Shadow Beast

, also known as Twilit Messengers and Shadow Beings, are enemies in. They are the muscle behind Zant's Twilight invasion.

Shadow Beasts are dark, willowy beings that drop out of Portals all across Hyrule and in the Twilight Realm, always in packs of three or more except for the very first battle in the Ordon Spring. They are Twili that have been corrupted and turned into monsters by Zant. Shadow Beasts are strong enough that only a few were needed to overrun and defeat the scores of Hylian Soldiers guarding Princess Zelda, despite the fact that the latter had advantageous numbers. It is also hinted by Barnes that they are not only composed of transformed Twili, but also have the ability to turn Humans into their kind, meaning that they are not restricted to one species.

If one Shadow Beast is left standing during a group battle, it will utter an unearthly howl that rejuvenates the others. Thus, at least the last two must be killed at the same time in order to truly defeat a pack. Once there are only a few left, most area attacks can finish them off, though some will not function correctly, such as the Jump Strike or the Mortal Draw.

Different Shadow Beasts are seen in the cutscene which shows Zant taking Hyrule Castle and Midna's history of the Twili. These are larger than conventional Shadow Beasts, and bear a different head-dressing; a round silver plate with a special marking on them. However, these monsters are never seen during actual gameplay, so their status and any exclusive powers remain a mystery. One possible theory is that they are a sort of honor guard for Zant, as they always appear near him, generally in flanking positions.

Shadow Beasts appear as a Trophy and Sticker in.

Trophy Information

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Sticker Information

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Trivia

 * There exists in the code for an unused enemy model which may have been an early version of a Shadow Beast.

Nomenclature
The Japanese name for Shadow Beasts,, alongside their ability to revive fallen Shadow Beasts may be a reference to the phrase , meaning "to raise the dead."