I’m Luke Summerhayes, and I love Landorus.
Particularly when they first appeared in Pokémon Black and White without their Therian forms, the trio of Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus were often called the genies by Pokémon fans. Defined for many people in the west by the Disney adaptation of Aladdin, genies or Jinn are invisible spirits ubiquitous in pre-Islamic middle-eastern folklore.
Many people are quick to correct anyone who calls them genies, saying “actually, they’re based on Japanese Kami”. But it isn’t quite fair to say that their similarity to genies is purely coincidental. While Japan had a mythology and culture for millennia beforehand, the dawn of writing in Japan is simultaneous with the arrival of Buddhism. Much of Japanese culture and art has been influenced for almost 1500 years now by Buddhist imagery which, by way of China, came from India. Many Japanese yokai and kami were reinterpreted to visually, and textually, match the myths and images of Buddhism. Kami weren’t drawn with physical bodies, and when they were – they were drawn like genies.
Landorus is a ground and flying type Pokémon originally caught at the Abundant Shrine in Pokémon Black and White, only after catching Tornadus and Thundurus. Like Rayquaza to Kyogre and Groudon, it serves the role of calming those two rampaging monsters.
Incarnate Forme
Legends: Arceus
When the incarnations of wind and of lightning clash, Landorus arrives to quell the conflict. After the tempests and thunderbolts abate, the land is sure to be blessed with bountiful harvests.

Black 2
From the forces of lightning and wind, it creates energy to give nutrients to the soil and make the land abundant.
White 2

If Tornadus and Thundurus, drawing inspiration from Fujin and Raijin, represent the winds and storms which batter Japan from the sea, Landorus represents the mighty mountains and landscapes which provide shelter from those storms.
In Japan, every mountain, river or rock is its own Kami, but for farmers and those who make their living from the bounty of the land, the most famous is Inari. Inari shrines are ubiquitous, partly for religious reasons and partly for tax ones, as the god itself outranks the official who used to be in charge of organizing shrines, so claiming a shrine is to Inari in particular avoided fees in the Edo period.
Black
Lands visited by Landorus grant such bountiful crops that it has been hailed as "The Guardian of the Fields."
White
The energy that comes pouring from its tail increases the nutrition in the soil, making crops grow to great size.

Inari is a god of harvest and the fields, often represented by an abundance of red tori gates and statues of foxes, the god’s messengers. The most famous Inari shrine is Fushimi Inari in Kyoto, the inspiration for the game Star Fox. In Black 2 and White 2, visiting the Shrine of Abundance will see it full of Vulpix and Ninetales, appropriately enough.
JANDY
While Japan’s landscapes do defend some regions from storms, the same tectonic activity which made those mountains also creates fearsome earthquakes and typhoons. And just as Landorus can quell Tornadus and Thundurus, on the competitive scene it’s actually the much greater threat!
In its Incarnate form, Landorus can be a great physical attacker or, thanks to the ability Sheer Force, an even greater Special Attacker. It has excellent typing and a wide move pool, all with great attack and decent speed.
As with the other Forces of Nature, it also gained a Therian Form in Black 2 and White 2.
Therian Forme
Legends: Arceus
Landorus soars through the sky in this form, bestowing plentiful harvests upon the land and earning the people's reverence. It can traverse the whole of Hisui in a mere couple of hours.

In this tiger form, Landorus trades a little special attack and a little speed for a huge boost in physical attack. And just for good measure, it gets the top-tier ability Intimidate, lowering opponents’ attack on every switch-in. Landorus Therian is so dominant competitively it was once in all 8 of the top 8 teams at the world championships. In fact, the only times Landorus isn’t in the top tier is when it’s outdone by that other great Intimidator, Inciniroar.
Let’s talk about Landorus. Specifically in its Therian Form as Landorus EX. This card came out in Boundaries Crossed and it certainly crossed many boundaries due to how many metas it stayed for in the TCG.

Landorus EX had a single energy attack called Hammerhead. This attack did 30 damage to the active and then 30 damage to a benched Pokemon. Perfect to start piling on damage in the early game and take out Pokemon who dare to hide on the Bench to avoid a knockout. Landorus EX’s second attack, Land’s Judgement, was also pretty solid. It cost three energy and did a base 80 damage plus 70 more damage if you discard all Fighting energy attached to Landorus EX.

While Landorus EX sounded lackluster, the meta said otherwise as it was included in plenty of decks. Landorus EX had a crushing hold on the game by making it difficult for decks that rely on Evolving into big Stage 2 from small Basic Pokemon. Especially those who couldn’t evolve fast enough and got hammered by Hammerhead a few too many times.

Early on, Landorus EX saw wins at the Pokemon World Championships in 2014 with Haruto Kabayashi’s TDK deck.

In the XY era, Landorus EX saw more play with the introduction of Golbat and Crobat that allow it to do extra damage using their Sneaky Bite and Surprise Bite abilities along with Muscle Band and Strong Energy. Muscle Band allowed Pokemon that had this Tool attached do an extra 20 damage while Strong Energy added another 20 damage when attacked to Fighting type Pokemon. Now Landorus EX could do 70 damage with a single Energy card attached plus more with Crobat and Golbat’s help. This gained Landorus EX another win in the World Championships in 2015 by Rowan Stavenow and his “Flying Hammer” deck.

I am not including any of Landorus EX’s Regional wins. If so then we will hear a lot more. Though, let's just say that Landorus EX did not help in allowing the meta to evolve and was an oppressive force in the game.

After I learned about Fujin and Raijin, I thought Tornadus and Thundurus were pretty cool – but that just made the addition of Landorus even more confusing. Slowly, this third deity has begun to fit in; wind and rains and good soil are all the things you need to worship if you want a healthy field of rice to get you through the year.
Original music for Luke Loves Pokémon is by Jonathan Cromie. Artwork is by Katie Groves. Funding is provided by listeners at Patreon. If you enjoy this podcast and want to check out other shows by me and my friends, head to podcastiopodcastius.org.
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I love Landorus. And remember, I love you too.