, obviously, that would be terrifying, but instead of gaining access to weapons, he caught Pokémon instead. You would definitely see Genesect be on his roster if you would do battle with him.

Genesect is a Bug/Steel-type Pokémon. The overall design is nice with a robotic insect look with a Frieza (Dragonball Z reference) like color palette. Added to its unique look is the giant cannon protruding from on top of his back with two headlights for eyes that makes it look like a new transformer for the Decepticons. That evil smiles across its face is a nice sinister humanistic touch-up feature to this Pokémon. Also, it's shiny form has a nice sleek red palette, looking like a Tony Stark experiment gone wrong.

14 Regigigas

The boss and creator of the trio legendary titans: Regirock, Registeel, and Registeel. Regigigas looks a secret boss battle you see in Final Fantasy or Dark Souls. This walking behemoth is massive with a very zesty design that is both strange but appealing to the eye.

Regigigas design is unique as it contains dots (or eyes) in the middle of its face (if you can call it one) with rhinestones that drape down in front of its body representing the three titans it's responsible for creating. Red represents Regirock, blue represents Regice, and grey represents Registeel. The look adds a white and gold palette with moss and bushes caressing the shoulders and feet and black rectangular markings around the outer body while maintaining an abstract human-like appearance. The absolute detail on this legendary that accumulates the lore and themes of this Pokémon while maintaining an eye-catching and appealing look is truly remarkable.

13 The Legendary Birds

Alright, kind of cheating on this one (more to come), but the first legendary elemental trio to ever hit the series was truly a sight to behold. In the '90s, if you told your friends you had at least one of these beauties on your Game Boy, they would line up to trade their allowance for them. The trio of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres had fantastic designs for the time, even on an 8-bit sprite graphic screen.

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Articuno has an elegant ice-themed appearance with ice shard looking feathers on its forehead with a crisp cool blue palette and wings reminiscent to a snowflake pattern. Zapdos has an edgy sharp-looking design with a yellow and black palette that captures the sure shocking feel of this creature. Lastly, Moltres looks like a firefighter's worst nightmare, with a blazing fiery appearance from the flaming head, wings, and tail that engulfs the body. They are so cool looking that Pokémon Go has yet to change their team logos to this day. We don't blame them at all.

12 Groudon

Oh no, It's Godzilla! Oh wait, it's Groudon. Gracing the cover of Pokémon Ruby, Groudon is a ground type legendary Pokémon from generation three. This behemoth is responsible for many droughts and volcanic eruptions, so it is only fitting that it receives a design that has its taste for destruction.

Groudon has a menacing textured look and feel with its design, looking like it just stepped out of a heavy metal rock concert with spikes along its edges and tectonic plate-inspired markings around its body with a razor bladed tail. It looks even more awesome when it goes into its Primal Form, which debuted on the cover of Pokémon Omega Ruby. It looks like lava is engulfing it between its markings. As if Groudon needed any more help looking like a terrifying monster.

11 Yveltal

anime dark flying type legendary

Some of Pokemon's concepts are difficult to translate when it comes to designing a Legendary. Most of them hit the mark well, but it's a lot easier to create a Pokemon that resembles Fire, or Ice, than it is to craft one to represent complex ideas like Time and Space. Game Freak did a pretty fantastic job with Pokemon X and Y, giving players a trio of Legendary Pokemon that do a pretty solid job in representing Life, Destruction, and "Balance."

Yveltal's design definitely looks imposing and it's easy to imagine it laying waste to both its enemies and surroundings. There is something "destructive" about the way it carries itself, with a design that is reminiscent of a powerful weapon, as if it's constantly prepared to charge up a massive beam of energy.

10 Deoxys

Deoxys is an extraterrestrial species of Pokémon, think less ET and more John Carpenter's The Thing. Deoxys is a special Pokémon with a very special look to it. Inspired by the name it's derived from deoxyribonucleic acid or simply DNA, its design best represents that. Deoxy has an alien-like appearance in its normal form with double helix style arms with an orange and teal color palette. Deoxys has a very intriguing facial look with strange staring eyes with a purple slant split down the middle of its face.

The coolest thing about this Pokémon is the different forms it can manifest including attack form, defense form, and speed form. All four forms have their own unique look and feel that makes this Pokémon's appearance both diverse and truly out of the world.

9 Zacian/Zamazenta

Zacian and Zamazenta are the latest pair of legendaries to join the Pokémon universe. Both gracing the cover of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield respectively. These two legendaries look fantastic with a nice blend of color and design scheme that makes it feel like they belong in The Legend of Zelda universe more than Pokémon.

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Nevertheless, both Pokémon are shown in two forms within the game, the first form they appear in known as the "Hero of Many Battles" form which doesn't have the nice royal gloss and feel as their eventually "Crowned Sword/Shield" form, displayed on the cover of the game. Zacian has cyan, reddish-orange color scheme topped off with gold plated armor and a sword placed within its mouth. Zamazenta has a dark blue and reddish appearance with gold plated armor in the front of its design which represents a shield look.

8 Ho-Oh

We know a lot of you were thinking Lugia, but hear us out. Lugia is definitely the more popular of the two legendaries, but in terms of design, Ho-Oh has a far better eye-catching design. Remember the first episode of Pokémon, where that rainbow bird appeared in the sky? That bird was Ho-Oh. Too bad that we didn't see the appearance of this legendary in the first generation, but we didn't have to wait long when it appeared in the second generation.

Ho-Oh's color scheme is truly the highlight of its design, with dashing colors red, white, green, and gold that cultivated the Pokémon's design. Ho-Oh looked like it flew out of a bag of Skittles and rightfully sow as whereever it flies it leaves a rainbow path in its wake. Its design gets better with the gold and silver mash-up shiny look that is so beautiful to gaze upon.

7 The Legendary Beasts

The Legendary Beasts Entei, Suicune, Raikou Appearance from Pokemon Go

Another trio on this list, this one coming from the second generation of Pokémon, we have Entei, Suicune, and Raikou, the three fantastic legendary designs to grace Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Entei has an awesome design with brown fur and a cloud of smoke on top of its back with a cool facial star design of red, gold and silver.

Suicune has a soft blue palette with a crisp diamond-shaped pattern on its fur and a diamond-shaped plate on its forehead. Lastly, Raikou has a yellow and black palette with an electrical spark-looking tail and resembling a lighting-charged sabertooth tiger. This trio is truly a force to be reckoned with.

6 Xerneas

Xerneas as it appears in the Pokemon anime

Many of Game Freak's designs have a purpose. They're meant to showcase a Pokemon's typing, evoke a feeling in the player, or allude to something particular in the series' extensive lore. The end result usually gives players access to some truly amazing-looking Pokemon. Every so often, though, Game Freak outdoes themselves in creating a creature that is truly a "spectacle." This is the case with Xernease, the poster child for Pokemon X.

Meant to be an icon for the concept of "Life," Xerneas is a truly elegant-looking Pokemon. It stands stoically, with a beautifully complex set of antlers that radiate color and energy. It's one of the most majestic Legendary Pokemon that developers have ever created.

5 Kyurem

Pokemon: Zekrom Reshiram Kyurem look at one another.

Fans that started their Pokemon journey with Black & White likely have very fond memories of Reshiram and Zekrom, the Legendary Dragon Duo that represents that ideal of Yin & Yang. From a design aesthetic, these two imposing Pokemon truly feel Legendary in both their stature and their shape. Although Zekrom is a bit more "dragon-like" in its overall appearance, it's hard not to see both of these Pokemon and immediately connect their designs to these mighty, mythical beasts.

But as cool as Zekrom and Reshiram are, the true star of the show is Kyurem. While its basic form looks awesome enough, the combination of Black & White's Legendaries through the DNA Splicer is truly a sight to behold. Both Black and White Kyurem collects the best design elements from each icon and turns the hulking Legendary into something truly spectacular.

4 Regidrago

pokemon sword shield crown tundra regidrago standing

The concept of the Legendary Titans was always interesting, specifically when it came to the hulking beast that is Regigigas. Pokemon Sword & Shield decided to increase the lore surrounding these curious beings by adding two more Legendaries to the Titan roaster. Regieleki looks rather neat in its own right but the star of the show is definitely Regidrago. The developers had to be clever in creating a Titan that looked like one of the original Titans and was dragon-themed, without looking too draconic and out of place.

The end result is a simplistic yet iconic design that features the Titan-shape and "eyes" that many players are familiar with, infused with a draconic head and jaw that appear to be constantly roaring as Regidrago floats above the ground.

3 Giratina

Oh boy. What is not to say about this dark dimensional hopping dragon of the underworld? This is what a legendary Pokémon should look like. Something menacing and uniquely designed to both strike amazement and fear in the eyes of trainers.

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Giratina has a visually striking design that is highlighted in a red, silver, and black color palette enriched with golden rings and plate on the torso and head of this legendary. Along with wings and spikes that just adds to its creepy dark factor. If you into its altered form, it's origin form is just as terrifying with a slithering centipede vibe going on. After looking at this behemoth, we have no doubt in our minds that this is definitely the dark lord of the Pokémon universe.

2 Galarian Legendary Birds

cropped official art of the galarian legendary trio, articuno, zapdos, and moltres.
cropped official art of the galarian legendary trio, articuno, zapdos, and moltres.

There have been a lot of "upgraded" Pokemon designs thanks to Game Freak exploring the idea of Regional variants. The typing change is a refreshing infusion into the gameplay, but the true upgrade is to the Pokemon mythos. The Galarian Legendary Birds are perhaps the best example of this new "discovery." Many Generation I fans fell in love with the original Legendary Bird Trio, and some players see the flying titans as some of the best Pokemon ever designed.

It's hard to imagine Game Freak improving on their design much but there is something so spectacular about their Galarian versions. A massive amount of creativity went into transforming the beloved Gen I trio into three "entirely new" Pokemon, while still retaining what made their designs so iconic in the first place. The end result is an Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres redesign that feels every bit as imposing and well-thought-out as their original counterparts.

1 Rayquaza

The best-looking designed legendary is Pokémon Emerald cover boy: Rayquaza. Rayquaza is an absolute beast in both power and design. Once you reached the top of the Sky Pillar, you know you were jumping for joy to finally catch this fantastic looking Pokémon. Rayquaza's dragon-like look is truly one to behold with a green color palette and yellow ringed design that wraps around its body.

The look of Rayquaza would make you start collecting seven Dragon Balls just make a wish to this legendary Pokémon. Oh, did we tell you to has a MEGA evolution that is more phenomenal and terrifying than the original form? If your even lucky, you can be blessed with the ever beautiful shiny black version of this gorgeous beast. This sky serpent definitely flies above the rest of the legendaries - at least in the design department.

NEXT: Pokémon: Ranking The Best Starter Middle Evolutions