Legendary Pokémon have been in the franchise since Generation 1, where they were seen in the form of Mewtwo and the Legendary birds. Most Legendary Pokémon are only seen a few times in the franchise, and a lot of them are thought to be exclusive to a single creature, meaning that there is only one version of each Legendary.

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However, there are a lot of Legendary Pokémon that don't seem like they should be categorized as Legendaries either because they aren't very powerful or because they lack the appearance that most Legendary Pokémon have. Regardless of the reason, there are a ton of Legendary Pokémon in the franchise that don't deserve their status for a plethora of reasons.

Updated October 23, 2020 by Johnny Garcia: The Crown Tundra has come out, the second wave of the Sword & Shield Expansion Pass. This new DLC adds back in tons of new Pokémon that were previously missing from the base game. After the controversies surrounding the cut Pokémon at release, it's a very relieving sight to see so many returning. With The Crown Tundra, many Legendary Pokémon are returning and this is one of the major selling points of the Expansion. Along with rumors of Generation 4 remakes and Let's Go for Johto, it's very likely we'll be able to play with all Pokémon once again.

15 Azelf

azelf using psybeam

Azelf is one of the three Pokémon apart of the Lake Guadian Trio from Sinnoh. They're all pretty similar, but Azelf stands out as the one that feels the least special. Uxie's closed eyes add a bit of mystery to it, and Mesprit's head makes for an interesting design.

However, with Azelf, nothing special stands out from it to make it feel like its Legendary status is deserved. Its head is basic, like half of a fish that could potentially be its own Pokémon. Azelf leaves something to be desired in its design in terms of "feeling" Legendary.

14 Moltres

moltres flying

Moltres was one of the first Legendary Pokémon ever introduced to the game. However, it's also one of the most basic Legendary Pokémon out there. While Articuno has a graceful appearance and Zapdos has a powerful one, Moltres is the weakest of the bunch.

Moltres' design is pretty basic, resembling essentially a bird on fire. It would gain a proper, more Legendary appearance with its Galarian form, however. Nonetheless, the original Moltres just doesn't feel like it should be a Legendary. It more resembles a Fearow re-model, making for a rather bland Pokémon.

13 Tapu Lele

tapu lele close up

Tapu Lele is a Psychic and Fairy-Type Pokémon that was apart of a quartet of Legendary Pokémon. Despite having three different Guardian Deities to compete with, Tapu Lele manages to be the least interesting one. While nothing is inherently bad about Tapu Lele, nothing about it feels like a Legendary Pokémon.

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It looks like a Pokémon that's just sitting in a teacup. The tribal-like designs on the pink shell are interesting, and could even make it seem more Legendary if they weren't so spread out and basic. Sadly, Tapu Lele just doesn't fit the bill for a good Legendary.

12 Cobalion

anime ash riding cobalion

Cobalion, like the rest of the Swords of Justice Trio, is nothing special. It's one of the lamest Legendary Trios, introduced in Generation Five. Cobalion's design is far from anything amazing, simply appearing like a blue deer with a scruff of white fur at its neck.

While the horns and fluff give it a bit of a majestic look, it doesn't feel grand like many of the other Legendary Pokémon. It just feels fairly basic all around and makes Cobalion seem like it's just an ordinary Pokémon, rather than a Legendary.

11 Calyrex

calyrex close up

The newest Legendary Pokémon, Calyrex is also one of the lamest when it comes to design. It's a bipedal, deer-like creature with what looks like fairy wings on the back. There are also spheres around the neck and a giant ball on its head.

Calyrex simply looks so small and basic that it doesn't feel like a proper Legendary Pokémon. It looks just like any other one that can be found in the wild. Some normal Pokémon look more Legendary than Calyrex does. It's unfortunate that the new Legendaries from Sword & Shield don't quite hit the mark.

10 Heatran

Heatran

Heatran is a powerful Steel/Fire-type Pokémon that is encounterable in the Sinnoh region, and although it has a very intimidating appearance, it isn't quite as strong as a lot of other Legendaries in the franchise.

However, the main reason that Heatran does not deserve its Legendary status is because its appearance just doesn't stand out as much as other Legendaries that have been introduced into the franchise, and it generally looks very basic. The one good thing about this creature is that it is a dual Steel/Fire-type.

9 Mewtwo

Mewtwo from the Pokemon anime

Mewtwo is a Psychic-type Pokémon that a lot of players know well because it is so relevant in the franchise where it has starred in its own movie and is also capturable in most of the Pokémon video games.

It is debatable whether or not Mewtwo should actually be a Legendary since it was originally created in a laboratory by scientists that were trying to replicate Mew. Although this is debated among fans, it doesn't make sense for a Pokémon made in the lab to be considered a Legendary creature since it could be created again.

8 Latias

Latias is a unique Pokémon in terms of appearance, and a lot of players quickly fell in love with it because of how friendly it acted towards the protagonist in the Hoenn remake games.

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Although Latias is a great Pokémon, it would be better if it were considered to be a pseudo Legendary since it doesn't stand out compared to other Legendaries such as Rayquaza. Latias was probably designed to be a Legendary so that Gamefreak could add more Legendaries in Generation 3 since Generation 2 only had five.

7 Latios

Latios is the counterpart of Latios, and it probably should not be considered a Legendary for the same reasons.

Latios does seem more like a Legendary than Latias since it has a more aggressive demeanor; however, even with this more angry expression, it looks more like an average Pokémon than a Legendary creature. One of the main reasons that Latios is considered to be a Legendary, as well as Latias, is because they are so rare in the Pokémon world; however that does not mean that they deserve to be Legendary.

6 Xerneas

Xerneas is a Pokémon that somewhat resembles a deer in appearance, and it is much more basic than a lot of other Legendaries in the franchise, especially considering the fact that it is supposed to be one of the two regional Legendaries in the Kalos region.

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Xerneas is a powerful Fairy-type Pokémon; however, it leaves a lot to be desired in terms of its appearance since it is a Legendary creature. It would have made more sense to give Xerneas a unique look since it doesn't look very strong or Legendary based on its appearance.

5 Virizion

Virizion is another Pokémon that lacks the appearance of a Legendary creature, and instead looks more like a fully evolved Pokémon that would be encountered regularly in the wild.

Virizion's head does look more majestic than a lot of common Pokémon that are seen in the Unova region; however, it still isn't as interesting as other Legendaries in Generation 5, such as Thundurus or Reshiram.

4 Regirock

Regirock is the most mundane-looking Regi that has been introduced into the franchise to date. Regirock is a Rock-type golem Legendary Pokémon that was introduced in the Hoenn region, alongside Regice and Registeel.

Regirock is very powerful, especially when compared to other Rock-type Pokémon in Generation 3; however, it looks more like a bunch of stones meshed together than a frightening Pokémon of Legends.

3 Cosmog

Cosmog has the potential to evolve into both Lunala and Solgaleo, depending on which version of the game the player has. Cosmog isn't very powerful by itself, and its appearance isn't impressive either.

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Although it makes some sense that Cosmog is a Legendary since it can evolve into two powerful Legendary Pokémon, it isn't especially interesting in its base form, which is why a lot of fans think that it shouldn't have been considered to be a Legendary Pokémon in the first place.

2 Kubfu

Kubfu is one of the new Legendary Pokémon introduced in Pokémon Sword and Shield, and it is absolutely adorable, especially among other Legendary Pokémon that are usually powerful looking.

Kubfu is able to evolve into two different types of Urshifu, which also doesn't appear to be anything special when compared to other Legendary Pokémon. Urshifu looks similar to Pokémon, such as Pangoro and Beartic, which both aren't considered to be Legendaries.

1 Type Null

Type Null was created in a lab by the Aether Foundation, similar to the origin of Mewtwo. Type Null, and its evolution Silvally, are both very interesting Pokémon because of the DNA that they were infused with during their creation process.

Even though Type Null is a one of a kind Pokémon, it can be replicated in a lab which is seen in the Generation 8 games. Type Null and Silvally should not be considered to be Legendaries since scientists can produce as many of these Pokémon as they desire.

NEXT: Pokémon: Every Gen 7 Legendary, Ranked