• A new LGBTQ+ forum is now being trialed and there have been changes made to the Support and Advice forum. To read more about these updates, click here.
  • Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

SwSh Box legendaries?

Speculation on types?

The cynic in me is saying they're both Steel/Fighting and will render Cobalion redundant.

The optimist in me is hoping Zacian is Fairy/Fighting (if the Tapus can be fairy-types so can he), and Zamazenta is pure Steel. They would complement each other well I think.
 
As a dog lover, these convoluted designs don't do anything for me. It's nice that they appear to be working together to defeat a common foe, although who knows if that isn't limited to the CGI trailer. They might get minimal lore like like the previous two sets, and never appear together.

(if the Tapus can be fairy-types so can he)
The Tapus are based on the four Hawiian gods, who controlled nature in various ways.
 
The Tapus are based on the four Hawiian gods, who controlled nature in various ways.

Correct, so there’s an element of faerie there even though it’s not what we think of when we use the term ie Tinkerbell. In the same way, Tolkien’s lecture “On Fairy-Stories” sought to prove that other elven elements also could be considered fairy beyond diminutive sprites. Zacian has fantasy elements incorporated, therefore it works as a fairy type
 
But let's take a look back:

Red- Charizard
Green- Venusaur
Blue- Blastoise
Yellow- Pikachu
Gold- Ho-oh
Silver- Lugia
Ruby- Groudon
Sapphire- Kyogre
Emerald- Rayquaza

All of those are the mascot's colour. Also Black (Zekrom) & White (Reshiram).
I never said they weren't? I'm just saying that the idea for Ho-Oh wasn't just "Gold". You've been criticizing their designs and saying they should have just changed the title, and I'm saying that the title is not the only reason behind their design.
Sword/Shield from the evidence so far, doesn't work
That's your opinion, not a fact.

without having to lump it into the legendary's design is beyond me.
Because the legendaries' designs are more than just the title. Rayquaza's design wasn't started with "let's make something green". Blastoise wasn't just "let's make something blue". Zacian and Zamazenta have more to their design than just being made to suit the titles.
 
Speculation on types?

The cynic in me is saying they're both Steel/Fighting and will render Cobalion redundant.

The optimist in me is hoping Zacian is Fairy/Fighting (if the Tapus can be fairy-types so can he), and Zamazenta is pure Steel. They would complement each other well I think.

Steel/Fighting or vice versa is the most logical choice. Lucario & its Mega evo already rendered Cobalion redundant a generation before & after its introduction, though I suppose you mean from a legendary standpoint and not a metagame one. The only thing that would make me think Fairy, is that Zacian gives off a similar vibe that Xerneas did, which is much closer in design choice than the Tapus are.

However, Xerneas was designed to where its typing could have been anything, and both of the wolves instantly make me think of warriors (which they are). I know the sword isn't apart of Zacian's body like the shield is for Zamazenta, but it's still an extension of itself.

Eterneus, or whatever the hell the evil legendary mentioned in the leak I think could be an evil Fae that the Stark wolf brothers stand together against.
 
Choose your FighterView attachment 119319

Both of them are good boys and shall be protected at all costs!​

Well now I’m definitely going sword. Looks more like my dog. :p
Sword/Shield from the evidence so far, doesn't work and why they couldn't just call them that without having to lump it into the legendary's design is beyond me. I don't think anyone would be annoyed at that loose tradition.
Why are we assuming the name of the games came first. How do we know that they didn’t design the legendaries first and then decide from there what to name the games.

I think both look pretty good but I don’t like the shield one. The shield makes it look like a lion.

And I’m wondering d we’ll get more about the shield and sword because it’s weird that one carries their item and the other is part of their item.

As for typing I think for the sword wolf he could be steel/water or steel/ice being he had more blue on him. And the shield could be steel/fire with all that red.
 
Steel/Fighting or vice versa is the most logical choice. Lucario & its Mega evo already rendered Cobalion redundant a generation before & after its introduction, though I suppose you mean from a legendary standpoint and not a metagame one.

Lucario and Cobalion I have no problem with coexisting. Heck, Lucario’s practically a legendary anyway - he had more of a presence in his movie ;)

But a second Steel/Fighting, legendary, light blue, quadruped with a sword motif? I’m hesitant...but it won’t be the end of the world.

I’m definitely nicknaming it Beowolf though :)
 
Why are we assuming the name of the games came first. How do we know that they didn’t design the legendaries first and then decide from there what to name the games.

Because Game Freak's naming schemes for the games tend to have a greater symbolism for the storyline, the role the games take in the storyline, etc. For example, Black/White was named as such because the storyline focused on opposing ideas and XY was the first 3D games. Sword/Shield's names probably relate to the storyline, the games' location (as one thing UK is known for is its knights and warriors), and maybe in some abstract way relates to being the first console game (although I can't imagine what, but Game Freak sometimes comes up with weird reasons for naming conventions, so maybe it's the same here). So most likely they came up with the theme for the game and story first since it's a more basic and unifying aspect of the game, and then they designed the mascots around that theme.

Anyway, Zacian and Zamazenta's relationship does seem to be interesting. They were fighting at first, but then when the wind picked up it looked like they were teaming up. I wonder what the exact nature of their relationship is?

If I had to guess, they may be rivals. They spar with each other a lot, but they also seem to work together against larger threats.
 
Anyway, Zacian and Zamazenta's relationship does seem to be interesting. They were fighting at first, but then when the wind picked up it looked like they were teaming up. I wonder what the exact nature of their relationship is?

I thought it was more likely that they were playfighting or didn't want to fight each other at all.
At first they were cautious, but when they saw each other, they put down their guard (Zacian drops its sword whereas Zamazenta ends up with a milder expression), and they prepare to fight another threat together.

I got the impression that they have a pretty amicable relationship.
 
Not every mascot duo are inherently rivals, there are those who think all mascot duos are rivals, but that simply isn't true. The only "rival" mascot duo we have is Kyogre and Groudon as Dialga and Palkia don't even fight each other in the canon of the games while Reshiram and Zekrom only fought due to human conflict.
 
Dialga and Palkia don't even fight each other in the canon of the games
Not to mention Space and Time are complimentary concepts, not opposing ones. Same goes for Solgaleo and Lunala.

I like the attempt at having closer box Legendaries. Too bad for the people who don’t like wolves though.
But I don’t know how can anyone dislike these good boys. Y'all are too jaded.
 
There's even great fanart of them!
119412
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I just don’t know why haven’t they added a sheath somewhere in its design. Or maybe even make it so that the entire sword is made from its shoulder blades (the present sword grows bigger when the shoulder blades attach to it so it’s clearly possible).
The poor thing holding a sword in its mouth all the time... how will it eat, drink, sleep or bark?
 
I love that they went with a twins vibe this time for the designs. It's refreshing after a couple generations of designs that more so oppose each other. As such, I'm thinking they might even end up sharing the same typing, instead being differentiated by stat extremes (attack and special attack VS defense and special defense).

Steel and fighting seem like the two obvious choices, and the legends usually are obvious types in the end (with some surprises that end up making sense in retrospect). One thing they almost never do is strike a perfect balance, even though most people obsess over that (same with starters). I really do see them both being Steel/Fighting. It'd be the first time cover legends share the exact same type! Sword/Shield convey attack/defense speciality more than type specialty anyway.
 
I genuinely hate the colors/general designs of them, but Zacian has a sword in its mouth. That makes me love it.

More so when you realize those wings and fins on Zacian actually detach and merge with the sword to make it more powerful looking. Also I realized that the pommel of Zacian's sword not only looks like a tail fin of a shark or dolphin, but it could also look like a crescent moon. So if its part Fairy, I can understand where it comes from. I also think Zacian is female, mainly because of the oversized pony-tails coming from the sides of its face.
 
Please note: The thread is from 5 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom