With over 300 million units sold, Pokemon continues to captivate the gaming world, only growing in popularity year after year. As much as the series tries to retain its fanbase by sticking to tradition, it has also sought to change things up to keep those same players interested. Upcoming games such as Pokemon Legends: Arceus have seen the introduction of regional forms as a way to revisit the famous creatures the series is known for in new ways. The most recent of these forms deals with one of the more famous Pokemon from the series, Zorua, and its evolution Zoroark.
Zorua and Zoroark were introduced in 2010 as part of Pokemon's fifth-generation, being part of Black Version and White Version's regional Pokedex. Ever since the Tricky and Illusion Fox Pokemon were revealed, they've grown to be favorites among many fans very quickly. The two creatures were used as one of the big selling points for the games' release, even featuring in their own movie, Zoroark: Master of Illusions, in order to promote it. The use of Zorua and Zoroark was very reminiscent of how Lucario was used for Diamond and Pearl's promotional material, which has now led to something rather ironic.
Pokemon and Its Preference For Giving New Forms to Fan Favorites
The way Pokemon Legends: Arceus has decided to use Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark in order to entice players to play the game is a bit of a twist on how Diamond and Pearl were originally advertised with Lucario. Zoroark has been noted by fans to be very similar to Lucario for many years, and is now being used to promote a game being released alongside Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. This is in part due to how Zoroark, despite the many similarities with the Aura Pokemon, has also become a fan favorite just like Lucario itself has. That plays a role in how Hisuian Zoroark came about in the long run.
Game Freak, when it comes to deciding what forms to give to its creatures, tends to keep track of the ones that players enjoy and use the most. This has been seen with the treatment of Pokemon like Mewtwo, several starters, and how Mega Flygon was scrapped due to fear of it not living up to fans' expectations. Lucario was also given a Mega Evolution with the release of Pokemon X and Y for this reason, and now that very same logic is being applied to Zorua, a Pokemon that's been in fans' teams for years. It seems Game Freak chose the right creature for the job, as the reception to the Hisuian forms has been overwhelmingly positive.
The Hisuian Forms Go Back to Zorua's Design Roots
While Unova is said to be based on New York City, not every Pokemon seen in the Unova region is inspired by things from the United States. Zorua and Zoroark in particular have been said to have been not only inspired by werewolves, but also by kitsunes of Japanese folklore. Kitsune are special nine-tailed foxes, known for being tricksters and using their shapeshifting powers to play pranks on foreigners and those that come across their path.
By Zoroark being the Illusion Fox Pokemon, as well as resembling foxes in its design, the ties to the kitsune inspiration are obvious. The Hisuian forms lean far more into it than the original designs do. When it came to the viral video that announced Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark, many fans correctly guessed that it would be Zorura and Zoroark from just the description in the video, as many kitsune match that description. Many of the series' creatures are inspired by kitsune, but the new forms for the Illusion Pokemon lean much heavier into the myth, which has already enticed people in love with Japanese folklore to put the newer forms on their teams.
Zorua and Zoroark Are Now The First Normal/Ghost-Types
Over the years as the competitive scene of Pokemon has adjusted and evolved, type effectiveness has changed bit by bit over different titles. The general rock-paper-scissors nature hasn't been changed too much, but certain types have new weaknesses and even immunities. To add to how Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark are inspired by the ethereal and mythical kitsune, their typing has been revealed to be Normal/Ghost-type, a first of their kind. While this may not mean much to some players, for those who play competitively, this means that the Pokemon meta may be changed as a result.
Being Normal/Ghost-type means that the new Hisuian forms have three type immunities; Fighting-type, Normal-type, and Ghost-type moves won't affect it at all. It also has a sturdy defense against Bug-types and Poison-types as well. Type immunities such as this are important to keep in mind when it comes to picking teams for competitive play, as they end up useful when it comes to reading the opponent's moves and choices. Eelektross is another good example, as the Electric-type would normally be super weak to Ground-type moves, but with an ability like Levitate, that's no longer an issue.
With Zorua and Zoroark's Illusion ability placing it on many competitive teams already, fans should plan ahead to either include the new Pokemon on their team, or come up with a decent way to counteract them in advance. While there's still time for a new creature or even a new Hisuian form to be revealed as a good counter to Hisuian Zoroark, the immunities along with Zorua's handy ability make this a perfect new addition to change up Pokemon's metagame.
Alongside that, the popularity of Zorua and Zoroark almost assure that fact for certain, as many fans already adored Zorura, Zoroark, and its kitsune likeness. Many fans desired to see a Mega Evolution for Zoroark, and it seems the Hisuian form may end up fulfilling that void. Even if the competitive impact of the new additions to the game isn't as big as it seems right now, there's still plenty of fans who are in love with the new designs, making the two must-haves for many, many teams as a result.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus releases for Nintendo Switch on January 28, 2022.