Pokemon Legends - Arceus - 28th Jan 2022 *Official Content Only*

As cute and OP as Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark are, can we just take note how depressing the backstory for Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark is? It states that Zorua were kicked out of their original homes and forced to move to Hisuian due to people despising their Illusion skills. But they couldn’t survive in the climate, so they were reborn as Ghosts and remain vengeful against those who forced it to move. I guess we need an Anti-bullying movement in Pokémon after all.
 

TMan87

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Guess I was right when I said we'd have another Phantump/Shuppet case where the Pokémon is born of negative emotions! Wooo, go, me!
It's interesting lore, and it explains why H-Zorua looks so sad and H-Zoroark looks so PISSED.
Now I'm curious if/how it'll tie in with its signature move.
 

ScraftyIsTheBest

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Regional forms have typically been a result of a Pokemon being in a new climate and adapting accordingly.

But Hisuian Zorua is a result of it failing to adapt to a climate it was forced into and dying, and then becoming part of the undead because of it and becoming a spiteful ghost.

A truly twisted spin on regional forms here.
 
Guess I was right when I said we'd have another Phantump/Shuppet case where the Pokémon is born of negative emotions! Wooo, go, me!
It's interesting lore, and it explains why H-Zorua looks so sad and H-Zoroark looks so PISSED.
Now I'm curious if/how it'll tie in with its signature move.
The webpage leads with the phrase "cursed illusions" and suggests they have the power to hurt other creatures, whereas the illusions of a living Zoroark are purely smoke and mirrors. I suspect the new move will hinge on that phrase somehow. Illusion + undying spite = anti-Gardevoir ordnance.

Assuming what we saw wasn't just the new animation for Hex.
 
Regional forms have typically been a result of a Pokemon being in a new climate and adapting accordingly.

But Hisuian Zorua is a result of it failing to adapt to a climate it was forced into and dying, and then becoming part of the undead because of it and becoming a spiteful ghost.

A truly twisted spin on regional forms here.
Its even crueler when you consider their typing. Ghost is extremely obvious being dead and all, but what could cause them to be normal too?

They died because of natural selection. Cant get any more normal than that.
 
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I just realized that Hisuian Zorua's backstory can be used to explain why Unovan Zorua and Zoroark are event/gift only in BW/B2W2, despite them being introduced in those games.

They were driven out of Unova by older Unovan people, to the point where almost all of them disappeared and thus could not be found in the wild anymore.

That's genius.
And I suppose the journey to Alola and Kalos (where they also appear I'm pretty sure) wasn't nearly as bad as it was to Sinnoh/Hisui, which is why it keeps it's Unovan form: it never died

I really love the lore behind Hisunian Zorua/Zoroark
 
Hmmm so acvording to this lore, the Zorua and Zoroarks are actually reincarnated forms of the ones who died before....

So are they dead or alive, in this state? We have living ghost types and defenitely dead ghost types, but i dont know how reincarnated ghost types play into this
 
If Hisuian Zorua spot a lone person or Pokémon, the Zorua may appear before them in a guise mimicking the target’s appearance. Unlike the illusions of the previously discovered form of Zorua, these ghostly mimicries are created using spiteful power emitted from the long fur on Hisuian Zorua’s head, around its neck, and on its tail. It appears that Hisuian Zorua absorb and draw strength from the terror of those who witness their illusions.
This sounds like Transform or Imposter. Mimicking the appearance of an adversary and drawing power from them.
 
I choose to believe this is GameFreak's commentary on Zoroark not quite resonating like Lucario did before it and becoming a fan-selected mascot.

They're probably "spiteful" over all the merch that didn't sell!
Zoroark WAS a big deal when it released, but remember that they rhemselves pushed lucario more and more. Ash lost the league to one, he got a mega last grn, he was in pokken, smash brawl and smash 4.... i dont think the narrative here fits.
 
I also believe that the person who originally created the Frillish line (Mana Ibe) was ultimately not too pleased about the higher ups forcing her to make them spookier than she intended in order to make them Ghost-type, she just wanted them to be sweet little cuties. She just wanted Frillish to look more like a prince and a princess (and by that chain of thought Jellicent is presumably based off of a king and queen). The fact that the balancing team demanded more Ghost-types and had to do with making Frillish and Jellicent Ghost-types ultimately left Mana Ibe disappointed that they ended up becoming scary/spooky, which wasn't her original vision for them.
There’s always regional forms to potentially explore this original concept, but that’s another topic for another thread/forum.

Also Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark be like
 

AquaticPanic

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Seems like we're getting a new move. It dealt super-effective damage against Gardevoir so it's most definitely a Ghost move. It also hit Rei so maybe it's a spread move...? Not sure if moves hitting him means its a move that hits two Pokémon. (It might also imply Rei can get injured in battle meaning you have to watch out for your own health. Would hate to find a shiny only for me to fail it because it killed my ass)


While discussing in the Pet Mods server what it could be, Hematite noted it could be fun as a clone of Eerie Spell since that has the same effect as Spite (given Zoroark's lore), but also punishincorrect predictions of Illusion by making the foe lose PP on a move that wasn't meant to hit Zoroark (Specially on a mon with 3 immunities. Imagine your Close Combat not hitting the opposing "Chansey" and in return you get hit by a move that lowers its PP even further)




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As for this, not entirely sure what it is, but we hear Zorua's cry when it uses it so it's a Sound move. The colouration makes me think its Snarl.
 

CTNC

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My only regret about this game not being botw-style open world is that I won't be able to make a beeline straight for the icy region to catch a Zorua.
Same but it's probably for the best. I'd die so many times rushing to where they live and they'd probably kill me a few times before I catch one too. One thing I'm hoping they don't do is let you try to pet wild Pokemon because I'd try and they'd tear my face off. (But please let us pet caught Pokemon. :D)

In case it wasn't obvious, I think dying is fun if you're not punished for deaths.
 

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