As the Pokemon franchise grows, so does the number of Pokemon within it. From the Kanto region starters to the new legendary Pokemon introduced in the Pokemon Sword and Shield DLC, the number of monsters at the series’ core has ballooned. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are expected to finally take the number of species over one thousand, and it will only continue increasing as the games go on. Even though not every design is a fan favorite, every Pokemon and Pokemon trainer contributes to a growing legacy of characters and stories for future Pokemon media to expand on.
There is quite a lot of variety within the Pokemon roster, even from the very first generation. Past the starters and cute mascots, there were dragons, ghosts, artificial beings, strange creatures that don’t have a real-life counterpart, and a couple Pokemon that could almost pass as human. The visual variety has not expanded as far as some properties like Digimon or Yu-Gi-Oh!, but there isn’t much of a concern for Game Freak running out of designs just yet. However, there are some rare Pokemon that are even weirder than the rest. These tend to be legendary Pokemon that have little to no commonality with existing animals or objects, but there is another denomination that pushes design boundaries even further: Ultra Beasts.
Ultra Beasts are Strangers to the Pokemon Universe
The Ultra Beasts are a group of seven Pokemon introduced in Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon, and expanded to eleven with Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. They are all monstrously strong, and function like a second set of legendary Pokemon for the Generation 7 games. It was initially unclear whether these beings even were Pokemon, with their initial names being descriptive codes beginning with "UB." The endgame of Sun and Moon clarified that they were simply Pokemon from the alternate dimension of Ultra Space. While the Beasts are connected to Cosmog, Cosmoem, Solgaleo, Lunala, and Necrozma due to their ability to create Ultra Wormholes, they are not grouped together and only the former are extra-susceptible to Beast Balls.
The most notable trait of the Ultra Beasts, and their main unifying feature, is how strange they are. Most of them are blatantly alien creatures that look out of place in the Alola region, with only the jellyfish-like Nihilego and the insectoid members of the group appearing natural. Even then, Nihilego is one of the Beasts that totally lacks a face, something not seen in the Pokemon franchise up until that point. Placing it beside Tentacool or Jellicent makes the otherworldly approach to the Ultra Beasts’ designs all the more apparent. Even as other designs like Zygarde and Eternatus move away from standard Pokemon fare, the Ultra Beasts still represent a unique design approach that isn’t likely to be seen in other categories of Pokemon.
Pokemon’s World Holds a Special Place for Ultra Beasts
While the Ultra Beasts arrived in Pokemon Sword and Shield’s Crown Tundra DLC for raiding purposes, they are uniquely tied to their home games in ways most mythical Pokemon are not. The Generation 7 Pokemon titles do their best to make most of their legendary and equivalent Pokemon relevant in the story, only leaving some of Alola's island guardians in minor roles. The Ultra Beasts range from central characters in the plot to one of the primary post game activities, lending the group a lot of flexibility. Nihilego again stands out, with the seemingly unintelligent species turning out to be much more malevolent than it first appears. One even merges with a major villain to have a Pokemon battle with the trainer, a unique situation that only Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness’ Robo Groudon has come close to in the past.
The Ultra Beasts have one more bizarre microcosm hidden away in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Ultra Sun’s Pokedex notes that the Poison-type Poipole is popular enough in its home dimension to be considered a viable starter Pokemon, which explains its lower stats compared to other Ultra Beasts. More significantly, however, is its evolution into the Poison/Dragon Naganadel. The presence of an evolution separates it from all other mythical Pokemon, and only having one other form sets it apart from other starters. Poipole evolves through re-learning the move Dragon Pulse, a method that only Piloswine must also use with Ancient Power. Neither legendary nor starter, Poipole shows just how distinct the Ultra Beasts are from normal Pokemon, and hopefully their group will receive more experimental members in the future.