Urshifu (
: ウーラオス,
: Uuraosu) (UR-shee-foo[1]) is a dual-type Legendary Pokémon introduced in Generation VIII, whose primary type is the Fighting type. It is the mascot of Isle of Armor.
It has two forms that the secondary type depends on: Single Strike Style Urshifu, whose secondary type is Dark type, and Rapid Strike Style Urshifu, whose secondary type is Water type.
It is the evolved form of Kubfu.
Biology
Physiology
Urshifu is a gray bear biped Pokémon with pastel yellow fingers, toes and mouth. It has two eyes with black pupils with fur extending from its kneecaps and running from its feet.
It wears a black and white headband with two loose strips which are flying upwards (Single Strike Style)/downwards (Rapid Strike Style). It also wears a black and white leotard.
When Gigantamaxing, they turn white completely and their leotard changes to either red or blue depending on the form. Their eyes' pupils have disappeared and have an extra slash mark on top.
Behavior
Urshifu's style and personality is determined by how it trained as a Kubfu.
Single Strike Style Urshifu prefers to battle without holding back its power. If enraged, it will attack the foe with full force with straight line directed fists.
Rapid Strike Style Urshifu prefers calmly observing the opponent and their strength while evading hits. It uses flowing movements to dodge an opponent's attack before overwhelming them with rapid strikes, like Mienshao.
Gigantamax Single Strike Style Urshifu has been called "the very embodiment of rage" and "a divine emissary that banishes evil spirits with its fury."
Rapid Strike Style Urshifu maintains a stance in a calm manner while in Gigantamax form. Opponents who face it may either feel greatly agitated or experience a sense of relief, as if freed from evil spirits.
Natural abilities
Their ability, Unseen Fist, allows them to bypass moves like Protect, allowing them to always strike their foe. Wicked Blow and Surging Strikes, their signature moves, have high crit ratios and ignore stat changes of the _target.
When they Gigantamax, their G-Max moves, G-Max One Blow, and G-Max Rapid Flow, can bypass Max Guard and other protection moves.
Evolution
Urshifu evolves from Kubfu by finishing the trial at either one of Tower of Two Fists: Tower of Darkness or Tower of Waters.
Kubfu evolves into Single Strike Style Urshifu by finishing the trial at Tower of Darkness and being shown the Scroll of Darkness, and evolves into Rapid Strike Style Urshifu by finishing the trial at Tower of Waters and being shown the Scroll of Waters.
Game Info
Locations
It cannot be found in wild areas but can be received by Master Mustard and can be evolved into your preferred version.
| Locations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Version(s) | Area(s) | Rarity |
| Sword and Shield | Evolve Kubfu | One |
Pokédex Entries
- Sword
Single Strike Style: This form of Urshifu is a strong believer in the one-hit KO. Its strategy is to leap in close to foes 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.
Gigantamax Single Strike Style: People call it the embodiment of rage. It's said that this Pokémon's terrifying expression and shout will rid the world of malevolence.
Gigantamax Rapid Strike Style: As it waits for the right moment to unleash its Gigantamax power, this Pokémon maintains a perfect one-legged stance. It won't even twitch. - Shield
Single Strike Style: Inhabiting the mountains of a distant region, this Pokémon races across sheer cliffs, training its legs and refining its moves.
Rapid Strike Style: This form of Urshifu is a strong believer in defeating foes by raining many blows down on them. Its strikes are nonstop, flowing like a river.
Gigantamax Single Strike Style: The energy released by this Pokémon's fists forms shock waves that can blow away Dynamax Pokémon in just one hit.
Gigantamax Rapid Strike Style: All it takes is a glare from this Pokémon to take the lives of those with evil in their hearts — or so they say.
Stats
Single Strike Style
| Stats | |
|---|---|
| HP | 100
|
| Attack | 130
|
| Defense | 100
|
| Sp. Atk | 63
|
| Sp. Def | 60
|
| Speed | 97
|
| Total | 550
|
Rapid Strike Style
| Stats | |
|---|---|
| HP | 100
|
| Attack | 130
|
| Defense | 100
|
| Sp. Atk | 63
|
| Sp. Def | 60
|
| Speed | 97
|
| Total | 550
|
Learnset
Leveling
Single Strike Style
| Generation IX | ||||||
| Level | Move | Type | Category | Power | Accuracy | PP |
| Bold indicates that this Pokémon receives STAB from this move. Italic indicates that an evolved or alternate form of this Pokémon receives STAB from this move. | ||||||
| LevelingGeneration VIII | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | Move | Power | Accuracy | PP | Type | Cat. | |||
| Evo | Wicked Blow | 80 | 100% | 5 |  Dark
|
Physical | |||
| 1 | Wicked Blow | 80 | 100% | 5 | Dark
|
Physical | |||
| 1 | Sucker Punch | 70 | 100% | 5 | Dark
|
Physical | |||
| 1 | Rock Smash | 40 | 100% | 15 |  Fighting
|
Physical | |||
| 1 | Leer | — | 100% | 30 |  Normal
|
Status | |||
| 4 | Endure | — | —% | 10 | Normal
|
Status | |||
| 8 | Focus Energy | — | —% | 30 | Normal
|
Status | |||
| 12 | Aerial Ace | 60 | —% | 20 |  Flying
|
Physical | |||
| 16 | Scary Face | — | 100% | 10 | Normal
|
Status | |||
| 20 | Headbutt | 70 | 100% | 15 | Normal
|
Physical | |||
| 24 | Brick Break | 75 | 100% | 15 | Fighting
|
Physical | |||
| 28 | Detect | — | —% | 5 | Fighting
|
Status | |||
| 32 | Bulk Up | — | —% | 20 | Fighting
|
Status | |||
| 36 | Iron Head | 80 | 100% | 15 |  Steel
|
Physical | |||
| 40 | Dynamic Punch | 100 | 50% | 5 | Fighting
|
Physical | |||
| 44 | Counter | — | 100% | 20 | Fighting
|
Physical | |||
| 48 | Close Combat | 120 | 100% | 5 | Fighting
|
Physical | |||
| 52 | Focus Punch | 150 | 100% | 20 | Fighting
|
Physical | |||
| Bold indicates this Pokémon receives STAB from this move. Italic indicates an evolved or alternate form of this Pokémon receives STAB from this move. | |||||||||
Rapid Strike Style
| Generation IX | ||||||
| Level | Move | Type | Category | Power | Accuracy | PP |
| Bold indicates that this Pokémon receives STAB from this move. Italic indicates that an evolved or alternate form of this Pokémon receives STAB from this move. | ||||||
| LevelingGeneration VIII | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | Move | Power | Accuracy | PP | Type | Cat. | |||
| Evo | Surging Strikes | 25 | 100% | 5 |  Water
|
Physical | |||
| 1 | Surging Strikes | 25 | 100% | 5 | Water
|
Physical | |||
| 1 | Aqua Jet | 40 | 100% | 20 | Water
|
Physical | |||
| 1 | Rock Smash | 40 | 100% | 15 | Fighting
|
Physical | |||
| 1 | Leer | — | 100% | 30 | Normal
|
Status | |||
| 4 | Endure | — | —% | 10 | Normal
|
Status | |||
| 8 | Focus Energy | — | —% | 30 | Normal
|
Status | |||
| 12 | Aerial Ace | 60 | —% | 20 | Flying
|
Physical | |||
| 16 | Scary Face | — | 100% | 10 | Normal
|
Status | |||
| 20 | Headbutt | 70 | 100% | 15 | Normal
|
Physical | |||
| 24 | Brick Break | 75 | 100% | 15 | Fighting
|
Physical | |||
| 28 | Detect | — | —% | 5 | Fighting
|
Status | |||
| 32 | Bulk Up | — | —% | 20 | Fighting
|
Status | |||
| 36 | Iron Head | 80 | 100% | 15 | Steel
|
Physical | |||
| 40 | Dynamic Punch | 100 | 50% | 5 | Fighting
|
Physical | |||
| 44 | Counter | — | 100% | 20 | Fighting
|
Physical | |||
| 48 | Close Combat | 120 | 100% | 5 | Fighting
|
Physical | |||
| 52 | Focus Punch | 150 | 100% | 20 | Fighting
|
Physical | |||
| Bold indicates this Pokémon receives STAB from this move. Italic indicates an evolved or alternate form of this Pokémon receives STAB from this move. | |||||||||
TM
Single Strike Style
| Generation IX | ||||||
| Machine | Move | Type | Category | Power | Accuracy | PP |
| Bold indicates that this Pokémon receives STAB from this move. Italic indicates that an evolved or alternate form of this Pokémon receives STAB from this move. | ||||||
Rapid Strike Style
| Generation IX | ||||||
| Machine | Move | Type | Category | Power | Accuracy | PP |
| Bold indicates that this Pokémon receives STAB from this move. Italic indicates that an evolved or alternate form of this Pokémon receives STAB from this move. | ||||||
Breeding
Single Strike Style
| Urshifu learns no moves via breeding. |
|---|
Rapid Strike Style
| Urshifu learns no moves via breeding. |
|---|
Tutoring
Single Strike Style
Rapid Strike Style
Sprites
Trivia
- Urshifu is one of the few final evolved Pokémon to have multiple variant forms.
- Urshifu's English name is derived from the Latin word "Ursa" and the Chinese pronunciation of "师傅" (shifu). Ursa means bear in Latin, and shifu means master (of martial arts, combat, sports, etc.) in Chinese.
- Urshifu is the only Legendary Pokémon with a Gigantamax form, and the only one that can use a G-Max move.
- It is also the only Pokémon to have a Gigantamax form and G-Max move for each variant. Strangely, Toxtricity and Alcremie, who have variants as well, do not have this trait.
- Urshifu and Kubfu are the first legendary Pokémon since Heatran to be either male or female, but the only legendary Pokémon to have an 87.5x12.5 gender ratio.
- Urshifu's leotards resemble the Armour of Zamazenta.
- Urshifu's two forms are somewhat similar to the protagonists of Beyblade Burst Super King (Hyuga and Hikaru Asashi). One of the pair is red and hasty, while the other is blue and calmer. Furthermore, its fighting style is also similar to the Beyblades used (Single Strike is similar to Super Hyperion, an Attack type Beyblade, while King Helios corresponds to Rapid Strike, which parries opponents with attacks). a third similarity is that the Beyblade's avatars and Urshifu's forms are exact copies of each other, albeit with differences.
- Urshifu's Japanese name, ウーラオス (Ūraosu), is similar to the Japanese name of the Ancient Ulyaoth from the survival horror/action-adventure game Eternal Darkness (ウーリアス(Ūriasu)). Oddly though, the two have almost nothing similar save for the fact that both are godlike beings, both are from franchises partially owned by Nintendo, and both Ulyaoth and Rapid Strike Urshifu are associated with the color blue and water.
- A Single Strike Style Urshifu is heavily inspired by Akira Yuki from Sega's Virtua Fighter, just like its pre-evolved form Kubfu. Speaking of Akira Yuki, James' Japanese voice actor Shin-ichiro Miki also voices the said Sega fighting game character since Virtua Fighter 2. Another Akira Yuki reference is that Urshifu's evolution line debuted in a year 2020, befitting Akira's alternate famous victory catchphrase instead of the usual “ten years” catchphrase, which is ”You are twenty years too early!!” from a Dengeki Bunko and Sega crossover fighting game Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax (Ignition). Perhaps another parallel can be made to the Tekken series characters Kuma and Panda, who are literally fighting bears, and to the Fist of the North Star series, in where the protagonist Kenshiro, utilizing a fluid rapid striking and heavily technical martial art, ultimately faces off against Raoh, the antagonist who uses a powerful, deadly, and strength based version of Kenshiro's martial arts.
Origin
Urshifu draws upon the idea of tamed bears, specifically bears who were taken as cubs to be trained and raised in human society. Being a Fighting-type Pokémon and a "martial artist" draws upon a lot of lore of bears and the martial arts; high ranked martial artists sometimes fight bears as a means to test their skill in extreme situations, while the term kuma taiji, or "bear conquest", is sometimes used to also refer to demonic exorcism; this may explain Single Strike Style's Dark typing. It could also be based on the Short-Faced Bear, an extinct bear species known for its immense size and long limbs.
Within astronomy and astrology, the Big Dipper in the west is sometimes referred to as Ursa Major, as imagery sees the constellation as a great bear, while in the east, the Big Dipper was traditionally known as the celestial palace of the heavens, with its handle end star, Alkaid, known as Hagunsei, or the Military Breaking Star, or The Sword, as it was believed the armies of heaven and the gods of death quartered there, and was ominous for warriors to face the northwestern direction because of this. Into the Meiji Era, when western and eastern thought met in 19th Century Japan, the Big Dipper saw another interpretation by its English adopted wordplay, being a "dark corner" akin to a bear's den.
Each of Urshifu's style forms represents Yin and Yang, and into martial arts, the philosophy's application into the division of "hard styles" and "soft styles", as represented with Single Strike and Rapid Strike. Hard styles are said to focus on external focuses, that of raw strength and power, explosive speed, head on intercepting countering blows, and direct confrontation, while Soft styles are said to focus on internal focuses, including the control of the natural flow of the body with the mind, accuracy, mental acuity, concepts like using a foe's own movement and energy against them, and drawing out weaknesses; in short, as Rapid Strike Style Urshifu represents, the way of martial artist philosophy: "be like water". To Japanese martial arts philosophy, the concepts of satsujinken ("sword/fist that kills") and katsujinken ("sword/fist that gives life") also tie into these philosophies as well, respectively; satsujinken focuses on controlling a bout's tension to escalate to where a single blow is all that is needed for victory, while katsujinken focuses on cancelling out tension by meshing with a foe's energy and using it against them upon finding a weak point to disarm them. This would also presumably perhaps explain their dual typing; Dark coming from the intent to "kill" or instantaneously annihilate all opposition, Water also capable of "giving life" as much as it is able to overwhelm and overpower with many forms and rhythms.
Their Gigantamax forms may be based on Ungyou and Agyou, 2 Japanese deities/Nio who stand watch over temples. One always has its mouth open, the other closed. They may also be based on the trope Red Oni and Blue Oni where the red one is more aggressive, whilst the blue one is more calm. Gigantamax Urshifu's Single Strike style may be based on Agyou, who is often depicted with its mouth open to represent aggression, while Gigantamax Urshifu's Rapid Strike style may be based on Ungyou, who is often depicted with its mouth closed to represent concealed power.
Etymology
Urshifu is a combination of 'ursa', Latin for 'bear', and 'shifu' (Onyomi Japanese/Chinese adapted Japanese term for "master"), or Kung Fu.
Ūraosu is a portmanteau of wushu (Japanese has no native "wu" sound so "ū" is typically used), 老師 / 老师 (lǎoshī, Chinese for teacher), "ursa", "oorah", and 押忍 (osu, interjection used in Japanese martial arts).
Gallery
References
- ^ Silvestri, Cris (2024). Pokémon Super Duper Extra Deluxe Essential Handbook [Book]. p. 582 & 583. Scholastic. ISBN 978-1-339-02801-9.
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