Zote

“	Just what do you think you're doing?! You dare to come between me and my prey? Is it a habit of yours to scurry about, getting in the way and causing bother? Know this, cur. I am Zote the Mighty, a knight of great renown. Cross me again, and you'll find out why they call my weapon 'Life Ender'.	„
	~ Zote

“

Some rare creatures are so weak, so helpless, so inept and so irritating that hunting them gives no pleasure.

„

“	"My love, any creature who could bear to be away from you, who would willingly leave you behind or say unkind things to you... Pah! Lowly maggots, not worthy of standing in your glorious shadow!" She felt her cold body grow warm, a sensation she had almost forgotten...	„
	~ Zote

Background

Zote the Mighty is an NPC in Hollow Knight.

Grey Prince Zote is a hidden boss in Hollow Knight. He is the stronger Dream variant of Zote the Mighty, fueled by Bretta's delusions of him.

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Zote’s story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!
Lore Zote is a traveller from outside Hallownest who came to the Kingdom to fulfill a promise. This is ultimately revealed to be a promise of glory for himself. He named his nail "Life Ender" because names supposedly have power. Unfortunately, because it is made of shellwood, it cannot deal damage. While he claims to be the strongest warrior in the land, he is found trapped by weak enemies or claiming the glory of another bug's deeds. He regards the Knight as beneath him and accuses them of constantly getting in his way. In-game events Found along the path leading to Greenpath. He is held in the mandibles of a Vengefly King, and the Knight has the choice to either save him or leave him. If saved, he complains that the Knight got in the way between him and his "prey", he introduces himself and boasts about his supposed mighty deeds. If he is not saved before acquiring the Mantis Claw, he dies in this location, with his nail and shell remaining. Hitting his shell here grants the Neglect achievement. If he is saved in Greenpath, Zote shows up in Dirtmouth, where he once again talks to the Knight in an arrogant fashion. Zote can be found in a corridor leading back to the storerooms of the City of Tears. He has forgotten the Knight and introduces himself again. Found stuck in spider webs, presumably having been captured by the beasts of Deepnest. Once again the Knight has the choice to either save him or leave him, though this time leaving him does not result in his death. If saved, he once again complains about the Knight meddling in his supposed heroics. If the Knight saves him both times, he is captured and can be found in the resting area of the Colosseum of Fools, where he brags about his skills and how his capture was part of his plan. He then becomes the final boss of the first trial. As a boss, he deals no damage due to his nail being made of shellwood. He simply has to be attacked until the fight is over. He is quite inept in combat and regularly messes up his jumps. Beating him grants the Rivalry achievement. After the defeat, and after Bretta is rescued, he returns to Dirtmouth with the helmet of a Shielded Fool as a supposed "trophy" and claims that he is the new champion while slandering the Knight's reputation. Bretta falls for him, her drawings and dolls of the Knight are replaced by a single portrait of Zote. Here he recites "The Fifty Seven Precepts Of Zote".

General Information

Name: Zote, "Zote the Mighty", "Invincible, Fearless, Sensual, Mysterious, Enchanting, Vigorous, Diligent, Overwhelming, Gorgeous, Passionate, Terrifying, Beautiful, Powerful", Grey Prince Zote

Origin: Hollow Knight

Assigned Gender: Male

Age: Unknown

Classification: Bug, Self-proclaimed knight

Status: Alive

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (Zote despite claiming to be a knight is commonly displayed as selfish who tries to pick fights with others. He's commonly egotistical and does not thank others for saving him from his own arrogance)

Codex Statistics

Key: Zote the Mighty | Grey Prince Zote

Tier: Low 10-C | 9-B

Cardinality: Finite

Dimensionality: 3-D

Attack Potency: Low Subhuman level (Zote is commonly portrayed as one of the weakest characters in the series, being treated as a joke. His weapon is unable to harm The Knight. Can bust open a small door after multiple bashes) | Wall level (Potency) (Can fight and harm The Knight and should be far superior to False Knight)

Durability: Low Subhuman level (Is regarded as weak. While he can survive multiple hits from The Knight in his "boss fight", this is likely an outlier as he can die to far weaker enemies such as the Vengeful King if he's not saved) | Wall level (Can take multiple hits from The Knight)

Striking Strength: Low Subhuman Class | Wall Class (Potency)

Lifting Strength: Unknown: True Class | Unknown: True Class

Travel Speed: Below Average Human | Unknown: True level

Attack Speed: Below Average Human | Unknown: True level

Reaction Speed: Below Average Human | Unknown: True level

Stamina: Unknown | Limitless (Is made up of pure essence)

Range: Below Standard Melee | Below Standard Melee, Higher with Shockwaves

Intelligence: Average Intelligence

Knowledge: Apprentice level

Powers and Techniques

Small Size (Small Animal Sized; Similar size to The Knight)
Acrobatics (Can preform long flips, albeit can sometimes fail at landing)
Weapon Usage (Wields his nail, but does not use it effectively)
Soul Manipulation, Absorption, & Non-Standard Interaction (Soul Interaction; Within Hollow Knight, striking someone can absorb their soul for SOUL energy).

Resistance to
- Soul Manipulation (Zote's soul isn't fully absorbed by The Knight when it strikes him)
- Mind Manipulation and Essence Manipulation (Should his mind be invaded, his dream realm variation can protect it)

Same as before to a far greater extent.

Superhuman Physical Characteristics
Acrobatics & Limited Multiple Jumps (Can halt his movement in the air and move to hit an enemy with)
Timeless Physiology (It's stated that time itself has no power over dream realm beings, meaning that the dream realms themselves lack time)
Abstract Existence (Idea, Primordial Essence), Incorporeality, & Intangibility (Within the dream realm, Zote is made up of essence, thoughts, and memories)
Vibration Manipulation & Status Effect Inducement (His scream can stun The Knight. Can create shockwaves by slamming the ground)
Creation (Can spit out Winged Zotelings and Hopping Zotelings to fight others with)
Summoning & Explosion Manipulation (Can summon Volatile Zotelings that explode)
Teleportation (Can teleport through the ground to teleport upwards)

Equipment

Nail | Nail

Notable Techniques

Grey Prince Zote:

Flail: Grey Prince Zote charges at the Knight, flailing his nail before him. Grey Prince Zote flails his nail for 2-4 seconds. Once he is exhausted, he falls to the ground, sending out a shockwave in each direction. While he is flailing, he moves with momentum, as if he were on ice. There is a variation to this attack where Grey Prince Zote prepares to flail, only to fall over, sending out the shockwaves immediately.

Zotelings Spit: Grey Prince Zote spits out Zotelings that attack the Knight independently of Grey Prince Zote. The first Zoteling Grey Prince Zote can spit is the Winged Zoteling. These Zotelings can show up with any version of Grey Prince Zote. The other Zoteling Grey Prince Zote can spit is the Hopping Zoteling. These Zotelings do not show up until Zote 2 and later. Grey Prince Zote spits out one to three Zotelings in rapid succession per attack. The Zotelings deal half of the damage scaled with each version of Grey Prince Zote on rounding down to a minimum of 1. These Zotelings remain in the arena until they are killed.

Shadow Slam: Grey Prince Zote leaps into the air, and as he lands, he transmutes into a pillar of shadows, launching himself high above the arena. Moments later, he slams down, sending two large shockwaves across the arena in opposite directions. Grey Prince Zote lands where he believes the Knight is going to be rather than where the Knight was. Grey Prince Zote can link into this attack after a Leap attack.

Nail Slam: Grey Prince Zote leaps into the air and slams his nail down. This attack targets the Knight. Grey Prince Zote slams his nail down where the Knight is when he reaches the apex of his leap, just before he flips. When he slams his nail, two shockwaves erupt from the impact point and travel across the arena. The one in front of Grey Prince Zote is larger than the one travelling behind him. There is a variation to this attack which involves Grey Prince Zote reaching the apex of his leap, and instead of slamming down then, pirouetting in the air to readjust his targeting, and then slamming down.

Leap: Grey Prince Zote leaps around the arena. Grey Prince Zote can string together up to three Leaps in a row. He can also chain this attack into a Shadow Slam attack. Every time Grey Prince Zote lands, he sends out two small shockwaves in either direction that cross the arena.

Summon Bombs: Grey Prince Zote cries out and summons 3–4 Volatile Zotelings around the arena, which explode after a short time or when killed (note that unlike other explosive enemies in the game, the explosions cannot deal damage to Grey Prince Zote). This attack happens in his 3rd fight and later. The Volatile Zotelings spawn anywhere in the air with room for them. Like the other summon attack, the Volatile Zotelings can persist while Grey Prince Zote uses other attacks, though only briefly as they self-destruct. Unlike the other summoned types of Zotelings in the fight, the damage from the Volatile Zotelings and their explosions (base 1 Mask) do scale with each victory.

Other

Standard Tactics: Zote will simply jump around and flail his nail around as he runs at an enemy. As Grey Prince Zote, he will additionally smash the ground to create shockwaves, spit/summon allies to assist him in battle, or teleport around.

Weaknesses: Zote is overconfident, cocky, rude, and often gets himself into trouble. He has no real combat feats, displayed as only flailing his weapon around and often picks fights with those that are stronger than him. He's also very clumsy, commonly tripping as he runs or not properly landing his jumps. | Generally the same weakness as he's still displayed to be clumsy, with the difference being an increase of strength.

Battle Records

None.