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Zarude is the newest Mythical Pokémon to be revealed, in conjunction with the celebrations for Pokémon Day.
A Dark and Grass type, it is called “The Rogue Monkey” Pokémon. It will feature in the film Pocket Monsters the Movie: Coco, which will be released on July 10, 2020, in Japan. Zarude has the ability Leaf Guard and is said to be a relentless attacker, equipping whatever it gets its claws on as a weapon. It’s also extremely intelligent—to be expected if it is based on a primate.
And, Serebii shared details on the new Pokémon, and the entries are as follows:
- “It can grow vines from the back of its neck, its wrists, and the soles of its feet at will. The vines are strong and flexible. They can be used to wrap around tree branches to move around or to grab Berries from distant branches. They’re useful for many different situations. The vines also have a healing property. If the vines are wrapped around a wound, it will heal.”
- “Zarude lives in a pack deep in the heart of dense forests. It treats anyone that isn’t part of its pack with immediate hostility, attacking right away. This is why other Pokémon that live in the same forest are afraid of Zarude. When fighting it swings around using trees and their branches, attacking relentlessly with its sharp claws or any other means it has. Its quick wit helps it excel in battles.”
I’ve done a quick Google search of species of monkey that Zarude could riff off. It could be the emperor tamarin, though the Mythical is missing its impressive moustache. These animals are very aggressive and are very quick climbers, rarely touching the forest floor. Common marmosets have the same fluffy flairs on either side of their faces, and the lighter-colour mask over their eyes and noses. Unlike the other two South American species, the red-shanked douc is found in Vietnam, Southern Laos and northeastern Cambodia. It’s exceptionally agile but only uses its tail for balance, and it looks like Zarude follows in its footsteps with a stumpy tail and long arms. This monkey isn’t very cantankerous, and notably shares its food with other group members, however.
Pokémon Sword & Shield is out now for the Nintendo Switch. Check out Zarude’s reveal below.
