It is no secret that Pokemon aren't created equally. While some may be cute or be based on an interesting concept, they could also be terrible in terms of their competitive usability. Historically, the legendary Pokemon have excelled on the battlefield because of their high stats. However, on some occasions, they are simply too powerful, and it leaves battles feeling unbalanced. Fortunately, this mistake isn't repeated with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet which feature relatively balanced legendaries.
Players spend a lot of time with either Miraidon or Koraidon, using them to travel across Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's map. When players finally unlock the ability to use the legendaries in battle, they discover that although they are a force to be reckoned with, they aren't invincible. Instead, they hit a sweet spot where they feel stronger than the average Pokemon, but they don't put too much of a gap between themselves and the rest.
Past Pokemon Legendaries Have Been Overpowered
On the cover of most Pokemon games, players will find images of the main legendaries of the generation. There are usually two main legendaries - one for each version - with an occasional third one thrown in, as seen with the Zekrom, Reshiram, and Kyurem trio. These Pokemon typically tie in with the generation's main story, and at a late stage in the game, gamers get the opportunity to catch the legendaries. Past legendaries include iconic creatures like Groudon and Kyogre from Ruby and Sapphire, as well as Lunala and Solgaleo from Sun and Moon, to name a few.
Not unexpectedly, the legendary Pokemon are usually extremely powerful. This isn't a bad thing, as it is part of their character, and it would be odd to have revered Pokemon that are discovered to be very weak in battle. Nevertheless, on some occasions, Game Freak takes things too far and makes the legendaries too powerful. This was the case, for example, with Xerneas. The cervine legendary has glowing horns, and it is a Fairy monotype. With its high stats, it is a problem for any competitor, and it also gains access to the Ability Fairy Aura which boosts Fairy-type moves. When using a powerful Fairy-type move like Moonblast which is already boosted by Xerneas' STAB advantage, the Pokemon quickly becomes a deadly force.
Perhaps the worst offender is Zacian, introduced in Sword and Shield. It is a Fairy/Steel Pokemon that has ridiculous stats when it is in its Crowned Sword mode, so much so that Game Freak cut down Zacian's Attack stat from 170 to 150 in generation 9. However, this still leaves it with a terrifying base stat of 700. This, combined with its typing that leaves it immune to Poison and Dragon, makes it possible to argue that Zacian is the most powerful creature in the series.
Miraidon and Koraidon Strike a Good Balance in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
Scarlet and Violet's legendaries are Miraidon and Koraidon which are from the future and past respectively. They form a huge part of the game, as players use them to traverse Paldea. Like prior legendaries, Miraidon and Koraidon are strong. However, they don't go overboard and become game-breaking. They both have a base stat total of 670 and a Speed stat of 135, though the rest of their stats are spread differently. Miraidon arguably edges Koraidon out a bit as it has four weaknesses as opposed to Koraidon's five. Furthermore, Electric/Dragon is a bit more of a useful dual-type than Fighting/Dragon, as it gives players access to lots of paralyzing moves. Nevertheless, both Pokemon have adequate weaknesses and their stats aren't too high, making them impressive without being too powerful.
Power creep is an issue that has affected Pokemon for many generations, and it has resulted in past beasts that were once viable becoming completely outclassed by newer creatures. The problem is made worse by legendaries that raise the ceiling for how powerful a Pokemon can be. Miraidon and Koraidon help to mitigate this problem, as they do not raise the ceiling even further, though they do not feel like weak legendaries either. This is the perfect balance that should be replicated in future games.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available on Nintendo Switch.