Keldeo
Morphs [Oak Catalog #]
- Keldeo Ordinary Forme [#647-O]
- Keldeo Resolute Forme [#647-R]
Physical Description
Keldeo, in its more recognisable state as described in legends and tales, is a four legged Pokémon with creamy fur and blue hooves with large pores in the soles. These pores allow Keldeo to shoot water held inside its body out through its hooves, as well as draw in water from large bodies of water. The use of water attacks suggest Keldeo has a sac used to store large quantities of it. In a contrast to its three mentors, its snout is large, rounded, and has visible nostrils. Cyan fur "that flows like the river" covers the back of its head, its neck and the front of its body, resembling a capelet. This same fur covers the creature's tail. A spikey protrusion pokes out of the front of the capelet, making it appear to be a brooch. A curved cream horn is positioned on its forehead - this horn, like those of the other so-called "Swords of Justice", is said to be the instrument used to strike at foes with the legendary "Sacred Sword" move. A large, fluffy red mane adornes the top of its head. Large, ridged, blue protrusions curve around the head and mix with the mane in such a way that makes it resemble a cap with a large feather.Recent legends, however, paint Keldeo's physical look differently - though it remains at the same size and weight (estimated by historians comparing the relative size of the creature in stories to others to be about 4'07" and 106.9lbs respectively), its horn is now longer, with a similar look to its blue ridges - which have incidentally shrunken down to smaller fin shapes, and are cyan like the rest of its capelet. A blue triangle points up its shins from the front of its hooves, and the red mane changes style slightly. Rather poetically, three small feathers rest atop the mane - one blue, one orange and one green. It is widely agreed upon by those who study the Musketeer Mythos that these represent Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion; the three Pokémon who took Keldeo under their wing (see below).
Lore and History
Much like its fellow Swords of Justice members, how Keldeo came to be is disputed among historians - some say that Keldeo was but a mere Deerling who underwent a transformation into a new body capable of utilising water for attacks, others say it was a Pokémon who had been driven to near extinction, and the Keldeo spoken of in most legends is the last of its kind. Some still say that the waters of the Moor of Icirrus itself spawned Keldeo long ago, thus explaining the creature's affinity to water.It is in this Moor, however, where the myths start agreeing with the lore of Keldeo. During Unova's Medieval period, the actions of humans caused a fire to break out in the Moor, injuring and killing many Pokémon. The legendary Pokémon Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion had raced to the scene as fast as they could, but were ultimately too late. It was there, however, that they saw a young and injured Keldeo, who had tried to quench the blaze with its water powers, but was largely ineffective. The creature's parents are said to have been lost in the blaze, where they subsequently perished. Noticing the Pokémon's skills, potential and loss of a home, the trio took it under their wing. This act also sparked their grudge against humans, which is said to persist to this day.
Within the area of Unova known as Pledge Grove, the trio lived away from all life, human and Pokémon. There, Keldeo was trained by them. Legends say he was taught Cobalion's wisdom, Virizion's finesse and Terrakion's fighting prowess. Keldeo is said to excel even the trio in using special attacks, and had the potential to be greater and stronger than all of them combined. However, just before the trio's last piece of wisdom could be imparted onto the young Pokémon (and before their war against humanity began), it ran away to parts unknown.
What became of Keldeo after this is unknown, and is largely left to the realm of folk tales and legends. Some say that Keldeo had journeyed to other lands to help Pokémon in danger, fighting many foes and embarking on several adventures. One account from a woman in Lacunosa Town says that when her grandmother was a child, she was nearly eaten by the legendary "Beast of the Chasm", but was saved by a Pokémon who resembled Keldeo. The diary of a Kalosian noblewoman dating back to 200 years ago describes how she was nearly attacked by a gang of thieves, but was saved by "a Pokémon with a tail of water and a cap of fire", who appeared from nowhere and scared her attackers off, to the point of them later giving up crime altogether.
One night, however, a light was seen coming from the fabled Pledge Grove. An old man who was helping an injured Pidove in the nearby forest at the time claimed that "Keldeo was there, and had seen a rock with three cuts in it, from which the spirits of the legendary Swords of Justice emerged, then vanished. Then a light burst out from Keldeo, and slowly faded. By then, Keldeo looked more... determined, resolute, you might say, with a larger horn and three colored feathers in its cap. It then ran off - to where, I don't know." The rock now displays four cuts, the newest of which is the largest and deepest of them all. Keldeo's wherebouts are still unknown to this day, making it similar to Mew, Celebi and other such "Mythical" Pokémon.
Known Sightings
In contrast to the Swords of Justice, very little, if any, of Keldeo's history is documented in historical records, instead lying in local folk tales. Most of Keldeo's stories take place within misty forests and lakesides. What little sightings have been seen by man, however, have been limited to scenic waterfronts, such as Cerulean Cape and Tohjo Falls. Many who claim to see Keldeo often cite it as "a figure, masked by mist, dancing on top of the water". Coincidentally, these descriptions match those of the legendary Pokémon Suicune. Such sightings are few in number, though, and Keldeo is so rarely seen that is existence is one debated by many historians, who believe Keldeo is an invention of villagers who live near water, who mistook the aforementioned Suicune for a fourth Swords of Justice member.Diet
Not much of Keldeo's diet is known as a result of its reclusiveness. However, it is known to drink a lot of water due to its large array of water abilities. A popular folk tale tells of a woman who encountered the starving creature and fed it meat. Though it initially brought back the strength of the creature, it later bcame poisoned from it, which it cured by drinking from a pure lake. If Keldeo's diet isn't entirely water-based, it can be presumed that it is largely a herbivore.Abilities
Keldeo is described in myths to have the ability to shoot water currents from its mouth and hooves. These have been described in one story as strong enough to punch through 30 inches of stone brick in one second, indicating Keldeo can fire them at high pressures. Keldeo has frequently been told to be able to walk on water, which is supposedly how it is able to move to other regions. It has been suggested by several scientists that Keldeo's hooves shoot out water currents that keep it afloat on water. These hooves also shoot water jets to help Keldeo move at superhuman speeds and deliver powerful kicks to its enemies.As a student of the Swords of Justice, Keldeo knows all manner of martial arts moves, as well as their Sacred Sword technique, which it uses (if the use of the technique by the Aegislash line suggests) by channeling energy into the horn on its forehead (thus making it harder and sharper) and slashing the target. This is known to be a very powerful move able to slice boulders in half. However, newer accounts sometimes mention it using a similar, but different move - whereas Sacred Sword normally uses energy within the user, this move uses literal energy to cover the horn with pure energy, delivering a strike that proves to be far more devastating than any recorded Sacred Sword strike. A man in Snowbelle City in Kalos claims this move is called "Secret Sword".
The sighting of Keldeo in Pledge Grove would appear to have been the time Keldeo learned such a move, and upon doing so its appearance changed into one with a larger horn, among other differences. This form has been labelled its "Resolute Forme", after a comment from the old man who first saw it noting it looked more resolute. The Resolute Forme appears to be Keldeo reaching its full potential.
Hazards
Keldeo's wide array of moves and mentoring under three of the strongest Pokémon in Unova has made it a powerful Pokémon to be reckoned with. Though it is unknown if Keldeo shares its grudge against humans like its mentors, it has been hinted to be more compassionate with them - the above mentioned scaring of criminals contrasts greatly with a similar scenario elsewhere, where the criminals were said to have been beaten to near death by "a large gray quadruped Pokémon". Historians even believe that Keldeo's final test was to have attacked a human with its Sacred Sword, but it couldn't go through with it (some say through young naivety, others through a possible past encounter with humans) and ran away so as not to let its mentors judge it a "coward". That said, Keldeo's habit of staying away from humans implies it holds at least some distrust against them, thus care should be taken if near it. Keldeo may also share the Justified ability that the Swords of Justice have - so Dark type attacks aren't recommended, even if Keldeo relies more on special attacks than physical strikes.Other
As has been said before, Keldeo has starred in many folk tales and legends, which themselves have affected other entertainment. A classic Kalosian novel starred Keldeo alongside the other Swords of Justice, which itself has been adapted several times over the years, including a cartoon where they were represented as Furfrou, Lillipup, Granbull and Arcanine (and where Terrakion and Cobalion's roles were switched), though some adaptations (such as one where the Swords of Justice were represented by a Pikachu, a Ducklett and a Bunnelby) often leave Keldeo out.Spin Attaxx got himself soaking wet in many places around the world to bring you this page.
