The Rathalos are monsters that first debuted in Monster Hunter. They are powerful and widespread Flying Wyverns that are famed for their aerial prowess and fire breath, causing them to be crowned the "Kings of the Sky". Territorial and aggressive even for monsters, hunters are often called in to fight Rathalos when they appear.
Appearance[]
Like his female counterpart Rathian, the Rathalos is a large Flying Wyvern with raptor-like traits, such as sharp talons on his feet and a small beak in addition to his sharp teeth. He is covered in hard scutes on its back, possesses a cream colored underside and four horns on the back of his head, two curved upwards and the others downwards. Rathalos also has a tail ending in a heavily plated, clubbed tail, as well as sharp spines on the phalanges of his wings. Unlike Rathian, Rathalos's scutes are predominantly bright red, with bright blue eyes instead of Rathian's green eyes and scutes. His wing patterns also take the form of red bending lines and his tail club has several large spikes instead of Rathian's poisonous hairs.
Abilities[]
As one of the most common and widespread wyverns in the world, Rathalos is an incredibly powerful predator, specialising in aerial ambush. His powers of flight are nearly unmatched by any other monster, allowing him to swoop down on unsuspecting prey and even combat fellow predators in aerial dogfights. To grapple prey Rathalos is equipped with talons that exude a deadly venom, poisoning any prey caught and spelling their certain doom.
Rathalos is also equipped with a powerful flame sac that allows him to, like other fire-attuned monsters, spit fireballs at foes. However, unlike most other wyverns, Rathalos can also continuously breathe fire in a stream like a flamethrower, denying area to opponents and severely scorching anyone caught in the crosshairs.
In addition to his flight, venom and fire, Rathalos is physically very capable, being able to toss about smaller opponents like rag dolls. He is also durable enough to fight powerful wyverns such as Astalos to a standstill despite weakness to the latter's element.
Behavior[]
Because they are very protective of their territory, Rathalos can be violent against outsiders. Any creature that could threaten their territory will be driven away or targeted for death. Rathalos pursue their prey from the air during hunting before diving in for the kill. After bringing down their target successfully, they will take it away to feast in secret, out of the reach of scavengers and other enormous monsters that could try to steal the kill.
Raths are known to be a purely monogamous species: Rathalos will build elaborate nests to impress females and the two will mate only with each other for every mating season. While rearing chicks Rathalos and Rathian both play equally important roles: Rathian will go out to hunt for prey while Rathalos will guard the chicks. The Rath species in general is also known to be rather tolerant to others of their species no matter the relation and will often nest in somewhat close proximity to each other.
As a result of being an apex predator of many temperate regions, Rathalos comes into conflict with many other apex monsters such as Zinogre, Astalos and Seregios. The latter is even known to raid Rath nests and kill them on occasion. Rathalos generally doesn't fear any other predator thanks to its large size, but powerful monsters like Magnamalo and Malzeno are more than capable of preying on it.
Habitat[]
From the intense heat of a volcano to the temperate forests and hills, raptors have been observed in a variety of settings. Being adept in flying, they would explore great distances while looking for prey above. In addition to Nargacuga, Rathalos is the ultimate predator in the Ancient Forest.
Why aren't they heroic or villainous?[]
Rathalos, from Monster Hunter, is not considered a villain because it's primarily acting as a predator defending its territory, attacking hunters only when they intrude on its domain, essentially behaving like any wild animal would in its natural habitat; it's not actively seeking to harm humans or cause destruction, just protecting its space and hunting prey, making it more of a natural threat than a malicious one.
Trivia[]
- As he appears in every single game in the Monster Hunter franchise and is heavily featured in promotional material, Rathalos is considered the mascot of the franchise in addition to being the first game's flagship monster.
- Rathian is actually the one on top of the Monster Hunter logo while many assumed it was Rathalos. It is because Rathian has more back spikes and longer chin spike.
- Rathian was also made before Rathalos.
- Rathalos received the 21st place in the 20th Anniversary Hunter's Choice Poll for Top Monster.
- With the introduction of his theme, “King of the Skies” in Monster Hunter Wilds, Rathalos is the flagship monster that has remained without a unique battle theme for the longest duration, lacking one for almost 21 years. While Lagiacrus also lacks a unique theme in its original game, the Deserted Island’s theme “Tremors on Land and Sea” is officially considered its theme based on the 20th Anniversary’s Top 10 Monster Themes poll.
