Gym Leader Zeek

This article contains spoilers!

“The darkness gives our Pokémon the advantage of stealth and prowess. It also saves us on the electric bill.”

Leader Zeek is in charge of Frostveil Gym, which is the seventh Gym the player must clear in his or her Roria journey. Surprising many players, he actually is a Dark-type Pokémon specialist, making him the first Gym Leader to have Dark as the specialized type. All of his Pokémon are above Lv. 70, making Zeek a very dangerous foe if players are caught off guard. The secondary types also have a wide variety.

History

Plenty of players expected Frostveil Gym to be an Ice-type Gym knowing that the city is a freezing and constantly snowy place. It turns out to be a great astonishment to them that Frostveil Gym actually has a Dark-type theme. The Gym features a black and white 2D platform game, where Trainers have to step on switches to reveal platforms which were set to be invisible. All Gym Trainers, including Leader Zeek himself, are Silhouettes.

Reaching Zeek on the highest platform. he prepares for the battle with his full team of Pokémon over Lv. 70. All of his Pokémon possess powerful attacks such as Crunch, Foul Play or in his Mega Houndoom's case, Dark Pulse. His Honchkrow's secondary Flying type neutralizes almost all weaknesses of the Dark type, while using Bug-type Pokémon on Mega Houndoom is a very bad idea, but for most of his team, Fighting-type, Bug-type and Fairy-type attacks are generally the way to go. Once the player has won, Zeek rewards the player with Contrast Badge, as well as TM97 Dark Pulse, and wishes him or her the best of luck.

Personality

Zeek has a mysterious, metaphorical personality talking about things in ways that other people usually would not describe something in. He feels like dark is superior all around and that it is a great achievement to overcome the dark power of his Pokémon, stating it gives him the advantage of stealth and prowess (as well as saving him on the electric bill). He also likes to be stealthy and quiet like a cat moving around in the night. According to a resident in Frostveil City, Zeek reckons that the mountains are closer to the moon overnight and that helps him train better.

Dialogue

Click to view all dialogues of Leader Zeek.

"Welcome, weary traveller. My name is Zeek, and I am the Frostveil City Gym Leader. I bet you had an interesting time finding your way through the dark to get this far. The darkness gives our Pokémon the advantage of stealth and prowess. It also saves us on the electric bill. I'm assuming you're here to try and win my gym badge. My Pokémon are prepared to take you on. Can you handle their dark power?"

• After defeating Zeek: "That got dark really fast."

"Well, I guess you win fair and square. I must say, I wasn't expecting your Pokémon to handle this darkness so well. I guess we'll have to take what we learned today and learn how to counter moves like yours. I want you to have this now as a token of your victory." (Gives player Contrast Badge) "Equipped with the Contrast Badge, you will be able to trade for Pokémon up to level 90. You will also be able to use the move Surf outside of battle. I would also like for you to have this TM." (Gives player TM97 Dark Pulse) "Dark Pulse is a Dark-type special attack that can even cause your opponent to flinch if you're lucky. Your victory may have been in the dark, but you have a bright future ahead of you. With that, I wish you the best of luck as you continue your adventure. Also, watch your step on the way out."

Battles

Items

Leader Zeek has given the player the following items:

Outfit

As only his silhouette is shown, Zeek has no known official outfit.

Trivia

• Zeek is the first Gym Leader to focus in the Dark type. Other notable Trainers with Dark-type Pokémon speciality in core series installments before this game are Karen, Sidney, Grimsley and Nanu, but the first 3 are Elite Four members, while the last one is an Island Kahuna.
  • If other Pokémon fan games are considered, Leader Adam from Pokémon Insurgence precedes Zeek as a Dark-type Pokémon Gym Leader.
  • Leader Piers from Galar in Pokémon Sword and Shield, which were released after this game, is the first official Gym Leader to specialize in the Dark type.
• Zeek is based on Zeekerss, who is well-known for interesting side scroller platformers like Contrast, Doodle and A Lucid Dream, as well as psychological horror games, such as Silent Dark and Light Bulb, both being nominated in the Bloxys Award. He also made the hit 2023 game Lethal Company.
• When Zeek fades out of the view after his first Pokémon are sent out, it is briefly revealed that he has a cat face. This also happens to other Silhouettes in his Gym.