For the Sword & Shield meta, At 600 BST, Zarude is built different. We rank it A-Tier. As a Mythical Pokemon, the raw stats back up the reputation. Best used as a sweeper. Darkestlariat with Choice Scarf is the standard set.

What is Zarude weak to?

In Sword & Shield, watch for Genesect (Bug), Cinderace (Fire), and Kyurem (Ice) when using Zarude. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Genesect is the most dangerous since Bug moves deal 4x damage. Fighting, Poison, Flying, and Fairy-type attackers are also a problem. With 7 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter. Zarude has enough bulk to absorb a hit, but don't push the matchup. Pivot to a teammate that resists.

What is the best ability for Zarude?

Leaf Guard protects against major status ailments during strong sunlight. That's the one you want on Zarude. It's the only ability Zarude has.

What role does Zarude play in battle?

Zarude is a physical attacker with base 120 Attack. Tanky enough to absorb a few hits, too. Speed tells the real story. Base 105 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. Fits the sweeper role.

What counters Zarude?

For Sword & Shield, Zarude has answers, but so do you. Priority moves (Mach Punch, Aqua Jet, Ice Shard) bypass its speed. Bulky walls that resist its STAB also shut it down.

Zarude - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Sweeper

ATier

105Speed · Fast

Stats & Training

Nothing fancy in Zarude's spread. It leans physical with Attack out front. And you'll get 3 Attack EVs per KO for it. Follows a slow 1.25M XP grind.

Base Stats

Legend

HP105

Attack120

Defense105

Sp. Atk70

Sp. Def95

Speed105

Total600

Details

Catch Rate

Legendary3 / 255

Growth Rate

Slow1.25M XP

Height1.8 m

Weight70.0 kg

Base XP300

Abilities

Leaf GuardTop Pick

Protects against major status ailments during strong sunlight.

EV Yield

HPAtk+3DefSpASpDSpe

Strong Attack training target

Pokedex Entries

This Zarude left its pack to raise a human child. The cloth Zarude would wrap the child with has a comforting scent that calmed the child’s crying.

Zarude Weakness

Bug, Fire, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Flying, and Fairy moves hit Zarude for super-effective damage. Bug hits land at 4x, so they're the biggest threat. The upside? Psychic-type moves can't touch it at all. It resists 6 types, so it can switch into a lot of moves safely. Zarude's overall bulk (105/105/95) lets it take a hit or two from most weaknesses before going down.

Zarude Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
4x (Critical)	Bug
2x (Weak)	Fire, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Flying, Fairy
0.5x (Resist)	Water, Electric, Grass, Ground, Ghost, Dark
0x (Immune)	Psychic

Type ChartFragile

7Weak

6Resist

1Immune

Score-7

4xCritical

Bug

2xWeak

Fire Ice Fighting Poison Flying Fairy

½xResist

Water Electric Grass Ground Ghost Dark

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

Psychic

STAB (5)

Psychic Ghost Water Ground Rock

How to Beat Zarude in Sword & Shield (Best Counters)

In Sword & Shield, Incineroar's Flare Blitz also KOs at 108-127%.

Salamence DragonFlying	S
Recommended Build AbilityIntimidate ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureJolly Moves Dual Wingbeat Earthquake Dragon Dance RoostRecovery Damage vs Zarude Earthquake 15-18% View Salamence builds →
SlowkingRecovers HP on switch via Regenerator, burns with Scald, walls special sets WaterPsychic	A
Recommended Build AbilityRegenerator ItemColbur Berry NatureRelaxed Moves ScaldSTAB TeleportUtility Slack Off Future Sight Damage vs Zarude Scald 13-15% View Slowking builds →
Incineroar FireDark	A
Recommended Build AbilityIntimidate ItemSitrus Berry NatureAdamant Moves Fake Out Parting Shot Knock Off Flare Blitz Damage vs Zarude Knock Off 15-17% Flare Blitz 2x 108-127%KO View Incineroar builds →
Orbeetle BugPsychic	A
Recommended Build AbilityFrisk ItemWeakness Policy NatureBold Moves AgilitySetup Calm Mind Bug Buzz Stored Power View Orbeetle builds →
SwampertThreatens with Ice Punch WaterGround	B
Recommended Build AbilityTorrent ItemLeftovers NatureSassy Moves Stealth Rock EarthquakeSTAB Flip Turn ToxicUtility Damage vs Zarude Earthquake 16-19% Flip Turn 10-11% View Swampert builds →

Sword & Shield Evolution

Mythical Pokemon don't breed, and Zarude is no exception. This Dark/Grass type sits at 600 stats with no chain to speak of. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

No Evolution

#893ZarudeDoes not evolve

Breeding

Unavailable

Undiscovered egg group

Sword & Shield Zarude Best Moveset

Darkestlariat is the safe click most turns. Choice Scarf locks Zarude into it but rewards with speed patching through item lock. Jolly nature and max Attack and Speed EVs maximize that first hit. Leafguard helps on the margins.

Best Build

Experimental

Ability

Leaf Guard

Item

Choice ScarfSPEED

Best Nature for Zarude

Jolly+SPE

Zarude best EVs are Attack and Speed

EVs

Atk

SpD

Spe

Physical Revenge Killer Moveset

Darkest LariatSTAB
Power WhipSTAB
U Turn
Close Combat

Recommended Teammates

CobalionDecent

SalamenceDecent

SlowkingDecent

Moves

The level-up pool is slim, so TMs matter here. Zarude's coverage across 7 types all comes from technical machines, built on top of Solar Blade and Power Whip for same-type damage. Energy Ball and Hammer Arm are the payoff moves.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Bind

—158520Normal

Lv 1

Scratch

—4010035Normal

Lv 6

Leer

D—10030Normal

Lv 12

Vine Whip

—4510025Grass

Lv 18

Growth

C——20Normal

Lv 24

Fury Swipes

—188015Normal

Lv 30

Scary Face

——10010Normal

Lv 36

Grass Knot

D—10020Grass

Lv 42

Bite

C6010025Dark

Lv 48

U-turn

S7010020Bug

Lv 54

Swagger

D—8515Normal

Lv 60

Energy Ball

C9010010Grass

Lv 66

Synthesis

C——5Grass

Lv 72

Hammer Arm

C1009010Fighting

Lv 78

Thrash

B12010010Normal

Lv 84

Power Whip

S1208510Grass

Lv 90

Jungle Healing

S——10Grass

TM Moves

TM78

Acrobatics

C5510015Flying

TM58

Assurance

—6010010Dark

TR01

Body Slam

C8510015Normal

TM43

Brick Break

C7510015Fighting

TM97

Brutal Swing

C6010020Dark

TR48

Bulk Up

S——20Fighting

TM50

Bullet Seed

D2510030Grass

TR53

Close Combat

A1201005Fighting

TR32

Crunch

B8010015Dark

TR58

Dark Pulse

C8010015Dark

TR93

Darkest Lariat

S8510010Dark

TM15

Dig

C8010010Ground

TM63

Drain Punch

S7510010Fighting

TR30

Encore

C—1005Normal

TR26

Endure+4

C——10Normal

TR65

Energy Ball

C9010010Grass

TM39

Facade

C7010020Normal

TM59

Fling

——10010Dark

TM28

Giga Drain

C7510010Grass

TM09

Giga Impact

B150905Normal

TR77

Grass Knot

D—10020Grass

TM88

Grassy Terrain

———10Grass

TM08

Hyper Beam

C150905Normal

TR42

Hyper Voice

C9010010Normal

TR31

Iron Tail

C1007515Steel

TR07

Low Kick

D—10020Fighting

TM10

Magical Leaf

C60—20Grass

TM01

Mega Kick

C120755Normal

Mega Punch

C808520Normal

TM53

Mud Shot

D559515Ground

TR68

Nasty Plot

C——20Dark

TM57

Payback

C5010010Dark

TR72

Power Whip

S1208510Grass

TM25

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM21

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM42

Revenge-4

C6010010Fighting

TM22

Rock Slide

C759010Rock

TM48

Rock Tomb

C609515Rock

TM76

Round

D6010015Normal

TM26

Scary Face

——10010Normal

TR59

Seed Bomb

B8010015Grass

TR27

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM85

Snarl

D559515Dark

TM24

Snore

—5010015Normal

TM11

Solar Beam

B12010010Grass

TM12

Solar Blade

B12510010Grass

TM98

Stomping Tantrum

C7510010Ground

TR20

Substitute

C——10Normal

TM34

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TR39

Superpower

B1201005Fighting

TM40

Swift

D60—20Normal

TR37

Taunt

C—10020Dark

TM23

Thief

C6010025Dark

TR95

Throat Chop

B8010015Dark

TM56

U-turn

S7010020Bug

Egg Moves

Zarude doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Tut

Tutor

Grassy Glide

C7010020Grass

Tutor

Lash Out

B751005Dark

How to Get Zarude in Sword & Shield

Zarude is not available as a wild encounter in this game.

This is an event-exclusive or special distribution.

Zarude Guide

For the Sword & Shield meta, At 600 BST, Zarude is built different. We rank it A-Tier. As a Mythical Pokemon, the raw stats back up the reputation. Best used as a sweeper. Darkestlariat with Choice Scarf is the standard set.
In Sword & Shield, watch for Genesect (Bug), Cinderace (Fire), and Kyurem (Ice) when using Zarude. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Genesect is the most dangerous since Bug moves deal 4x damage. Fighting, Poison, Flying, and Fairy-type attackers are also a problem. With 7 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter. Zarude has enough bulk to absorb a hit, but don't push the matchup. Pivot to a teammate that resists.
Leaf Guard protects against major status ailments during strong sunlight. That's the one you want on Zarude. It's the only ability Zarude has.
Zarude is a physical attacker with base 120 Attack. Tanky enough to absorb a few hits, too. Speed tells the real story. Base 105 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. Fits the sweeper role.
For Sword & Shield, Zarude has answers, but so do you. Priority moves (Mach Punch, Aqua Jet, Ice Shard) bypass its speed. Bulky walls that resist its STAB also shut it down.

Game Availability

Introduced in Sword & Shield, Zarude shows up in 2 games across 3 generations. Mythical status keeps it locked behind events or specific story content in most appearances.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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