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Reshiram (レシラム), Zekrom (ゼクロム), and Kyurem (キュレム) are three Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Legendary Pokémon introduced in the series' fifth major game installment, Pokémon Black and White, Reshiram and Zekrom were designed as representations of the Taoist philosophy of yin and yang while Kyurem embodies wuji, the absence of yin and yang.

Concept and design
Early in the development process of Black and White, Ken Sugimori was given the main task of designing the version mascots. team decided to make the version mascots black and white dragons with electric and fire typing, respectively. Sugimori created Reshiram and Zekrom as counterparts, with Reshiram being more feminine and Zekrom more masculine. According to an interview with Sugimori, their names were derived from black (黒) and white (白). To match the power of Zekrom, the "ze" has a harder sound while the "re" in Reshiram was softer. He also stated that in order to compensate for the simplicity naturally presented by only using two colors, many straight lines were utilized. The focal point of their designs was their turbine-like tails, which served as "great big generators of fire or electric energy." The basis of them being counterparts is apparent within their Pokédex species classification in Japanese: with Reshiram being the "White Yang" Pokémon and Zekrom the "Black Yin" Pokémon. In the English translations, they became the "Vast White" and "Deep Black" Pokémon. Similar to their basis within yin and yang, Reshiram and Zekrom also represent the ideas of truth and ideals, respectively. Following the concept of yin and yang Kyurem serves as the boundary between these, embodying wuji.

Harnessing the power of its tail, heat energy from the atmosphere coalesces into Reshiram is able to create intense flames that can incinerate the world around it. Unlike Reshiram whose tail harnesses energy, Zekrom is able to create electrical energy with its generator-like tail. Kyurem, a shell of the dragon that became Reshiram and Zekrom, lacks the ability to produce such energy on its own. However, it is able to produce "ultracold" air as it awaits its reunification with either Reshiram or Zekrom.

In the video games
Reshiram and Zekrom are the titular Pokémon of Pokémon Black and Pokémon White, respectively. Kyurem's Black and White forms serve as the mascots of the sequel games, Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2.

Within the history of the Pokémon world it is said that twin brothers, proclaimed as heroes, used the power of a legendary dragon to create a new world. One brother sought out truths while the other sought ideals. Torn between them, the dragon ultimately split into two beings: Reshiram and Zekrom. The discarded shell of the dragon later became a being of its own, the "Boundary" Pokémon Kyurem. Another legend exists that Kyurem originated from a meteor that fell behind Lacunosa Town and created the Giant Chasm where it resides. A battle between truth and ideals ensued, though due to their equal power no victor resulted and the two bothers called off the fight. Their sons later reignited the conflict and pitted Reshiram and Zekrom against each other, resulting in the legendary dragons scorching the Earth around them. One ultimately became victorious and recreated the region of Unova. Depending on which version is being played, a new world of truth (Black) or ideals (White) was ushered in by Reshiram or Zekrom. Following this battle, both beings lost their physical forms and transformed into the Light and Dark Stones.

They also made appearances in several spin-off titles, including Learn with Pokémon: Typing Adventure, Pokémon Rumble Blast, PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond, Pokémon Conquest, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, Pokémon Rumble U, Pokémon Battle Trozei, and Pokémon Rumble World. All three are obtainable as trophies in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U with Zekrom also playing a role on the Unova Pokémon League stage. The Tao Trio later appeared in November 2014 in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and were obtainable via the new soaring mechanic. Reshiram is exclusive to Alpha Sapphire and Zekrom to Omega Ruby; Kyurem is obtainable in both versions, but requires Reshiram and Zekrom to be in the player's party to be found.

In anime and related media
In the Pokémon anime, Reshiram ans Zekrom are both voiced by Marc Thompson in the English dubs; Shosuke Tanihara and Hideki Takahashi provide the original Japanese voices. Reshiram and Zekrom made their first anime appearance in the debut episode of the Black & White series, In the Shadow of Zekrom!. Zekrom plays a minor role in the start of Ash Ketchum's adventure in Unova by striking his Pikachu with an immense amount of electricity, causing Pikachu to lose its ability to use electric-type moves temporarily. Their first major role was in the dual version movies Pokémon the Movie: Black—Victini and Reshiram and White—Victini and Zekrom. In the former title, the main antagonist Damon uses Reshiram for the quest of truth while in the latter he uses Zekrom in his quest of ideals. In doing so, he wished to revive the glory of his home: Kingdom of the Vale. Blinded by his ambitions, the power of the dragons was too much and began to destroy the land around him. Ash Ketchum uses the counterpart legendary to stop Damon. Reshiram had another major role in the regular anime during the "Episode N" arc of the series' 16th season. It served as the focal point of Team Plasma's plot to take over the world once revived from the Light Stone it resided in. The two made several other cameo appearances throughout the series. Additionally, they have had appearances in multiple manga series including Pokémon Adventures and Pocket Monsters RéBURST.

Kyurem has only had one major appearance, staring as the main antagonist of Pokémon the Movie: Kyurem vs. the Sword of Justice. Marc Thompson also voiced the third legendary dragon in the English dub while Katsumi Takahashi voiced him in the original Japanese airing. Contrary to its abilities in the video game, this particular Kyurem was able to transform to its Black and White forms at will and without the need of absorbing Reshiram or Zekrom.

Promotion and reception
On January 29, 2010, the Pokémon Company announced that a new game for the Nintendo DS was in development. Prior to the reveal of the game's name, which took place on April 9, both Reshiram and Zekrom were revealed on May 28, 2010, on the official Japanese and English Pokémon websites. They appeared as 14 ft tall floats in the 2010 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade alongside the franchise mascot, Pikachu. On February 27, 2012, Pokémon director Junichi Masuda revealed Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, a direct sequel to the previous games. The version mascot was shown to be Kyurem, the third member of the "Tao Trio," in new forms called "Black Kyurem" and "White Kyurem."

Reception of Tao Trio was generally positive, favoring Zekrom above the other two. Pokémon art director Ken Sugimori stated that Zekrom was his favorite Pokémon introduced in Black and White. GamesRadar's Carolyn Gudmundson stated that Zekrom's appearance is "strikingly intimidating". Additionally, in a poll conducted by IGN covering the 649 known species at the time, Zekrom was voted as the 10th most popular Pokémon, while Reshiram ranked 29th and Kyurem 77th. Some distaste over their designs was voiced by older fans of the franchise, with some going as far to say "they’re not Pokémon."

Figures for Reshiram and Zekrom were made in conjunction with the Pokémon Trading Card Game in Fall 2011. A figure of Zekrom and Nobunaga from the spin-off game Pokémon Conquest was released on March 17, 2012.

To help promote Pokémon Rumble U, special figures of Black Kyurem and White Kyurem based on their designs in the game were distributed in Japan during August 2013. This promotion later reached North America through GameStop during the game's local release.