Slon the Rook

Slon the Rook
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
Sprite(s)	ゴンズ
Japanese name	Gonz
Romaji	Gonzu
Old localization	N/a
Voice actor	Yukimasa Kishino (CD Theater, Japanese) Haruo Sekiguchi (Your Story, Japanese) Trevor Devall (Your Story, English)

Slon the Rook is a character and boss in Dragon Quest V. He is a member of the Order of Zugzwang along with his partner Kon the Knight. He has gone on to make regular appearances in spinoff games in the series.

Characteristics

Slon is a muscular anthropomorphic warthog with magenta-colored skin, wielding a wicked curved sword in his left hand and a spiked shield in his right. He has grotesque facial features including a gold spike coming out of the top of his head, red eyes with yellow sclerae, a large green snout, and huge tusks and fangs lining his maw. Slon wears a yellow cuirass with green straps protecting his chest, purple trunks covered by a green loincloth, and a pair of white sandals with yellow anklets. In his original appearance in the Super Famicom version, as well as the Nintendo DS and smartphone versions, Slon wields a golden scimitar, but in most other appearances, his sword is a large cleaver. His shield gained spikes starting with the PlayStation 2 remake.

Story

Slon the Rook initially appears alongside Kon the Knight. The two are summoned by Bishop Ladja to kill Pankraz in the Ancient Ruins and fail to do so, being unable to stand up against Pankraz's might. In response, Ladja holds The Hero at neckpoint, threatening to kill The Hero with his scythe and condemn his soul to eternity of damnation in Nadiria if Pankraz does not stand down. Pankraz complies, thus allowing Slon and Kon to throttle him until his HP runs out. Ladja delivers the killing blow, and the three take The Hero and Prince Harry to Crocodilopolis to be slaves while the Great sabrecub is left behind.

Slon does not reappear until several years later at Talon Tower, when The Hero is an adult. Slon is guarding the Dragon's left eye while Bishop Ladja is guarding the other eye, both being dispatched after Zenithia's partial restoration to prevent the party from fully restoring the flying castle to it's original splendor. He does not seem to recognize The Hero, only knowing him as a threat to the Order of Zugzwang that must be snuffed out. Unlike most other major bosses, Slon's death is not visualized on-screen, with him simply disappearing after his defeat.

While Slon did not recognize The Hero, it is evident from the party chat immediately succeeding the battle that The Hero did recognize Slon, with his children remarking that The Hero seemed very perturbed.

Appearances

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride

Slon the Rook

Sprite	HP	MP	Attack	Defense
	2,400	0	300	135
Agility	Experience	Gold	Recruit Rate
80	3,500	650	N/A

Bestiary No.	Unnumbered boss
Spell(s)	None
Skill(s)	Attacks fiercely with weapon (125% damage)
Location(s)	Talon Tower
Item dropped	Mini medal1⁄4096

Evasion	Frizz resistance *	Sizz resistance *	Fire Breath resistance *
0/64	0%	0%	0%
Bang resistance *	Crack resistance *	Ice Breath resistance *	Woosh resistance *
0%	0%	0%	100%
Zap resistance *	Drain Magic resistance *	Whack resistance *	Kamikazee resistance *
67%	100%	100%	100%
Poof resistance	Dazzle resistance *	Fizzle resistance	Fuddle resistance
100%	100%	100%	100%
Poison resistance *	Snooze resistance *	Stun resistance *	Sap resistance *
100%	100%	20%	100%

PS2 model	DS & Mobile sprite

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Dragon Quest Rivals

Slon was introduced in the second card pack, "Roar of Unleashed Power" as a super rare card exclusive for Demon Swordfighters, appearing alongside Kon and his master Ladja. He also appeared on a card with Kon in the first expansion pack, "Triumphal Return of the Heroes" after the game's name was changed to Rivals Ace.

Dragon Quest Tact

Slon appears as an A-rank monster of the Beast family as part of the limited Dragon Quest V event. He can learn Burning Helichopter, Crushed Ice, and Blast Fists naturally and his Leader Perk raises the physical potency of allies by 5% in a 5x5 square around him, including himself. At the beginning of battle, his Reckless Rush skill gives him 2 extra move for one turn. Slon will join the player in Chapter 4, Episode 4: Here Today, Gon Tomorrow and he stars in his own Battle Road. He also appears as a boss on every 5th basement of the Talon Tower starting at B15 and can be fully awakened by collecting Slon Crystals by defeating him. The lowest floors of the Tower are more difficult, but have the highest chance of dropping the crystals.

Etymology

Slon (слон) is the Russian word for the bishop chess piece. This is likely an mix-up with Bishop Ladja, whose own name means "rook".

In the Japanese version, their name Gonzu is believed to be a reference to 牛頭馬頭 gozu mezu (translates to Ox-Head and Horse-Head), the Japanese term for two Chinese guardian spirits who are said to have the bodies of men but the heads of animals, with one having an Ox-Head (gozu) and the other a Horse-Head (mezu). They are said to be the first beings a dead soul encounters on entering the underworld - with them directly escorting the newly dead there in some variations of the story. These mythological creatures, in addition to being the origin of Slon's Japanese name, were also probably an influence on both his and Kon the Knight's visual design and role in the story.

Related enemies

• Warhog
• Thwarthog

Gallery

• 

  Battle Road Victory cut-in

• 

  Your Story CG model

• 

  DQ Trading Card Game

• 

  Rivals card

• 

  Slon and Kon in Rivals Ace

• 

  Slon the Rook in Tact