Zoroark

Side Special
 Up Special
 Down Special
 Final Smash
 Extra Skill
 Franchise
 Game of Origin
 Release Date of Origin
 Other Appearances
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## **Character Info**

Alongside Zorua, Zoroark was among the first two Pokemon to be revealed alongside the announcement of Generation V. This, in a sense, makes the dark type Pokemon a posterchild for the generation, and arguably, the series at large. Its special power lies in conjuring illusions, which crop up throughout the Pokemon games, anime, and manga in a variety of ways. Most notably, though, the cautious Pokemon tends to create illusions to set humankind from off of its path, especially when protecting its young Zorua kin within their mane.

This Zoroark in particular belongs to the Pokemon Trainer, N, former leader of Team Plasma. After a childhood spent living amongst the abused Pokemon that his father captured, N became resentful of humankind and became capable of fluently speaking with his Pokemon. Following his defeat, he worked to reforge the bonds between humankind and Pokemon after seeing the error of his ways, assisting the player in defeating Ghetsis in Black 2 & White 2. Zoroark is one of N's trademark Pokemon, appearing multiple times in battles throughout Black & White.

## **General Information**

### **Entrance**

Zoroark stands beside N in the background before he points towards the stage and instructs it to enter the fray. It hops in, just as asked, placing a hand on the ground and howling towards the sky.

### **Kirby Hat**

Kirby will don a Zoroark hat complete with a red mane and black fur.

### **Taunts**

**Up Taunt:** Zoroark places one arm on the ground and looks up towards the sky, howling.

**Down Taunt:** Zoroark curls up into a ball, snoozing so long as the player does not input any additional button commands.

**Side Taunt:** N throws his fist into the air, proclaiming, "You can do it Zoroark!" Zoroark barks in agreement towards its opponents, making slashing movements with its claws.

### **Victory Poses**

1. N pats Zoroark on the head, who cuddles into his leg as he says "Good job, Zoroark!"
2. Zoroark stands beside N as it gets on all fours and howls victoriously.
3. Zoroark disappears for a brief moment before reappearing beside N, looking exactly like him. N laughs and shakes hands with his doppelganger.

## **Moveset**

### **Standard Special**

**Night Slash:** Zoroark's eyes flash a deep red before it disappears from the screen for a brief moment. Opponents wondering where it may have gone won't have to wait much longer as it reappears in the blink of an eye, powerfully slashing its darkness-imbued claws directly in front of it in the shape of an X. This is a traveling move in that, much like Sheik's Vanish, Zoroark can appear anywhere within two Kirbys in length on a horizontal plane while grounded and anywhere within two Kirbys in length on a horizontal or diagonal plane while in mid-air. This makes it a viable recovery move, although its primary function is to deliver damage. As such, it's a move that can be charged for a certain amount of time, allowing Zoroark to dish out more damage while also being able to travel a little further in length if it so chooses.

### **Side Special**

**Thief:** Zoroark dashes forward in a way quite similar to the Fox or Falco Illusion, disappearing and re-emerging in a faded dark mist along the way. Any opponents caught in Zoroark's trajectory are at risk of being caught in a combo between the mist and Zoroark itself, with the latter delivering a slash with one of its claws at the end of its run. Those hit by Zoroark's claw stand a chance of having any item that they are carrying at the time being stolen by Zoroark, including Smash Balls and costume fixtures such as King K. Rool's crown. It isn't a very hard-hitting move, but it does make up for it in its ability to offer Zoroark another plausible recovery outside of its Up Special while also giving it the 50/50 chance of nabbing an item along the way - and more like a 30/70 chance in the case of the Smash Ball.

### **Up Special**

**Pursuit:** With its claws held in front of it, Zoroark propels itself forward in a means reminiscent to Lucario's ExtremeSpeed. Unlike ExtremeSpeed, however, is Pursuit's attack-based properties. If anyone ends up within Zoroark's flight path at the wrong moment, they run the means of having the Pokemon deliver a powerful double-slash their way, imbued with a dark energy. Although Zoroark dons no super armor during Pursuit, it is capable of stacking the move so that if it is halted by either an opponent in its way or a successful attack, it can refocus itself with the slightest bit of lag and enable Pursuit yet again. In a sense, this has Zoroark taking a page from out of Sonic's Homing Attack, though only in those regards. All in all, in trained hands, this unorthodox recovery move can be most potent.

### **Down Special**

**Hone Claws:** Zoroark takes a moment to sharpen its claws and they shimmer and shine beneath the sunlight. For a solid 10 seconds, Zoroark will now dish out a considerable increase in damage per each of its moves. On the flipside, it will become easier to knock Zoroark around during this period of time since its defenses will also go down in an attempt for balance. Albeit, given the speedy, quick-hitting nature of the Pokemon, this could be a good way to rack up damage and help it in knocking its foes down a peg or two fast in the right hands. Once the alloted amount of time during which Hone Claws' effects last are over, it will take Zoroark another 10 seconds to be able to recalibrate its focus and use the move again.

### **Final Smash**

**Night Daze:** The sky goes dark as Zoroark gets on all fours and emits a pulsing black energy from his body, howling longingly towards the moon. The pulses travel about as far as 70% of the Battlefield stage in all directions, and they travel fast. Any opponents who are caught by the pulses within a certain amount of time will at first be sent reeling backwards before being drawn back in by their ominous magnetic pull to where they are floating and spinning in circles right beside Zoroark. All of this happens within a moments' notice as the fighters are then sent to a cutscene with Zoroark in which, in the midst of a pitch black locale, Zoroark reappears, having taken on each of their forms in unison. The doppelgangers smirk at their likenesses as the real McCoys look on in terror, with the scene then cutting to a resounding slash that sends them all reeling. This attack is capable of a great deal of knockback and damage alike, pulling in similar dark effects as Sheik's Final Smash in 'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'.

### **Extra Skill**

**Swap:** N calls Zoroark back to the background, telling it what a good job it has done and to take a break. Zoroark disappears and in its place comes N's Klinklang, who twirls around in a disjointed, gear-like fashion, ready for battle.

## **Alternate Costumes**

1. **Default**
2. **Shiny** - Zoroark adopts its shiny form with yellow eyes and a purple-and-burgundy mane.
3. **Archeops** - Zoroark adopts a beige, red, green, and blue color scheme reminiscent of Archeops.
4. **Carracosta** - Zoroark adopts a black, blue, cyan, and gray color scheme reminiscent of Carracosta.
5. **Joltik** - Zoroark adopts a yellow, blue, and black color scheme reminiscent of Joltik.
6. **Ferroseed** - Zoroark adopts a green, forest green, yellow, silver, and gray color scheme reminiscent of Ferroseed.
7. **Darmanitan** - Zoroark adopts a red, beige, black, yellow, and orange color scheme reminiscent of Darmanitan.
8. **Timburr** - Zoroark adopts a light gray, black, white, and pink color scheme reminiscent of Timburr.
9. **Reshiram** - Zoroark adopts a white, blue, and red color scheme reminiscent of Reshiram.
10. **Zekrom** - Zoroark adopts a black, gray, and red color scheme reminiscent of Zekrom.

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