Zangoose is a bipedalPokémon resembling a cross between a mongoose and a cat. Despite being classified as a bipedal Pokémon, it usually walks on all fours. Its fur is mostly white with deep red, scar-like markings on the face, chest, and forepaws. Its fur stands up on end when it smells its arch-enemy Seviper nearby. It has two long, black claws on its forepaws, which curl underneath the forepaws when not in use, and pink paw pads on its hind feet. It has pink eyes, long ears, and a small red nose. When it opens its mouth, two sharp fangs can be seen on its upper jaw. There are small tufts of white fur on its shoulders, and it has a large, fluffy tail.
Zangoose is bitter enemies withSeviper, which it has battled for many generations. Every hair on a Zangoose's body is known to stand up if it even smells a Seviper nearby. It is agile enough to easily dodge incoming threats, and it attacks foes with its sharp claws. It uses its sharp claws to tear foes apart. Despite its hot-blooded and brave nature, it has been known to enjoy peaceful activities, such as listening to ocean waves. Zangoose has a strong immune system and isresistant to venom. It lives ingrasslands and savannas.
Zangoose usually stays on all fours, but when angered, it gets up on its hind legs and extends its claws. ThisPokémon shares a bitter rivalry withSeviper that dates back over generations.
Zangoose usually stays on all fours, but when angered, it gets up on its hind legs and extends its claws. This Pokémon shares a bitter rivalry withSeviper that dates back over generations.
Zangoose certainly has a brave side, using its sharp claws to fight back against foes. But it actually seems to enjoy peaceful activities, like listening to the sound of the ocean waves ornearby singing.
Zangoose debuted inZigZag Zangoose, under the ownership ofNicholai. It battledAsh and hisTreecko, but suddenly, Zangoose noticedJessie's Seviper and started to battle it instead. Ash,his friends, and evenTeam Rocket did not know what was going on, but it was Zangoose andSeviper's natural rivalry that got the two fighting. They were suddenly knocked into a river and Seviper then usedPoison Tail, knocking Zangoose unconscious.Brock nursed Zangoose back to health with herbal medicine and left it to rest. Later, Seviper reappeared and engaged it inbattle again. After a long and fierce battle, Zangoose finally knocked out the Fang Snake Pokémon with aCrush Claw.
InTears For Fears!, three Zangoose confrontedTeam Rocket and foughtJessie's Seviper. Later, when their rivalry was endangering everyone else, Ash's Chimchar found the courage to defeat them.
InSaving Braviary!,Weiss sent out a Zangoose after he and Schwarz caughtN getting away with an injuredBraviary. It was then used to battleAsh andhis friends, and was eventually defeated in a battle byAsh's Pikachu with help from the same Braviary.
InThe Semi-Final Frontier!, a Trainer's Zangoose went up against Tobias during the Lily of the Valley Conference finals. It battled his Darkrai off-screen, but as with the other five Pokémon owned by its Trainer, it was easily defeated by the Pitch-Black Pokémon.
Zangoose, the Cat Ferret Pokémon. Zangoose usually walks around on all fours, but stands on its hind legs when angry. It's very quick and can easily dodge most enemyattacks.
Zangoose and its rivalSeviper share several characteristics, such as being in theFieldEgg Group, residing in the sameFriend Area, and being the only two Pokémon with a base stat total of 458. They have also appeared adjacent to each other in all theregional Pokédexes they have been part of.
Zangoose and Seviper also have the exact oppositeExperience group, with Zangoose being in the Erratic group and Seviper being in the Fluctuating group.
InPokémon Scarlet and Violet, most of Zangoose's Egg Moves from previous generations are learned through theMove Reminder, thus it learns no moves through breeding.
Origin
Zangoose appears to be based on themongoose, a cat-like carnivore that is well known for its ability to hunt and killvenomous snakes. Although, it bears more resemblance to cats, such as theTurkish Angora andPersian cat.
The rivalry Zangoose shares withSeviper is based on the real life relationship between mongooses andsnakes, with mongoose being predators of snakes. In many cultures the mongoose is depicted as an antagonist of snakes, most notably the story ofRikki-Tikki-Tavi fromthe Jungle Book. In Japan (specifically Okinawa and Amami), it was common for ahabu, a type of snake, and a mongoose to be pitted against each other in roadside shows. This practice is now considered inhumane and is rarely seen today.
As seen only in their Generation III and Pokémon Pinball RS sprites, Zangoose and Seviper shared a color scheme that further reinforced their rivalry: Seviper’s red tail blade and fangs matched Zangoose’s red scar-like markings, while Zangoose’s claws were originally purple, matching Seviper’s purple scar-like markings. This color symmetry is also reflected in their shiny forms. The connection was removed from the official artwork and later generations, with Zangoose’s claws changed to black.
Name origin
Zangoose may be a combination of 斬zan (slash) andmongoose. Additionally, the use ofZ in Zangoose mirrors theS in Seviper, possibly in reference to their rivalry.
This Pokémon article is part ofProject Pokédex, aBulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.