Generation VII of Pokémon took us to an island chain called Alola. This tropical paradise introduced players to regional variants, a new gym challenge system, Z-moves, and new creatures called Ultra Beasts. There are also parallel universes. And something called Ultra Space. Also, Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon and Sun/Moon take place in different universes from each other. It’s all very confusing.

Sun/Moon was released in 2016 to great fanfare. All of these new additions made an excellent game. Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon came out a year later with a few minor differences, new Ultra Beasts, and an added epilogue. 

Luckily, we aren’t dissecting the plot of the games today (for the most part, at least). This article is going to cover all of the many legendary and mythical Pokémon in the Alola region. The Ultra Beasts will not be included in this as they are their own separate can of worms.

Beast Killer Project

Before we dive into these legendary beasts, we have to learn about the Aether Foundation. This organization was created to treat sick Pokémon and protect them from Team Skull, the regional team of ne’er-do-wells of the Alola region. Their headquarters is on Aether Paradise, a man-made island in the center of the Alolan archipelago. Their research team discovered Ultra Space and the Beasts that roamed on the other side of the wormholes. 

The Beast Killer Project was created by the Aether Foundation in order to combat these Ultra Beasts. The Foundation researched the Pokémon of Myth from the Sinnoh region to create these new Pokémon. The plan was to use all different types of Pokémon in order to allow it to shift through the types using a memory chip. However, every Type: Null would reject the memory chips and the project was shuttered. 

Gladion, the son of the Aether Foundation’s president, stole a Type: Null and found it was able to evolve into Type: Full, which he renamed as Silvally. Once it is a Silvally, it is able to use the memory chips to change its type.

Type: Null | #772

Lore

Type: Null was created by the Aether Foundation in order to fight Ultra Beasts. It was completely man-made. When it was created, the Foundation used all different types of Pokémon. Their goal was to allow it to change type depending on what it was facing. However, each Type: Null would reject the memory chips that allowed it to change form. They were put in cryostorage and the project was closed. 

Later, during the events of Sun/Moon, Gladion would free one from storage and try to make it work properly. He eventually does this through the power of friendship and evolution.

Location

Type: Null can be received from Gladion on Aether Paradise in Sun/Moon or from Wicke at the Ancient Poni Path in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon. It can only be obtained after you become Champion.

Stats

Type: Null is a Normal type Pokémon with unremarkable stats. It has 95 Base stats all across the board except with Speed where it is 59. Its ability, Battle Armor, prevents it from being hit with critical attacks. As for weaknesses, it’s, well, normal on pretty much everything. It’s weak to Fighting and immune to Ghost. Honestly, not much to write home about.

At least until it evolves.

Silvally | #773

Lore

Silvally, originally Type: Full, is the evolved form of Type: Null. Gladion befriended his Type: Null and treated it with enough care that it evolved into this upgraded version. The biggest upgrade is that it can accept memory chips that allow it to change its type. The system it uses to accept these cards is the RKS System. If you sound out RKS, it sounds a bit like Arceus, the only other Pokémon that can change its type using an item.

Location

Silvally can be obtained through distribution events or through leveling up your Type: Null with high friendship. 

Stats

Silvally may have unimpressive stats (95 Base across the board), but it can really pack a punch when used creatively. As previously mentioned, it can change to any type using a different Memory. This also gives it the type advantages/disadvantages of that type. By default, it’s a Normal type, similar to Type: Null.

Guardian Deities

Alola brought the biggest change to the gym challenge that we have ever seen. Instead of eight gyms, there were island challenges that culminated in battling the kahuna on each island. Each of these kahunas was chosen by each island’s Guardian Deity. These are the Tapus. They used to be the leaders of each island’s armies, but now are content to protect those who live on their land.

It’s said that, long ago, a Solgaleo or Lunala (depending on the game version) came from Ultra Space and challenged the Guardians. They were defeated by the invader, but given Tapunium Z as a reward. They also left several Cosmog in the area for the Tapus to protect and watch grow. They also play a role in defeating the Ultra Beasts during the events of Sun/Moon. 

Each of the Guardian Deities are based on some sort of Hawaiian god or goddess. Their names are also derived from the Hawaiian language. This is why they are designed to look a bit like tikis.

Tapu Koko | #785

Lore

Tapu Koko is the Guardian Deity of Melemele Island. Like all the Deities, its main purpose is to protect its island from those who would do it harm. In this case, it’s the Ultra Beasts. Tapu Koko also plays a significant role in the games as it saves the player character from falling off of a bridge at the beginning of the game. 

Its name may have come from the Hawaiian word tapu, which means “sacred” or “holy”, and koko, the Hawaiian word/sound for a rooster crowing. This makes sense since Tapu Koko kind of looks like a rooster. Tapu Koko is inspired by the Hawaiian war god Kūka’ilimoku. Its kahuna is Hala.

Location

Tapu Koko can be found in the Ruins of Conflict on Melemele Island after the player becomes Champion. 

Stats

Tapu Koko is an Electric/Fairy type Pokémon. It’s incredibly fast with a Speed stat of 130. It has a high Attack stat at 115. Tapu Koko’s ability, Electric Surge, makes the terrain electrified, making Electric type attacks much more effective. It’s a pretty good attacker with some decent Defensive stats as well. Considering this is, essentially, the final battle of the main game, this would make a great addition to the post-game lineup.

Tapu Lele | #786

Lore

Tapu Lele is kind of a controversial figure for the people of Akala Island. Lele will leave glowing scales all around the island which can heal weary travelers. However, if you touch too many, it can have devastating consequences. Some on the island think Lele does this for its own amusement, with no clear purpose than to cause problems. However, another legend says that Lele ended a war by helping tired warriors with her scales. Who truly knows what lies at the heart of these stories. The Ruins of Life, its home, is considered the place where all life begins.

Tapu Lele resembles a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. As such, its name comes from the Hawaiian words for sacred, tapu, and butterfly, pulelehua. Tapu Lele is inspired by the Hawaiian god Kāne, which is the god who gave life to the first human. Its kahuna is Olivia.

Location

Tapu Lele can be found in the Ruins of Life on Akala Island after the player becomes Champion.

Stats

Tapu Lele is a Psychic/Fairy type Pokémon. It’s a Special Attacker/Special Defender with 130 and 115 stats, respectively. A decent HP stat (70) keeps it from truly being a tank, but you could do worse if that is a gap on your team! Along with that, its ability, Psychic Surge, gives Psychic moves a boost thanks to the Psychic terrain it creates.

Tapu Bulu | #787

Lore

Tapu Bulu is the Guardian Deity of Ula’ula Island. People on the island like Bulu since it's calm and, honestly, pretty lazy. It can make vegetation grow at will which is helpful for when it actually gets up to do something. Legends say that it once grew a bunch of trees and used them as clubs to protect its island. However, it uses its bell to warn people if intruders are coming. 

Its name could have been derived from the Hawaiian word tapu, meaning sacred, and the word bull. With its bull-like tendencies to graze and slowly hand around, it makes sense. It's also inspired by Lono, one of the Hawaiian gods who is responsible for agriculture and peace. Its kahuna is Nanu.

Location

Tapu Bulu can be found in the Ruins of Abundance on Ula’ula Island after the player becomes Champion.

Stats

Tapu Bulu is a Grass/Fairy type Pokémon. Unfortunately, this typing gives it a quad weakness to Poison types. However, it has more than enough resistances to make up for that. It’s a Physical Pokémon, with high Attack (130) and Defense (115) stats. Its ability, Grassy Surge, powers up Grass type moves. 

Tapu Fini | #788

Lore

Tapu Fini doesn’t care much for humans. As the Guardian Deity of Poni Island, it uses the waters to protect the people of the island. Although, this is only when Fini decides they are worthy. Fini is said to have special water that can purify anything. While many have tried it, few have succeeded. This has resulted in Tapu Fini keeping to itself more often than the other Tapus. The Ruins of Hope is feared and respected as it is where “life ends its journey”.

Its name comes from the Hawaiian word for sacred, tapu, and the word fin. “Fin” because it looks a bit like a fish, but it could also be “fin” as in the end. Tapu Fini is inspired by the Hawaiian god of the ocean, Kanaloa. Not only is Kanaloa the god of the ocean, but it is also associated deeply with the underworld and death. Its kahuna is Hapu.

Location

Tapu Fini can be found at the Ruins of Hope on Poni Island after the player becomes Champion.

Stats

Tapu Fini is a very defensive Water/Fairy type. It has high Defense (115) and Special Defense (130) and a pretty decent Speed stat (85). It has a great dual type, with five resistances. Its ability, Misty Surge, powers up, you guessed it, Water type attacks. Its moveset is definitely geared toward being a supporter, not an attacker.

Light Trio

Yes, there are five Pokémon in this category, but put the semantics aside for a second. The trio part refers to Solgaleo, Lunala, and Necrozma. Since Cosmog and Cosmoem are pre-evolutions, they don’t count as a member of the trio. 

Ancient Alolan legends tell the story of how these legendary beings came to their world. During an Alolan Civil War, an Ultra Wormhole opened and a Solgaleo or Lunala came through. The people worshipped them as gods which caused the Guardian Deities to battle them. The Guardians lost. However, they were seen as worthy adversaries and given Cosmogs to watch over until they fully evolve.

Everything was going well until Necrozma showed up. Necrozma stole all the light from Alola, leaving it shrouded in darkness. Even the combined power of Solgaleo/Lunala and the Guardian Deities couldn’t defeat it, allowing Necrozma to absorb Solgaleo/Lunala. Luckily, a child appeared and beat it up, freeing Solgaleo/Lunala.

Cosmog | #790

Lore

Originally given to the Guardian Deities by Solgaleo/Lunala, Cosmog is thought to be some kind of Ultra Beast. It can create Ultra Wormholes at great cost to itself. It’s protected by the Guardian Deities until it can fully evolve and return to Ultra Space.

Location

Depending on the game version, Cosmog can be found at the Lake of the Sunne (S/US) or Lake of the Moone (M/UM). You need to have a Solgaleo (S/US) or Lunala (M/UM) in your party for it to appear.

Stats

Cosmog is a pure Psychic type with the ability Unaware. This allows it to ignore any stat changes that happen during the course of battle. Cosmog is pretty weak. It has two attacks: Splash (does nothing) and Teleport (leaves the battle). The benefits of this Pokémon come later, through evolution.

Cosmoem | #791

Lore

There isn’t a lot of lore for Cosmoem. It does hold two interesting records. It's both the shortest and heaviest Pokémon. It has an incredibly hard shell, encased around a super dense center. It’s much like a star in that way.

Location

You can only get Cosmoem by evolving Cosmog starting at level 43.

Stats

Cosmoem is another pure Psychic type with not many attacks. Along with Splash and Teleport, it adds Cosmic Power, a move that makes the user’s defensive stats higher. Speaking of defensive stats, they are crazy high at 131 each. However, this still isn’t its final form.

Solgaleo | #792

Lore

Solgaleo is a Pokémon from Ultra Space and one of the final evolutions of Cosmog. Known as “The Beast That Devours the Sun”, Solgaleo is a being made of pure light. Due to this, Necrozma is constantly hunting it through Ultra Space. This is the main reason why Solgaleo left Cosmog with the Alolan Guardian Deities. 

Necrozma and Solgaleo can fuse together to create Dusk Mane Necrozma. 

Location

Solgaleo can be found in Sun/Ultra Sun by evolving Cosmoem. In Pokémon Sun, it can be caught at the Altar of the Sunne. In Pokémon Ultra Sun, it is caught on the Mahalo Trail.

Stats

Solgaleo has some really bulky stats. It has high HP and Attack stats (137) along with a pretty decent speed (97). It’s mostly a physical Pokémon, but the special stats are nothing to shake a stick at. Its unique Psychic/Steel typing give it a ton of resistances at the cost of four weaknesses. It’s a pretty good addition to any team.

Lunala | #793

Lore

Lunala is the other side of Solgaleo. Another being a pure light, it is hunted by Necrozma across Ultra Space. The Alolan people called it “The Beast That Calls the Moon”.

Lunala and Necrozma can fuse to create Dawn Wings Necrozma.

Location

Lunala can be found in Moon/Ultra Moon by evolving Cosmoem. In Pokémon Moon, can be caught at the Altar of the Moone. In Pokémon Ultra Moon, it is caught at the Mahalo Trail.

Stats

Like most legendary pairs, Lunala has similar but opposite stats to Solgaleo. Where Solgaleo is more physical, Lunala is more of a special move user. It has a Special Attack of 137 and a Special Defense of 107. As a Psychic/Ghost type, it has two quadruple weaknesses to Ghost and Dark. This is a pretty big drawback. However, despite those two weaknesses, it’s another solid team member, especially if you need a special attacker. It’s also completely resistant to Normal type Pokémon! 

Necrozma | #800

Lore

Necrozma used to also be a being of pure light. However, the Ultra Recon Squad severely damaged it, leaving it incomplete and in constant pain. This leads it to hunting Solgaleo and Lunala to steal their light. 

Necrozma has four forms. Incomplete Necrozma is the all black creature in the middle of the above picture. After absorbing Solgaleo or Lunala, it becomes Dusk Mane Necrozma or Dawn Wings Necrozma respectively. Ultra Necrozman is the shining being in the back of the same picture. This is its true form. Its body can heat up to over 10,000 degrees and fire laser blasts 18 miles away. It’s truly a force to be reckoned with.

Location

Necrozma can be found on Ten Carat Hill in Pokémon Sun/Moon after completing the Ultra Beast side quest. In Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, it is found during your first visit to Mount Lanakila.

Stats

Necrozma’s stats are pretty evenly spread. Its highest is Special Attack at 127. However, these change when it fuses or goes ultra. Dusk Mane Necrozma gains stat boosts in physical stats and Dawn Wings Necrozma gets boosts to special stats. Ultra Necrozma gets massive boosts to Attack (167), Special Attack (167), and Speed (129). 

Necrozma’s typing also changes depending on form. Base Necrozma is pure Psychic, but it becomes the same type as the Pokémon it absorbs. Dusk Mane becomes Psychic/Steel and Dawn Wings becomes Psychic/Ghost. Ultra Necrozma becomes Psychic/Dragon.

Mythical Pokémon

There are five new mythical Pokémon added to the Generation VII Pokédex. Three were introduced during the Sun/Moon releases, the other two were first added in Pokémon GO. This generation also introduced evolving mythical Pokémon. Let’s find learn about these exciting monsters!

Magearna | #801

Lore

Magearna is a mythical Pokémon that was created as a gift for a king’s daughter around 500 years before the events of the games. There is an item called a “Soul-Heart” in the center of its body. This is actually what Magearna looks like and the body is just an outer shell. With its Soul-Heart, it can feel the emotions of other people and Pokémon. 

Its design is similar to a maid from the Medieval era. This is because it tries to take care of any injured Pokémon that it comes across, even if it hurts Magearna, since it can feel the injured party’s emotions.

Location

Magearna is probably one of the more accessible mythicals out there. The easiest way to get it is to use Sun/Moon’s QR Scanner feature. Throughout the game, you can scan QR codes to find rare Pokémon to add to your Pokédex. So, in order to get Magearna, just scan the correct QR code. You can find them online.

Stats

Magearna is a really great to your team. It’s a Steel/Fairy type so it has only two weaknesses and is completely resistant to Poison and Dragon. It can only be damaged normally by five types. On top of that, it’s a tank! Magearna has high Defense and Special Defense (115). It has a really solid Special Attack (130) which, thanks to its ability Soul-Heart, only increases with each Pokémon that faints. This includes opponents and allies. Truly one of the best mythical Pokémon for a team.

Marshadow | #802

Lore

Marshadow is a pretty cool little Pokémon. It can blend in with the shadow of any Pokémon and copy their techniques and abilities. It can also feel what they are feeling. After it gets pumped up through fighting, it enters its Zenith mode where it is stronger and can fight better.

Location

Like most event Pokémon, Marshadow is an event exclusive.

Stats

Marshadow is a Fighting/Ghost type with the ability Technician which powers up moves that have a power of under 50-60%. Being a Fighting type, it goes more toward the physical side of the stats. With high Speed and Attack stats (125), it would slot in nicely on your team if you needed a fast attacker.  

Zeraora | #807

Lore

The mythical Pokémon Zeraora has one of the wildest backgrounds in this series. It was created after lightning struck an erupting volcano. I mean, what more can you need?

Location

Zeraora is an event only Pokémon, but cannot be acquired in Sun/Moon. It is an Ultra Moon/Ultra Sun exclusive.

Stats

If you thought Marshadow was fast, check our Zeraora’s Speed stat. It’s 143! That’s lightning fast, y’all. As a pure Electric type, it only has one weakness and is damaged normally by most other types. Zeraora’s moveset is mostly physical, so this is yet another great physical Pokémon for your team.

Meltan | #808

Lore

Meltan is a super small metal Pokémon. It can absorb metal through the ground in order to create electricity to keep itself powered up. Meltan was found near an item called the Mystery Box. The Mystery Box keeps Meltan pooled together in hopes that it will evolve into Melmetal. It’s said that Meltan absorbs other Meltan in order to evolve.

Interestingly, Meltan can only evolve in Pokémon GO after using 400 Meltan candies. In the mainline games, Meltan is considered the fully evolved form.

Location

Meltan can be found in Pokémon GO through a research breakthrough. You can also obtain more Meltan by transferring any Pokémon from GO into Pokémon Home and opening the Mystery Box. This will spawn a bunch of Meltan, similar to an incense. 

Stats

Since Meltan is just a little baby, it has pretty low stats. It’s got decently high Attack and Defense stats for its level at 65 each. Obviously, the big draw is the evolution to Melmetal.

Melmetal | #809

Lore

Melmetal has the ability to create metal at will. This was very important to the people of the world over 3,000 years ago when it was last alive. As it aged, Melmetal became rusted and split apart into Meltans. All of these were gathered and sealed in the Mystery Box where they have waited to be found.

Location

You can only get a Melmetal through Pokémon GO or by transferring one or more Pokémon to Pokémon Home with the GO transporter. Melmetal is usually obtained through evolving Meltan with 400 Meltan candies.

Stats

Melmetal is a tank in several ways.. It’s a pure Steel type with incredibly high Attack, Defense, and HP stats (143, 143, 135). It's very slow with a Speed stat of 34. It, like tanks, is made of metal. It can Gigantamax in Sword/Shield, sending those stats even higher. Its ability, Iron Fist, increases the attack power of punching moves. According to the Pokédex, it has the strongest punches of any known Pokémon.