PCP: Which Legendary & Mythical Pokemon canonically count as deities
Pop Culture Paganism is a hell of a drug cause it’s got me researching which legendary and mythical Pokemon canonically count as gods
I made this as a part of my personal spiritual practice, but I think it might benefit some other people too (plus I put a lot of effort into this lol), so I figured that I'd share it here. Also, obviously Pop Culture Pagans can worship any Pokemon they want, I just wanted to outline which would technically count as Pop Culture Deities instead of just Pop Culture Entities.
Also, I did most of the legendaries and mythicals, but not all of them. I left some of the more recent legendary and mythical Pokemon out because I honestly got a little tired. And, if you disagree with any of this, please be nice about it, this took a lot of research and I acknowledge that I probably got a couple wrong
🙏 Arceus - Literally the Pokemon God, created the world (Normal, Gen 4)
🙏 Giratina - Basically Pokemon Satan, represents antimatter and darkness, was banished for its violence and lives in the Distortion World (Ghost/Dragon, Gen 4)
🙏 Dialga - Canonically helped Arceus create the universe, a god of time (Steel/Dragon, Gen 4)
🙏 Palkia - Canonically helped Arceus create the universe, a god of space (Water/Dragon, Gen 4)
🙏 Kyogre - Ancient Pokemon who created(?) and expanded the oceans (Water, Gen 3)
🙏 Groudon - Ancient Pokemon who created(?) and expanded dry land (Ground, Ground/Fire in Primal Form, Gen 3)
🙏 Rayquaza - Ancient Pokemon who may rule over the sky(?), and saves the Pokemon world from a Meteor in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire Delta Episode, but is mostly charged with stopping Kyogre and Groudon from fighting (Dragon/Flying, Gen 3)
🙏 Lugia - Considered a guardian of the sea with powers over the weather and the ocean, also commands other deity-like Pokemon like the Kanto Legendary Birds, so I think it counts as a main deity (Psychic/Flying, Gen 2)
🙏 Ho-Oh - A guardian of the sky with the power to promise eternal happiness and resurrect the dead, so this is definitely a deity (Fire/Flying, Gen 2)
🙏 Celebi - A forest guardian who brings vegetation to life and foretells good futures, and is also capable of time travel and healing (Psychic/Grass, Gen 2)
🙏 Jirachi - A mythical Pokemon who slumbers for a thousand years, is associated with a celestial body like the Millenium Comet and grants wishes (Steel/Psychic, Gen 3)
🙏 Xerneas - A Pokemon who can share eternal life and represents life energy itself, hibernating in the form of a tree (Fairy, Gen 6)
🙏 Yveltal - A Pokemon who represents death and destruction, hibernates in a cocoon before awakening to absorb the life force of all living things (Dark/Flying, Gen 6)
🙏 Zygarde - A Pokemon who guards ecosystems and maintains the balance between life and death (Dragon/Ground, Gen 6)
🙏 Solgaleo - A Pokemon who embodies the sun and is considered a guardian deity, was canonically worshiped by ancient Alolans (Psychic/Steel, Gen 7)
🙏 Lunala - A Pokemon who embodies the moon and is considered a guardian deity, was canonically worshiped by ancient Alolans (Psychic/Ghost, Gen 7)
🙏 Reshiram - Represents the concept of Yang and Truth, appears to be an actual deity figure within Unova (Dragon/Fire, Gen 5)
🙏 Zekrom - Represents the concept of Yin and Ideals, appears to be an actual deity figure within Unova (Dragon/Electric, Gen 5)
🙏 Kyurem - Represents the concept of Wuji, or void and emptiness, and appears to be a more feared deity figure than its other counterparts (Dragon/Ice, Gen 5)
🙏 Tornadus - A canonically deific Pokemon who represents the winds and storms, was worshiped in the ancient Hisui region, including in their Therian form (Flying, Gen 5)
🙏 Thundurus - A canonically deific Pokemon who represents lightning and storms, was worshiped in the ancient Hisui region, including in their Therian form (Electric/Flying, Gen 5)
🙏 Landorus - A canonically deific Pokemon who represents agriculture and fertility, was worshiped in the ancient Hisui region, including in their Therian form (Ground/Flying, Gen 5)
🙏 Eternatus - While it is much more feared than revered, this Pokemon is a sort of eldritch deity who caused the Darkest Day in the Galar region and seems to be responsible for the Dynamax phenomenon, so I think that alone warrants deity status (Poison/Dragon, Gen 8)
📿 Azelf - Canonically stated to have given humans willpower and determination (Psychic, Gen 4)
📿 Mesprit - Canonically stated to have given humans emotions (Psychic, Gen 4)
📿 Uxie - Canonically stated to have given humans the necessary intelligence to improve their lives (Psychic, Gen 4)
📿 Articuno - Considered a deity of ice and maybe winter, associated with Lugia and Ho-Oh, so I think it’s technically a minor deity (Ice/Flying, Psychic/Flying in Galarian form, Gen 1)
📿 Moltres - Considered a deity of fire and maybe summer, associated with Lugia and Ho-Oh, so I think it’s technically a minor deity (Fire/Flying, Dark/Flying in Galarian form, Gen 1)
📿 Zapdos - Considered a deity of electricity and lightning, and maybe transitional seasons like spring/autumn, associated with Lugia and Ho-Oh, so I think it’s technically a minor deity (Electric/Flying, Fighting/Flying in Galarian form, Gen 1)
📿 Raikou - A guardian Pokemon who embodies the element of lightning, resurrected by Ho-Oh (Electric, Gen 2)
📿 Entei - A guardian Pokemon who embodies the element of fire, resurrected by Ho-Oh (Fire, Gen 2)
📿 Suicune - A guardian Pokemon who embodies the elements of water and wind, resurrected by Ho-Oh (Water, Gen 2)
📿 Regigigas - An ancient divine craftsman who created the other Regi- Pokemon and dragged the continents into their current positions, which definitely sounds like deity behavior (Normal, Gen 4)
📿 Cresselia - As a Pokemon associated with the moon who can grant good dreams, I would personally count it as a minor deity (Psychic, Gen 4)
📿 Darkrai - As a Pokemon associated with the dark/new moon who brings nightmares and bad dreams, I would personally count it as a minor deity (Dark, Gen 4)
📿 Shaymin - A guardian Pokemon who can restore polluted land back to health and serves as both a herald of spring and a psychopomp, was particularly honored in Hisui (Grass in land form, Grass/Flying in sky form, Gen 4)
📿 Victini - A Pokemon who embodies victory, and whose power is often sought out by humans (Psychic/Fire, Gen 5)
📿 Cosmog (and Cosmoem) - A Pokemon closely associated with the cosmos and celestial bodies, and was canonically worshiped by ancient Alolans, evolves into either Solgaleo or Lunala (Psychic, Gen 7)
📿 Tapu Koko - A canonical guardian deity of Melemele island in the Alola Region (Electric/Fairy, Gen 7)
📿 Tapu Lele - A canonical guardian deity of Akala island in the Alola Region (Psychic/Fairy, Gen 7)
📿 Tapu Bulu - A canonical guardian deity of Ula’ula island in the Alola Region (Grass/Fairy, Gen 7)
📿 Tapu Fini - A canonical guardian deity of Poni island in the Alola Region (Water/Fairy, Gen 7)
⛩️ Mew - Canonically the ancestor of all Pokemon, but it’s more in an ‘Adam and Eve’ way than being a god, so it’s really only semi-divine (Psychic, Gen 1)
⛩️ Hoopa - An incredibly powerful Pokemon, especially in its true Unbound Form, that is capable of opening portals and wormholes at will, though it does not appear to serve as a guardian or deity (Psychic/Ghost in Hoopa confined form, Psychic/Dark in Hoopa unbound form, Gen 6)
Worshiped, but not divine in nature
🕯️ Regice - Created by Regigigas and canonically worshiped by ancient humans, but I don’t think it’s actually a deity (Ice, Gen 3)
🕯️ Regirock - Created by Regigigas and canonically worshiped by ancient humans, but I don’t think it’s actually a deity (Rock, Gen 3)
🕯️ Registeel - Created by Regigigas and canonically worshiped by ancient humans, but I don’t think it’s actually a deity (Steel, Gen 3)
🕯️Latias - A guardian Pokemon who is worshiped with a festival in the Pokemon anime, but I don’t think it counts as a deity (Dragon/Psychic, Gen 3)
🕯️ Latios - A guardian Pokemon who is worshiped with a festival in the Pokemon anime, but I don’t think it counts as a deity (Dragon/Psychic, Gen 3)
🕯️ Zacian - Honored and revered as an ancient hero that guards the Galar region, but doesn’t appear to be divine in nature (Fairy in ‘Hero of Many Battles’ form, Fairy/Steel in ‘Crowned Sword’ form, Gen 8)
🕯️ Zamazenta - Honored and revered as an ancient hero that guards the Galar region, but doesn’t appear to be divine in nature (Fighting in ‘Hero of Many Battles’ form, Fighting/Steel in ‘Crowned Shield’ form, Gen 8)
🕯️ Manaphy - A revered mythical Pokemon who can bond with any Pokemon and is considered a guardian of the cold seas, but I don’t think it’s reached deity status (Water, Gen 4)
🕯️ Cobalion - While it is a revered and somewhat feared Pokemon, as a member of the Swords of Justice, I don’t think it’s actually a deity (Steel/Fighting, Gen 5)
🕯️ Terrakion - While it is a revered and somewhat feared Pokemon, as a member of the Swords of Justice, I don’t think it’s actually a deity (Rock/Fighting, Gen 5)
🕯️ Virizion - While it is a revered and somewhat feared Pokemon, as a member of the Swords of Justice, I don’t think it’s actually a deity (Grass/Fighting, Gen 5)
🕯️ Volcanion - Does seem to be worshipped in the Kalos region, but doesn’t seem to be divine in nature (Fire/Water, Gen 6)
💪 Mewtwo - Has incredibly powerful nearly god-like abilities, but is just a man-made clone of Mew and isn’t actually divine in nature (Psychic, Psychic/Fighting in Mega Mewtwo X form, Gen 1)
💪 Heatran - It’s a powerful Pokemon who dwells in volcanic caves, but I don’t think it’s actually divine (Fire/Steel, Gen 4)
💪 Deoxys - A powerful mythical Pokemon from outer space, but not divine in origin (Psychic, Gen 3)
💪 Diancie - A powerful mythical Pokemon and mutation of a Carbink, but not divine in origin (Rock/Fairy, Gen 5)
💪 Meloetta - While it could be worshiped as a music deity, Meloetta does not appear to be worshiped or of divine origin in canon (Normal/Psychic in aria form, Normal/Fighting in pirouette form, Gen 5)
💪 Phione - While its counterpart Manaphy is a little more revered, Phione doesn’t seem to quite reach the same level so I wouldn’t consider it divine or worshiped (Water, Gen 4)
💪 Keldeo - While it is sometimes considered a member of the Swords of Justice, Keldeo doesn’t seem to be worshiped in the same way or as powerful (Water/Fighting, Gen 5)
💪 Type: Null (and Silvally) - This was a synthetically created Pokemon so, despite being very powerful, it’s not divine in nature (Normal, Gen 7)
💪 Genesect - While an admittedly ancient and powerful mythical Pokemon, Genesect doesn't seem to be worshiped or divine in any obvious way (Bug/Steel, Gen 5)
💪 Marshadow - Despite being a very powerful and mysterious Pokemon, Marshadow is not worshiped or divine in the same way that the Tapu Pokemon are (Fighting/Ghost, Gen 7)
💪 Magearna - It’s a very revered Pokemon, but was artificially created by humans around 500 years ago and isn’t divine in nature (Steel/Fairy, Gen 7)
