#0893 · Galar · Generation 8 · mythical

Zarude

Rogue Monkey Pokémon · Dark/Grass-type

Zarude is a Dark/Grass-type Pokémon, the Rogue Monkey Pokémon, number 893 (#0893) in the National Pokédex. It was introduced in Generation 8 and comes from the Galar region. It is 1.8 m tall and weighs 70 kg.

Zarude is the Rogue Monkey Pokémon, an aggressive Dark and Grass jungle fighter whose body sprouts grasping vines. It is the sole Mythical Pokémon of Generation VIII, and one that has so far reached players only through special events.

How to pronounce Zarude

Zarude is pronounced zuh-ROOD. The capital letters show the stressed syllable.

Listen to Zarude said out loud:

In Japanese it is ザルード.

Hear every other name on the Pokémon pronunciation guide.

Lore

Biology

Zarude is a baboon- or mandrill-like Pokémon, 1.8 m tall and 70 kg, with coarse black fur, shorter grey fur on its chest and belly, and a pale, bare snout and palms. Strong, flexible vines reach out from its wrists, neck and foot soles, letting it attack, swing through trees and grab food from afar, and Bulbapedia says they also close up injuries when wound over them. The Pokédex says vines that tear off become nutrients that help the forest's plants grow.

Behaviour

Zarude lives in packs in dense forest. The Pokédex calls it incredibly aggressive, a pack animal that the forest's other Pokémon dread; Bulbapedia adds that it attacks anyone outside its pack, fighting with sharp claws and quick wits. In the film, a Zarude's number of vines may show its age or importance, so the one with the most would be the eldest or the leader.

Habitat

The Pokédex says it lives in dense forests. In Scarlet and Violet it comes from Pokémon HOME or an event.

Powers

Its Ability is Leaf Guard. Its signature move is Jungle Healing, which restores HP and cures status conditions for Zarude and its ally, and Bulbapedia says only Zarude can learn it. It also learns Vine Whip, Power Whip, Hammer Arm, U-turn and Energy Ball. Dada Zarude, from the film, is a form with identical stats and Ability, so it changes nothing in battle. With 120 base Attack and a total of 600 it is a strong physical attacker.

Name origin

Zarude may combine saru, Japanese for 'monkey', with 'rude'. The Japanese name is the same, Zarude (ザルード).

Design inspiration

Zarude appears to be based on baboons and mandrills, with its Dark type perhaps reflecting how aggressive those primates can be. Bulbapedia also floats the Shug Monkey and the Carew Ape, apes of English and Welsh folklore, as possible influences, and says Dada's story of a child raised by wild animals appears to echo Tarzan. These are fan readings.

In the games

Zarude was given out only through limited-time online distributions, though it is the last entry in the Pokédex of The Isle of Armor, the Sword and Shield expansion that introduced it. Bulbapedia notes that it and Victini are the only Mythicals that core-series players have never been able to get without a time-limited event. It is not available in Legends: Z-A.

In the anime

Zarude debuted in the film 'Secrets of the Jungle', which shows a whole tribe, including an elder and alphas. The one most featured, nicknamed Dada, raised a human boy named Koko.

Fun facts

• Dada's pink, ripped cape bears 251, Celebi's National Pokédex number.
• Zarude's first public glimpse was a silhouette in CoroCoro magazine's February 2020 issue, and The Pokémon Company International showed it on 15 February 2020.
• Dada's Pokédex entry adds that the cloth it wrapped around the child smelled comforting enough to settle the child's crying.

Sources: Bulbapedia: Zarude (Pokémon) · Serebii: Zarude (Scarlet/Violet Pokédex)

Base stats

• HP: 105
• Attack: 120
• Defense: 105
• Sp. Atk: 70
• Sp. Def: 95
• Speed: 105

Zarude’s base stat total is 600. Its highest stat is Attack.

Type matchups

What is Zarude weak to?

Zarude takes extra damage from Bug (4×), Fire (2×), Ice (2×), Fighting (2×), Poison (2×), Flying (2×), Fairy (2×) moves.

It resists Water (½×), Electric (½×), Grass (½×), Ground (½×), Ghost (½×), Dark (½×).

It is immune to Psychic moves.

Evolution

Zarude does not evolve, and it does not evolve from any other Pokémon.

Forms

• Dada Zarude (Forme): Dark/Grass-type, base stat total 600 (HP 105, Attack 120, Defense 105, Sp. Atk 70, Sp. Def 95, Speed 105). Ability: Leaf Guard.

Abilities

• Leaf Guard: Protects against major status ailments during strong sunlight.

Moves

Moves Zarude learns by level up in Scarlet / Violet

TM moves (58)

Zarude can learn 58 moves from TMs in Scarlet / Violet: Take Down, Scary Face, Protect, Low Kick, Acrobatics, Thief, Trailblaze, Facade, Aerial Ace, Snarl, Swift, Magical Leaf, Mud Shot, Rock Tomb, Low Sweep, Fling, Endure, Sunny Day, Dig, Bullet Seed, Brick Break, U-turn, Bulk Up, Body Slam, Sleep Talk, Seed Bomb, Drain Punch, Grass Knot, Stomping Tantrum, Rest, Rock Slide, Taunt, Swords Dance, Dark Pulse, Substitute, Crunch, Giga Drain, Hyper Voice, Energy Ball, Encore, Helping Hand, Grassy Terrain, Nasty Plot, Giga Impact, Leaf Storm, Hyper Beam, Close Combat, Solar Beam, Tera Blast, Roar, Knock Off, Solar Blade, Focus Punch, Grassy Glide, Lash Out, Double-Edge, Petal Blizzard, Throat Chop.

Breeding & training

• Gender: genderless.
• Egg groups: Undiscovered.
• Egg cycles: 120 (steps to hatch, Scarlet/Violet: 15,360).
• Catch rate: 3 out of 255.
• Base friendship (Gen 8 onward): 0.
• Growth rate: Slow (1,250,000 experience points to reach level 100).
• Defeating it gives 3 Attack effort values.
• Base experience yield: 300.

Pokédex entries

Once the vines on Zarude's body tear off, they become nutrients in the soil. This helps the plants of the forest grow. (Shield)

Within dense forests, this Pokémon lives in a pack with others of its kind. It's incredibly aggressive, and the other Pokémon of the forest fear it. (Sword)

Names around the world

Trivia

• Highest base stat total among Grass types: 600, shared with 2 others.
• Fastest Grass type in Gen 8: 105 Speed.
• Highest Defense among Grass types in Gen 8: 105.
• Highest base stat total among Grass types in Gen 8: 600.
• Fastest Dark type in Gen 8: 105 Speed.
• Highest HP among Dark types in Gen 8: 105.
• Highest Defense among Dark types in Gen 8: 105.
• Highest Sp. Def among Dark types in Gen 8: 95.
• Highest base stat total among Dark types in Gen 8: 600.
• Taller than 82% of all Pokémon (1.8 m).
• Heavier than 75% of all Pokémon (70 kg).
• Base stat total 600, ranked #25 of 1,025.
• Its best stat is HP, ranked #79 of 1,025.
• One of 7 Pokémon that are both Dark and Grass.
• One of 130 green Pokémon.
• Number 84 of 96 Pokémon introduced in Generation 8 (Galar).
• Can learn 71 different moves in Scarlet / Violet.
• Catch rate 3: about 0.4% per Poké Ball at full health.
• Has 1 alternate form.
• Appears in 2 distinct Pokédex entries.

Sources and fact-checking

• Stats, types, abilities, moves, evolutions, forms and Pokédex entries: PokéAPI open game data.
• Lore: written by pokee.si in our own words, researched from Bulbapedia: Zarude (Pokémon), Serebii: Zarude (Scarlet/Violet Pokédex).
• Pronunciation (zuh-ROOD): no English source says it out loud, so it is our best guess from the parts of the name (low confidence).

Last checked: 20 October 2026. Every sentence of the lore was checked against Bulbapedia, Serebii and the game data.

Explore

Dark-type Pokémon · Grass-type Pokémon · Dark/Grass weaknesses and matchups · Galar region guide · Leaf Guard ability · Compare Zarude · Full Pokédex · Type chart · All moves

Browse similar Pokémon

Gen 8 Dark-type Pokémon · Gen 8 Grass-type Pokémon · Gen 8 Pokémon list · Green Pokémon list · No Eggs Discovered egg group · Pokémon that start with Z · Monkey and Ape Pokémon

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