Rathalos

Rathalos
Official artwork of Rathalos from Monster Hunter: World.
Universe	Monster Hunter
Debut	Monster Hunter (2004)
Smash Bros. appearances	Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Monster Hunter: World (2018)
Console/platform of origin	PlayStation 2
Gender	Male

Rathalos (リオレウス, Liolaeus) are a type of flying wyvern from the Monster Hunter series, created by Capcom. They are one of the most well-known monsters in the series, and can appear in many varied habitats.

Origin

A Rathalos as it originally appeared in Monster Hunter.

Rathalos is a recurring monster from the Monster Hunter series, and the flagship monster for the original Monster Hunter; it is sometimes known by its epithet "King of the Skies" and belongs to the Flying Wyvern family of monsters. In addition to its female counterpart Rathian, there are a number of Rathalos subspecies in existence, such as Azure Rathalos. Its description in Monster Hunter World states that "Rathalos descends upon invaders from the sky, attacking with poison claws and fiery breath", which is reflected accordingly in its attacks in Smash.

Armor, in both Blademaster and Gunner variants, can be created from materials procured from hunting Rathalos in its home series.

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Mii Swordfighters wearing Rathalos Mail.

Armor created with Rathalos materials from Monster Hunter, called the Rathalos Blademaster Armor, appeared as a downloadable content costume for Mii Swordfighters. The armor's design is derived from Monster Hunter Tri and later entries in the series, excluding Monster Hunter: World.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Rathalos facing Link, Marth and Shulk on Coliseum.

As a Boss

Rathalos appears as a boss in Adventure Mode: World of Light and Classic Mode, and is the first boss in the series to also appear as an Assist Trophy. It can strike the opponent with its claws or breathe fire onto the stage. When it roars, nearby fighters may be stunned.

The boss fight with Rathalos takes place in an arena that resembles Monster Hunter's Ancestral Steppe. Rathalos can be seen flying around the World of Light overworld map prior to its boss fight in that mode.

Rathalos is the boss battle of the Classic Mode for Yoshi, Bowser, Marth, and Duck Hunt.

Characteristics

As an Assist Trophy

Being an Assist Trophy, Rathalos is summoned by flying down from the sky and begins to attack its summoner's opponents. Its attacks include firing fireballs, slashing with its talons, and stunning nearby enemies with a screeching roar. Unlike the boss version, this Rathalos's claws don't inflict poison, nor does it fly into the background for any attacks. Additionally, it is immune to Pitfall traps and Deku Nuts.

As a Boss

Rathalos uses the same attacks it does as an Assist Trophy, with the addition of flying to the background to shoot exploding fireballs. During the fight, certain items will appear, such as Deku Nuts and Pitfalls. The Rathalos is vulnerable to both of said items, which will open it up to free damage before it recovers. Attacking its tail will cause it to drop an item, a reference to how its tail can be severed for extra items in its home series.

When defeated, the Rathalos will drop the ground and flail around before lying still, as in its death animation in the Monster Hunter series.

The fighters that are assigned to fight Rathalos in Classic Mode are Duck Hunt, Marth and Yoshi. Bowser is also assigned to fight Rathalos but it is not the final round.

There are nine main attacks that Rathalos uses in his boss battle:

• Glides in the background, then races towards the fighting area, trying to hit the fighters.
• Roars loudly, stunning opponents
• Dashes forward and performs a sliding tackle. The dash and the slide tackle both have hitboxes
• Swoops toward the fighters, attacking them with his clawed feet, poisoning opponents
• Drops downwards and hits opponents with his clawed feet, poisoning opponents
• Launches three large fireballs forward
• Flies into the background, and launches two large fireballs, which when hitting a fighter or the ground, produce an explosion that gradually gets larger, much like a Smart Bomb
• Flies backwards and launches a fireball.
• Spins around, trying to hit opponents with its tail.

Gallery

• 

  Official artwork of Rathalos from Ultimate.

• 

  Rathalos as a boss.

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  Rathalos in Ultimate.

• 

  Rathalos attacking Lucas on Garden of Hope.

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  Rathalos attacking Link, Pikachu, Bowser and Inkling with its fireballs on Tortimer Island.

• 

  Mario and Rathalos artwork, as posted on the official Japanese Monster Hunter Twitter account.

Trivia

• The Deku Nuts and Pitfalls that appear during the fight serve as a reference to the Rathalos' home universe's Flash Bombs and Pitfall Traps, respectively. The former disorients monsters and causes flying monsters like Rathalos to crash to the ground, and the latter is one of the two trap types used to immobilize monsters so they can be either attacked with impunity or captured alive for extra rewards
• Rathalos is the first character in the series to appear both as an Assist Trophy and a boss.
  • Ridley was planned to be an Assist Trophy in Brawl, but the idea was scrapped to keep him as a boss instead.
• Rathalos' eye color differs from the main Monster Hunter series and in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
• The appearance of Rathalos and Snake in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate marks the second time a Metal Gear character can fight Rathalos, as monsters from the Monster Hunter series, including Rathalos, appeared as bosses on extra missions in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.