Zarude being mentioned in another thread got me thinking and something occurred: given that the Dada Zarude is (pointlessly IMO) a distinct form to the regular species, it would have been mechanically interesting and unprecedented if Zarude itself wasn't a mythical Pokemon, but the Dada form was.
Think about it. Zarude is explicitly said to live in a group of multiple individuals. But only the Dada Zarude is notable for having distinguished itself and left the group - and the Pokedex even states that it has a special strength...
Shield dex entry: This Zarude's special strength stems from its love and care for an orphaned human child that the Pokémon has raised since the child's infancy.
...but this isn't reflected in-game at all.
I had a similar thought re Zacian and Zamazenta a while back. It's possible they're a unique species, but future games will likely make them catchable so I'm given to thinking there might be more of them. But Zacian and Zamazenta's legendary status comes from their deeds, not their innate power - so, if other ones existed, would it only be the pair from Galar that are considered legendary? (In-game this distinction most likely wouldn't be made, but I'm thinking conceptually here.) In a similar vein, we see evidence of multiple Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres existing, but the specific trio from the Orange Islands are part of the prophecy from the second movie.
There's never been a case of a species only being a legendary or a mythical in one form but not another: regular Zarude could have either been an ordinary species or a legendary, I'm not too fussed. It would have been kind of a "have cake and eat it" situation, because the species itself could have been made accessible via an in-game encounter but there would still have been a mythical to sell, particularly if it had altered stats (which it should have).
Idk. It would have given Zarude a bit more of an identity than it ended up having. As it is, it's the most commonplace and ordinary of all the mythical Pokemon.
