Who's the best rival to Rathalos?

[@Darkfreed0m]

Well, obviously it's the flashbug

[@grenindraw6947]

You win lmao

[@christiancinnabars1402]

The flashbug has a more Deviljho-esque relationship with Rathalos, seeing as how it had to be nerfed into the ground so many times to not 100-0 the matchup. Rathalos will have to evolve eyelids in MH6 at this point.

[@MysteryMrE]

True

[@RubyCarrots3232]

That's why DreadKing developed immunity to it.

[@femmefatale4868]

17 minutes just for the answer being in a second of a sentence

[@purplehaze2358]

The fact you'd even need a list of potential rivals for rathalos says a lot about how absurdly large MH's total roster has gotten.

[@shadowmc2609]

Dunno if I would call it absurd, I mean it’s not like our world isn’t fit to bursting with animal species even with so many having gone extinct. I think if anything it probably only seems absurd because Capcom can never help themselves when it comes to the balancing act of new monsters vs. fan favourites returning, so it can all feel like this global melting pot (arguably exacerbated with how many species were added in Iceborne despite the ‘cool’ factor). There’s this oddly pervasive idea that seems to keep cropping up that if a monster can thrive in a specific climate, then EVERY habitat that exhibits said climate automatically means it’s compatible. Dare I say UHC might concur that Tigrex is one of the worst offenders for that what with the whole thing about it somehow being a globe-spanning successful species despite its diet and hunting habits revolving so much around Popo.

[@quinkana1]

Tbf I think the problem with tigrex could be easily solved with them taking aptonoth and other more common herbivores

[@giran4914]

Oh hi

[@purplehaze2358]

@@giran4914 o hi mark

[@giran4914]

@@purplehaze2358 mark?? :wtf:

[@akumunokami9]

It's definetely the Greatsword man from the first games boxart. Can't wait to hunt the Greatsword man.

[@koboldparty4708]

You don't hunt Greatsword Man. Greatsword Man hunts you.

[@xemiii]

That's why you gotta become the greatsword man (man, gs is so fun in World)

[@akumunokami9]

@@xemiii I personally find World gs less fun than in Rise, 4U and especially GU.

[@lexsombersunrise]

​@akumunokami9 Switch skills introduced in Rise/Sunbreak for GS were definitely a lot of fun.

[@akumunokami9]

@@lexsombersunrise I mainly used hunting edge, because it was funny.

[@stormerjc9493]

I still stand by that fact that astalos and Seregios not getting a turf war with the raths is just pure madness, especially for poor Steve

[@Jetstreamsamsbiggestglazer]

I know astalos and seregios already have had fights with him in cutscenes and trailers

[@stormerjc9493]

@@Jetstreamsamsbiggestglazer well yeah but they should be made official in game a least especially because of those trailers and cutscenes

[@sharplosion1]

I do agree that overall Seregios is THE Rath rival. It's got all the backing behind it and has been on of it's most consistent features, over any other potential ones. Anjanath is about the only one that's as consistent, but it's purposefully designed to prop up Rathalos, not really be his equal. The interactions with Seregios are always depicted as extremely hostile and violent, one where you could say there's a definitely greater influence of ecology in the way animals treat consistent potential threats to themselves and offspring. But I can't help but feel that, in-universe, many cultures in the world would consider Lagiacrus to be Rathalos' 'rival.' Just the themes of rulers of Sky and Sea give the impression that cultures who create myths and stories about these monsters would have many depictions of them facing off, even if there's not much factual evidence to support it. And to support that, in contrast the the very violent nature of Seregios' rivalry, the framing of Tri's intro absolutely goes out of it's way to depict Rathalos and Lagiacrus as true equals. The respective rulers of their domains, with their posturing at each other having more of a feel of mutual 'respect' for one another. All in all I'd say Seregios is the Raths' ecological rival. But Lagiacrus is Rathalos' thematic rival.

[@Lanval_de_Lai]

Perfect comment

[@davidegaruti2582]

You struck the nail on the head : Rath and lagiacrus are basically opposite monsters in everything , And so yeah this wouldn't be lost on the cultures in the world of monster hunter , It's a bit like cobras and eagles : both can realistically take out the other but they rarely do that out of necessity , And this almost fencing match between two equally matched opponents is very striking indeed

[@iansmith4184]

Lagiacrus is Rathalos' rival. Seregios is his nemesis.

[@gamatardlekaboom8760]

By theme You mean Lagiacrus is rathalos elemental rival? Cause of the water vs air and the flying vs swimming being what I think it is

[@gamatardlekaboom8760]

​@@iansmith4184 both are his enemies

[@Jwsponky]

Hmm, a well thought out argument. I do readily admit though that going into this I half expected you to pull the "The only threat to a full grown *insert large carnivore here*... is another adult *insert large carnivore here*."

[@unnaturalhistorychannel]

It was pretty tempting…

[@Jwsponky]

@@unnaturalhistorychannel I applaud your restraint.

[@poisonsoda8718]

I like to think that Anjanath actually used to be the apex predator of the ancient forest until Rathalos arrived. And the fact that both are carnivorous fire monsters but Rathalos can fly makes it seem like it's Anjanath but better, relegating Anjanath to the role of bully instead of apex predator

[@Nomadic_Gaming]

rathalos trying to bully a fulgur anjanath and getting electrocuted then speed blitzed by his cross map lunge bs would be the epitome of “surpised pikachu face” and “i aint posting that shit he jumped me”

[@baelGIGAN]

this always made me like anjanath a lot more, it gives him a lot of personality and makes him much more endearing. the fact that he's not really that strong and not very special but despite this punches above his weight (usually loses) whilst gatekeeping the lower tier monsters makes him feel like a spiteful asshole in a good way lol.

[@godhimself478]

@@baelGIGANwhile fulgar and fight black diablos and draw, proud of my electric boi

[@andrewcrowley6331]

I have the same theory. Only real problem with it is Anjas also existing in the old world, but perhaps that could be explained by the old world population being a bit larger and more robust plus more aggressive, making them less bullies and more actual top order predators that can compete with the likes of Zinogre, Tigrex and Nargacuga. However, the reason they still lose to the Raths in the old world too could likely be because their only projectile attack is fire which obviously won't do much to a Rath, so they're basically screwed against a fire-resistant enemy that can fly.

[@m.s.e.advanced2842]

I always thought of his rival as Lagiacrus, one king of the skies, the other the seas, and they're weak to each others element. To be fair though i really liked the Tri opening and Lagiacrus is one of my favorite monsters

[@jockpackage1770]

lagiacrus and rathalos have 1 more thing in common, they are the only flagships without their own theme. they are amongst the monsters like barrioth and agnaktor, who rather than having a theme that will take over the music of the map you are in when they arrive they simply have a map that is home where that theme was composed with them in mind. it's interesting to have them share this odd relationship of being the only 2 flagships like this but i'd be very happy if we never see this again. the worst musical crime was fatalis, his theme is literally the rathalos map theme with lazy dramatic vocal crap added to make it epic i guess but lao shan lung's second stage theme is so much better. "oh that last monsters with the bad ass/tense them as it tried to break the wall was running from that... and it's a normal dragon... with a first map theme remix." truly the biggest disappointment in the series, IB's fight did fix him though, fight wise anyway.

[@baelGIGAN]

Whilst not a flagship I think adding Diablos makes for a really nice trio, all upper tier 2 monsters, each the apex of their domain.

[@Andrew-hz5zc]

Rathalos: Who are you? MH6 Flagship: I'm your rival. Rathalos: Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?

[@wiiu-theunderratedconsole7569]

MH6 Flagship: Look at how cool I am! I defeated Rathalos!!!!!! Literally every other flagship: First time?

[@cro-magnoncarol4017]

What Capcom thinks we want for 6th gen - *Another Rathalos rival* What we really want for 6th gen - Tigrex: "Woah! I thought you were dead..." Gammoth: "My death was greatly exaggerated."

[@langleysenterprise5134]

You don't speak for me. I want another Rathalos roval.

[@kimarykorlumiose7728]

I feel it worth mentioning that Stories also plays into the Rathalos/Lagiacrus rivalry, with the retreat chance being higher if defeated by their opposite

[@powerbalancevathelastkitsu2504]

You noticed that too?

[@kimarykorlumiose7728]

@@powerbalancevathelastkitsu2504 I've played through the entire game 4 times, it was bound to happen sometime lmao

[@DefinitelyNotEmma]

I just want to say, upfront, that I think Rathalos is a really cool flagship for the series as a whole and feels like the essential MH monster. An while I like Seregios a bit more, I feel like none will ever truly rival Rathalos. Of course there will be stronger monsters, but nothing will become more iconic to the series. And Rathalos isn't as favored by the developers as monsters like Zinogre or Deviljho.

[@prawn1717]

Exactly this. Rathalos isn't my favorite monster, but he's so essential to the core of MH. I see people say they want him to skip a game, but it just doesn't make sense. He embodies the series perfectly, a masterful blend of fantasy and realism who rules over such a wide area that a new player can't help but be in awe when he flies overhead. Seregios, Astalos, Tigrex, all good monsters. But Rathalos is the eagle that carries MH on its wings, and he always will be.

[@LeoTheYuty]

Indeed, I really like how his turf wars play out, with most of them being ties and not disrespecting him too much.

[@Ex.zed.]

Rath is the Pikachu of the series, so yeah.

[@yobro6053]

What makes you think they like deviljho more? Just curious

[@LeoTheYuty]

@@yobro6053 They gave monsters on his tier actual turf wars, while they said they didn't want to give bazelguese too much attention so he wouldn't overshadow deviljho during the title update.

[@christiancinnabars1402]

I always saw Lagiacrus as the definite rival to Rathalos. Though it is very much more of a symbolic rivalry than being a proper ecological one. And granted, I was introduced to the series via Tri, so that could be a big factor in why I think of Lagi whenever I think of Rathalos. Seregios I feel is more of a rival to Azure Rathalos. Which yes, is a type of Rathalos and thus is kind of nitpicky to separate them. But Seregios is shown to clearly be equal to Azure in the 4U cutscene, which by the series’ logic puts it above normal Rathalos. In other scenarios against normal Raths, either both Rathalos and Rathian are there to fight off Seregios together, or are alone and picked off pretty quickly. Which are both scenarios that are in-line with the rule of sub-species usually being an indeterminate amount stronger than normal variants of their species.

[@BoostedMonkey05]

What I like about Seregios vs Rathalos is that while Seregios is designed to be the true rival of rathalos, Steve is usually on a time limit. His agility comes at a great cost of energy. Expending it all on a Rathalos that can keep the pace up with Steve is a big problem for them. As you said in one of your previous videos on the King of the Skies, Rathalos is built for dogfighting. He has the endurance and agility to fight anyone if he is in the air. A Seregios that overexerts itself means death for it. A smart Seregios will be like us hunters, looking for a way to end the fight as quickly as possible by repelling rathalos or killing it.

[@admiralcat3809]

Seregios's erratic flailing of talons vs Rathalos's precise talon grabs in an aerial fight is just a perfect match. Like real birds of prey fighting to the death (likely an owl vs a hawk), that's probably why this rivalry is the most realistic.

[@ScanovatheCarnotaurus]

I've always felt like a good answer to Seregios's habitat mystery is that it simply seems to prefer the same areas that Rathalos and Rathian do, which is why they come into such conflict. Along with probably originating in such places, Seregios also probably prefers deserts so much because there's less competition, with Rathian being less of a problem for it than Rathalos is.

[@anglure3617]

I'm not too familiar with how Monster Hunter does things, but I think it'd be cool to see more monsters in Monster Hunter that are built from the ground up to be dedicated rivals to each other. Like Zangoose and Seviper from Pokemon.

[@Dan-b7f7w]

What

[@LOCALTAHOENJOYER]

​@@Dan-b7f7wthey mean that they want 2 monster species to be "natural rivals" that kills on sight whenever the 2 had a confrontation.

[@slinkuiii2426]

We already have tho its sereg and raths ,gammoth and tigrex, malzeno and gaismagorm.

[@deathfromthedepths]

Rajang and Kirin.

[@hottacos2975]

​@@deathfromthedepths Kirin gets bodied so hard that while this comment is true. I would consider it more of kirin praying to god a raj never pulls up

[@miketschirhart1649]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet, but a lot of Seregios weapons feature the word 'sedition' as well, as an enemy of the King of the Sky and Queen of the Land.

[@matteolucarelli4615]

I really hope we get more Elders VS Non Elders interactions in future games, because Rathalos really has all the papers checked to meet a few of those (mind I say meet, not beat up in a fight). Kushala Daora and Valstrax both dwell in the sky and straight up interfere with Rathalos rule over it, Teostra/Lunastra overlap with him in the Volcano and as flying fire monsters they already nullify Rathalos two main advantages over other pretenders. Chameleos could also be an interesting one since it could be the case of an Elder playing on the defensive, using its camouflage to hide from Rathalos aerial attacks. And if from a rank perspective it feels weird to have regular Ratahlos interact with these Elders, just let Silver do it. I overall think it's less of a "Rathalos needs a rival" thing and more of a "Rathalos wants to be a rival to everyone" given it's everlasting presence and appearance in several different maps each with its own apex (and by this I do not mean I want him to skip games).

[@threedog27]

I think a rathalos wouldnt stand a chance against an elder dragon. There is a reason why these elder dragons are so dangerous. If we would took the monster hunter lore for real, elder dragons would kill the other normal monsters with complete ease. Only exception would be our best monke rajang. He is just madness himself. Just dont let him near those Kirin horns. Elder Dragons in Monster Hunter are the real shit.

[@victory8928]

I think chameleos and rathalos would be an interesting dynamic. I see chameleos raiding rath nests if food is scarce and feasting on eggs and chicks before disappearing before raths can retaliate and when they do, rath is battered trying to hit chameleos.

[@gagagegegigigogogugu]

@@threedog27 You'd definitely need to add old Jho to that short list. It's practically baked into its lore that Jho hunts elder dragons.

[@threedog27]

@@gagagegegigigogogugu yeah youre right. Jho is more or less on the same spot like rajang

[@gogglesesm9122]

I never though of Rathalos as having a rival but more like a mirror to other monsters: My choice would be as a mirror to Diablos.

[@epicazeroth]

I kind of like that Legiana never fights Rathalos. It kind of cements them as real equals - they're so balanced that they don't even come into conflict because they also total opposites in terms of habitats. It also gives a feeling that Rathalos, whether intentionally or by a quirk of evolution, avoid the regions that Legiana do best in. For similar but opposite reasons I think Lagiacrus isn't similar enough to Rathalos to be a true rival. Not just because they're so different as to basically never come into conflict, but I always saw Lagiacrus as slightly above Rathalos, more like the Deviljho-tier of the sea. So I see the confrontation in the opening scence of Tri less as an actual direct fight, and more as Lagiacrus displacing Rathalos while Rathalos tries to keep its food.

[@gabbrooh9126]

Seregios is the perfect rival of the Raths, I think one of the coolest scenes is where Azure Rath and Seregios fight in MH4U, I just hope the Raths will have their turf wars with Seregios. Also Lagiacrus being a thematic rival of Rathalos is perfect and I do hope MH6 brings it back

[@militarykobold]

If youre scraping the barrel for shorter-form ideas, I'd be curious to see from your perspective what it would take to have some monsters that missed 5th gen return in 6th gen. Something like "what biomes would they have to include/cover to accomodate these disparate monsters?" Mainly, I just want to get Qurupeco, Gobul, Lagiacrus, the Seltases, Gigginox, and Zamtrios back- and some other good starter-to-mid difficulty monsters that bring their own identities without too much overlap. Thats not even including elder-dragon-level monsters like Akantor, Ukanlos, Yama-Tsukami, Lao Shan Lung, and the multiple One-Game-Only elders that I'd LOVE to see lovingly rendered in next gen hardware. Ceadeus... Mohrans... Dalamadur... Dire Miralis... Nakarkos... Ahtal-Ka... Gog, my goopy boy...

[@unnaturalhistorychannel]

I think Gigginox and Zamtrios could easily have been in the Hoarfrost. A lot of people believed the former would be due to a Game Informer release cryptically describing viper tobi before he was allowed to be revealed. Lagi can appear anywhere warm with water really, and many of them can appear in the ancient forest or similarly pleasant maps.

[@hcollins9941]

I would love to see a future broad analysis video on the different food, webs and food chains of the monster, hunter series. Which monsters have the more diverse diet? Which monsters have a better hunting success rate? Which monsters have been documented to specifically hunting humans or have had humans added into their diet? Which monsters most affect their environment because of their diet? Which large monsters hunt other large monsters specifically? Which monsters have the most unique diets compared to their appearance? ( examples: Astalos, Espinas & Barroth hunting small prey yet having large bodies) Things like that! :D

[@takenname8053]

Rathalos' best rival is... another Rathalos!

[@Christian64124]

I agree that Seregios is the proper rival to Rathalos, but I also love the rivalry shown with Glavenus and Lagiacrus, partially cause I was properly introduced to Monster Hunter with 3rd gen, so I love the opening of Monster Hunter Tri, and Glavenus is my favorite brute wyvern, and as you said, it's a lot like a terrestrial Rathalos.

[@dragonlord4194]

I feel like Seregios and Glavenus are meant to be the biggest (regular) threats and rivals to Rathalos. Seregios is a predator and threat of the Raths, while Glavenus is mostly a threat to Rathian, while being a food and territory rival to both. If and when Glavenus returns, I think we can see more of his ecology and how the bulls keep their territories rival free and deal with the potential threats to them. Also on the Glavenus cutscenes, when I first saw both, I thought they were the same animals, until I realised the Glavenus we see in the Generations cutscene is the one hunted by the player hunter.

[@rainimayonnaise3538]

Great Video. Definity agree with Steve being Rathalos' best rival. Though I wish there was a bit more of a rivalry between it and Tigrex. Back in MH2, I though Rex represented ground combat and physical power while Rath represented aerial combat and elemental ability. Though, I suppose they don't really share too many locals overall.

[@MrMundy-ov9vc]

I just wanna say while I'm here early: Thank you for the content. Stuff like this is so unique and interesting, also your knowledge on the topics at hand is amazing and I have learned quite a few new things from watching your video's, and its always a pleasure to listen to them no matter how many times I've listened to them. Once again thank you, and keep up the good work!

[@ski-meme-trash-k1ll3rsbane71]

Ever since I’ve seen the cutscene of Astalos taking out a Rath and getting called the usurper I’ve seen them as the ultimate rival. I do agree that the pine cone is the one who had the best odds of beating them, but ive gotta give it up for the underdog.

[@DJFlare84]

I like Astalos purely because a lot of his equipment follows the same naming theme as Rathalos gear. The GreatSword is called Verdant Wing (vs Red Wing). The LongSword is called Wyvern Blade "Beryl" (vs Wyvern Blade "Blood") Twin Bolts vs Twin Flames Verdant Rook/Dark Chariot vs Red Rook/Gun Chariot Verdant Tail vs Red Tail, the list goes on. Although some of these got changed for Sunbreak, the GL notably stayed the same (I say notably, as a GunLance main).

[@drakeclaw8872]

I’ve always wondered your exact list of “Weeb/Developer Baby” monsters, cause I always imagine things like Deviljoe or Magnamalo but you could be referring to any number of monsters lol. Also it might be cool, to get a video of what you would change about then to make them more “ecologically reasonable”. Perhaps you could name it “Monster Workshop” or something like that

[@formula091]

doesn't like portable team stuff ig. Never really cared about that myself, as long as the fights aren't terrible. Legiana could make the most sense in the world and it wouldn't change how boring it is to slap around

[@Cyborgianoid]

i think he's mostly talking about the portable flagships (brachy, zinogre and magnamalo) as most of them go for the cool factor instead of trying to be a fictional animal.

[@firetools]

​@@CyborgianoidFunny thing about Brachy is he's a Main team flagship.

[@Cyborgianoid]

@@firetools oh yeah he debuted in 3U i forgot bout that since i only played the 3ds version

[@Stroggoii]

He means Zinogre and Magnamalo.

[@franzoloranzo7302]

The thing with glavenus is that his intro takes place in the waste, where rathalos isn‘t around, so i don‘t know if he would try to pull the same shit in the forest

[@afroling2096]

I believe anjanth is still an apex despite getting an ass whooping from rathalos, it’s size still allows it to go up against things like nargacuga and zinogre but it’s don’t built to deal with something like a rathalos. In fact I have a theory that anjanath wasn’t adapted to deal with large flying threats like rathalos, pukei is the only large flying monster in the wildspire and ancient forest, and naragcuga, tigrex and zinogre are found in the new world meaning anjanath knows how to defend his territory from those monsters while rathalos is a recent resident to the forest and anjanath just isn’t adapted for taking on a large flying wyven that’s its newly introduced to him. So anjanath may be stronger and heavier than rathalos but isn’t as smart or as dexterous as rathalos, leading to his Defeat in their turf war as well as not knowing what to do against rathalos, unlike the other apex brute wyverns like jho, brachydios and glavenus who live in the old world along with the raths.

[@victory8928]

I honestly see anja as still adapting to the invasive species that is rath. With rath being a more recent addition to the continent it is putting things off balance which is why anja the king of the forest struggles to fight it. I plan on writing a story where Anja is more on par with rath, using its advantages to keep rath on its toes and avoiding the more forested areas where Anja will dominant it

[@flygonsarchives]

UHC going down the MH fight club route. Always thought that Astalos was going to body Rathalos in that ecology video. Idk but that’s my take.

[@izzymosley1970]

I'm curious if you will ever discuss some of the concepts in monster Hunter frontier things like the zenith monsters and origin species even if you don't review them positively I still think will be interesting for you to review them.

[@giratina6665]

Probably not. The ridiculous power creep and nonsensical flashyness of monster design and behaviour should put him off it completely. It literally embodies everything he hates about MonHun. There's still some good hidden though. Early Frontiers was apparently much different, like shown with Espinas. Also, some Elder Dragons and regular wyverns look interesting enough. Zenith species are out of the question for sure though

[@DonSlime_]

When I saw the title of the video, I had already guessed that it was going to be Seregios. Let's gooo!!

[@TheEpicLeopardSeal]

The Raths can definitely clap Anja, Bird Wyverns, Neopterans, and probably Tigrex. The Raths can do everything these guys can, but they are Eagle Wyverns. Also, if ANY of the Leviathans try to fight the Raths, they can't fly, so they'd be picked off or burned ablaze (except probably Agnaktor). Poor (single) Ice Element Monsters though 😢 Also, I think the greatest threat of the Raths is Sonic the Hedgehog. They both appear in Super Smash Bros Ultimate, and Sonic appears in MH:Rise. Sonic is extremely fast, apparently faster than the speed of sound. The Raths will spin in circles, while Sonic is there eating Chili Dogs out of their flesh

[@jasonkeith2832]

Sonic is a Nargacuga rival; the event quest that gives you the Sonic layered armor specifically has you fight Narga (as a Shadow reference).

[@epicazeroth]

Though I see Lagiacrus as slightly stronger than Rathalos, I do think they're pretty evenly matched along coastal areas. If they're on the coast they both have access to somewhere the other can't touch them, forcing them to move to land if they want to actually confront each other for any reason.

[@RubyCarrots3232]

Agnaktor probably displaces Rathalos very easily utilizing its preferred substrate, size, fires resistance, and fire beam.

[@giratina6665]

​@@RubyCarrots3232 Im pretty sure the beam looked like compressed air and did dragon element instead. The magma it scrapes off with some attacks does fire damage though

[@yobro6053]

@@RubyCarrots3232he has strong armour too

[@kennethsatria6607]

This might not be a rivalry but I think Zinogre is pretty well built to fight off Rathalos who either hunt to eat it or hunt to eliminate it or drive it out of its territory as a competitor for similar prey animals. Considering its collapsable back spikes and how it uses its large spiked tail like a club in Iceborne animations, as well as the thunder element and swarming fulgur bugs, its feeling more like defensive adaptations first before it became co opted for use in supplying a burst of speed or strength when hunting. His charged up state also looks like it would work well as a display for predators. So to me whenever they occur in the same areas Zinogre and Rathalos might have a whole Tiger vs Sloth bear dynamic (Zinogre being the sloth bear) in that they are on its menu but a Rathalos needs some skill and ambush to successfully hunt them without being badly injured like a torn wing membrane or loosing an eye, which I think Zinogre's claws are capable of doing

[@Cyborgianoid]

if the monhun team made this for zinogre i think it would be pretty cool but he got too much plot armor for the devs to change it for something that makes it look "weak"

[@kennethsatria6607]

@@Cyborgianoid Idk man he seems kind of vulnerable in the Guiding Lands despite its cool factor. And he also gets slain by the Scorned Magnamalo. In kind of a similar way to how Magnamalo's turf wars are recycled Zinogre's are too, but the effect is the opposite, and they feel like he's always the one fighting to defend itself like an ankylosaurus despite its larger size in Iceborne. And in the cinematics it doesn't actually win against Rathalos and Diablos either, I think all three just spooked eachother as the guiding lands has a whole 2005 Skull Island effect where normally isolated species are forced to one ecosystem. And perhaps at least in the New World where they are much larger it is not completely at the mercy of Rathalos but like a Cape buffalo it has an aggression towards it that can drive it to attack first in some cases

[@baitmenbaitmen427]

Love this new kind of videos :D

[@unicorntomboy9736]

It os baffling why Monster Hunter 6 has not been officially announced yet?! I hope we get to see it very soon for a 2024 release date I honestly think Seregios is the best Rathalos rival for Rathalos. It is the best foil for the Rath and is on par with it in terms of power and strength, albeit in some different ways. It is great when the red boy comes in to defend his girl, the Rathian, from the Seregios fratboy bully, brilliant.

[@Animortar]

I'm just glad my boy Steve is getting the recognition he deserves.

[@mr.rathalos1155]

babe I can’t come over right now a new Unnatural History video just dropped

[@AngelMass]

Sergio was designed to be Rathalos ecological nemesis. His music theme is even designed to be the opposite of Rathalos

[@Cinder_the_Art_Gal8144]

Ngl. As a Royal Ludroth I would Solo rathalos. Just drag him down into the deepest depths of the water and let him drown. Easy win

[@mileswiltse4535]

NUH UH

[@Dan-b7f7w]

@@mileswiltse4535fair argument

[@sorinsilverheart3200]

Ahh good ol Steve. The main reason i fell in love with 4h gen

[@matthewclapp3655]

Astalos can also apparently mate with a rathian according to that one gu quest

[@RubyCarrots3232]

Personally I think a good potential rival to Rathalos specifically is Agnaktor, they occupy the same territory, it's young are decent prey to it, they sleep in the same zone, it's much larger, magma swimming grants it mobility and a protective medium to hide and attack from, and it's beam would make approaching it very dangerous. Imagine Rathalos trying to snack on some Urogktors only for their parents to sandwich him from the floor and ceiling.

[@victory8928]

It is less rival and more mother bear protecting tasty bebes in that case

[@serenablade6616]

I was thinking it'd actually be Magnamalo at first, but when you brought up all those points, your final results just made the most sense.

[@kristineyanguas6594]

just found your channel. im a fan of mon hun series. and am thirsty for lore and ecology videos. was happy to stumble a video on your channel. (:

[@TheBloodGamePL]

Fraudalos >be called "king of the skies" >some mf pokes you once >feelsbad.jpg >Fly away to tbe other end the map >Mf spends 10 minutes getting to you because Ancient forest layeout sucks >Spend entire fight hovering hovering not touching tbe ground >Shit out fire ball after fire ball. >Die >In spite you didnt drop the Inferno sack, fuck him.

[@juragunn7921]

Another thing to note about Lagiacrus is that in Monster Hunter Stories, Rathalos and Lagiacrus are more likely to retreat to their dens when defeated by each others respective monsties.

[@theawesomestuff2408]

Rathalos' true rival is us, the players, as we turn their population to dust to get our Attack and Affinity skills every installment without fail.

[@Hooy-Jaymay]

I kinda wished they went a different direction with Legiana and made the regular species a water element wyvern, and made shrieking a more ground based armored wyvern similar to Rathian. The water element glands would sort of harden into ice armor ala Zamtrios. That would have made for an interesting pair, it certainly would have made the Shreaking fight a lot more interesting.

[@ongabonga4378]

Wilds' packs of large monsters is a huge opportunity for some cool turf wars. Like your comparison in this video of a pack of hyenas against a lion. Maybe we'll see a pack of doshaguma fending off a rey dau.

[@camgoodkicks]

Rathalos vs Lagiacrus feels like Ghidorah vs Godzilla with the elements swapped. Can’t wait to see a turf war between the two

[@titanosaurdy9493]

The point of Rathalos being bogged down by flagship monsters, other times stronger non-elder dragon monsters such as Rajang, Deviljho and etc is to show the player(s) the introduction of their strength by making the rath as a bigger example, thus introducing new challenges.

[@ZectorV1]

Lagiacrus is the defacto rathalos rival for me because they both are the rulers of their respective lands. I think despite the tri opening not having a proper fight its really impactful because it comes off as the two kings meeting on the line of their territories. However functionally yeah steve was clearly made as the rath punker

[@Hooy-Jaymay]

A Sparrowhawk based Flying Wyvern duo pair might also be a cool contrast with the Rath Wyverns, only the Female is the bulky, fiery, airborne bruiser, and the Male a swift, venemous and precise boreal hunter. Maybe even have them predate juvenile Rathalos and Rathian, and have the male offer the bounty to the female and her chicks.

[@TheKing-qz9wd]

I guess the Lagiacrus vs Ratholos thing is like Godzilla vs King Ghidorah, but Seregios and Glavenus could definitely be better. In my opinion, especially Glavenus, because sucessfully predating Pink, Azure, or potentially Gold and Silver raths could actually boost the metal content in a diet for Glavenus. And obviously his tail being a far more direct threat since Seregios is relying on kicks but Glavenus has a chance to slice straight through. I will tell you one thing though. I'd love to see Fulgur Anjanath be the rival, purely so raths try to bully him but he charges up and one bite sends them reeling. It kinda aligns with spec-evo you said too. The taser bite makes it so Fulgur Anjas might not need to greviously wound one another over turf. Just shock the nose and cause a scare. But now you bite the tail and the flyer pisses off for fear of the thunder.

[@kohrakthehorriblebionicle6187]

culturally I do think Lagiacrus is the most thematically appropriate "rival" for big red, the lord of the seas vs the king of the skies angle and their sharing weakness to each others element is a little too on the nose to ignore but Ecologically speaking Seregios definitely takes the cake, especially with steves apparent propensity for trying to raid rath nests for an easy snack. Such a dangerous predator for rath chicks would also add more supporting context to the close bond the Raths seem to share, it's quite easy to imagine the male patrolling the skies above, ready to respong with immediate and fantastic violence to the call of his mate below should such a threat present itself. I'm pretty sure this is something we do actually see in world if the two are present together and rathian gets into difficulty

[@lavabender572]

It's me. I'm the best rival to rathalos

[@joseal8319]

This something that you din't mentioned but you may have considered, but I think that they are all Rathalos' rivals, because if anything, being able to dominate or stand their ground in competitive interactions with many different species and across several different biomes is what truly marks Rathalos (and Rathian) as a successful cosmopolitan species.

[@SmurmBreep]

While not my favourite monster, it's been fun to watch Rathalos evolve over the series, watching him lose his goblin nose and become a more fun combatant, gone from flying beyond the bounds of Forest + Hills' area 3 to dive-bombing other wyverns. It would be a strange game without the king of the skies. Another great video, as always UHC.

[@nami_moos]

this was very enjoyable tbh

[@RenoKyrie]

Seregios actively fight Raths like how Lions and Hyenas constantly fight each other Astalos is probably more defensive, they have the means to fight Raths being a Electric based flier but they barely have the combat capability, its like comparing a Lion trying to fight a Leopard who allready run away climbing a tree really fast Other than those 2, most other Monsters are just randomly spawn in Rath's territory like how most animals dont realize they enter a Bear territory

[@jockpackage1770]

i've always said that the best way to do a gen 6 flagship would be giving us another snake, it ticks a few important boxes; 1 it's an underrepresented monster type/shape much like fanged wyverns pre MHW (before it's said no MHW specifically focused on elders so that worked for what it was trying to do), 2 too many flagships of late are elders frankly, 3 and most importantly from a development/growth of the series standpoint a nake would mean all bets are off with monster design since we won't have that pesky "the skeleton doesn't work" excuse. come on, they've had so long, since MHW dev cycle, and now have next gen tech along with a better engine so there's no reason they can't do this. that being a huge part in the foreground of marketing, a heartfelt story on how much ambition MHW had, for all it was and wasn't able to achieve at the time, all coming to fruition by saying "now we can bring back anything and make whatever we want with any skeleton". that would be perfect for MH6. it doesn't have to make the raths a joke but as long as its unique and fun to fight it will totally stand out.

[@Shodanlu05]

I’d love to see seregios and rath turf wars, but aswell rath v rath, so azure and red rathalos I think would be awesome

[@masterrafferty4065]

It might not be worthy of a full length episode, but I'd like to see a video about the kinsects ans/or wirebugs, maybe as a segue into the biology of domestication.

[@TheXAllosaurus]

Kinda funny though as the Turf War between Rathalos and Glavenus, I only saw Rathalos won once, while Glavenus pretty much always win the rest of the Turf War through out my game experience

[@k-d969]

Rathian when Rathalos doesn't pay child support

[@brandonanguiano2121]

I don't know if it counts, but there was a sort of ancient rivalry between the rathalos and oltura in monsters hunter stories 2, with the fight between oltura and razewing rathalos being depicted in ancient murals. In the story oltura is predating on the rathalos in it's larval form, having a sort of bioluminescent lure that attracted the rathalos, and then there's razewing rathalos, which is a rathalos rare species that evolved it's wings of ruin to fly trough the miasma storm that oltura produces, which it uses to shred the rathalos wing membrane. I just find it really interesting how razewing rathalos seems to have evolved to counter oltura to some extent.

[@ECSDaemon]

There is one Fromtier monster that should at least be included, since Espinas has been brought over to the mainline games in Rise's expasnion, Sunbreak.

[@onebitedino1765]

Espinas' rival is clearly Kushala Daora, so I don’t think he’d have any place in this video regardless.

[@PharmDiff]

Rathalos is like Mario, his girlfriend is constantly being bullied and he has to save her.

[@thelazyfinnian]

Green plesioth is just vibing

[@MILDMONSTER1234]

13:24 this is where a majority of the “rathalos is a loser” memes comes from. Mainly being “Rathalos gets NTRd by Rathian and Seregios”

[@andrewcrowley6331]

People say that when we literally see Rathalos whooping Seregios for harassing Rathian in the MH4U size comparison video and Seregios straight up RUNS AWAY

[@obambagaming1467]

It's my giant Greatsword in his face

[@lthefifteenth661]

I know its not canon but can we take a second to appreciate how Rath's presence is strong enough to block healing in FF14? What a Chad of a monster.

[@lapislazuli7553]

I wish the boss from Stories 2 had any relevance in the mainline games, but that boss (I think it's Oltura?) supposedly feeds on rathalos exclusively. Though I think that was mainly to show how big and bad they are if their main prey is something like a rathalos

[@giratina6665]

It seems to attract Rathalos through hormones. Maybe Ratha was a really rare mutation only triggered by Oltura's activities. Iirc it had some weird energy bending powers possibly connected to kinship? Dunno how to explain that one. Maybe it's similar to Xenojiiva but needs a ridiculous amount of Raths compared to the high tier stuff Xeno got by feeding off Elder Dragon leftovers? The design is pretty cool and the fight too, but since it wouldn't make any sense in a mainline setting, I wouldn't expect to see it at all

[@lapislazuli7553]

@@giratina6665 sadly I don't expect it to make any appearances ever aside from maybe being mentioned offhand in dialogue if we would be so lucky. I did like the idea that Razewing rathalos was a big target to larval Oltura(?) In that if devoured it would satisfy all the needs of the elder and let it emerge immediately. So I do like the idea that Razewing is caused by the presence of such an elder as a way to speed up the development

[@jacktheomnithere2127]

3:13 not to mention Nargacuga's weakness to Fire. and Rathalos has enough of it to scare it away (assuming the elemental weakness is taken into consideration). 8:12 2nd weakest. his primary weakness is Dragon. i remember that very well. 14:36 still Seregios. i've realized some time ago that the other rivals had little to do with Rathalos; and the ones that had more either ended up in an overall draw (Glavenus) or dissociated with him almost entirely (Astalos)... and Seregios is the only one of the rivals who actually gave the Rath species trouble, regardless of whether he has a turf war with him or not. you've basically voiced my thoughts.

[@brontospinusregalia6921]

I honestly wore Seregios gear in 4U specifically because it rivaled Rathalos. It was always my anti-rath gear just on symbolism alone. The self sharpening sword was nice too.

[@kingdomworker2615]

As a Tri player, I'll always see Lagiacrus as the rival. 😊

[@the_g.b.c13]

Well, from what I’ve heard the legends say, it’s Insect Glaive users.

[@Bomber_Ted]

Hunters grinding for rubies are the Rath's greatest rival.

[@Planag7]

Honestly I don't really feel he needs a rival it's kind of a silly thing in my opinion it's something that I don't consider as certain monsters have niches to their area. DJ will eat everything, rathalos will fireball you from the top, zinorge is too edgy, maybe Shin Magara... if he wasn't an infected fool. It's like trying to pick one of my favorite faded four honestly I like them all.

[@Stroggoii]

I would not be surprised to see a Rathalos vs Tigrex vs Lagiacrus rivalry prop up once technology allows Lagiacrus to return. Sky vs Land vs Sea, Gen 1 vs Gen 2 vs Gen 3. It's the kind of thing real life cultures would tell legends about.

[@nicolaslopezs.2861]

11:15 i love this, 100% true

[@aakashalam6232]

I don't know about Rathalos, but the Rathian and Glavenus is one of my favorite rivalries.

[@foxdemon1278]

Rathalos is by far my favorite monster, he might not be as powerful as some monsters in MH but he gives as good as it gets. I've never seen him ever back down to any monster in any situation. To me, he more than deserves the title King of the Skies.

[@Sunaki1000]

It was pretty clear who would be Number 1, and I cant be happier about that.

[@javi8905]

Knew it was gonna be steve lol he is so aggressive to the raths

[@andrewcrowley6331]

And unlike Astalos, he's actually well adapted for aerial combat enough to challenge the Raths and not immediately get bulldozed. Realistically, Astalos should lose hard to Rathalos, even with thunder element.

[@Idkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk50]

Personally I’d go with Zinogre, thunder and dragon are the two elements that Rath is the most vulnerable against, and Zinogre uses both (albeit the latter in a subspecies.) Thematically however it makes even more sense. The majority of Zinogre’s weapon descriptions or names play against the kingly theme of the Rath, one of it’s weapons actually being called usurper’s firebolt. That’s only off the top of my head, I’m sure there are other examples that back up the userper theme.

[@BibbleForp]

Thinking about it, the conflicts with flying wyverns like rathalos might contribute to the extreme shape and prominence of glavenus's dorsal spikes. Having thermo-regulatory structures serve an extra role in warding off attacks from above seems handy if you might have something like rathalos contesting your kills. I actually wouldn't be surprised if in the bigger picture glavenus is more impacted by raths than the other way around, despite their relatively even fights with both males and females. Flight gives the raths a huge advantage against their terrestrial competitors, it's not hard to see why a fellow bulky flyer like seregios tops the list.

[@lexibyday9504]

using superhero logic. A good rival can't win or lose the fight in the introduction. The introduction sets up the norm for the pair as in every fight between the two typically goes this way. If Ratha loses every fight with a rival candidate then that's too powerful to be a rival, it's just a threat. If Ratha wins every time, then that's prey. If it's rare for either rival to win or lose, then that's a rivalry.

[@sugoha_2548]

As someone who started with world, anjanath was the first blockroad and the first monster against which I had trouble. So seeing rathalos demolish his ass really established it as a much bigger threat (for someone like me who had never fought a rathalos before). The best rival to rathalos has to be the astalos though...

[@buxedobro4372]

heart says Lagi, head says Reggie

[@bartekdraszawk4315]

if they make a osprey wyvern it whould fit as a rival, if they share habitat.

[@Hyper_Drud]

I think an Osprey wyvern would be a better rival to Lagiacrus. Since Ospreys are mainly piscivorous they tend to nest closer to bodies of water. They’re also known to dive into said bodies of water to catch their prey.

[@bartekdraszawk4315]

@@Hyper_Drud true but what i was thinking about is how ospreys and eagles will fight and the hole water vs fire thing.

[@azael3036]

Would really love Lagiacrus to get a Turf war with the Raths. Kinda like Godzilla King of the Monsters where the Raths win on the ground like Ghidorah but the moment Lagiacrus get them near the water it's a massacre like Godzilla.

[@TheUnknownPrime]

Around halfway through watching this, I said to myself "Steve is probably gonna be the number 1 spot."

[@wipwarp549]

I definitely agree Seregios is the best rival for its based around the realism but I think other monsters are great in different ways, Glavenus I always felt like it was shown to compete with Rathian because if she’s the Queen of the Land than Glav is the King of the Land, Lagiacrus and Astalos are also great but in a different way they’re more theme rivals, Lagiacrus is so well designed I think it could rival Rathalos as the series flagship Lagiacrus is what I think of when I think Monster Hunter it also being a king of neighboring kingdom they don’t like each other but they can’t really do anything about each other , Astalos is also a good rival in that way but it’s the rebel instead of another ruler it challenges the king by playing dirty it is a punk monster that won’t respect any authority