Physical
Balanced
DTier
65Speed · Below Avg

Zorua Best Moveset

Dark at 80 Sp. Atk and 65 Speed with AbilityIllusion disguising it as the last Pokemon in the party. The deception makes opponents guess wrong about typing and resistances. Pre-evolution stats limit the payoff. Evolve to Zoroark for 120 Sp. Atk and the Illusion mindgames that create real competitive value.

SABCDEFEEEEEBlack & White / B2W2VBW/B2W2PEAKX & Y / ORASVIXY/ORASSun & Moon / USUMVIISM/USUMSword & Shield / BDSPVIIISS/BDSPScarlet & Violet / Legends Z-AIXSV/LZACURRENT
★Gen V — Black & White / B2W2E

Zorua saw minimal competitive use in Gen V (Black & White / B2W2). This was Zorua's competitive peak. Its most popular set ran Illusion with Life Orb, favoring a Timid nature.

Hidden Abilities became available

Best Moves

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 49
Nasty Plot
Dark—COMMONSTAB
Egg
Dark Pulse
Dark80COMMONSTAB
TM10
Hidden Power (Fighting)
Fighting60COMMONCoverage
TM89
U-turn
Bug70COMMONCoverage
Egg
Counter
Fighting—COMMONCoverage
Lv 29
Foul Play
Dark95COMMONSTAB
Lv 25
Taunt
Dark—COMMONSTAB
TM45
Attract
Normal—COMMONUtility
Zorua Black & White MovesZorua Black 2 & White 2 Moves

Best Build

Experimental
Special Setup Sweeper
Ability
Illusion
Item
Life OrbPOWER
Best Nature for Zorua
Timid+SPE

Zorua best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed

EVs

Special Setup Sweeper Moveset

  • Nasty PlotSTAB
  • Dark PulseSTAB
  • Hidden Power Fighting
  • U Turn

Recommended Teammates

Umbreon
UmbreonGood
Toxicroak
ToxicroakGood
Starmie
StarmieGood
→Gen VI — X & Y / ORASE

Zorua saw minimal competitive use in Gen VI (X & Y / ORAS). Zorua maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Illusion with Leftovers, favoring a Hardy nature.

Fairy type added to the gameMega Evolution became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
TM97
Dark Pulse
Dark80POPULARSTAB
TM30
Shadow Ball
Ghost80COMMONCoverage
Egg
Detect
Fighting—COMMONPriority
Tutor
Hyper Voice
Normal90COMMONCoverage
Lv 49
Nasty Plot
Dark—RARESTAB
Egg
Extrasensory
Psychic80RARECoverage
TM17
Protect
Normal—RAREPriority
TM4
Calm Mind
Psychic—RAREUtility
Zorua X & Y MovesZorua ORAS Moves
Experimental
Special Sweeper
Ability
Illusion
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Zorua
HardyNEUTRAL
EVs

Special Sweeper Moveset

  • Dark PulseSTAB
  • Shadow Ball
  • DetectFAST +4
  • Hyper Voice

Recommended Teammates

Weavile
WeavileGood
Zoroark
ZoroarkGood
Heracross
HeracrossDecent
→Gen VII — Sun & Moon / USUME

Zorua saw minimal competitive use in Gen VII (Sun & Moon / USUM). Zorua maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Illusion with Focus Sash, favoring a Adamant nature.

Z-Moves became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Tutor
Knock Off
Dark65COMMONSTAB
TM89
U-turn
Bug70RARECoverage
Egg
Sucker Punch
Dark70RARESTAB
Egg
Counter
Fighting—RARECoverage
TM97
Dark Pulse
Dark80RARESTAB
Lv 37
Agility
Psychic—RARESetup
Egg
Extrasensory
Psychic80RARECoverage
Egg
Copycat
Normal—RAREUtility
Zorua Sun & Moon MovesZorua Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Moves
Experimental
Physical Sweeper
Ability
Illusion
Item
Focus SashSURVIVAL
Best Nature for Zorua
Adamant+ATK
EVs

Physical Sweeper Moveset

  • Knock OffSTAB
  • U Turn
  • Sucker PunchSTAB
  • CounterSLOW -5Coverage

Recommended Teammates

Politoed
PolitoedDecent
Lickilicky
LickilickyDecent
Cacturne
CacturneDecent
→Gen VIII — Sword & Shield / BDSPE

Zorua saw minimal competitive use in Gen VIII (Sword & Shield / BDSP). Zorua maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Illusion with Eviolite, favoring a Hardy nature.

Gigantamax became availableDynamax became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
TR58
Dark Pulse
Dark80COMMONSTAB
TR49
Calm Mind
Psychic—RAREUtility
Tutor
Burning Jealousy
Fire70RARECoverage
Lv 24
Knock Off
Dark65RARESTAB
Lv 32
Agility
Psychic—RARESetup
Egg
Extrasensory
Psychic80RARECoverage
Lv 48
Foul Play
Dark95RARESTAB
Zorua Sword & Shield MovesZorua BDSP Moves
Experimental
Special Setup Sweeper
Ability
Illusion
Item
EvioliteBULK
Best Nature for Zorua
HardyNEUTRAL
EVs

Special Setup Sweeper Moveset

  • Dark PulseSTAB
  • Calm Mind
  • Burning Jealousy
  • Knock OffSTAB

Recommended Teammates

Victini
VictiniDecent
Volcanion
VolcanionDecent
Zoroark
ZoroarkDecent
→Gen IX — Scarlet & Violet / Legends Z-AE

Zorua saw minimal competitive use in Gen IX (Scarlet & Violet / Legends Z-A). Zorua maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Illusion with Focus Sash, favoring a Naive nature.

Terastallization became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Egg
Sucker Punch
Dark70RARESTAB
Egg
Counter
Fighting—RARECoverage
Egg
Detect
Fighting—RAREPriority
TM7
Protect
Normal—RAREPriority
Lv 44
Nasty Plot
Dark—RARESTAB
Lv 32
Agility
Psychic—RARESetup
Lv 24
Knock Off
Dark65RARESTAB
Zorua Scarlet & Violet MovesZorua Legends Z-A Moves
Experimental
Special Sweeper
Ability
Illusion
Item
Focus SashSURVIVAL
Best Nature for Zorua
Naive+SPE
EVs

Special Sweeper Moveset

  • Sucker PunchSTAB
  • CounterSLOW -5Coverage
  • DetectFAST +4
  • ProtectFAST +4

Recommended Teammates

Zorua-Hisui
Zorua-HisuiDecent
Zoroark
ZoroarkDecent
Shaymin
ShayminDecent

Zorua Weakness

Type-wise, Zorua takes extra damage from Fighting, Bug, and Fairy. Psychic moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. 3 weaknesses is about average, nothing too hard to play around.

Zorua Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Fighting, Bug, Fairy
0.5x (Resist)Ghost, Dark
0x (Immune)Psychic

What is Zorua Weak Against

Avg
3Weak
2Resist
1Immune
Score-1
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
FightingBugFairy
½xResist
GhostDark
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
Psychic

What is Zorua Strong Against

2Strong
3Resisted
0Immune
Score-1
2xStrong
PsychicGhost
½xResisted
FightingDarkFairy
0xImmune
None

Best Pokemon Against Zorua

Scizor can KO Zorua with Close Combat (394-464%). Conkeldurr threatens a KO with Drain Punch (260-307%). Clefable's Moonblast also KOs at 201-236%.

Evolution

Zorua evolves into Zoroark. It's a two-stage chain with the method shown below. A massive partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. Evolving adds up to 180 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Evolutions
Zorua
#570Zorua
Zoroark
#571ZoroarkLevel 30
Hisui ZoroarkHisui
#571Hisui ZoroarkLevel 30
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Zorua
Dark
Zoroark
Dark
Hisui Zoroark
Dark
HP
40
60+20
60+20
ATK
65
105+40
105+40
DEF
40
60+20
60+20
SP.ATK
80
120+40
120+40
SP.DEF
40
60+20
60+20
SPE
65
105+40
105+40
BST
330D-Tier
510B-Tier+180
510C-Tier+180
ROLE
Balanced
Sweeper
Sweeper
TYPE
Special
Mixed
Mixed

Breeding

Moderate

Breed Zorua with 278 breeding partners from the Ground egg group.

Egg Groups
Field
Gender
♂87.5%♀12.5%
Hatch Time
25 cycles·6,425 steps
Moderate~6 min with Flame Body
Breed With (best first)
raichupikachunidokinggolduckampharosrhydondewgongarbokquagsirenidorinofarfetchdflaaffy
12 of 278·

How to Get Zorua

All 9 games

low spawn rates across 6 encounter spots for Zorua. That's the kind of hunt where you pick one location and settle in. Sort by Best below to see where the odds are highest.

Where To Catch Zorua in SV

The path to Zorua starts with Zorua at Lv. 16-31 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.

  1. Zorua
    Step 1Zorua ✓
    Tagtree Thicket - Forest
    Lv.16-31Overworld
    Rate 3%
    West Province (Area Three) - Forest
    Lv.16-31Overworld
    Rate 3%
    West Province (Area Three) - Grass
    Lv.16-31Overworld
    Rate 2%

Base Stats

Zorua's spread isn't flashy. Sp. Atk leads, HP trails, 1 stats clear the bar. Moderately hard to find and worth 1 Sp. Atk EV, on a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.

Base Stats
Avg
HP40
D
Attack65
C
Defense40
D
Sp. Atk80
C
Sp. Def40
D
Speed65
C
Total330
Details
Catch Rate
Challenging75 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Slow1.06M XP
Height0.7 m
2'04"Small
Weight12.5 kg
27.6 lbsFeather
Base XP66
Low Yield
Abilities
Illusion
Takes the appearance of the last conscious party Pokémon upon being sent out until hit by a damaging move.
EV Yield
HPAtkDefSpA+1SpDSpe
Special Attack training source
Pokedex Entry

To protect themselves from danger, they hide their true identities by transforming into people and Pokémon.

Pokemon Violet

Zorua Guide

  • Zorua does the job early-game if you need a Dark type on your team. Evolve it into Zoroark before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.

  • Yes. Hisuian Zorua is a regional variant with different typing and a reworked stat spread. Introduced in Gen 8. Plays completely differently from the original.

Game Availability

Zorua first appeared in Black & White and spans 9 games across 6 generations. It later gained a Hisuian form in Generation 8, adding new dimensions to its competitive identity.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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