Top 5 legendaries introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield

The eighth Generation of Pokemon introduced some of the strongest legendaries that the franchise has ever seen.

These Pokemon are also tough to rank since there are so many of them. Long gone are the days where there were simply two cover legendaries and a legendary trio. Between the main game and both DLCs, tons of overpowered legendaries were released, which makes any effort to rank them fairly tough to complete.

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Which were the strongest legendary Pokemon from the latest generation?

5) Zamazenta

Zamazenta gets a raise in defense whenever it's sent in battle (Image via Game Freak)

While it may not be as strong as its counterpart, Zamazenta has very comparable base stats. It shares Zacian’s 130 Attack stat and 138 Speed stat, which are probably the most relevant stats for those two.

It doesn’t get the Attack buff that Zacian gets, but the Defense buff that Zamazenta gets instead can allow it to survive a super effective hit.

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4) Calyrex Ice

Calyrex Ice gets the signature move, Glacial Lance (Image via Game Freak)

The fusion between Calyrex and Glastrier combines strong bulk with a colossal attacking power. What’s even better about this legendary, though, is that it fixes an issue most Ice-types have.

There are very few physical Ice moves in the game that are both powerful and accurate (the closest to this might be Icicle Crash). Clayrex Ice gets Glacial Lance, though, which is 100% accurate and has 130 base power.

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3) Eternatus

Eternatus has one of the highest HP stats in the game (Image via Game Freak)

It’s very rare for a Pokemon to combine that much bulk with that much strength. Eternatus has so much HP that its defenses don’t matter and it can tank way more hits than it should be able to.

On top of that, it gets an amazing movepool including Dynamax Cannon, which doubles the damage to opponents in Dynamax form.

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2) Calyrex Shadow

Legendaries are supposed to have better stats than ordinary Pokemon, but arguably they don’t have to be as high as those of Calyrex Shadow. No other Pokemon can outspeed its 150 base speed, and nothing cam outdamage its 165 base special attack.

It also gets Astral Barrage, one of the most broken moves in the game. Considering Calyrex Shadow will get a Special Attack boost if it nabs a kill, trainers can just click Astral Barrage and win matches for free if they don’t run into a Normal-type.

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1) Zacian

Zacian gets an Attack boost when it appears in battle (Image via Game Freak)

It’s almost unfair to go up against this legendary. Zacian gets an Attack buff on top of its 138 base attack whenever it enters the field.

Nothing could be more perfect for this swift Pokemon who gets 130 base speed and tons of coverage (Psychic Fangs, Close Combat, Iron Head, Wild Charge, etc.). Due to this flexibility, it slightly edges out Calyrex Shadow as the best Generation VIII legendary.