Latias & Latios

# Latias

GENDER: Nonnegotiable female

SIZE: 4'7". ~88 lbs.

BIOLOGY: Latias is a Pokémon with a birdlike body stylized after a plane. Its long neck stretches forward from its squat body. It has no legs, usually floating instead. The rear half of its body is largely red and the upper half white, with jet-plane wings high on its rear and fins on the bottom near its tail. A blue triangle marks the center of its chest, while a red mask partially covers its face. Ear-like fins sit on top of its head and its eyes are yellow. It has short, three-fingered arms with a red covering on the outer side of the lower arms. Latias is a female-only species, with Latios being its male counterpart.

Latias ruffles its feathers and cries loudly when there is hostility toward it. Its glass-like, downy feathers can enfold its body and refract light, which allows it to become invisible or alter its appearance. It is gentle, highly intelligent, and can understand human speech. It is capable of using telepathy to communicate with others. In the fifth movie, in Pokémon Adventures, and in Pokémon Journeys: The Series, Latias had the ability "Sight Sharing", which allowed Latias and people around it to see exactly what Latios was seeing. It normally does not make contact with humans or other Pokémon and disappears when an enemy is nearby. It forms herds with several members and is usually found near water. As seen in Pokémon Horizons, like other Legendary Pokémon, Latias can be found in the Pokémon paradise Laqua. Latias loves Latias Treats made by Snacksworth, who once encountered it in the past. Latias can be summoned by the Eon Flute.

FORMS: Latias can Mega Evolve into Mega Latias.

As Mega Latias, the red parts of its body change to purple. Horns grow from the side of its head and run along its jaw. It loses the wings on its back and similar but larger wings attach to its lower arms, normally held in a level position. Triangle shapes now mark the forward point of its wings instead of its chest. With the exception of its eyes and body size, Mega Latias is identical in appearance to Mega Latios.

Mega Latias is said to be one of the fastest Pokémon in existence. Mega Latias reach a speed of Mach 4 while outpacing a jet in flight. Due to being smaller than Mega Latios, Mega Latias is much more agile and can make very sharp turns. Mega Latias has enhanced its flying capabilities and attack power, enabling it to scatter transparent particles to confuse its enemies quickly.

MEGA SIZE: 5'11". ~114 lbs.

ORIGINS: Latias and Latios appear to be a cross between a jet plane (due to their wing shape and speedy flight), a dragon, a griffin, and a bird. Like many birds, Latias is said to possess down feathers. In particular, their lack of feet and continuous levitation might be inspired by the common swift, a bird with tiny feet (its Latin name Apus means without feet) that spends most of its life in the air. Similarly, they might be inspired by the martlet, a mythical bird in English heraldry that never roosts and is usually depicted with tufts of feathers in place of feet. Their red and blue plumage might be based on parrots in the genus Eos. They could also be based on junglefowl due to their possible shared origin with Blaziken.

Due to their classification as Eon Pokémon and their connection to the Soul Dew, Latias and Latios might be inspired by the aeons in Gnosticism, which are said to be emanations of God. In Valentinianism, these aeons form male/female pairs called syzygies. They may also be loosely based on the Chinese philosophical concept of yin and yang, which are opposite but interconnected natural forces. Latias, being female and the more passive of the two, would represent yin. Their names and Latias's ability to refract light might also be a reference to Eos, the Greek goddess of dawn.

# Latios

GENDER: Nonnegotiable male

SIZE: 6'7". ~132 lbs.

BIOLOGY: Latios is a Pokémon with a birdlike body stylized after a plane. Its body flows slowly into a thick neck, giving it a bulky appearance. It has no legs, usually floating instead. Most of its body is blue, with white areas near its arms and a white stripe on its back that extend up to its head. Jet-plane wings sit on top of its back, while two tall, jagged fins point behind it from its rear. A red triangle marks the center of its chest, while a blue mask partially covers its face. Long, ear-like fins extend from its jaws to over its head, and its eyes are red. It has three-fingered arms with a blue covering on the outer side of the lower arms. Latios is a male-only species, with Latias being its female counterpart.

Latios has a gentle nature and will avoid fighting whenever possible. In the anime, however, Latios has a grumpy attitude that can easily distrust humans sometimes. It can fly faster than a jet by tucking in its arms. In the fifth movie, in Pokémon Adventures, and in Pokémon Journeys: The Series, Latios had the ability "Sight Sharing", which allowed Latias and people around it to see exactly what Latios was seeing. Oakley also mentioned that it can shape-shift. It prefers compassionate Trainers, to whom it opens its heart. Latios uses telepathy to detect locations and the emotions of others and can understand human speech. It can summon explosive light energy whenever an offensive situation is required. It lives by the water's edge. As seen in Pokémon Horizons: The Series, like other Legendary Pokémon, Latios can be found in the Pokémon paradise Laqua. Latios loves Latios Treats made by Snacksworth, who once encountered and followed it to a secret spot in the past. Latios can be summoned by the Eon Flute.

FORMS: Latios can Mega Evolve into Mega Latios.

As Mega Latios, the blue parts of its body change to purple. Horns grow from the side of its head and run along its jaw. It loses the wings on its back and similar but larger wings attach to its lower arms, normally held in a level position. Triangle shapes now mark the forward point of its wings instead of its chest. With the exception of its eyes and body size, Mega Latios is identical in appearance to Mega Latias.

Mega Latios is said to be one of the fastest Pokémon in the world to exist. Mega Latios is regarded as one of the best Pokémon for aerial combat. Due to Mega Evolving, Mega Latios can achieve even higher speed in flight. Mega Latios is both larger and faster than Mega Latias. It can reach a speed of Mach 4.

MEGA SIZE: 7'7". ~154 lbs.

ORIGINS: Latios and Latias appear to be a cross between a jet plane (due to their wing shape and speedy flight), a dragon, a griffin, and a bird. In particular, their lack of feet and continuous levitation might be inspired by the common swift, a bird with tiny feet (its Latin name Apus means without feet) that spends most of its life in the air. Similarly, they might be inspired by the martlet, a mythical bird in English heraldry that never roosts and is usually depicted with tufts of feathers in place of feet. Their red and blue plumage might be based on parrots in the genus Eos. They could also be based on junglefowl due to their possible shared origin with Blaziken.

Due to their classification as Eon Pokémon and their connection to the Soul Dew, Latios and Latias might be inspired by the aeons in Gnosticism, which are said to be emanations of God. In Valentinianism, these aeons form male/female pairs called syzygies. They may also be loosely based on the Chinese philosophical concept of yin and yang, which are opposite but interconnected natural forces. Latios, being male and the more aggressive of the two, would represent yang. Their names and Latios's signature move Luster Purge might also be a reference to Eos, the Greek goddess of dawn.