Urshifu #892: the monk bear with two schools of martial arts

A monk-bear in a haori, and two schools that will never cross paths. Urshifu is the evolution of Kubfu, listed as No. 892 in the National Pokédex under the “Wushu Pokémon” category: 1.9 meters, 105 kilos, and two fighting styles that you have to choose between once and for all, at the top of a tower on the Isle of Armor.

Contents

• Who is Urshifu?
• Single Strike Style and Rapid Strike Style: two towers, two types
• Type matchups of both styles and the Unseen Fist Ability
• Wicked Blow, Surging Strikes and the two Gigantamax forms
• The Isle of Armor, Mustard and the Master Dojo
• Urshifu fact sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Urshifu?

Urshifu is a bipedal, bear-like Pokémon, and a Legendary Pokémon in its own right. Its fur is darker than its pre-evolution's, its eyebrows have turned into horn-like points on its forehead, and the white fur on its chest is lined with black to form a haori of its own.

Its hands have five yellow fingers, its feet three claws, and hard plates protect the joints at the base of its fingers. Its silhouette is every inch the martial arts master, and it lends itself beautifully to Pokémon plushies.

Both styles share exactly the same 550 base stat points: 100 HP, 130 Attack, 100 Defense, 63 Special Attack, 60 Special Defense and 97 Speed. So it isn't raw power that sets them apart, but their second type and signature move.

Single Strike Style and Rapid Strike Style: two towers, two types

The Single Strike Style favors all-out combat: it keeps its distance, then lunges at its opponent in a flash to deliver the finishing blow. You get it at the top of the Tower of Darkness and it adds the Dark type.

The Rapid Strike Style has the opposite temperament: it observes, dodges, parries gently, then assails its target with a torrent of rapid strikes. You get it at the top of the Tower of Waters and it adds the Water type.

The Fighting and Dark typing in the fact sheet below therefore describes the Single Strike Style ; Rapid Strike Style shares its number, category, height and weight, but not its second type. The style you get is final, and since the game gives you only one Kubfu per save file, getting both Urshifu requires a trade.

Type matchups of both styles and the Unseen Fist Ability

As a Fighting and Dark type, Single Strike Style takes quadruple damage from Fairy, double from Fighting and Flying, half from Rock and Ghost, a quarter from Dark, and becomes immune to Psychic : a Fighting-type weakness wiped out by its Dark type.

As a Fighting and Water type, Rapid Strike Style is weak to five types — Grass, Electric, Flying, Psychic and Fairy — takes half damage from Fire, Water, Ice, Bug, Rock, Dark and Steel, and has no immunity. More exposed, but with no quadruple weakness.

The Ability, on the other hand, is shared by both styles: Urshifu has only one, with no Hidden Ability, Unseen Fist. When it uses a contact move, that move ignores the opponent's protection, such as Protect or Detect — a privilege it long had all to itself.

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Wicked Blow, Surging Strikes and the two Gigantamax forms

Each style has its own signature move. Wicked Blow belongs to Single Strike Style: Dark type, physical, 75 power (80 before Pokémon Scarlet and Violet), 100 accuracy, 5 PP. It always lands a critical hit.

Surging Strikes goes to Rapid Strike Style: Water type, physical, 25 power, 100 accuracy, 5 PP; it hits three times in a row, and every hit is a critical hit. It's the only move in the series to combine multiple hits with a guaranteed critical hit.

Both styles also have their own form Gigantamax, obtained by feeding it Max Soup. A one-of-a-kind fact in the Pokédex: it's the only Pokémon that requires Max Honey in addition to Max Mushrooms, because it doesn't like the taste of the soup without it.

Once Gigantamaxed, Single Strike Style has G-Max One Blow, a Dark-type move, and Rapid Strike Style has G-Max Rapid Flow, a Water-type move. Both hit even a protected target, Max Guard included: they are the only two moves that can.

The Isle of Armor, Mustard and the Master Dojo

It all plays out on the Isle of Armor, the island from the first part of the Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass, whose theme is self-improvement. The Master Dojo there is run by Honey, whose husband Mustard trains the recruits.

Mustard was Champion of the Galar League for eighteen years in a row, a record that still stands. He's the one waiting for the player on the fifth floor of each tower, and the one who reveals that Urshifu carries the Gigantamax Factor.

The Pokémon Sword Pokédex sums up the two paths. Single Strike Style: “This form of Urshifu is a strong believer in the one-hit KO. Its strategy is to leap into an opponent's range and land a devastating blow with a hardened fist.” Rapid Strike Style: “It's believed that this Pokémon modeled its fighting style on the flow of a river—sometimes rapid, sometimes calm.” Two philosophies, one monk-bear — and a great pair of Pokémon figures.

Urshifu fact sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

• What are Urshifu's two styles and how do you get them?
  Single Strike Style, a Fighting and Dark type, is obtained by evolving Kubfu at the top of the Tower of Darkness, on Challenge Road. Rapid Strike Style, a Fighting and Water type, is obtained at the top of the Tower of Waters, on Challenge Beach. Both towers are on the Isle of Armor and have five floors, with Mustard on the top one. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, evolution uses an item instead: the Scroll of Darkness or the Scroll of Waters.
• Can you change Urshifu's style or get both?
  Changing it, no: once it has evolved, the style is permanent. And since the game gives you only one Kubfu per save file, only one of the two Urshifu can be obtained directly. To get both, you have to trade with another Trainer.
• What are Urshifu's signature moves?
  Single Strike Style is the only Pokémon that learns Wicked Blow, a Dark-type physical move with 75 power that always lands a critical hit. Rapid Strike Style is the only one that learns Surging Strikes, a Water-type physical move with 25 power that hits three times in a row, with every hit a critical hit. It's the Unseen Fist Ability, not these two moves, that lets it bypass Protect and Detect.
• What is Urshifu's Ability?
  Unseen Fist, and it's its only Ability: no second Ability, no Hidden Ability, and no difference between the two styles. Its official description states that if the Pokémon uses a contact move, it can bypass the target's protection. Its pre-evolution Kubfu has a completely different Ability, Inner Focus.
• Does Urshifu have a Gigantamax form or a Mega Evolution?
  A Gigantamax form, yes — two, in fact, one per style, obtained by feeding it Max Soup prepared at the Master Dojo. Gigantamax Single Strike Style uses G-Max One Blow, a Dark-type move, and Rapid Strike Style uses G-Max Rapid Flow, a Water-type move. However, there's no Mega Evolution or regional form: the only Mega of Generation VIII belongs to Falinks, thanks to Falinksite.
• What are Urshifu's weaknesses?
  It depends on the style. As a Fighting and Dark type, Single Strike Style takes four times the damage from Fairy and double from Fighting and Flying; it takes half damage from Rock and Ghost, a quarter from Dark, and is completely immune to Psychic. As a Fighting and Water type, Rapid Strike Style takes double damage from Grass, Electric, Flying, Psychic and Fairy; it takes half damage from Fire, Water, Ice, Bug, Rock, Dark and Steel, and has no immunity.

In short

One monk-bear, two towers, two fists, and an Ability that breaks through every guard: Urshifu is the only Pokémon whose fighting style is hand-picked, once and for all. One certainty, whichever school you choose: the blow always lands as a critical hit.