Is Castform a Legendary Pokémon?
No, Castform does not have the power, stats, or narrative integration to be considered a Legendary Pokémon by any reasonable standards. But this unique man-made Pokémon still occupies an interesting niche for weather-focused teams.
As an avid Pokémon gamer who has competed in tournaments and followed the competitive scene for over a decade, I‘ve had my share of experiences using Castform in battle. In this post, I‘ll share insights on Castform‘s abilities and history to evaluate its standing compared to the franchise‘s most powerful monsters.
Castform‘s Unique Transformations
Castform‘s signature trait is its ability to transform and adapt its type based on the weather. The different forms it can take include:
- Normal (Normal type) – In normal conditions without weather effects
- Sunny (Fire type) – Transforms under harsh sunlight
- Rainy (Water type) – Transforms under heavy rain
- Snowy (Ice type) – Transforms amidst hail or snowfall
This gives Castform unparalleled versatility to gain attack bonuses and reduce damage taken depending on the weather. In the anime, we‘ve seen trainer‘s like May strategically use Castform‘s transformations to counter opponents.
But in the games, Castform faces stiff competition as a weather-based Pokémon due to its middling stats in every form:
| Form | HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 420 |
| Sunny | 70 | 70 | 70 | 100 | 90 | 30 | 430 |
| Rainy | 70 | 70 | 90 | 100 | 90 | 30 | 450 |
| Snowy | 70 | 70 | 90 | 100 | 90 | 30 | 450 |
As you can see, the weather forms trade Speed for small upgrades in attacking power and defenses. Unfortunately, Castform‘s stats remain largely average across the board.
Unremarkable Competitive Usage
Due to its unimpressive base stats, Castform has failed to make a significant competitive impact despite its weather-shifting gimmick.
Analyzing usage statistics aggregates from online simulator Pokémon Showdown, Castform‘s usage in the Sun & Moon generations has been extremely low:
- Gen 7 (SM + USUM) – 0.32% usage
- Gen 8 (SwSh + SS) – 0.02% usage
To put things in perspective, the most used legendary Pokémon like Landorus and Incineroar exceed 50% usage rates.
In my personal tournament experience, I‘ve had mild success using a Rainy Castform on weather teams. With rain boosting its Water-type Weather Ball to 100 power, Castform can act as an emergency Dynamax option:
But generally, Castform struggles to keep up as anything beyond a gimmick. Hail and sun teams prefer more powerful options like Ninetales, Tyranitar, and Charizard.
Created By Scientists to Study Weather
According to Pokédex entries, Castform was engineered by scientists at the Weather Institute of Hoenn to track and predict weather patterns:
Castform was created by scientists at the Weather Institute in Hoenn to help predict the weather. Because of this, it has the ability to change its form and type with the weather.
This human-driven origin and purpose contrasts with the mysticism and veneration surrounding Legendary Pokémon within the games themselves and their fan community.
Let‘s explore how Castform compares to actual Legendary Pokémon in Pokémon lore:
- Powerful Stats & Abilities – Legendaries have formidable stat spreads optimized for battle instead of Castform‘s shallow upgrades
- Integration in Key Story Events – Legendaries drive climatic story battles and sequences Castform plays no role in
- Uniqueness & Rarity – Legendaries are solitary powerful beings while Castforms can be readily bred and trained
- Reverence in Human Culture – Ancient tales and myths lionize real Legendaries as gods vs Castform‘s synthetic origins
By virtually every metric of legend power, renown, and rarity, Castform falls drastically short of qualifying as a true Legendary Pokémon.
An Underrated Weather Specialist
While far from legendary status, I believe Castform still has untapped potential as a weather specialist for casual play. Game Freak could certainly stand to boost its stats and abilities to be more competitive.
With its charm and unique concept, I dream of the day Castform receives a Mega Evolution or regional variant pushing its weather mastery further. We have powerful Legendaries dominating many teams – giving Castform some love could bolster creative weather strategies.
So while decidedly not a legendary, this plucky contender still contributes weather forecasting flair. I‘ve had great fun teaming a Rainy Castform with the likes of Kyogre and Ludicolo as an underrated weather expert. Try Castform out with your favorite sun, rain, hail, or sand squad – you may be surprised!
