Reshiram #643: the white dragon that defends Truth

Reshiram is a jet-powered white dragon. This Dragon- and Fire-type legendary, revealed in 2010 alongside the Unova region, carries at the tip of its tail a flame turbine powerful enough to throw the whole planet's weather off balance. Above all, it's the white half of a legend of feuding brothers that forms the backbone of the story in Pokémon Black and White.

Contents

• Who is Reshiram?
• Type and Ability: a blue-flame breather
• Evolution: Reshiram stands alone in its line
• The legend of Unova's two brothers
• Reshiram in the movies and the games
• Reshiram Fact Sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Reshiram?

Number 643 in the National Pokédex, Reshiram is one of the two legendary dragons that dominate the fifth generation. Its official category says it all: it's the Vast White Pokémon, the one that embodies Truth in the mythology of the Unova region.

Here's the catch: this immaculate white dragon isn't the mascot of Pokémon White. It's actually the cover of Pokémon Black that it graces, while Zekrom, dressed all in black, adorns the cover of Pokémon White. A deliberate crisscross, consistent with the yang symbolism Reshiram is associated with.

Physically, it's a bipedal giant standing 3.20 meters tall and weighing 330 kilos, somewhere between a dragon, a bird and a mammal: a long white mane, blue irises, slender arms that flare into clawed wings, and a tail that looks uncannily like a jet engine.

Everything starts with that tail. When Reshiram sets it ablaze, the heat energy it releases rises into the atmosphere and turns the weather upside down across the entire world, according to the Pokémon White Pokédex. When its emotions boil over, it switches into Overdrive Mode and its tail lights up with a fiery glow.

Type and Ability: a blue-flame breather

Reshiram combines the Dragon type with the Fire type, a pairing for which it was long the only representative : it took until the sixth generation and the arrival of Mega Charizard X for it to find some company in that niche.

The combination is remarkably well thought out: the Fire type cancels the Ice and Fairy weaknesses that usually drag Dragon types down, leaving only three weaknesses, Ground, Rock and Dragon. Conversely, it takes only a quarter of the damage from Fire and Grass, and it resists Bug, Steel and Electric.

Its stats add up to 680 points, the standard for the major legendaries, with a Special Attack of 150 as its peak: this dragon fights with its breath rather than its claws.

As for Abilities, it has just one, and no Hidden Ability: Turboblaze. Much like Mold Breaker, it lets Reshiram's moves ignore opposing Abilities that could get in their way. Only Reshiram and White Kyurem can have it.

Its two signature moves complete the picture: Blue Flare, a 130-power special breath attack that can burn the target, and Fusion Flare, which deals double damage if Fusion Bolt, Zekrom's twin move, landed right before it.

Evolution: Reshiram stands alone in its line

Reshiram doesn't evolve and isn't the evolution of any Pokémon: its evolution chain fits in a single slot. It has no Mega Evolution, no Gigantamax form and no regional form.

It does, however, have two special states. First, Overdrive Mode, which is purely cosmetic : it changes nothing about its stats. Then there's the Light Stone, the stone described as the last remains of its body, in which it waits until a hero awakens it.

That leaves the most spectacular case. Since Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, Reshiram can let itself be absorbed by Kyurem using the DNA Splicers. The process, known as fusion, gives rise to White Kyurem; using the item on it again separates the two dragons.

🔥 Want to treat a fan of Unova's dragons? Dip into our selection ofPokémon gift ideas.

The legend of Unova's two brothers

According to the legend told by Drayden, the Gym Leader of Opelucid City, Reshiram and Zekrom were originally one and the same dragon. Twin brothers commanded it, until the day their beliefs drove them apart.

The older brother sought Truth, the younger pursuedIdeals. Unable to serve both, the original dragon split in two: Reshiram the white sided with the older brother, while Zekrom the black followed the younger.

Their duel never produced a winner, but the brothers' sons took up the feud: Unova was ravaged by fire and lightning before the dragons disappeared.

In Pokémon Black and White, this legend becomes the driving force of the plot. N, the king of Team Plasma, awakens one of the two dragons at Dragonspiral Tower; facing him, the hero's own stone summons the other in the throne room of N's Castle.

Which dragon goes where depends on the version: in Pokémon Black, Reshiram goes to the player and Zekrom to N, and it's the other way around in Pokémon White. Catching your dragon is a mandatory step in the story.

Reshiram in the movies and the games

The franchise's fourteenth movie took the two-version logic all the way to the big screen. It exists in two different cuts : "Black—Victini and Reshiram" on one side and "White—Victini and Zekrom" on the other, each giving the lead role to a different dragon.

In this movie, Reshiram speaks through telepathy, a rare liberty. The anime series later gives it a central role in the arc devoted to N: it's Team Plasma's main target before vanishing into the sky, an elusive creature much loved by collectors of Pokémon figures.

A fun fact: Reshiram and Zekrom were unveiled on May 28, 2010, simultaneously on the Japanese and English websites. They were the first two Pokémon ever revealed to the entire world at the same moment.

Ken Sugimori has said he chose the prefix "Re-" because it sounds softer than the "Ze-" in Zekrom, since the white dragon is physically the less burly of the two. It's a nuance you can see in its slender silhouette, easy to recognize among Pokémon plushies.

Reshiram Fact Sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is Reshiram the mascot of Pokémon White or Pokémon Black?
  Pokémon Black, despite its white coat. It's the opposite of what you'd expect: Reshiram, the white dragon, appears on the Pokémon Black box, and Zekrom, the black dragon, on the Pokémon White box. The player also catches Reshiram in Pokémon Black, while N uses Zekrom.
• Does Reshiram evolve?
  No. Reshiram doesn't evolve and isn't the evolution of any Pokémon. It also has no Mega Evolution, Gigantamax form or regional form. Its Overdrive Mode, which sets its tail ablaze, is simply a change of appearance with no effect on its stats.
• What is Reshiram's Ability?
  Turboblaze, and that's its only Ability: it has no Hidden Ability. Thanks to it, Reshiram's moves ignore opposing Abilities that would affect them. Only Reshiram and White Kyurem can have this Ability.
• What are Reshiram's weaknesses?
  As a Dragon and Fire type, Reshiram has only three weaknesses: Ground, Rock and Dragon. The Fire type cancels out the Dragon type's Ice and Fairy weaknesses, which become neutral. On the other hand, it takes only a quarter of the damage from Fire and Grass, and resists Bug, Steel and Electric.
• How does Reshiram fuse with Kyurem?
  With the DNA Splicers, an item introduced in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. The process is called fusion: Kyurem absorbs Reshiram and becomes White Kyurem. With Zekrom, the same process produces Black Kyurem. Using the DNA Splicers again on the fused form separates the two Pokémon, as long as you have a free spot in your party.
• Is Reshiram a Legendary Pokémon or a Mythical Pokémon?
  A Legendary Pokémon. Together with Zekrom and Kyurem, it forms Unova's trio of legendary dragons. Some Pokédex entries in Pokémon Black and White describe it as mythical in the everyday sense of the word, but it doesn't belong to the Mythical Pokémon category, the one that includes Victini, Meloetta and Genesect.

In short

Between its flame turbine and its role as the guardian of Truth, Reshiram remains one of the most memorable legendaries in the series — and the white half of a duo you can't talk about without bringing up Zekrom and Kyurem.