Runerigus #867: The Cursed Slab That Evolves Only in Pain

An engraved stone slab that has come to life. Runerigus (Tutétékri in French) is the Grudge Pokémon of the Galar region: 1.60 meters of ancient mural weighing 66.6 kilograms, with a single purple eye and trails of shadow for arms. It doesn't come from an Egg or a simple level-up, but from a curse that ended up draining a soul.

Contents

• Who Is Runerigus?
• Ground and Ghost Type, Stats and the Wandering Spirit Ability
• Evolution: 49 HP and a Stone Arch
• Runestone, Serpent and Forty-Nine Days
• Runerigus at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who Is Runerigus?

Listed as #867 in the National Pokédex, Runerigus is the "Grudge Pokémon" of the eighth generation, introduced in Pokémon Sword and Shield. It rounds off the Galarian branch of the evolutionary line of Yamask, and it also appears in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

Its body is an oblong stone slab with jagged edges, decorated with a red mural of a serpent with sharp fangs. Four pieces broken off from the slab float around it, linked to the rest by black, ghostly trails that serve as its arms, neck and tail.

It has just one eye, purple and glowing, placed exactly where the painted serpent's eye is. The Pokémon Sword Pokédex couldn't be clearer: "A powerful curse was woven into an ancient painting. After absorbing the spirit of a Yamask, the painting began to move." It isn't the ghost that grew up; it's the stone that came to life.

Pokémon Shield adds a warning: "Never touch the shadowlike body, or you'll be shown the horrific memories behind the picture carved into it." In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the entry explains that this clay tablet, once shattered, has now been pieced back together, and that the resentment it held has been released.

Ground and Ghost Type, Stats and the Wandering Spirit Ability

Its Ground and Ghost pairing gives it three complete immunities, a rare luxury: Normal and Fighting slide right off its Ghost side, and Electric off its Ground side. No move of these three types can take away a single HP.

On top of that, it takes only a quarter of the damage from Poison, and half from Rock and Bug. On the other hand, five types hit it for double damage: Water, Grass, Ice, Ghost and Dark. The good news: no type hits it for quadruple damage.

Its stats are those of a wall: 145 Defense and 105 Special Defense, against 58 HP and a mere 30 Speed. Here's a curiosity you can check for yourself: its 483 points are exactly the total of Cofagrigus, except that Attack and Special Attack are swapped : 95 and 50 for Runerigus, 50 and 95 for the Unova sarcophagus.

Its only ability is Wandering Spirit, the signature Ability of the Galarian Yamask family: when a contact move hits it, it swaps its own Ability with the attacker's. It has no second Ability, no hidden ability, and not a single signature move.

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Evolution: 49 HP and a Stone Arch

This is probably one of the strangest evolution methods in the series. Runerigus evolves from Galarian Yamask, and from it alone. Level plays no part: the little ghost must first have lost 49 HP or more to enemy attacks, without being healed afterward.

Once that debt of pain has been paid, all that's left is to take it to the right spot. In Pokémon Sword and Shield, you walk it under the large stone arch in the Dusty Bowl, the desert basin in the northern part of the Wild Area. In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, you need to pass under one of the bridges that span the Canal Lacoulée, in Lumiose City.

Watch out for the most common trap: the original Yamask, the one from Unova, a pure Ghost type with the Mummy Ability, doesn't follow this path at all. It simply evolves into Cofagrigus, #563, at level 34. One species, two forms, two unrelated evolutions.

Runestone, Serpent and Forty-Nine Days

Despite what the rest of the family might suggest, the design doesn't come from Egypt: Runerigus draws on runestones, the carved standing stones of the Viking Age, often raised in memory of the dead. The serpent painted on its slab, however, evokes Apophis, the Egyptian god of chaos.

Nor is the number 49 a programmer's whim: it's a nod to the Bardo Thödol, a Buddhist concept often likened to purgatory, whose traditional length is forty-nine days. As for its French name, Tutétékri, it blends Tutankhamun with the phrase "it's all written" — in French, " tout est écrit ».

No Mega Evolution or Gigantamax form in store for it: across the entire eighth generation, the only Mega in existence belongs to Falinks, triggered by the Falinksite. Still, its haunted-stele silhouette makes it a prime subject for Pokémon figures, while its little Yamask is better suited to Pokémon plushies.

Runerigus at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do you evolve Galarian Yamask into Runerigus?
  There's no level requirement. Galarian Yamask must have lost 49 HP or more to enemy attacks, without being healed in the meantime, and then pass under a specific spot: the large stone arch in the Dusty Bowl, in the Wild Area, in Pokémon Sword and Shield, or one of the two large bridges that span the Canal Lacoulée, in Lumiose City, in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. One bit of arithmetic to keep in mind: since it has to survive those 49 points of damage, its max HP must be above 49, so you'll need to train a low-level Galarian Yamask a little before you can hope to evolve it.
• Can regular Yamask become Runerigus?
  No, and it's the most common mix-up about this evolutionary line. Only the Galarian form of Yamask, a Ground and Ghost type with the Wandering Spirit Ability, evolves into Runerigus. The original Yamask, discovered in Unova, is a pure Ghost type, has the Mummy Ability and evolves into Cofagrigus at level 34. They are two forms of the same species, but two completely separate evolutions.
• What is Runerigus's Ability?
  Wandering Spirit, and it's its only Ability: it has neither a second Ability nor a Hidden Ability. When a contact move hits it, it swaps its own Ability with the attacker's, which hands Wandering Spirit to the opponent and strips it of its own passive Ability. Some Abilities, such as Wonder Guard, are immune to this swap, however. Wandering Spirit is the signature Ability of the Galarian Yamask family: only Galarian Yamask and Runerigus have it naturally.
• What are Runerigus's weaknesses and immunities?
  Its Ground and Ghost dual typing gives it three immunities: Normal, Fighting and Electric do absolutely nothing to it. Poison deals only a quarter of the damage, and Rock and Bug half. Five types hit it for double damage: Water, Grass, Ice, Ghost and Dark. No type hits it for quadruple damage, and the seven remaining types, namely Flying, Ground, Steel, Fire, Psychic, Dragon and Fairy, deal normal damage.
• Does Runerigus have a Mega Evolution, a Gigantamax form or a signature move?
  None of the three. Across the entire eighth generation, the only Mega Evolution that exists is Falinks's, obtained with the Falinksite. Runerigus has no Gigantamax form or regional form either, since it is itself the final stage of a regional form. And unlike many Pokémon with a signature Ability, it has no exclusive move: all of its moves are shared with other species.
• Where do you find Runerigus in Pokémon Sword and Shield?
  You won't run into it in the tall grass. It only appears in Max Raid Battles, in several dens across the Wild Area, including those in the Dusty Bowl, Bridge Field, Stony Wilderness and Giant's Mirror. So the most reliable way to get one is still to catch a Galarian Yamask and evolve it yourself.

In short

A stone wall, a living memory and a walking curse, Runerigus is one of the few Pokémon you have to let take a beating to obtain — and one of the most macabre creations of the Galar region.