Cubone and Marowak

[Kthleen]

Most of us wonder what Cubone's head looks like under what is supposed to be its mother's skull. However, what's rather interesting to me is that no one knows. They apparently (if what the Pokédex says is true) aren't born with them, and it would probably take a while for the baby to get the skull off the mother. That is, unless she dies immediately after she lays the egg (if they would lay eggs in real life) and thus decomposes enough to allow easy removal, but why would the baby take a skull with rotting flesh in and around it, (maybe clean it and) wear it, and take a large bone as a weapon anyway? Each species to their own, I guess....
Why hasn't anyone bred a Cubone or Marowak and looked at/photographed/videotaped the resulting baby when it hatched? Do most or all Cubone and Marowak mothers really die after the birth/laying? How do you think the tradition (I guess one could call it that) of Cubone wearing their mothers' skulls started?

I don't doubt the existence of a Marowak graveyard, but I don't quite believe that most/all Marowak (and perhaps Cubone) migrate there to get bones. Perhaps it's only the wild ones, and there is more than one Marowak graveyard. Which leaves a question: what of captive bred Cubone? Where would they get their bones from? Do people produce artificial "bones" and/or get bones from other Pokémon and animals? Do they also take from the Marowak graveyard(s)? Maybe the trainers have grown to accept the fact that their beloved Cubone/Marowak is designed to die after birth/egg-laying, let the body rot (where? In the Pokéball? In a close-by Pokémon or Marowak graveyard?), and let the baby take the skull and a bone of its choice.

And the bone weapon. I don't think it would return like a boomerang. Because of that, it would be a rather difficult thing to rely on if it missed the opponent. The Pokédex says that Marowak's bone came from another Marowak, but it's obviously much larger than any long bone in its body. Unless it came from a giant Marowak, it must have come from another creature. Cubone's more likely did come from a Marowak, though.

Other discussion welcome.



Inspired by this thread. On page two is someone's chibi manga rendition of an overskull-less Cubone. It looks like Charmander.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

And here's the picture, just in case you all want to see it. Sorry it wasn't a better one, but this was the only one I could find.

 

[Zhen Lin]

It looks and feels like something out of 4koma.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

well, it obviously is a 4Koma. Sadly I just cleaned my room which means that the comic it came from went back to my closet, so I'd have to go search for it again if further reference was wished.

 

[Murgatroyd]

From a simple mathematical point of view, the bit about "its mother's skull" is, if not outright false, at least not generally true. Proof: If it were true, the Cubone/Marowak population over time would be strictly decreasing, cut in half every generation (assuming a 50/50 male/female ratio). This would lead to guaranteed extinction within a few centuries at most.

 

[Zhen Lin]

Unless they lay twin, male/female paired eggs, it would have to be the case. Even so, you'd need two "mother's skulls"... though this one isn't too hard - since the mother has one outside and inside (assuming that they really do wear the skulls).

Perhaps the skull is not it's mother's skull, but it's own? That is to say, an exoskeleton? Hmm.

 

[Fig]

I think the "mother skull" bit is best considered folklore.

 

[buttersgirl]

i dont care much about what cubone looks like. what i wanna know is what cloyster really is

 

[Fig]

Then make a thread about cloyster.

 

[Zeta]

From a simple mathematical point of view, the bit about "its mother's skull" is, if not outright false, at least not generally true. Proof: If it were true, the Cubone/Marowak population over time would be strictly decreasing, cut in half every generation (assuming a 50/50 male/female ratio). This would lead to guaranteed extinction within a few centuries at most.

You forget Pokemon can breed outside their species. A population of female Cubone reproducing via breeding with males outside their species would consistantly produce an equal number of offspring.

 

[Zhen Lin]

Quite right. Though that leaves no room for males.

 

[Murgatroyd]

You forget Pokemon can breed outside their species. A population of female Cubone reproducing via breeding with males outside their species would consistantly produce an equal number of offspring.

Even that results in a strictly nonincreasing population, which decreases if there are any females that, for any reason, do not reproduce. It's not a recipe for rapid extinction like my model suggested, but it's still a recipe for guaranteed extinction eventually. I have to agree with Damian that this, like many of the other game Pokedex entries, is folklore, not fact.

 

[Zeta]

I would think that, practically speaking, Cubone and Marowak would have the instinct and senses to be able to detect marrow and bone deposits of any creature, dig them up, and fashion weapons and armor out of them regardless of the species of the original owner. And thus you'd have Cubone wearing Arcanine and Raichu skulls and such. The fact that we've only seen Cubone with one type of skull is doubtless that it would be too much work to depict each Cubone with a totally random Pokemon carcass on it's cranium. I doubt that the bones are exo-skeletons, if only because they're detatchable. It's a tad more logical to assume that they fashion items out of any bone they find, rather than of their own species exclusively. A lot more practical as well.

 

[Kthleen]

Indeed, though it would be a nice touch if they showed Cubone wearing different skulls and using different bones. (Pikachu: *backs away slowly, freaked out* "Pii~" Brock: "Ah, that must be a Raichu skull!") We have so far only seen Marowak using what appears to be a tibia, and Cubone's is usually portrayed as an odd one that narrows down and is apparently broken off to form a point, perhaps a femur. (Don't take my word for it, I'm not an anatomist, and pretty much only have this Cyclopedia Anatomicae to work with.) We haven't seen, say, a scapula shield, or use of the/a sharpened end(s) of a long bone, or even use of more than one nonskull bone. I guess that these would be a part of "real life" Pokéworld. Also, people would know many of the things that are said to be unknown in the Pokéworld, such as what an overskull-less Cubone, Diglett/Dugtrio's bodies, vineless Tangela, and shell-less Shellder/Cloyster really look like, and perhaps even how "Pokémon magic" works, to an extent.
I knew there was something off with the "mother's skull" thing....

Wouldn't it take quite a bit of careful hammering to shape the skull in order to make it wearable? They would have to break the bottom of the braincase, the hard palate, and any other stuff that would make for a difficult or uncomfortable fit. I just find that interesting.

Now what are those large projections sticking out of Cubone's back? They could make it very difficult for a predator to grab it from behind, but what exactly are they?

As for an exoskeleton, what about Marowak? The skull one wears as a Cubone appears to fuse to its head when it evolves. If nails, scales, and hooves count as such, this (as a hard outer structure that provides protection and/or support) probably would, unless exoskeletons are so only if they grow out of the owner originally, whether it becomes part of their body or not. Also, what happens if a Cubone that isn't wearing a skull evolves? I wonder what it would look like....

 

[Artruis]

Or maybe its like a growing up ritual, you know, you have to find a specific skull and when you do you are considered grown-up?

 

[Barb]

It has some of the characteristics of a theropod (walking on hind legs). If the Cubone were much bigger and walked on all fours, it probably would resemble a stegosaur or a chialingosaurus.

 

[Kthleen]

Or maybe its like a growing up ritual, you know, you have to find a specific skull and when you do you are considered grown-up?

That's possible, though I wonder if it would work out with its designation of the Lonely Pokémon, or if that designation has any truth to it. Are they like leopards, where they mate, split, babies stay with mom for a few months till they're grown enough (with Cubone, possibly marked by a skull-and-bone finding ritual), repeat? :B

It has some of the characteristics of a theropod (walking on hind legs). If the Cubone were much bigger and walked on all fours, it probably would resemble a stegosaur or a chialingosaurus.

So I'm not the only one who though "lizard". It keeps occuring to me as furry for some reason, though. Maybe it's the "Pokémon are cute and fuzzy" thing....

Are Cubone and Marowak lizards or mammals?


What do they eat? Sure it appears that even the most carnivorous Pokémon have a diet consisting probably halfway of fruit, though that's most likely because they didn't want to show little kids a cute, innocent widdle [insert Pokémon here] being killed and torn to shreds, but how likely is it that Cubone and Marowak came up with these weapons not only as defense, but to catch dinner? That would only work with the Lonely thing if the creature caught was quite small (shrews, baby Rattata, tiny fish) or if they're good at hiding their catches. I think that they are most likely omnivorous. To which side they would lean (carnivorous/insectivorous or herbivorous) in reality is up in the air.

 

[Barb]

For some reason, I don't visualize Cubone or Marowak as having fur. They both seem more reptilian in their physical characteristics. I would imagine that they eat smaller Pokémon like Rattata as well as fruits or berries. Maybe bird or Pokémon eggs as well.