New Latios Ability Confirmed in Pokemon Animation

Overview

An official Pokémon animation reveals that Latios possesses the ability to alter its appearance, similar to Latias.
For years, fans speculated about Latios’ capabilities due to its past representations of invisibility.
Anticipation builds for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which may introduce Mega Latios and Mega Latias, expected in late 2025.

A recent official Pokémon animation has shed light on an intriguing capability of Latios: it can mimic the appearance of other Pokémon, a skill previously only associated with Latias. Historically, various Pokémon media never illustrated Latios utilizing this transformative ability, keeping fans guessing.

As highlighted in its Pokédex entry, Latias, a Legendary Pokémon from the Hoenn region, can manipulate its glass-like feathers to refract light, thereby changing its apparent shape. This ability is prominently showcased in canonical Pokémon media, such as the 2002 film Pokémon Heroes, where Latias transforms into a girl and forms a bond with Ash Ketchum. Despite this unique skill not categorizing Latias as a true shape-shifter like Ditto or Mew, it has long been accepted by fans that Latias can effectively disguise itself. Nevertheless, the Pokémon community has debated whether Latios shares this trait, and the recent announcement from The Pokémon Company may have finally settled this discussion ahead of Pokémon Day 2025.

Latios Can Change Its Appearance: Official Confirmation

That new Dragonite postman animation confirmed that Latios can “transform”just like Latias by u/RadDudesman in pokemon

Throughout the Pokémon animated series, Latias and Latios have often demonstrated their ability to become invisible. This frequent portrayal led fans to speculate that Latios might also be capable of transforming into different Pokémon or even humans, akin to Latias. The latest animated short appears to provide evidence, signaling a potential shift in how these legendary characters are viewed. Fans are now hopeful that future Pokémon media will explore this ability more extensively. Additionally, the upcoming game, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, is reintroducing Mega Evolutions, raising the possibility of seeing Mega Latios and Mega Latias as playable characters.

The Pokémon Company has officially announced that Pokémon Legends: Z-A will be available on the Nintendo Switch in late 2025. Fans are already buzzing with excitement over the refinement of character models in the upcoming installment, with initial trailers receiving positive feedback from the community.

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