Mythical and Legendary Pokémon are some of the most feared monsters in the franchise, yet there are some Pokémon that are close to matching them in strength. These are referred to as Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon by fans, and they share common traits that set them apart from their brethren.
Mythical and Legendary Pokémon are different in how they're acquired, but they are equally powerful. This dates all the way back to Pokémon Red and Blue, with Mew and Mewtwo's strength standing above all of other Pokémon in the Kanto region. The raw power of Mythical and Legendary Pokémon is meant to act as a reward for players who are diligent enough to seek out the rarest Pokémon in existence or who have defeated the mightiest trainers in the region.
There are some Pokémon that can match Mythicals and Legendaries, either due to having powerful mixtures of moves or existing during the period when Mega Evolutions granted incredible power to common Pokémon. But a few Pokémon are only just below the Mythicals and Legendaries in their natural, base forms, which has led to fans referring to them as Pseudo-Legendaries.
Pokémon's Pseudo-Legendaries Are Pretenders To The Legendary Throne
There are nine Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon in existence, one from each generation (save for generation three, which has two of them): Dragonite, Tyranitar, Metagross, Salamence, Garchomp, Hydreigon, Goodra, Kommo-o, and Dragapult. These Pokémon share a few common traits; they are all stage-three evolutions, they each require 1.25 million experience points to reach level 100, and they each have a base stat total of 600. Psuedo-Legendary Pokémon generally have a powerful Ability and access to a strong move pool in order to further enhance their strength. Additionally, all Pseudo-Legendaries but Tyranitar and Metagross have at least a partial Dragon typing.
Pseudo-Legendaries are clearly made strong on purpose, as they are often saved for the most powerful trainers in each region. Lance of the Kanto Elite Four used multiple Dragonite on his team; Drake of the Hoenn Elite Four had a mighty Salamence; and Metagross was the signature Pokémon of Champion Steven Stone, as was Cynthia. The first stages of these Pokémon were once extremely hard to find, but the introduction of online trading meant it became easier to find a baby Dratini or Goomy near the beginning of a game. This gives trainers the chance to easily use Pseudo-Legendaries during their own Pokémon journeys.
