Zorua Report

Zorua (the Tricky Fox Pokémon or the Spiteful Fox Pokémon in the Hisui region) is a rare Dark-type Pokémon (Normal/Ghost-type in the Hisui region) found among dark forests and icy mountains within the Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar, Hisui and Paldea regions as well as the Hoenn region on rare occasions. Seldom seen and relatively mysterious, little is known about Zorua because of their rarity and tendency to avoid human contact. Finding one of these strange creatures is definitely not easy, but most people native to the regions they call home have probably already seen one before; they just might not actually know it!

Although Zorua and Zoroark are by no means exceptionally weak, they are relatively shy (as well as timid in the case of Zorua) and almost never appear in front of humans in their true, natural state, reserving that for those of their own kind and occasionally fellow Pokémon. Both Zorua and their evolved form, Zoroark, possess exceptionally advanced extrasensory powers that actually allow them to manipulate light waves; in essence, this grants them the ability to generate illusions, an ability that they use often to disguise themselves when in the midst of others. Their expertise in using this ability is so extreme that they are the only known Pokémon known to possess the appropriately-named Illusion Ability, which allows them to take the form of a different Pokémon from a trainer's party upon appearing in battle. However, this Ability is limited in that Zorua and Zoroark cannot actually physically alter the world around them or themselves, so even if they change form, they maintain their type and moves. Furthermore, this Ability requires exceptional concentration on their part, as any contact with them while 'transformed' will force them to revert back to their true forms. If needed, Zorua and Zoroark can also focus their illusionary powers into a concentrated ring of negative energy which, when released, can cause considerable damage to opponents and potentially blind them for a time; this powerful move, known as the Night Daze attack, is shared only with Lunala and is among the more powerful Dark-type attacks available to any Pokémon. Unfortunately, because they are still young, the powers of Zorua are limited to altering themselves only; furthermore, they are not too keen at pretending to be humans in order to possibly escape from a predator or otherwise go into urban environments to search for food, even though a popular illusion among the species is the form of a silent child. This can often be an easy way to detect their presence as well, as if a child has suddenly gone silent when they were talkative before, it may be a sure sign that they have been replaced with a Zorua in disguise. Though they might get every other detail right while disguised as a human, their tails are still exposed and can easily give them away.

While Zorua and Zoroark usually stay far away from the public eyes, the involvement of both species in the Crown City Incident five years ago is worth mentioning here. According to reports, a businessman by the name of Grings Kodai managed to abduct a Zoroark and its child Zorua, blackmailing the mother Zoroark into attacking the city under the guise of the three legendary beasts (Raikou, Entei and Suicune) that served as Crown City's guardians. Grings had apparently obtained the ability to see the future twenty years prior to this event by touching a time ripple formed by a Celebi, releasing a time reversal in the process that killed all of the plant life in the city; with his powers beginning to fade, however, Grings became desperate and sought to restore them by any means necessary. Learning that the same Celebi had appeared again and produced another time ripple, Grings used the captured Zoroark to 'destroy' the city and, ordering an evacuation of the area, was finally able to search for the ripple freely. However, the child Zorua had managed to escape and found itself in the company of several young trainers and, learning of the poor creature's plight, the trainers decided to help it find its mother. Because almost no one else was present for the majority of the incident, few details are available as to what happened next. In the end, however, Grings' actions twenty years ago were finally exposed to public, resulting in his immediate arrest. It is believed that the young trainers, with the assistance of the Zorua, Zoroark, and the real guardians of Crown City, managed to drive back Grings from the time ripple and, with the help of the Zoroark's illusionary powers, caused Grings to knock himself out while entranced by an illusion. The Celebi that Grings was pursuing was able to time travel out of the area safely, causing the time ripple to disappear. In the aftermath of this incident, the Zorua and Zoroark were returned back to their homeland through the help of some of the locals, and although it is unknown exactly where they are today, it can at least be assumed that they are living in relative peace once again.

It is lastly noted that Zorua are one of the few species of Pokémon known to have a unique variant within the confines of the Hisui region. In this region, these creatures are Normal/Ghost-types; have slightly decreased base HP and Attack stats and slightly increased base Special Attack and Speed stats; and have access to the Shadow Sneak, Snarl, Swift, Bitter Malice, Slash and Shadow Claw attacks. Unlike their normal variant, Hisuian Zorua are notably different in that they are not technically alive anymore, but instead exist as spirits that have returned to the land of the living for the sheer point of spite and malice. These beasts, once exiled to the Hisui region in ancient times, could not survive the harsh environments and wildlife, and all perished here…but now, the malice and bitterness thy have towards other life forms has brought them back to life, if only to vent these feelings in the form of illusions and ghostly power, even as their tether to the physical world allows them to retain a Normal-type assignment, thus granting them an extremely unique type assignment as a whole. The illusions born of these spiteful feelings, born from the spiritual flame that erupts from their head and their ghostly fur, are designed to show how much they hate the world in its entirety, and they will often use their power to terrify others by appearing to them as an apparition of their own visage before striking, deriving energy from the fear they garner from others. They and their evolved form are known to be able to use this power well in the execution of their signature Bitter Malice attacks, and between that and the frigid environments they dwell in, it is no wonder that they are feared by many for the horrible appropriations and power they can display, even if they are still rather frail at a young age.

Though there may be little known about them, Zorua are nonetheless fascinating creatures that offer an interesting perspective on what powers the Dark-type, in its most natural form, is capable of possessing. You will probably never see one of these critters in battle, but if you do, make sure that you are prepared for their bizarre illusionary powers. Their cover might be easily blown, but don't think that's always going to help you; if you unwisely choose to hit them with a Psychic-type attack, you're just going to leave yourself open to retribution!

Professor Wormwood