Zacian #888: the wolf that carries the sword of Galar's heroes

A legendary wolf that holds a sword between its fangs. Zacian is the mascot of Pokémon Sword, the "Warrior Pokémon" listed as #888 in the National Pokédex. Known as the "Fairy King's Sword," it changes its appearance and gains the Steel type as soon as it's entrusted with an old rusted weapon.

Contents

• Who is Zacian?
• Hero of Many Battles and Crowned Sword: two forms, one rusted sword
• Types, matchups and the Intrepid Sword Ability
• Behemoth Blade, and not a single Mega
• The Darkest Day and the heroes of Galar
• Zacian Fact Sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Zacian?

Zacian is a Legendary Pokémon from the eighth generation, the one set in the Galar region. In its base form, it stands 2.8 meters tall, weighs 110 kilos and is pure Fairy type : those are the values its fact sheet goes by.

It's a wolf-like quadruped, azure blue, with yellow and red eyes, salmon-pink braids along its body and battle scars on its flanks. A detail few Trainers notice: in this form, its left ear is torn.

Genderless and unable to breed, it lies dormant as a statue until it's called upon. That doesn't stop it from creating illusions or projecting itself as a mere mirage.

Hero of Many Battles and Crowned Sword: two forms, one rusted sword

Zacian has two forms, and neither one is an evolution. The standard form is called Hero of Many Battles ; the second, the one seen on posters and artwork, is called Crowned Sword.

It all comes down to a single item: theRusted Sword. When Zacian holds it, the sword makes it absorb the surrounding metal, makes its ear whole again, caps its head with a golden helmet, unfurls a pair of wings and, above all, adds the Steel type. That striking golden silhouette on legendary Pokémon figures, that's the one.

The numbers change too: the 110 kilos become 355 kilos with the height unchanged, and the stat total climbs from 660 to 700 points. None of it is permanent, though, since all it takes is to remove the item to get the Hero of Many Battles form back.

These values have actually changed along the way: in Pokémon Sword and Shield, the Crowned Sword form had 170 Attack and 720 points in total. The ninth generation brought its Attack down to 150 and its total to 700, a figure that plenty of other Pokémon reach or exceed.

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Types, matchups and the Intrepid Sword Ability

As a pure Fairy type, Zacian fears only two types,Steel and Poison, which deal double damage to it. It takes half damage from Fighting, Bug and Dark, and it's completely immune to Dragon.

In its Crowned Sword form, the chart gets reshuffled: Poison no longer affects it at all and Steel stops being a weakness, but Fire and Ground now hit it for double damage. It cuts Bug damage to a quarter, takes half damage from eight other types and has two immunities, Poison and Dragon.

Its Ability, on the other hand, stays the same from one form to the other: Intrepid Sword, which no other Pokémon has, raises its Attack by one stage when it enters the field. Since the ninth generation, it only activates on its first entrance in battle.

Behemoth Blade, and not a single Mega

Its signature move is called Behemoth Blade and only exists in its Crowned Sword form, where it replaces Iron Head. A physical Steel-type move, it has 100 power, 100 accuracy and 5 PP.

In Pokémon Sword and Shield, it deals double damage to a Dynamaxed target. A neat paradox: Zacian itself is one of only three Pokémon in those games that can't Dynamax, a list that runs from the two heroes Zacian and Zamazenta to Eternatus.

Otherwise, no surprises. Zacian does not evolve and isn't the evolution of any Pokémon. It has no Mega Evolution, no regional form, and no Gigantamax form : its only two appearances are Hero of Many Battles and Crowned Sword.

The Darkest Day and the heroes of Galar

Going back 3,000 years, you'll find Galar in the grip of the Darkest Day: a darkened sky, Pokémon grown gigantic and uncontrollable, a region on the verge of being wiped off the map. The Pokémon Sword Pokédex sums up Zacian's role in a single sentence: "Known as a legendary hero, this Pokémon absorbs metal particles, transforming them into a weapon it uses to battle."

The tapestries of Hammerlocke tell the story of two young heroes armed with a sword and a shield. The statues of Stow-on-Side set the record straight: that sword and that shield were Pokémon. Zacian and Zamazenta, the heroes of Galar, portrayed sometimes as siblings, sometimes as rivals.

Together, they overcame Eternatus, even in its Eternamax form, before falling asleep in the Slumbering Weald. The Pokémon Shield Pokédex mentions it in passing: "This Pokémon has slumbered for many years. Some say it's Zamazenta's elder sister—others say the two Pokémon are rivals." Reason enough to want a cuddly version of the wolf among our Pokémon plushies.

Zacian Fact Sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

• What are Zacian's two forms?
  Zacian in its Hero of Many Battles form, the standard one: Fairy type, 2.8 meters, 110 kilos and 660 stat points. And Zacian in its Crowned Sword form: Fairy and Steel type, the same height but 355 kilos, for 700 stat points. Both keep the "Warrior Pokémon" category and the number 888.
• How do you get Crowned Sword Zacian?
  Just have it hold the Rusted Sword. The item makes it absorb the surrounding metal, gives it the Steel type on top of its Fairy type and turns its Iron Head move into Behemoth Blade. The change is reversible: take away the Rusted Sword and Zacian goes back to its Hero of Many Battles form. You get the Rusted Sword at the sacred altar in the Slumbering Weald in Pokémon Sword, and at an auction in Porto Marinada in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
• Does Zacian evolve?
  No. Zacian has no evolution and isn't the evolution of any Pokémon. It's important to keep the two ideas apart: an evolution changes the species and is permanent, while switching to the Crowned Sword form is a simple, reversible change of form within one and the same species. Zacian is also genderless and can't breed.
• Does Zacian have a Mega Evolution or a Gigantamax form?
  No, neither one. It has no regional form either. The only Mega Evolution of the eighth generation belongs to Falinks, thanks to the Falinksite. Zacian can't even Dynamax: it's one of only three Pokémon in Pokémon Sword and Shield in that situation, along with Zamazenta and Eternatus.
• What are Zacian's weaknesses?
  It depends on the form. As a pure Fairy type, Zacian only fears Steel and Poison, which deal double damage to it; it takes half damage from Fighting, Bug and Dark, and Dragon doesn't affect it at all. As a Fairy and Steel type, the Crowned Sword form is weak to Fire and Ground, cuts Bug damage to a quarter, takes half damage from Normal, Flying, Rock, Grass, Ice, Psychic, Dark and Fairy, and becomes immune to both Dragon and Poison.
• What does the Intrepid Sword Ability do?
  It raises Zacian's Attack by one stage when it enters the field. It's Zacian's signature Ability: no other Pokémon has it, either as a regular Ability or as a Hidden Ability, and Zacian keeps it in both forms. Note a rule change: since the ninth generation, Intrepid Sword only activates the first time it enters battle, and no longer every time it switches in.

In short

A rusted sword, a bonus Steel type and an Ability that strikes the moment it arrives: Zacian distills all the Arthurian folklore of Galar into a single Pokémon. And yet, it does not evolve.