EVERYONE: - Ongoing The Alola Pokedex

[Persephone]

Hi! This is a guidebook to every species in the USUM pokedex, as would be useful to a young trainer on an island quest. Everything in here is canon in guidance, my Alola journey fic. A few convention notes to begin with:

-The evolutionary line as a whole is referred to as the most evolved pokemon of the same type as the base form. Thus Alolan!Geodude's line is referred to as "golem" and vikavolt's line is referred to as "grubbin."
-I don't treat pokedex entries as canon, although some parts of some entries are inspired by them.
-Ordinary animals and plants exist in the universe of guidance.
-I don't necessarily consider all information given in any game, including USUM, to be canon.
-This is rated E. If you can handle the average show on Animal Planet (or whatever the non-American equivalent is), you should be fine. Sometimes I'll talk in some detail about how a predator kills their prey, which can include humans. It will be mostly in academic language (talking about what gets pierced and with what force rather than how much blood gets splattered).
-I shamelessly stole the idea from Cutlerine, who did it here.

Table of Contents:
-Dartrix
-Torracat
-Brionne
-Toucannon
-Gumshoos
-Raticate
-Metapod
-Ledian
-Ariados
-Lopunny
-Malamar
-Zoroark
-Furfrou
-Raichu
-Grubbin
-Rhyperior
-Sudowoodo
-Blissey
-Snorlax

 

[Persephone]

Dartrix (Rowlet, Decidueye)

Overview

Rowlet is one of the three traditional starters in the Alola region, alongside litten and popplio. Of the three, it is the easiest to take care of and the most sociable. This is in large part due to the coevolution of the species and the Polynesians who scattered them across the Pacific Ocean. While not domesticated, they are easily adjusted to working with humans and rowlet born in captivity seem to accept humans as large, featherless decidueye.

Rowlet and dartrix are recognized as belonging to the grass and flying type classes. Decidueye officially belong to grass and ghost, although there is some controversy over whether or not they should retain the flying classification as well. This guidebook will not delve into the controversy over the so-called triple-typings and adheres to the official rulings of the Department of Agriculture.

Physiology

All stages of dartrix possess excellent hearing and night vision. Rowlet and dartrix can see perfectly well on cloudy nights with a new moon. Captive decidueye have been able to strike targets in near-perfect darkness in laboratories. It is presently unclear how they manage this, as there is no evidence they use echolocation at this time. Rowlet are born pure white and slowly develop their colors as photosynthetic symbiote colonies grow inside of their feathers.

Rowlet resemble a small, almost spherical owl with pale brown body feathers, a white mask and a green crest on their chest. It is widely, and incorrectly, believed that this crest forms two intersecting ovals in the rough shape of deciduous leafs. While some Rowlet do have crests like this, the exact shape and shade is unique to each rowlet. The crests of related rowlets are usually similar, allowing them to serve as an identifier.

Dartrix are slightly wider than rowlet. Adults in Alola are roughly two feet tall although, with controlled diet, humidty and sunlight, some captive dartrix have grown up to three feet tall. They gain a green headcrest and the brown feathers on their body darken considerably. Mature dartrix have developed projectile “blade feathers” that aren’t actually feathers at all, but rather thin hairs coated in keratin. These replace their talons as their main form of defense.

Decidueye are usually between five and six feet tall. Their green crests grow to surround their entire head and an orange one forms where their crest originally was as a rowlet. Decidueye wings are dark brown. Their quills are much sharper and harder than those of dartrix, and a trained decidueye is capable of shooting them at speeds of up to fifty meters per second at ranges of up to five-hundred meters.

Dartrix can live up to thirty years in the wild or twenty-five in captivity. It is unclear whether or not decidueye die of old age in the presence of constant stress and combat.

Behavior

Wild rowlet are nocturnal, although captive rowlet can be quickly trained to be crepuscular or diurnal. They perch on top of the highest trees in their area and spread their wings to allow their symbiotic bacteria to photosynthesize. At night, they leave their perches and eat leaves. This is both for nutritional reasons and to clear up more space to roost in direct sunlight during the day. In spite of their representation in folklore as powerful hunters, all stages of the evolutionary line are strictly herbivorous (this is not true for all subspecies; see Subspecies).

Their reputation comes from the hunts of decidueye. When dartrix colonies face predators, the decidueye in the flock are known to set out at night (or, for diurnal predators, in the day) and assassinate all members of the predator species within a several kilometer radius. Some subspecies have also been documented killing predators who did not hunt dartrix so, in the future, those species will aggressively cull those that do prey on them.

In captivity, rowlet are intensely social while awake and prefer to rest in direct sunlight or cuddle against warm-blooded animals or other rowlet for warmth. When allowed to do so, they will frequently perch on top of their trainers. Dartrix, thankfully, grow out of this practice. They still enjoy engulfing their trainer in their wings. The exact purpose of this behavior is unclear.

Decidueye’s behavioral differences will be further detailed in the Evolution section.

Husbandry

It is best to acquire a member of the line while it is still in its first evolutionary stage. As it develops into an adult (see Evolution), it should seldom be placed inside of a pokéball or separated from its trainer for more than twenty-four hours at a time. Separation for any length of time is stressful for very young rowlet and should be avoided whenever possible. It should be exposed to direct sunlight for at least six hours a day, five days a week. If this is infeasible, most Pokémon Centers in Alola have rooms which can simulate natural sunlight. These rooms in the busiest Centers are typically filled with rowlet and dartrix, allowing for socialization (and an exercise in remembering your rowlet’s crest). During periods of particular stress, rowlet prefer to be cradled by humans or dartrix or, at the very least, given a cramped space to hide in.

The dartrix line have very inefficient digestive systems and, like most birds, they tend to defecate whenever they get ready to fly. Thankfully, rowlet and dartrix much prefer short hops and walking on their talons to flight (see Battling). They are still quite difficult to house train and the only real consolation is that their waste is more solid, and thus easier to clean up, than most birds. There is a five hundred dollar fine for not cleaning up your dartrix’s waste in a public area.

All stages of the dartrix line should be fed a special blend of leaf-based food sold in all Pokémon Centers in Alola, and most pokémon equipment and sporting goods stores. Adult dartrix can be held in pokeballs for considerable lengths of time, although most find this irritating and using their pokéball frequently will undermine their trust in you as their trainer. Dartrix without a photosynthesis-condusive pokéball should get thirty hours of direct or simulated sunlight a week. Decidueye need only three hours of sunlight per week, although they will become more active if exposed to more light. Decidueye also tend not to have strong feelings on being held in their pokéballs.

Illness

The most common illness by far for all stages of the dartrix line is feather bleaching. During a bleaching episode, a dartrix loses all color in their feathers and become pure-white across their entire body. Bleaching can be caused by prolonged exposure to cold temperatures, severe injury, inadequate exposure to sunlight, too little humidity, isolation, disease, starvation, overeating or for no apparent reason at all. So long as conditions are quickly rectified and the dartrix is given a few days to rest and either exposure to other dartrix or injections of symbiotic bacteria the problem will usually be resolved within a week. If your dartrix begins to bleach, immediately consult a veterinarian.

It should be noted that molting, the loss of feathers in certain parts of the body and slow regrowth of initially white feathers, is separate from bleaching. Unless feathers don’t gain color for over a month in an adult or three months in a juvenile or molting occurs across the entire body at once it is not necessary to consult a veterinarian.

Evolution

Rowlet naturally evolve into dartrix provided food, sunlight, companionship and time. The formal point where a rowlet becomes a dartrix is the growth of a full headcrest. This typically occurs when a rowlet is nine months old. It takes another five for a dartrix to fully mature and become ready for their next evolution.

Wild decidueye are exceedingly rare. In times of great external stress, such as pandemics, sudden habitat loss, natural disasters, competition for their roosting spaces or predation, the eldest dartrix in a colony will begin to rapidly gain size and start to develop projectile quills. This will continue to happen with more dartrix evolving one by one until the crisis is resolved. Decidueye only live for one to three years after the most recent crisis.

In captivity, projectile quills can be surgically removed, rendering evolution impossible. Otherwise, a dartrix exposed to enough battles over the course of roughly one year (or a handful of particularly dire ones in rapid succession) will begin to evolve on its own. During evolution, dartrix should be offered greatly increased amounts of food and sunlight and given as much as it wants of both.

For a variety of reasons, dartrix evolution is not recommended for all but the most serious of trainers. Decidueye cut off from frequent, high-level battles tend to rapidly decline in health and die within a year. This makes retirement effectively impossible for decidueye trainers. Decidueye also undergo a temperamental change arguably greater than their physical ones. Decidueye sleep less than two hours a day and spend the remainder of their time hyper-vigilant and seeking out battles. If no opponents are presented to them in formal engagement, they will tend to pick their own fights.

They otherwise lose almost all of the cuddly and expressive nature that dartrix are known for. While they will usually not decline physical affection, they will almost never initiate it. They will stand guard for their trainer when outside of their pokéball and do little else. Because of this, many trainers who evolve their dartrix complain about a death of personality in their beloved pet and some will lose interest and abandon their decidueye. The shock of losing the “colony” they evolved to protect and the combat withdrawal will usually kill the decidueye within six months. Decidueye seldom accept new trainers once abandoned.

Battle

Rowlet and dartrix are relatively durable pokémon and both are far more clever than they would appear. They have naturally good aim for the handful of projectile attacks they have. Unfortunately, they are not so capable at flying as to be able to dodge projectile attacks. Most dartrix and all rowlet are unable to dodge melee moves from average-size pokémon. They also tend to loathe battling and must be bribed into each individual fight. As such, they are not the recommended starter for trainers interested in serious battling.

Decidueye, as mentioned above, are addicted to combat and violence. They are much more adept fliers than dartrix, have near-silent movement and can put their natural aim to much better use with their quills. Their only real counters are pokémon capable of taking a quill to any point of their body and continuing to fight. Otherwise, projectile moves that manipulate temperatures to either extreme are damaging to their tissue and symbiotes and should be avoided. Very fast attacks from behind can also throw a decidueye into a panic. Decidueye tend not to surrender fights until they are physically incapable of continuing, so a trainer should be mindful of the above and withdraw their decidueye if they appear to be visibly hurt.

Acquisition

Children between the ages of ten and twenty can obtain a rowlet from certified distributors free of charge with a Class I certification. Children who have cleared the grand trial on at least one island and did not receive a rowlet as a starter can purchase or adopt an additional one. Dartrix in licensed shelters can be adopted with a Class II license or higher. Decidueye adoptions are handled on a case-by-case basis.

Dartrix colonies are found in Poni Meadow, Exeggutor Island, Tapu Forest and Lush Jungle. It is illegal to collect any member of the line from the wild without explicit government approval. It is also entirely unnecessary given the strength of captive breeding programs.

Breeding

Requires a Class IV license with an additional certification in dartrix breeding. The certification course has further information.

Subspecies

As island-dwellers with limited flight, there are nearly two dozen subspecies of dartrix. As such, this section will not cover them all in detail.

Indonesian and Filipino dartrix (Filipino, Sumatran, Javan, Bornean, Guinean) typically have wingspans twice those of their Alolan counterparts at all stages. They are also much more capable fliers, and even some rowlet are capable of sustained, powered flight for a kilometer or more. Most of these subspecies are omnivorous during the wet season. However, their quills are not nearly as developed as the other subspecies and they hunt primarily through a combination of their talons and their silent flight.

The Queensland dartrix is the only subspecies with naturally venomous quills. Queensland decidueye are less than a meter tall and their dartrix are correspondingly small and their quills take several weeks to regenerate. As such, they have not gained much popularity in the competitive battling scene.

The small islands of the Pacific are littered with different dartrix subspecies. Most of them are quite similar to the Alolan dartrix, but smaller. Almost all are endangered. The Heahea conservatory has an exhibit showcasing several of these subspecies.

New Zealand previously had two subspecies of dartrix. The North Island dartrix is now extinct and the South Island dartrix at risk of extirpation. South Island dartrix regularly evolve into decidueye, regardless of external stressors. They are also nearly as large as the Sumatran decidueye and have much thicker coats. Despite their wingspan, they are nearly flightless and only use their wings for getting into and out of trees and slowing falls. Their primary weapon are their quills, by far the largest of any subspecies of decidueye. Photosynthesis aside, South Island decidueye are almost entirely carnivorous. During the summer they stay nearly stationary with their wings spread out in a field. In the long winter nights, they take up position on a low tree branch and wait to kill anything that crosses by.

South Island decidueye form mated pairs until their chicks evolve into dartrix, at which point the pairs split up and leave the dartrix on their own.

While they have nearly been hunted to extinction in Zealand, an invasive population in the Canadian boreal has become rather large. The latest estimates placed the decidueye population in Alberta alone at over ten thousand. They have become a major safety risk for humans in the area, as they will kill and eat any human who enters their territory in the winter and it is all but impossible to notice a decidueye before it notices you.

Due to legalized hunting and capture of Canadian decidueye, they are quite common on the international battling scene. They are also the ninth most lethal pokémon worldwide and require a Class V license to possess in the United States.

 

[Arkadelphiak]

good shite

there is ur review u demanded fam

 

[Persephone]

good shite

there is ur review u demanded fam

Sad!

 

[Beth Pavell]

I enjoyed this one a lot. The entry is very well thought through, to thee point where most of my criticism is down to picking at the details.

At first I was inclined to think it would make more sense for dartrix to rely on seeds and fruit as their main diet, but it occurred to me that Canada geese (Branta canadensis) eat a lot of grass, and correspondingly produce a lot of shit, and photosynthesis would mean that dartrix wouldn't need to eat nearly as much.

I loved the explanation for rowlet as natural cuddlers. It's cute and a bit silly, but not entirely absurd. I'm also, as you can probably imagine, completely on board with different reasons for evolution besides combat. As for a few picks:

there is no proof

Admittedly I'm not that close to academia, but "evidence" strikes me as more academic language.

a white “mask”

I think you could probably do without the quotation marks. The language of birds often involves making apparently colloquial references to markings, and I've never seen an academic source try to talk around that.

corpuscular

I think that was supposed to be "crepuscular".

leaf-baste

The oddities of spell-check strike again.

 

[Persephone]

@Beth Pavell

I am just getting back to civilization now after a few days in the woods.

I'm quite glad you enjoyed it, nitpicks aside. I guess the point of this project is to try and put a somewhat more realistic spin on the biology and ecology of the world while still accepting that a lot of it can only be chalked up to magic. But I'm at least going to try and make the rules consistent and work out how the ecology would work when magic joins the laws of science.

There will be a few borderline flash of light evolutions, and quite a few will be due to combat stressors of one kind or another (decidueye this week and incineroar tomorrow are examples of this). In general, though, if there's not a type change I just upon evolution I just assume they're different stages of maturity of the same basic organism, possibly with an odd catalyst in the mix.

 

[Persephone]

Torracat (Litten, Incineroar)

Overview

Fire-types have a reputation for forgoing strategy in favor of a barrage of smoke and flame. Torracat largely avert this; in the wild they are pack hunters that barely use their flames. Incineroar, however, plays the reputation straight. Contrary to the stigma around fire-types that they are difficult to control, Torracat are the tamest and friendliest of the Alolan feline pokémon, even if their means of expressing affection can come off as detached and distant to those unused to working with cats. Incineroar have odder behaviors, but are perhaps friendlier to humans while in captivity.

The primary appeal of torracat as a starter rests in their typicality. Children who grew up in a household with a pet feline already have a headstart in caring for and understanding their first partner. Additionally, torracat avert the typical territoriality of felines and are quick to accept new partners.

Champion Luna's incineroar has inspired a great many trainers hoping to get into serious battling to pick a litten as their first pokémon. It should be noted here that incineroar evolution takes time, luck and a willingness to go without the torracat for a while. Unevolved torracat are still lovable and capable of winning even moderately high level battles if used well. Going without evolution is a perfectly reasonable choice for a trainer on an island quest.

Physiology

Litten and torracat are classified as pure-fire types. Incineroar is classified as a dual fire- and dark-type due to their resistance to telepathic attacks.

Litten have a rather typical feline bodyshape, with the exception of a larger-than-average head for their size. They are colored black with red stripes on their legs and a red crest on their forehead. The exact hue and the shape of the crest vary by age and individual. Litten possess an internal flame sac right below the junction of their neck and torso. All stages of the torracat line have thick, flame-resistant skin. Their fur is surprisingly flammable. It is the fur they collect during grooming that serves as their primary flame source. However, the time required for fur to regrow does provide a limit to how much fire they are able to use in a given period of time, even with diet supplements.

Torracat are physiologically similar. They are far larger than their juvenile counterpart, growing up to roughly 0.75 meters in height at the shoulder, but the growth is mostly proportional. Red stripes cover their back and tail, and their head crest becomes more prominent. More pronounced red whiskers that give them a sense of the thermal gradient around them. The most significant change is the growth of a bell-like structure protruding from the flame sack. This bell is not metallic, rather, it is made of bone and coated in natural oils. It helps regulate the release of flames, something litten tend to struggle with. Torracat are capable of emitting a variety of sounds that other torracat can pick up on up to two kilometers away.

Incineroar are far larger with external flames around their waist. They typically reach roughly one meter in height at the shoulder. Contrary to popular belief, incineroar are primarily quadrupeds that sometimes rear up on two legs to reach higher, deliver more powerful blows with their forelegs, or intimidate opponents. Their paws, claws and teeth are proportionally larger than torracat's, and their muscles are more powerful and prominent. The incineroar's headcrest has grown to encompass almost the entire head. Incineroar have replaced their reproductive system with additional flame sacs, allowing for more control and power. These replace the torracat's bell.

Torracat can live up to twenty-five years in captivity and fifteen in the wild. Incineroar typically live about ten years after evolution, regardless of their age beforehand.

Behavior

Torracat, like most felines, understand human behaviors and desires through the lens of their own. Many people are vexed by their tendency to stay within the same room as their trainers, but seldom initiate physical affection. They will even frequently reject petting or grooming from even longtime trainers. This is not because of a lack of love, although many litten are initially skeptical of terrifyingly large non-torracat mammals with unknown intentions. They do this because of a belief that humans desire the same personal space as a torracat does.

Additionally, due to the use of fur as a fuel source, it is extremely uncommon for a torracat to allow someone else to groom them. As such, the offer of grooming (which is what they interpret petting as) is an insult to them. They sometimes allow humans to do it for reasons that are poorly understood, and this should be treated as a great honor.

In captivity, torracat will frequently approach other mammals and offer to groom them to build up their fuel reserves. They will even do this with humans, although their preferred method of doing so is licking human eyebrows with their rather coarse tongues. Simple negative reinforcement with a spray bottle can usually stop this behavior. Many trainers are reluctant to irritate their pets, but torracat are quick to pick up on humans' boundaries with regards to grooming and will usually stop after the first one or two reprimands from a human they respect. If a torracat does not like their trainer, they will weather sprays out of wpite.. This is a sign that either the litten needs to be replaced with a more compatible companion or serious effort needs to be put in to earning the litten's respect.

Torracat seldom harm humans in the wild or captivity and very well-trained torracat can be trusted alone with infants and toddlers.

Incineroar spend most of their time caring for their young in the wild. Typically one incineroar in a pair will hunt or sleep while the other watches the litten. Once a pair's litten have evolved and left them, they will often appear to be lost and sleep far more than they previously did. They will sometimes seek to rectify this situation by adopting orphaned babies of other pokémon species. Sometimes they will even adopt babies that are orphaned because of the incineroar's own hunts.

Husbandry

At eighteen months of age, litten can be used in battle or gifted to trainers without a Class I breeding license and DNR approval. At this point litten have fully developed coats and flame sacks. The litten provided to trainers are almost all male, as female litten are retained in the breeding program. Sometimes a female litten that is particularly curious or combative will be given to trainers alongside the males, or a male litten that is physically or tempermentally unsuitable to be given to children will be retained.

Litten will generally provide their own exercise if allowed out of their pokéball for at least twenty hours a week for non-battling purposes. This exercise may be detrimental to the integrity of furniture and camping supplies, so it is advised to let them blow off steam in battle or more structured play with other team members or their trainer.

Even when properly exercised, torracat and litten are well-known to scratch furniture and walls to mark their territory. This makes them somewhat unsuitable to be indoor pets for retired trainers without either extensive training and a close bond or a professionally done cat-proofing. They do not mark their territory through urination and are easily trained in the use of litter boxes and, on walks, vacant lots while no other humans are around.

All stages of the torracat line are not averse to rain and quite enjoy playing in it. Torracat and litten will even take submerging baths if water is provided, although they will not do so if they are forced to take them. Torracat can not be safely submerged for more than ten minutes at a time. Incineroar can not be safely submerged for any length of time (see Illness). However, moderate rain and almost all water-type attacks will not be enough to kill an incineroar.

Torracat and litten are omnivores. They will happily eat feline pokémon food sold in every Pokémon Center and pet shop in Alola, although they will require roughly 30% more food than recommended for a generic feline pokémon as they literally burn more calories than other cats. They will also happily eat most produce given to them. They prefer dried produce as it is more easily ignited. Torracat will not eat more dried fruit than they need. As such, it is advised to give them an overabundance at meal times and then simply remove and repackage what was not eaten.

Unlike most felines, torracat crave additional fur to eat. This makes pokémon with high maintenance needs and thick fur, such as furfrou, lopunny or cinccino, ideal partners. Vulpix also qualify provided the torracat or litten is adopted first. See the entry on vulpix for more information. If it is not possible to provide a mammalian partner, fur supplements can be purchased in Pokémon Centers. However, these supplements, especially the high quality ones, are rather expensive for pokémon food.

Incineroar are carnivores and apex predators and will require very large amounts of calories and fur to sustain themselves. The exact details vary by incineroar, but it is best to assume they will need 20% of their body weight in meat and 10% in fur every week. Incineroar will continue to groom team members that allow them to do so, but most pokémon that did not grow up with the incineroar while it was a torracat will be too nervous to allow it.

Incineroar are fiercely protective of anything they see as their baby, which often applies to young trainers as well as small or unevolved pokémon on their team. They will often growl or rear up on their hind legs if they perceive another human as threatening their trainer, or if they see one of their teammates hurt in battle. It is recommended that incineroar be withdrawn during battles, not used in double battles and kept away from stressful situations.

All stages of the evolutionary line require scratching posts to keep their claws in check. Otherwise they will seek out wood, be it forest logs or furniture, and take care of their needs.

Wild torracat can live in mated pairs, litter groups, groups of multiple mated pairs, mixed groups, or on their own As such,hey can adapt to almost all team dynamics in captivity.

Illness

All stages of the evolutionary line have illnesses similar to most felines. Rabies vaccines are compulsory and usually handled by the DNR. Trainers breeding their own litten (see Breeding) should vaccinate their litten on their first birthday.

A torracat exposed to particularly heavy rains or submersion for long periods of time will develop waterlogged hypothermia, the most common illness for all fire-types. A waterlogged torracat will become very inactive, refuse to eat and obsessively groom its own fur to the point of ripping out entire patches and even tearing into the skin. They will not produce flames. Waterlogging is rather easily cured in torracat with the provision of oils under the supervision of a veterinarian. If a torracat becomes waterlogged and there is not a Pokémon Center readily available, withdraw it and keep it in its ball. Drop it off at a veterinarian or Pokémon Center as soon as possible.

Parasites are particularly tricky to deal with in torracat as they will almost never allow a human to groom them. Fortunately, the few parasites that do prey on the species are usually near-harmless. Make sure your torracat has a full checkup by a veterinarian at least once a year.

Any immersion of an incineroar's open flames in water should be assumed to be life-threatening.

Evolution

Litten naturally progress into torracat as they age. This process usually takes roughly two years. The formal demarcation between litten and torracat is the first vocalization with their bell.

Torracat evolve after reproducing with another torracat. The male will begin to eat and hunt more while the female is pregnant and begin the process of evolving, which will be completed by the time the female gives birth. After delivering a litter of four to six kittnes, the female will begin to evolve in turn.

In captivity, all torracat breeding and evolutions are handled by DNR approved breeding facilities. Contact the DNR if interested in evolving a male torracat. Female torracat can be handed over for evolution, but they will only be returned to their trainer after their litten have been adopted out.

Battle

Wild litten and torracat primarily hunt with their claws and save their fire for self-defense, distractions, intimidation and mating displays. They can be trained to use fire more regularly in captivity, although their diet will need to be adjusted to compensate. Torracat are capable of fighting at range with (relatively inaccurate) embers and streams of flame, or up close with their claws and teeth. As such, they should be trained in a variety of strategies and the one picked in battle should be determined by their opponent.

In the wild, torracat hunt through the use of rough terrain and large packs communicating over long distances to set up traps. In captivity this strategy is often unable to be replicated, as only the most experienced of trainers will be able to understand their torracat's vocalizations in any detail and double battles are rare in Alola. It does mean that torracat are quite clever and can pick up on new moves and tactics quickly. This, combined with their reluctance to use fire, makes them less directly powerful than brionne or dartrix, but capable of using more complex maneuvers to compensate.

They are most easily countered by rock-types that can shrug off their claws and aren't seriously hurt by fire. Very accurate or powerful water- or ground-types can also force a torracat into surrender by targeting its bell. Litten are not particularly water averse and have no direct opening to their flame sacs, allowing them to take hits from those attacks more easily.

Incineroar in the wild hunt with powerful flame blasts, bites and paw strikes. This makes them far more direct battlers than torracat. However, like most carnivores, they sometimes have trouble holding back. Incineroar seldom bother to defend themselves if they weren't trained in defensive maneuvers as a litten. Instead they prefer to rush their opponents, rear up to bring their flame belt into play, and start scorching and slashing until one pokémon or the other is knocked out. This means that incineroar can reliably win against anything they can win a close-quarters slugging match against, and they are doomed when they can't. They also struggle against birds and quick stall teams who can keep away from incineroar while slowly chipping away at them. But outside of those two exceptions, incineroar battles tend to be brutal and short.

Incineroar directly competes for a spot with arcanine and pyroar on international competitive circuits. As such, Champion Luna is the only trainer on The Battler's Top 100 list who uses one on their main team.

Acquisition

Children between the ages of ten and twenty can obtain a litten from certified distributors free of charge with a Class I certification. Children who have cleared the grand trial on at least one island and did not receive a litten as a starter can purchase or adopt an additional one. Torracat in licensed shelters can be adopted with a Class II license or higher. Incineroar can be adopted by trainers aged 16 or under with a Class II license. Trainers above the age of 16 require a Class IV license, as they are often unwilling to cooperate with an adult human.

Wild torracat colonies exist within Poni Island National Park. It is forbidden to capture wild litten or torracat without the explicit approval of the National Park Service. Following the introduction of pyroar to Poni Island a fierce territorial dispute has emerged. The pyroar have all but entirely won the conflict through their greater size and social cohesion. Incineroar without a current litter will frequently hunt and kill pyroar in an attempt to reduce the threat to torracat and incineroar.

Wild incineroar will often attack adult humans on sight, or younger humans if they get too close to their litten. Trainers are advised not to enter Poni Island National Park alone without a pokémon capable of reliably defeating a wild incineroar. Never approach a wild litten in the park, as at least one of its parents will always be close by.

All feral torracat encountered outside of Poni Island National Park are the property of the Commonwealth of Alola and, if captured, must be dropped off at a pokémon center within thirty days. Due to abuse of the system, bounties for returned torracat are no longer offered.

Breeding

Torracat breeding with other torracat is handled exclusively by the DNR.

In captivity, torracat will mate with other felines and even some non-canine mammalian fire types, as well as subspecies of natural fire-types that are not themselves fire-types, such as Lanakilan vulpix. This reproduction will not trigger evolution and the babies will seldom be fertile, if reproduction is even possible. Torracat pregnancies typically last four months. They should not be withdrawn into pokéballs once the pregnancy becomes visible, and neither the mother nor her litten should not be withdrawn into their pokeballs until the babies are six months old.

Litten typically abandon their parents at eighteen months of age in the wild. Litten of this age can be gifted to the DNR. Trainers will receive a $1200 tax break per litten handed over.

Subspecies

None known.

 

[Beth Pavell]

A lot more of the same! I don't have a lot to say, more's the pity, but in an attempt to say something:

It is the fur they collect during grooming that serves as their primary flame source.

Making reference to it being a type of tinder might work better.

All stages of the torracat line are not averse to rain and quite enjoy playing in it

How does this square with squirt bottles being used as a mild deterrent?

Evolution

The only real question mark this one threw up was about incineroar. What evolutionary purpose does this serve? (Insofar as the idea of a purpose can be anything other than a useful metaphor, anyway). Or perhaps to look at it another way, it's a very strange mutation that causes a badly injured creature to become vastly more powerful, but short lived and nevertheless infertile.

I can't think of how that mutation would die out, that's the problem. Obviously an incineroar can't pass down its defective genes, but the circumstances where they'd be expressed (?) are so specific for most torracat they're not actually a liability at all ... so I don't quite know what to think about it

 

[kintsugi]

so we've already talked pretty in depth on these over Discord (<3), but I wanted to drop a review for points and profit to make some sort of official point that I've read this

general
As a concept, this is great. I wasn't entirely sold on it at first, as typically I read fanfiction to not read textbooks, but the pacing here is really solid. Mentally comparing between this one and the Cutlerine version that you've referenced, I think that while that one has more dry humor rip togekiss, this one is more intriguing in its own right. You did a lot of the homework that the games didn't, and there's enough original substance here to make this downright fascinating.

rowlet line
I could spend a few hundred extra words talking about how I loved all the little details that you put in here, but I'll just list my favorites instead:

Rowlet are born pure white and slowly develop their colors as photosynthetic symbiote colonies grow inside of their feathers.

At night, they leave their perches and eat leaves. This is both for nutritional reasons and to clear up more space to roost in direct sunlight during the day.

In captivity, rowlet are intensely social while awake and prefer to rest in direct sunlight or cuddle against warm-blooded animals or other rowlet for warmth. When allowed to do so, they will frequently perch on top of their trainers. Dartrix, thankfully, grow out of this practice.

Because of this, many trainers who evolve their dartrix complain about a death of personality in their beloved pet and some will lose interest and abandon their decidueye. The shock of losing the “colony” they evolved to protect and the combat withdrawal will usually kill the decidueye within six months.

I guess my one really nitpicky question here: rowlet are approximately as dense as a human, apparently (using a height of 0.3 m/weight of 1.5 kg from Bulbapedia and assuming the cow is a sphere), so I wasn't fully expecting an arboreal species/one that can perch on the highest branch of trees? Otherwise, no, this is lovely and you've tricked me into learning about fictional subspecies and enjoying it, goddammit.

litten line

With that said, Champion Luna’s incineroar has inspired a great many trainers hoping to get into serious battling to pick a litten as their first pokémon. This is a mistake.

They can be trained not to do this through simple negative reinforcement with a spray bottle filled with water.

The formal demarcation between litten and torracat is the first vocalization with their bell.

More details introduced here! I dig the gradual evolution stuff; it makes for a much less dramatic fight but a much more realistic world.

I suppose my only real question from both of these--given the circumstances required to reach the final evolution, both of these seem like terrible recommended starter lines. Decidueye die once their trainer gets bored and incineroar live in constant pain, so recommending these to children (who don't always have the most adept forward thinking, or may not be able to gauge when a battle is so intense that their pokemon should be recalled) seems a little inhumane to the pokemon themselves? Or is the point that everything in Alola is secretly super dangerous/raising pokmeon is inherently going to go downhill?

Either way, I've said this a lot, but I'm really digging this fic. Thanks for writing it!

 

[Persephone]

Brionne (Popplio, Primarina)

Overview

Brionne and primarina are mammals. However, they have convergently evolved gills and mucus generation. In practice, they have about as much in common with slowpoke as dewgong. Their needs, husbandry and even battle strengths and weaknesses can seem alien to the beginning trainer. The disadvantages of this are obvious. But, those trainers that manage to raise a thriving brionne will find themselves with the fundamentals needed to tame and care for the oddest of species in the future. And as far as strange species go, they have one of the best support networks in the region in terms of supplies and veterinarian knowledge.

Beyond that very important note, brionne have the least problematic evolution when compared to the lengthy period of absence required for a torracat evolution and the difficulties of caring for a decidueye in the long term. Primarina are mostly famous for their popularity in zoos and circuses worldwide. But they are very competent battlers that are difficult for an unprepared trainer to counter. They also get more friendly and gregarious as they evolve, and primarina tend to take on a motherly role towards their teammates and trainer.

Physiology

Popplio and brionne are classified as pure water types. Primarina is classified as a joint water- and fairy-type. Both rulings are undisputed.

Popplio are dark blue almost everywhere on their body. Their shape is typically pinniped, with two large front flippers used for movement on land and two smaller back flippers used for movement in water. Their muzzle is colored white and ends in a pink orb. There is a pale blue frill around their neck. Popplio use this frill to help regulate their temperature and salinity. They can get oxygen through it in an emergency, but they prefer to breathe with their lungs. The frill is also used for regulating internal water supply and analyzing the properties of the water around them. The orb on popplio's nose is used to sense and produce vibrations to view the world in echolocation. It is believed that this is their primary sense.

Popplio skin is quite thick and rough, aside from the frill. As they evolve, their skin becomes thinner and slimier.

Brionne are lighter in coloration and the tips of their flippers are white. They gain two more frills around their midsection. The most notable change is the development of two antennae on their head. These are used to produce vibrations and help with controlling the water around them.

While brionne mostly look like larger popplio, primarina have quite a few major external and internal differences from popplio. Their body as a whole is thinner and sleeker relative to their size, and their frills (now located on their forehead, the start of their hind flippers, the start of their tail and the area around their front flippers) are proportionally smaller. Their tail is longer and bulkier than a brionne's and dark blue in coloration. The skin on their tail is similar to a popplio's. The rest of their body proper is white. Primarina and older brionne gain a thin layer of blubber under their skin to insulate them on long pelagic journeys.

The biggest difference between brionne and primarina is that the antennae are replaced with thousands of long, fine hairs. These are used to sense and modify vibrations, allowing for much more complex sounds to be created.

The brionne line use sonics and slime to channel their hydrokinesis. More complex sounds allow for more complicated water attacks and more nimble movement when submerged. More slime in an area allows for more water to be manipulated. Primarina have some of the most complex vocal chords of all pokémon and can produce sounds several octaves above and below the range of human hearing. Their frills gain the ability to aid in manipulating sound upon a primarina's final evolution.

Brionne can live up to fifteen years in the wild or thirty in captivity. Primarina can live up to sixty years in both the wild and captivity. Brionne typically grow to 0.8 meters and they weigh less than 25 kilograms. Primarina can reach lengths of two meters and masses of 50 kilograms.

Behavior

Popplio are naturally curious and playful. They will attempt to mimic almost all sounds that they hear and will practice their attacks and singing ability constantly. In the wild they often huddle together with other members of their evolutionary line. They will not do this with humans or any other species. This is for the best (see Illness). Unlike the other stages of their evolutionary line, popplio sleep on land during the night and enjoy playing on beaches during the dusk and dawn. Usually a small group of brionne or the choir's primarina will supervise them during this time.

During the day, wild popplio typically play with each other and forage around the choir's resting place.

Brionne are perhaps even more curious about sounds, but they now possess the proper anatomy to replicate them. In the wild they will frequently beach near human settlements to listen to music and urban sounds. They also frequent bird rookeries to listen to bird calls. In captivity, they are fascinated by sports and dancing. Brionne sleep during the day by hooking themselves to sea grass or rocks at the bottom of water between two and ten meters deep.

Wild primarina spend most of the day resting. At night they teach their songs to the choir's brionne (see Evolution) or beach on land to learn new sounds or forcefully introduce theirs to anyone in range. They are also known to forage for pearls, sea stars or anything they consider to be beautiful. They subsequently adorn their hair with these items. The purpose of this is unclear.

In the wild popplio hunt small birds and insects through ambush tactics. One of their favorite strategies is to sneak up on a flock of small seabirds, make a loud noise to startle them into flight and then attempt to pick off one with a well-aimed burst of water. Their diet is supplemented by shellfish, benthic fish and invertebrates and insects provided by the older members of their choir.

Brionne typically hunt in groups. They will find large schools of small fish and swim around them in a group while emitting very loud cries. Individual brionne will break out of the circle and swim into the school, picking out as many fish as they please.

Primarina hunt by stunning or killing fish. They can also use their hydrokinesis to propel themselves up to 15 meters per second for short distances. One of primarina's songs can kill almost all insects in a thirty meter radius. Primarina will only eat insects when desperate. Insect kills are either done for sport or to feed their young.

Husbandry

The biggest challenge with caring for all stages of the brionne line is meeting their need for stimulation. In the wild popplio play with each other and the older members of their choir. This is hard to replicate in captivity as most humans do not have the patience to play with their popplio for several hours a day every day, and most pokémon's idea of play is too rough for popplio (and especially for brionne). Popplio will need at least six hours a day of enrichment. Brionne require at least four. This can be done by giving the pokémon a toy such as a ball or rattle or just by putting an MP3 player on. Brionne in particular are quite fond of children's television featuring dancing, singing humans.

Brionne are a special challenge because they require plenty of stimulation and are nocturnal. Brionne and primarina trainers are advised to adjust their sleep schedules to at least partially match their partner's.

Technology or toys will inevitably prove necessary as even humans who want to play with their popplio will quickly discover that their pokémon has more energy and stamina than they do. However, it is recommended to spend as much of this time as possible playing with the pokémon yourself or with your team members. Since popplio and brionne's play enhances their battling prowess, this time can be used to work on moves and strategies. Indeed, one of the biggest strengths of the line is that they never need to be cajoled or bribed into practicing.

During the remainder of the day popplio are almost always fine with resting in their pokéballs.

Food designed specifically for brionne is sold in every Pokémon Center in Alola. Trainers are encouraged to allow their pokémon to hunt and forage on their own at least once a month.

The best partners for brionne are musically inclined or otherwise vocally interesting pokémon. Toucannon, crobat, noibat, ditto, zoroark, ninetales, mismagisus, and oricorio all make good teammates for brionne and can save their trainer time and energy in enrichment. It is recommended that trainers who intend to evolve their brionne get some form of musical training as it will be a good bonding tool with the pokémon and a necessity for understanding how to command one in battle (see Battling).

Wild primarina never have any relationships with an equal partner, platonic or otherwise. As such they tend to adopt a maternal attitude towards their trainers. They will frequently embrace their trainer or even fall asleep on them if allowed to. It is recommended to minimize skin contact while they are doing this and allow them a chance to swim shortly after. Primarina require less in the way of enrichment than their pre-evolutions, but they become quite protective of their trainer and will want to spend several hours a day in the same space as them. They also very much enjoy singing to and with their trainer.

All stages of the line are amphibious and brionne and primarina are primarily aquatic in the wild. The water is necessary to keep their frills from drying out. It is important to allow them to soak in seawater whenever possible. Brionne and primarina will need to sleep in the ocean at least once a week for optimal health. It is important to note that tap water drawn in a bathtub can be toxic to all stages of the line and should never be used as a replacement for seawater. Almost all large, inland Pokémon Centers have saltwater pools that can be used as a substitute when necessary.

Primarina are long-lived, intelligent and social. Many will begin to learn human languages, although their pronunciation is often jarring due to the different structure of their vocal chords. As such, they don't learn commands through reinforcement of behaviors and the building of trust so much as through actually reasoning through their trainer's words. This has obvious advantages. It also means that sometimes your pokémon will tell you you're making a bad decision in as many words. Primarina are frequently conversational in multiple pokémon languages and will usually be willing to translate the wishes of other team members. Of course, by the time a trainer has a primarina to do this they will likely have a good idea what their pokémon's behaviors mean.

A final word of caution: primarina frequently steal jewelry and other shiny objects from their trainer to adorn their hair. They will refuse to give these objects back and, if the objects are taken from them, they will scream loudly and incessantly until they are returned. Watch your valuables around primarina.

Illness

The most common illness affecting all stages of the evolutionary line are surface wounds and infections. Their frills (and, to a lesser extent, their skin) are thin, porous, and coated in a vital layer of mucus. This means that attacks that would leave tiny scratches on most pokémon can become gaping wounds on them. Fortunately, they heal somewhat faster than most other pokémon when allowed to submerge in clean seawater. Make sure to watch how rough your pokémon are playing with your brionne and be willing to withdraw them from battle early in melee exchanges.

The next major problem with brionne is that they are very susceptible to dehydration. This is mostly a problem for brionne, as popplio have thicker skin and smaller frills and primarina are capable of rehydrating themselves from the air in sufficiently moist environments. A dehydrated brionne will become sluggish and unwilling to play or eat. Their skin will look and feel dry and brittle. Fortunately, this can be cured by immediately bathing them in seawater. It should be noted that a brionne subjected to prolonged dehydration may appear to recover after a bath only to die shortly thereafter because they cannot regulate their body chemistry effectively with damaged frills.

Finally, brionne skin, and especially brionne frills, are very susceptible to foreign contaminants. This includes the oils on mammal's skin. A brionne with damaged frills will typically begin to cry out in pain or pull away from direct contact. They will attempt to climb out of water with contaminants, including fluoride and chlorine. If a primarina initiates skin-to-skin contact with their trainer, allow them to soak soon afterwards to wash out contaminants and restore the slime. Find out if the primarina is willing to have a sheet or other barrier between her and her trainer.

If any symptoms do not go away following immersion in seawater for six hours, consult a veterinarian.

Evolution

Healthy popplio naturally progress to brionne over the course of roughly three years, although constant exposure to enrichments, clean water, battle, and food can accelerate the process. The development of the third frill is the formal demarcation point between popplio and brionne.

All popplio and brionne are male. All primarina are female. Every choir has exactly one primarina. When there is no primarina, the dominant brionne begins to evolve and change sex in the process. They then form a reverse harem with the brionne in the choir. A solitary brionne will never evolve. As such, it is necessary to either train multiple brionne, which may be advisable due to their social needs, or to loan your brionne to a primarina collective.

In primarina collectives, captive brionne on loan from other breeding programs or trainers, as well as injured wild brionne that could not be returned to the wild, are held inside a large enclosure. When a primarina evolves, they are removed. This does not stress the brionne as primarina frequently depart from their choirs in the wild and outside brionne frequently join them (see Breeding).

Primarina songs are more inherited than improvised. In order to develop properly, a primarina must spend time with either another primarina after evolving or a wild-raised primarina before evolving. The injured wild brionne inside of breeding collectives help teach their captive counterparts the songs they learned from wild primarina.

Licensed primarina collectives are run by the Commonwealth of Alola through the Hau'oli Aquarium, Heahea Conservatory and Malie Zoo. Privately owned collectives can be found in Brooklet Shire, Seafolk Village, Heahea City and West Beach City.

Wild primarina are often willing to teach songs to their captive counterparts. See Acquisition for the locations where they are most commonly found in Alola.

Battle

Popplio have a reputation as glass cannons. They can take far fewer hits than the other traditional Alolan starters but have relatively powerful projectile attacks and are clever enough to learn a variety of moves rather quickly. Brionne, with their thinner skin but more powerful voices, are even more typical glass cannons.

It is wrong to apply that term to primarina. They are not projectile glass cannons who either knock out their opponents before they can cross the field or get knocked out in turn. Instead, they are powerful arena shapers when well trained and played. While they still might get taken out by one good cut or a few blunt force attacks, they use their control of the battlefield to prevent most grounded physical attackers from ever reaching them.

Primarina use their slime and hydrokinesis to condense water from the air and fill durable slime bubbles with it. They will then either use these bubbles as projectiles, trapping moves or, a means of riding around the arena. This serves both as a way for them to move quickly on land and to coat the arena in a thin layer of slime that allows for more control of the water. They will then use the slime and water coating the battlefield to lock down their opponent's movements, all the while bombarding them with sonic moves, moonblasts, hydro pumps and other powerful ranged attacks.

If primarina have a drawback, it is that their trainers can almost never understand exactly how their song works. They have limitations that can sometimes seem pointless but are not easily fixed without overhauling the entire song, something that would take multiple lifetimes for them to do completely. Because primarina songs are mostly inherited, this allows opponents to come up with primarina counter-strategies that work against almost all members of the species.

Birds durable enough to take a ranged hit or two and fast enough to outpace a moving primarina can be reliable counters. Toucannon often find it difficult to fly between their beak's weight and rapidly condensing water in the air, but their bullet seeds and rock blasts are often able to knock out a primarina in one or two volleys. Vikavolt, hodad, and magnezone are reliable counters for primarina.

Despite this, primarina have always had a niche in competitive battling. So long as they aren't too popular in a given metagame, few trainers will have bothered to come up with a counter strategy. And it is rather difficult to stop a powerful, mobile arena controller without having a plan in place at the start. This is especially true as some primarina have learned how to emit sounds that disrupt complex thoughts in humans without being readily detectable. Because primarina trainers are seldom much use in the heat of battle, this almost always works to their advantage.

The discovery of this ability has led to the ban of primarina from the Pan-African and European Union leagues. The primary leagues in China, Australia and Japan allow them provided that the exact frequency they use against humans is monitored during the battle. The Global Battling Federation and United States Competitive Pokémon Association currently allow primarina with no restrictions.

Acquisition

Children between the ages of ten and twenty can obtain a popplio as a starter free of charge with a Class I certification. Children who have cleared the grand trial on at least one island and did not receive a popplio as a starter can purchase or adopt an additional one. Brionne or primarina in licensed shelters can be adopted with a Class II license or higher.

Wild brionne are frequently found at Exeggutor Island, Kala'e Bay, Hano Beach, or the coastline of Poni Island National Park. It is illegal to capture a wild specimen at any stage of the evolutionary line without the approval of the Department of Natural Resources. However, these colonies will happily play with and teach songs to captive popplio or brionne. Wild primarina seldom interact with each other. However, if a captive and a wild primarina are allowed to bond for several days the wild one will often agree to teach her songs to the captive primarina.

Breeding

Primarina tend to mate once a year, usually in mid-September. They will select one to three brionne to mate with based on their genetic diversity, proficiency in learning songs, and the responsibilities they have taken over popplio rearing. The brionne chose to father the pups hold no special role in parenting and do not appear to gain any status over other brionne.

After a five month pregnancy, primarina give birth to roughly six pups. These popplio are typically only fifteen to twenty centimeters long and are under constant watch by the primarina and brionne of the choir until they reach roughly six months of age, at which point they are roughly forty centimeters long. At this point popplio are given more leeway to play and explore, albeit with a brionne or primarina always keeping a watchful eye on them. Even so, many die from illness and predation.

If conditions are not ideal to continue raising popplio, a primarina will take a few brionne and swim elsewhere to reproduce and set up a new choir. The dominant brionne that remains will evolve. Brionne frequently leave their choirs to join new ones. The impetus for this is unclear, but it serves the purpose of diversifying the gene pools of any given choir.

Captive breeding is best left to collectives and professionals.

Subspecies

There are three major subspecies of primarina, with disputed reports of a fourth. The primarina given out as a starter in the Alola region is the pelagic primarina.

Mangrove primarina and brionne are roughly half the size of their reef and pelagic counterparts. They are mottled green and brown and tend to hunt insects, fish and small birds and mammals through the use of sonic attacks, slime webs and traps they build in the mud. They rest in seagrasses off shore during the day and lie waiting in ambush between the roots of mangrove trees at night. They tend to have the least slimy skin and smallest frills of the primarina subspecies. Mangrove primarina are officially classified as water and ground types.

Abyssal primarina are the least studied of the confirmed primarina subspecies. They live at depths between one and three kilometers in the ocean and are unable to survive on land. Abyssal brionne are roughly three meters long. The largest abyssal primarina ever recorded was seven meters long from nose to tail. Abyssal brionne have far larger and more complex frills. They use slight control of water currents to create large nets of gelatinous material to create traps for plankton and other microorganisms. They then absorb the nets into their body, process the food and excrete the net material to be refashioned and used again. No abyssal brionne has been held in captivity for more than seven hours. If abyssal brionne have a popplio stage, they have never been observed.

There are reports of a fourth subspecies of brionne, tentatively referred to as the hadal brionne. The physical evidence for their existence amounts to a single bloated and mangled corpse that washed up on the shores of Peru in 1983. There is also an account from a manned expedition to the Galapagos Triple Junction where something resembling a twenty-plus meter long abyssal primarina disrupted the submarine's equipment and let out a low, eerie moan as it passed by. It is speculated that hadal primarina may have led to the abrupt disappearance of several submarines and autonomous exploration vehicles in the past.

 

[Beth Pavell]

So I see you've switched up incineroar to be social pokemon - unusual for a cat, but no reason why it shouldn't make sense here.

choir’s primarina

Of course that should be the collective noun.

foreign contaminants.

I couldn't resist that one.

Mangrove primarina are brionne

Typo.

So brionne are behaviourally sea otters, with a bit of dolphin thrown in, with a froggy biology. I think it's going to be a recurring theme with this, but I don't have much constructive to say. I mean, it's more or less plausible across the board. It is nice to see someone with a yen for biology instead of the usual physics nerds, because you can see the research in there.

Hadal brionne are good fun. It reminds me of the odd story you come across of something gelatinous and rotten turning up in fishermen's nets, fuelling conspiracy theorists and clickbait even after it turns out to be half a sperm whale or something

 

[Persephone]

Credit to @kintsugi for helping with the research for this entry.

Toucannon (Pikipek, Trumbeak)

Overview

After years of studying the finches of the Galapagos and refining his theory of macroevolution, Charles Darwin took one look at an Alolan toucannon and decided his work clearly didn't apply to Pokémon. Lydia Aholo, heir apparent to the Alolan throne until the U.S. takeover, used the very same pokémon in her argument that macroevolution did apply to pokémon.

What Darwin found most jarring about Alolan toucannon is the sheer size of their beak. Even though the beak is hollow and lighter than it appears, most of the bird's anatomy is dedicated to supporting it. And, unlike the beaks of other birds, it does not appear particularly well adapted to toucannon's food source. However, dissection of toucannon show that the structure of their beak is remarkably similar to toucannon from the Americas. It is unclear when or how a bird incapable of flying more than a kilometer or two at a time crossed thousands of kilometers of open ocean, but it happened and the long period of isolation that followed led to the most unique of the toucannon subspecies.

Princess Lydia's work on toucannon beaks and feather structure is well documented at an exhibit in the Royal Aviary in Castleton. The descendants of the princess's toucannon also live there.

Toucannon is often overlooked among serious trainers in Alola in favor of larger or more agile birds such as decidueye, braviary, mandibuzz or talonflame. However, it has its advantages. Pikipek starts out as a relatively powerful pokémon, is easy to care for at all stages of its evolutionary line and stays competitive up to the power levels seen at the end of the island challenge. Unlike decidueye, it can be evolved without requiring its trainer to actively battle indefinitely.

Physiology

All stages of the toucannon line are recognized as flying-types, even though toucannon is not capable of flying long distances (trumbeak are capable of flying moderate distances of roughly five kilometers, which is still less than most near-adult flying-types). They all hold a placeholder normal-typing per Department of Agriculture standards on birds without compelling evidence for any secondary typing. There is some dispute as to whether or not Alolan toucannon should quality for a fire or even electric typing, but as their power source is strictly internal and only used to power other attacks without a clear elemental theme, the Department of Agriculture has declined to reconsider their ruling.

Pikipek are counter-shaded birds with white feathers on their stomach and black feathers on their back. They have a red crest running from their bill to the back of their head. Their bill is narrow and conical with grey and black patches.

Trumbeak lose the red stripe on their head in favor of a large tuft of black feathers. They do gain a red ring of feathers around their neck. Their beaks begin to properly segment and gain external rings of bright colors.

Toucannon only have white feathers on their chest. Their crest disappears entirely and they gain patches of yellow feathers on their cheeks. The red feathers on their body shift from their neck to the area right above their tail. Toucannon have thicker and longer talons than trumbeak. Their beaks are also far larger and bulkier, growing from narrow cones to something resembling a proper horn. Toucannon grow up to 120 centimeters tall and can weigh up to twenty kilograms pounds. Their beaks alone can weigh up to eight kilograms and reach seventy centimeters in length.

Toucannon's beak is incredibly intricate. It is capable of storing seeds and pebbles for long periods of time and chemically altering wood. It also contains several chambers filled with steam. These allow for toucannon to spit out small objects at speeds of up to three hundred meters per second. The resulting hit can stun, kill or badly injure most pokémon, depending upon their size and durability. Toucannon can accurately hit multiple targets with pinpoint accuracy up to thirty meters away. Due to the weight of their beak, toucannon are only capable of flight for short distances.

Toucannon can live up to fifty years in the wild and sixty years in captivity.

Behavior

In the wild, pikipek are insectivore that supplement their diet with fruit. They are known to practice spitting or dropping seeds upon opponents. Their primary feeding tactic is to carve small holes into wood to find and remove insects. It is believed that they possess some sort of ability to determine the location of bugs from the sound the impact of their beak makes. All members of the evolutionary line have been known to burrow into trees for sport or to pass the time.

Trumbeak are known to incessantly vocalize, even during the wee hours of the night when they should be sleeping. They are prone to repeating any sound they hear to the greatest extent their beak can manage. Trumbeak that live near brionne choirs are known to get into hours long singing contests with their neighbors. Contrary to popular belief, trumbeak barely use their beak for these sounds. Instead, they originate in their chest. The reason trumbeak vocalize far more than pikipek is likely attributable to the relative dearth of predators that hunt the former compared to the latter. Trumbeak primarily live on a diet of insects, but fruit can comprise up to forty percent of their diet.

Toucannon flock to forests with the oldest of trees. They then dig intricate tunnels and caverns into the trees. They can even build sealed passageways and multiple rooms through their ability to turn wood shavings into a hard resin with their beak. Toucannon spend most of their day looking for fruit and most of their nights sleeping in their nest. When they find fruit that is too high to reach from the ground, they will attempt to shoot down the branch it is on. If this fails they will settle for snapping the tree through repeated bites. Toucannon are neither particularly curious nor playful in either the wild or captivity.

Husbandry

Toucannon are rather easy to care for at all stages of the evolutionary line. They don't seem to mind pokéballs so long as they are properly fed. Bonding with them usually entails giving them adequate food for long enough that they will accept partnership with you. Having musical talent and being willing to sing to them, especially as trumbeak, also helps.

Pikipek and trumbeak can be fed insect mix sold in all Pokémon Centers. Berries, live crickets and worms serve as good treats and rewards. Trumbeak will require fresh fruit to make up at least 30% of their diet. Toucannon will only eat fruit, although some have displayed a fondness towards brightly colored cereals. Fruit provided to them must be fresh, as no stage of the evolutionary line drinks water. They get their moisture from their food.

It is recommended that all stages of the evolutionary line be allowed to forage for at least some of their diet. The reasons for this are two-fold. The first is that it's a cost saving measure and cuts down on the amount of heavy food that needs to be carried around on trails. The second is that pikipek and trumbeak will obsessively peck at all wood they find. They can be trained to not peck some types of wood through negative reinforcement (loud noises for pikipek, squirt bottles for trumbeak). However, they will resume pecking unless given a suitable outlet. Trees in parks or forests can provide this to them.

Toucannon will want a nest if they are held in the same area for more than three days. They will attempt to build one unless given an enclosed space big enough to hold at least two toucannon. Ideally the nest will have a trap door to block light but allow for entry. These nests can be purchased at most pokémon goods stores, but they are neither cheap nor easy to carry. Some Pokémon Centers will have toucannon boxes available for rent. If you are staying in one place for an extended period of time on a journey and cannot use a Pokémon Center's box, it may be cheaper to rent storage unit, line blankets on the floor and provide adequate food. The door should be left unlocked and the toucannon should be taught how to open and close it. They can be taught to use keys if necessary. Toucannon will not defecate inside of their nest.

Toucannon can be quite clever. They just prefer not to use their higher thinking to solve problems.

While toucannon don't defecate as much as dartrix, they still produce waste that will need to be cleaned up. Pikipek and trumbeak can be house trained, to a degree, through negative and positive reinforcement. Toucannon will defecate wherever they want, whenever they want. In nature this helps spread seeds around. This misbehavior could be attributed to simple natural instinct, but they have a habit of looking their trainer dead in the eyes and huffing while they do it, and then maintaining eye contact until it is cleaned up. It is suspected that this is a means of asserting autonomy and/or dominance.

Toucannon that have been held in captivity for up to a decade have successfully reintegrated into the wild. If for whatever reason you don't want to keep a toucannon at the end of your journey, they can be dropped off at any place their stage of the evolutionary line inhabits (see Acquisition).

Illness

Toucannon illnesses typically have symptoms of diarrhea, labored breathing, sudden loss of feathers or a sudden loss of interest in food. Should these symptoms arise, immediately withdraw the toucannon into its pokéball and take it to a veterinarian as soon as possible. Some diseases can be fatal within three days. While the frequency and severity of illness declines as a toucannon ages, they can still result in permanent injury or death if left untreated.

Evolution

Pikipek naturally mature into toucannon over the course of three to four years. The formal demarcation line between pikipek and trumbeak is the disappearance of all red feathers on top of the head. The demarcation between trumbeak and toucannon is the appearance of yellow feathers on the cheeks.

Battle

Pikipek's greatest strength in battle is their relatively high speed and maneuverability for a young and easily trained pokémon. Their pecks are far more powerful than they seem and pikipek should be trained to pull their punches in battles against powerful opponents before they are allowed to fight pokémon of their own strength. Even holding back, a pikipek can easily stay out of reach of melee attacks before dropping in to deliver a barrage of pecks fast and powerful enough to knock out most young pokémon in a few rounds. However, it takes a pikipek a moment to regain altitude and they will be vulnerable during this phase of the battle.

Trumbeak are prone to showing off through taunts, mid-battle preening and overly elaborate aerial maneuvers. Trainers are encouraged to let them do this in all but the most serious of battles, as it has been shown to boost their mood. Trumbeak rely on a mix of diving peck attacks and aerial barrages of seeds. The aim and force of these shots is far less powerful than in an adult toucannon, and at this stage much effort should be focused on getting them to hold back.

In the wild, adult Toucannon prefer to defend themselves by firing small rocks until the threat stops moving or goes away. In captivity, this is often a felony. All but the most experienced of trainers will struggle to keep a toucannon acquired from the wild in its final evolutionary state from simply killing any opponent it can. With proper training in restraint, toucannon can be one of the fiercest competitive pokémon available in Alola. Their niche is primarily in shutting down hyper-offensive teams that often lack a pokémon that can take the equivalent of ten low-caliber bullets a second. Toucannon are also capable of taking quite a few hits and using their beak to burn or batter anything that comes too close.

The pokémon that can shrug off toucannon's attacks usually counter it. In these situations, high-level trainers typically rely on toucannon to support their team through defog, tailwind and u-turn.

Champion Luna is currently the only Battler ranked trainer to use an Alolan toucannon on their main team. A handful of prominent but unranked trainers from the United States also use one.

Acquisition

Pikipek can be captured or purchased with a Class I license. They can be found by waiting in almost any public park or forest in Alola for five minutes.

Trumbeak are rarer due to the sheer number of predators that pikipek have (vikavolt, rattata, yungoos, ariados, some canines, most felines, and a handful of other birds). They can still be found over almost all of Alola. They can be captured or purchased with either a Class II license or a Class I license and completion of at least one island's Grand Trial.

Due to the relative rarity and longevity of wild toucannon, as well as their difficulty to tame, wild toucannon have a very limited season, strict annual quotas and require a Class IV license to capture. Only a Class II license is required to purchase a trained toucannon. Toucannon only live in old growth forests with trees large enough to support their nests. These areas include the rainforests of Akala and Ula'Ula, the wooded portions of Poni Island National Park, and the interior forests of Melemele.

No healthy specimen at any stage of the evolutionary line may be adopted. Licensed shelters will simply release most toucannon to free up space for rarer pokémon, or those that don't fare well upon reintroduction. Adoption of injured toucannon is handled on a case-by-case basis.

Breeding

Toucannon mate for life. At the start of spring, a female toucannon enters her nest and lays her eggs. The male seals her inside using a resin made in his beak. They drill a small hole in the barrier. The male returns to the nest every day and regurgitates food in for his mate and young. If the male fails to return for two days, the female will blast open the wall of the nest and abandon her young. Should the male continue to return, the female will stay inside of her nest for five months before emerging with her young. The parents stay with their pikipek for an additional two months before abandoning them.

Subspecies

There are several subspecies of toucannon in the Americas. However, the toucannon there tend to have much smaller beaks, less vibrant colors and larger, more powerful wings. They resemble fearow, their closest genetic relative, more than Alolan toucannon. American toucannon are also usually referred to as arboreabeaks. These subspecies have varied beaks and diets, but all of them share a basic morphology, typing and defense strategy. Arboreabeak can release projectile seeds, but they have nowhere near the accuracy and power of toucannon. As such, they only use their beaks for self-defense when running away is not an option. They tend to be more prolific breeders and have shorter lifespans than toucannon.

Most subspecies of arboreabeak can produce viable offspring with toucannon. However, all of these subspecies have at least a 20% chance of producing offspring that are not viable. There is a debate as to whether or not arboreabeak and toucannon should be classified as separate species altogether.

 

[Beth Pavell]

quotes

Quotas

These vocalizations are facilitated by their increasingly complicated beak.

This is the one thing that made me pause. I'm not aware of any bird that uses the beak to vocalise in any way - I do know that for songbirds all the work is done in the chest. I think from a creative standpoint you don't need to add any extra emphasis on the beak, given that you've given it a key role in the line's signature attacks.

They can even build sealed passageways and multiple rooms through their ability to turn wood shavings into a hard resin with their beak.

So, this entry is fairly conventional as it goes - pikipek are woodpecker, toucannon toucans. Some exaggeration there of the very real toucan behaviour of sealing themselves up in a nest, etc. It's fine, as it goes, which is fine. Not every entry needs to be a whirlwind of invention. I am noticing a recurring theme emerging with the Battle sections - it seems like we're always reading about how pokémon need to be prevented from murdering something. I don't know if you've noticed that, but something to keep an eye on

 

[Persephone]

Gumshoos (Yungoos)

Overview

Gumshoos has been one of the most useful and used pokémon in captivity for millennia. Hardy, fierce and loyal, they have been the scouts and sentinels of settlers and soldiers since at least the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Gumshoos grow quickly, are intelligent and patient enough to easily train, and are fierce enough to give most apex predators pause.

Previous additions of this text have whole-heartedly recommended gumshoos to trainers going on their island challenge. This is no longer the case.

Despite being confined to the edges of the United States and Europe (see Subspecies), plains gumshoos have become the unofficial symbol of white supremacist organizations. This is due to the supposed resemblance between the gumshoos' crest and a certain politician's hair. Given the demographic composition and politics of Alola, trainers (especially white ones) using a gumshoos may experience social stigma and difficulty reintegrating after the completion of the island challenge.

Physiology

All stages of plains gumshoos are recognized as pure normal-types. Despite "memes" on some portions of the internet, they are not dark-types.

Yungoos are long, slim quadrupeds with light brown fur on their sides and yellow fur running in stripes down the length of their back and belly. They have two rows of proportionally large teeth. While they can close their mouth completely, they seldom do so. Their stomach is proportionally very large.

Gumshoos change their appearance rather little as they grow. The most obvious change is the growth of a crest on top of their head and a small beard at the end of their chin. Their mouth and head are proportionally smaller than yungoos. The end of their brown fur before the start of their tail also begins to stick up in tufts. They can reach a height of up to 0.7 meters and a mass of around 15 kilograms.

Most of what makes a gumshoos remarkable is beneath their fur. They have very thick skin and musculature around their throat, head and vital organs. Their bones are some of the most durable among mammalian pokémon and their claws, while small, are sharp enough to pierce the hide of most species. Gumshoos have day vision nearly five times greater than the average humans, and their sense of smell is at least ten times stronger than ours. However, gumshoos are effectively blind at night and tend to seek shelter and sleep. The species strictly diurnal and over thousands of years of attempts, captive plains gumshoos have remained that way.

Gumshoos can live up to twenty years in captivity and ten in the wild.

Behavior

Prior to recent events, gumshoos were most famous for their stakeouts. A gumshoos can stand near motionless for up to twelve hours at a time. They frequently use their sense of smell to detect an area their prey frequent and then stand there until something crosses their path, at which point they abruptly break composure and charge. Captive gumshoos can be trained to merely sniff out and point at a prey animal, although they usually can't help but slowly creep up on their prey.

It is a common misconception that this behavior is only for hunting. A male gumshoos with children or a pregnant mate will frequently stake out an area near their den. They use their mostly vestigial control over static electricity to puff up their fur when defending something, be it their trainer or family.

Yungoos mostly hunt by roaming large areas in search of something to eat. They will frequently become fixated on killing the first moving thing that crosses their line of sight, even if it is much larger than they are. This behavior is a form of play, as a hungry yungoos will ignore anything they obviously cannot bring down. Yungoos are primarily scavengers who supplement their diet with fruit in practice, although they will gladly hunt and kill anything small and slow enough for them to bring down.

Gumshoos, given their greater size, speed and claws, are almost exclusively carnivores. Their prey includes most animals and pokémon smaller than them and some larger than they are. Outside of Alola, gumshoos have been documented approaching recent kills and either scaring off the other predator or killing and eating both predator and prey at once.

Gumshoos are tenacious fighters with a deceptively sturdy build, sharp claws and multiple rows of teeth. The only species in Alola that prey upon gumshoos are bored or desperate apex predators. In their original habitat, the young of some large predator species have developed coats similar to that of a gumshoos.

Gumshoos hunt alone but rest and socialize with squadrons of six to ten gumshoos and their young. Past scholarship has suggested that these groups have an "alpha male," although recent research has suggested that this is false. Gumshoos squadrons are quite egalitarian and intra-group fights appear to be more for play than establishing dominance.

Husbandry

Yungoos and gumshoos will only voluntarily stay with and take orders from humans they view as at least an equal. Raising a yungoos from a very young age can establish this relationship. Otherwise, having several pokémon with power at least equal to that of the gumshoos will usually satisfy this requirement. If a trainer begins to lose too frequently, however, gumshoos may become uncooperative. For some species, a trainer fighting and defeating the pokémon in single combat without the aid of their pokémon is the best way to establish dominance. This is not the case for the gumshoos line. A yungoos will easily evade kicks and punches, give the human several nasty cuts for their trouble, and then run away. A gumshoos will view the situation as either a predation attempt or an opportunity for hunting.

Yungoos will require at least ten percent of their body weight in food per day. They will eat nearly anything, but they prefer meat. Gumshoos will only eat meat and frequently leave to hunt on their own if they deem the food provided to them to be insufficiently fresh. A fully grown gumshoos requires roughly 600 grams of meat a day. This was previously the largest drawback of raising a gumshoos.

All stages of the evolutionary line will require occasional access to trees or a scratching post, although they can be trained quickly through spray bottles or loud sounds not to scratch furniture.

Gumshoos can be trained to use litter boxes. As a word of caution, yungoos held in fixed environments prefer to seek shelter in tight, enclosed spaces or at the highest point available. The former preference means that they will often spend large amounts of time inside their litter box if allowed to do so. Bathing a yungoos to get rid of the stench is a task that requires patience and gloves designed for pokémon handling.

Gumshoos can be trained to tolerate pokéball use during the day, although they will lose respect for their trainer if they believe it is being used too often. The don't seem to notice if they are withdrawn between sundown and sunrise.

A gumshoos with sufficient trust in their trainer will often approach them and begin to cuddle. At night they will prefer to sleep like this. The behavior is safe and natural. Never initiate physical affection with a gumshoos, however much they like you.

Gumshoos will groom themselves. Yungoos will allow larger or more adult pokémon to groom them. If this cannot be arranged, a trainer equipped with the aforementioned gloves can brush and wash them once a week, or as needed.

Illness

The most common health problems gumshoos experience in captivity are related to their weight. If a yungoos appears to be putting on weight but not height or a gumshoos is putting on weight, the food provided to them should be cut back. If they appear to be getting unhealthily thin or they vocally demand food outside of their usual feeding time, they should be provided with more food.

Gumshoos should receive the rabies vaccines within two weeks of capture or two months of birth.

Evolution

Wild yungoos naturally mature over the course of two to three years, depending upon their diet and the amount of combat they receive. Captive specimens have been observed reaching maturity roughly a year after birth. The formal demarcation line between yungoos and gumshoos is reaching 0.6 meters when fully extended.

Battle

All subspecies of gumshoos have held a niche in competitive battling since the days where humans fought along with spears and shields. The plains gumshoos in particular is known for being easy to train, tenacious and surprisingly hard to take down. Gumshoos are neither fast nor powerful enough to keep up with the behemoths, tricksters or apex predators that make up the upper echelons of competitive battling, but they are tenacious and tough enough to wound almost all melee opponents before going down. This gives them a role as a disruptor, ignoring barriers or tricks for long enough to begin viciously tearing into anything trying to stat boost, set up barriers or manipulate the field.

The Royal gumshoos (see Subspecies) has a well-established role in competitive battling as a "suicide lead" where they set up barriers protecting their team, deal some damage and then go down.

Plains gumshoos fight primarily through melee scratches and bites. This leaves them vulnerable to agile snipers like jolteon, hard walls like some steel types, and fliers with ranged attacks such as toucannon and vikavolt. Much stronger melee attackers like machamp and hariyama can also take them out quickly before a gumshoos can do much damage. Gumshoos are still quite capable of trading blows with the likes of pyroar or flygon due to their natural durability and scrappiness. All but the fastest and strongest of fragile ranged pokémon will also usually fall to a mature and trained gumshoos, as they can weather attacks as they cross the field and then end the fight up close.

Gumshoos should not be allowed to take particularly powerful blows as they will not surrender and can, in fact, be hurt or killed in battle.

Acquisition

Yungoos can be captured, adopted or purchased with a Class I license. They are most commonly found at the edges of urban settlements, in open fields or in sparse forests.

Gumshoos are somewhat rarer due to yungoos' need for very large amounts of food as well as their tendency to pick inadvisable fights. Gumshoos can be found in many of the same places as yungoos in the wild, although they prefer to stay further away from humans than their juvenile counterparts. They can be captured, adopted or purchased with either a Class II license or a Class I license and completion of at least one island's Grand Trial.

Yungoos and gumshoos were formerly common pets and pest catchers in Alola. This has changed somewhat abruptly, leaving many available for adoption from shelters throughout the commonwealth. Housebroken gumshoos or yungoos may be purchased relatively cheaply from breeders on Melemele, Akala and Ula'Ula.

Breeding

Wild gumshoos mate within their squadron. One or two pairs will breed a year, although there is no particular season in which this usually occurs. Pregnancy lasts roughly ten weeks. Yungoos litters typically contain four to six cubs. During the latter half of pregnancy the females will seek shelter inside of a cubbing den. This can be a natural cave, an abandoned toucannon nest or a small burrow they dig themselves. The mother will stay in the den with her cubs for roughly two months after birth. The other members of the squadron provide her with food during this time. Yungoos usually stay with their squadron until evolution and then set off on their own to find another group.

In captivity, a female gumshoos will begin showing signs of bloating and sluggishness as her pregnancy progresses. Attempts to cut back her food to avoid overeating will be met with angry hisses and displays of aggression until more food is provided. After these symptoms manifest, a secluded area with multiple chambers (one with a litter box, one without) should be provided. The female will not mind the trainer briefly sticking their arms in to change litter or provide food, but no attempt should be made to intrude into the nest without a readily apparent purpose.

Yungoos should not be used in battle or taken away from their mother until at least four weeks after they live outside of the cubbing den full time.

Subspecies

All other subspecies of gumshoos are descended from the alpine gumshoos. These gumshoos are native to the Ethiopian plateau, the Alps, and the Pyrenees mountains. They closely resemble the plains gumshoos, but only grow up to 0.5 meters in length. The brown portions of the plains gumshoos' coat are marbled grey and white, and the yellow stripes on their fur tend to stick up in random clumps or spikes. Alpine gumshoos are ambush predators that use powerful electric shocks to fell birds or terrestrial pokémon that wander into their line of sight. They are the only subspecies that has powerful enough electric capabilities to warrant an electric typing.

The plains gumshoos was the first to be tamed. They originally lived in the grasslands of Southern and Eastern Africa, with populations introduced to Egypt and Mesopotamia around 2500 BCE. Roughly one thousand years later, the Phoenicians spread them around the Mediterranean. The Iberians, for their part, introduced them to the Pampas, Mexico and California during the Age of Discovery. They were introduced to Alola in 1922 to deal with an outbreak of rattata.

The Indian gumshoos were originally native to the the Indian subcontinent. They reach a maximum length of 0.4 meters. They have scarlet side fur and very bright yellow stripes. Indian gumshoos seek out venomous snakes and poison-types to consume. Their bodies are capable of not only neutralizing but breaking down and digesting most forms of venom and poison. Some of these compounds are retained inside of their bodies to make them highly toxic to eat. As such, they have less durable builds than other subspecies. They hunt their prey through a combination of ambush tactics and persistence hunting, where lines of gumshoos will slowly follow fleeing prey until it gives up out of exhaustion, at which point the gumshoos use their fangs and claws to finish it off.

The boreal gumshoos is the largest subspecies, with males averaging 1.1 meters in length. Females tend to only grow up to 0.8 meters. This subspecies has darker brown fur on its side, and light brown fur on its belly and back. They are known for the black marks on their face that resemble domino masks. Their apparent coloration may vary as boreal gumshoos frequently have lichens or moss growing on their fur. The lichens appear to be capable of plant-based attacks, toxic spore release and rapid regrowth. There is some debate as to whether or not they should qualify as separate pokémon species altogether.

Boreal gumshoos generally hunt by following the scent trails of other predators, finding their kills, and then either waiting for the predator to move on or scaring the predators off. Boreal gumshoos have longer claws than their plains counterparts which they use for defense, offense and climbing trees. They have relatively smaller teeth, on balance. They hibernate and reproduce during winter months, emerging in the spring with their cubs in tow.

Royal gumshoos were originally a domesticated breed from Galar produced through crossbreeding of imported Scandanavian telemmings and boreal gumshoos. The subspecies is known for its black coloring with star and moon shaped white markings on its chest. It is the only subspecies to not have a prominent back stripe. Royal gumshoos are telekinetic at short ranges. They use this ability to dampen incoming blows and increase their own apparent strength. Like the alpine gumshoos, they hunt primarily through projectile attacks. In their case, royal gumshoos are known to pick up large stones and use their boosted strength to fling them at unsuspecting prey. Escaped or released royal gumshoos have formed wild populations in the Ohio river basin, Ontario, Quebec, and Galar. Royal gumshoos do not properly hibernate, but they are known to sleep up to 18 hours a day during the winter.

 

[Beth Pavell]

It's an interesting take to cast the line as the "dog" of the Pokémon world, especially given how often dog pokémon are, let's face it, fetishised by the fandom. And to be fair, I can buy it. A bright, not especially truculent, species with multiple uses is far more likely to be domesticated than something that can merely breathe a lot of fire.

I actually don't remember that much about mongoose species, though I do recognise some weasel traits in there. I know weasels can often bring down prey much bigger than themselves ... I don't recall whether it's a trait mongooses share. But then the general body type is useful for a lot of environments, something I think you were highlighting in the subspecies there. The Boreal subspecies might even have some wolverine in there ... though I don't think wolverines hibernate, so much as eat absurd amounts of food in one sitting

 

[Persephone]

@Beth Pavell

Yeah, they're kinda dog like. Actual dog Pokemon tend to be way more intelligent than IRL dogs, making them something of a different subject. Pixie's a good enough example of that, even if Ninetales are the most intelligent of the Alolan dogs.

My main inspiration here was actually badgers and their relatives, since gumshoos lore doesn't have much in common with actual weasels. The inspiration for the plains gumshoos was the honey badger, which IRL cheetah cubs do impersonate. Only exceptionally stupid lions hunt honey badgers.

The Indian gumshoos has some mongoose, I'll cede that much.

Boreal gumshoos were a mix of sloths and wolverines. Neither properly hibernates, but that's just something I threw in.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Persephone]

Raticate (Rattata)

Overview

Even factoring in subspecies, there are very few terrestrial pokémon that can truly be said to have a worldwide range. Raticate is one of them, appearing in one form or another in almost every corner of every landmass except for Antarctica and a few tiny, uninhabited, or remote islands. This is due in large part to the sheer versatility of the species and its capability of eating almost anything. The rest is largely due to the fecundity and short lifespan of the species that enables them to undergo macroevolution at a rate only matched by a handful of insect and mechanical pokémon. When combined with the adaptability of normal-types and the hardiness of mammals, the stage was set for raticate to become the most successful terrestrial pokémon. Currently the species has over thirty documented subspecies and they fill every ecological role from herbivore to decomposer to scavenger to apex predator.

Physiology

All stages of the alolan raticate (henceforth 'raticate,' unless another subspecies is specified) are classified as joint normal- and dark-types by the Department of Agriculture.

Rattata are small quadrupeds. Their fur is counter-shaded with cream fur on the bottom and black fur on their back. Tufts of black fur adorn their prominent ears. Their incisors are very large and protrude from their mouth even when it is closed. Rattata have a prehensile tail that is up to half their body length long. This tail is not particularly strong and is mainly used for balance.

While rattata have a fairly slight build, raticate are often nearly as wide as they are long. Their tail loses its fur, their hindlegs become proportionally larger and stronger while their front legs become proportionally smaller. The fur on their belly darkens to a mottled brown color. They gain large, puffy cheeks with cream colored fur on them. Female raticate grow to a length of 0.7 meters excluding their tail, and 1 meter including it. They can weigh up to 40 kilograms, but typically only weigh about 30. Males usually only grow to about half a meter long excluding their tail.

Rattata are primarily quadrupeds that sometimes stand on two legs to scout out their surroundings. Raticate, when they move at all, tend to waddle on their hind legs. This keeps their teeth in play during fights and makes them appear larger than they really are. Raticate and rattata primarily defend themselves with their teeth, and a fully grown raticate can bite with up to 8,000 Newtons of force. Most of the average raticate's mass is composed of fat reserves and their claws are neither particularly long or sharp. This leaves them few weapons aside from their teeth in a fight.

Raticate navigate primarily through their keen sense of smell. Their night vision is also considerably stronger than a human's, although their day vision is not nearly as powerful. Despite their large ears, raticate are nearly deaf. The leading theory at this time is that their atrophied hearing helps avoid attacks from noivern and crobat they compete for nest space with. The ears are either vestigial or help with heat regulation. The alolan raticate's sense of taste is one of the strongest observed in nature. While technically omnivorous in the wild, they will only eat very fresh meat from a handful of species. In captivity, they have shown a willingness to eat most meat that is fresh, high quality and well prepared. They can subsist on vegetation alone provided that their protein needs are met by beans, nuts, or some berries.

Most wild rattata die before their second birthday without becoming fully grown. Raticate in captivity can live up to six years. The lifespan of wild raticate is unknown.

Behavior

Raticate are nocturnal creatures, and rattata leave their nest to scour the earth for any food they can find at night. Their habit of gnawing through doors to pilfer pantries is well documented. As daybreak approaches, the rattata all retreat back to their home. Fully grown raticate only leave their nest to defend their territory. Most groups have a dominant female raticate and at least one male breeding partner. The queen and her consorts live with several dozen rattata, most (but not all) of whom are their offspring. It is not known where the remaining, unrelated rattata come from. The colony either digs their own tunnel network to live in or, when available, take to living in existing caves or burrows.

Uncovered raticate nests, along with circumstantial evidence, suggests that most of the food the rattata acquire is given to the raticate of the nest. It is believed that the raticate take more than they need, or even more than they can eat, in order to keep the rattata in a state of starvation. This limits the number of rattata that reach their adult state and can compete for sexual partners, territory and food.

Whenever food is relatively sparse or the raticate population grows too high (which, given their fecundity, happens quite often), raticate nests are known to go to war. These fights are apparently unplanned and simply occur when two rattata find the same piece of food at roughly the same time. The loser of their squabble will call reinforcements. As losses mount and increasing number of reinforcements are called, eventually the raticate on both sides will leave their nests and join the fray. The fight ends when the queen in either nest is killed, one side's losses are great enough that their queen calls a retreat, or the sun rises and gumshoos begin to wake up. In the latter case, the fight will usually resume at the same place roughly ninety minutes after sundown. If the queen is killed, all of her consorts and most of the rattata in her colony and slaughtered as well, with the remainder joining the victorious nest.

When forced out of their range due to a territory dispute or a lack of food, raticate will typically abandon the rattata in their nest and swim to another island to start again. Their fat reserves make them quite buoyant and they use their tails to propel themselves through the water.

Husbandry

Due to the relative abundance of food in their habitat, the Alolan raticate has become accustomed to eating large quantities of very high quality food. Both stages of the evolutionary line require roughly 30% of their weight in food each week. They will become upset if they receive less than that and will frequently seek out food to eat on their own. If a raticate believes itself to be deprived for more than one month, it will frequently stop obeying its trainers commands or run away. Additionally, raticate will frequently reject food they deem to be insufficiently fresh or tasty. It is recommended that trainers bring their raticate (provided it is well trained) with them when shopping so it can select food that it will eat. This both saves on guesswork and ensures that their trainer will eat well themselves. However, this makes raticate one of the most expensive pokémon on Alola to train, exceeded only by those with hyper-specialized diets or medical needs (komala, fossils), very large pokémon (snorlax, dragons), or those that require specialized insurance packages (vanilluxe, volcarona, metagross, sableye, klefki, magnezone).

Raticate require objects, preferably metal or bone, to gnaw on. If they are not provided these objects, they will resort to chewing on furniture, load-bearing walls and kitchen appliances.

In the wild, raticate use specialized chambers of their nest for urination and defecation. This makes them quite easy to house train.

Raticate will ask to be groomed at least twice a week. They are physiologically incapable of grooming themselves and quite insistent on cleanliness. Rattata can be trained to help tidy up their home, but raticate are reluctant to do any extra work. Both stages are very social and cuddly pokémon and will usually seek to be close to their trainer. The species enjoys sleeping alongside their trainer, but their sleep patterns tend to prevent this from happening. Fully grown raticate seldom mind being used as a pillow during the day.

As naturally hierarchial pokémon, rattata acclimate rather quickly to taking orders from a human. Female raticate are somewhat harder to tame, but they will usually become complacent with a human who feeds them well.

Illness

Both stages are carriers of several human diseases. They should be vaccinated within two weeks of capture or birth. In addition to being able to get their trainer sick, they can also be infected by their trainer. The best solution to this is keeping both you and your raticate clean.

Raticate gain increasingly sensitive stomachs as they grow, making them rather vulnerable to food poisoning. They will usually refuse food that would make them sick, but sometimes they make an error in judgment or, if desperate, will eat food they suspect is bad. Food poisoning will manifest as nausea and slight bloating (which can be hard to notice); the symptoms will usually go away on their own within a day or two.

Gumshoos were introduced to Alola to curtail the growing raticate population. Ultimately, they proved unsuccessful. This is largely because Alola's relative dearth of mid-size nocturnal predators allowed the raticate to become nocturnal and avoid gumshoos with relatively few consequences. The raticate population was ultimately checked by another invasive species, albeit one introduced unintentionally. The white mask fungus is a parasitic mold that spreads across a raticate's face, preventing breathing, contaminating the food they eat and usually blinding them. It is the leading cause of raticate death in captivity and the second most common in the wild, after malnutrition (it is probably the leading cause of death for wild raticate when rattata are discounted, but it has proven difficult to confirm this). The first sign of an infection is usually a raticate vigorously rubbing their face against an object without gnawing on it. Infections spotted very early on can be treated. Otherwise, the raticate will need to be euthanized.

Evolution

Rattata, provided they are sufficiently fed, will typically evolve into a raticate within eighteen months. Very well fed rattata or those that battle frequently can evolve in less than a year. The appearance of cream colored fur surrounding their entire mouth is the formal demarcation line between rattata and raticate.

Battle

The Alolan raticate has no presence in the international or national professional battling circuits. Other subspecies do, although they are usually a crutch for young trainers due to the relatively short time it takes to fully train one and raise it to maturity. Before the atomic raticate was banned in every major circuit, it was well on its way to establishing itself as one of the premier threats on the international competitive scene. At present it is highly unlikely the restrictions upon it will ever be lifted.

Rattata are fast but fragile, and their bite is one of the strongest attacks that new trainers are likely to have access to. The optimal strategies for a rattata take advantage of this through priority or speed-boosting moves to dodge attacks and close the distance. Rattata fight somewhat better against large opponents than small ones as they can attack the places of their opponent's body they cannot easily reach, and their claws let them hold on when the opponent attempts to shake them off. The species is surprisingly clever and capable of learning a number of dark-type tricks and attacks.

Raticate do not like to fight. They are nowhere near as agile as their preevolution, although they sport the bulk necessary to take a few hits before going down. The sheer power of a raticate bite is enough to end most fights within minutes, but by that point the raticate will likely either be too injured to continue or seek to give up. By the time a raticate reaches maturity, it is best to retire it to the role of grocery shopping aid and refocus training time and resources on pokémon with a more combative disposition and a higher strength ceiling.

Acquisition

Rattata can be caught, adopted, or purchased with a Class I license. They can be found nearly anywhere in Alola at night, or in caves or dense forests during the day.

Raticate can be adopted or purchased with a Class I license, or caught with a Class II license. They are usually only found safeguarding their nests underground, alongside dozens of rattata that will defend them in battle. Trainers wishing to train their own a raticate should simply capture and raise a rattata.

Due to their fecundity, the few trainers who wish to breed raticate will often end up with more offspring than they desire to keep. As such, rattata can be easily purchased or adopted in the major cities of Alola.

Breeding

A raticate exposed to another raticate (or a closely related species) of the opposite sex will attempt to breed with it. They have no particular breeding season and, in the wild, are believed to reproduce continuously. After a pregnancy of roughly eighty days, a raticate will give birth to around fifteen offspring. Trainers are required to spay or neuter their raticate unless they possess a permit to breed them.

Subspecies

Unlike dartrix, the various subspecies of raticate do not fall into clear groupings. Only a handful of particularly common or interesting subspecies will be noted here. Trainers wishing to do further reading are advised to go to their local library and check out a copy of Raticate: A Story of Global Conquest by Dr. Elaine Faraday.

The two most common subspecies of raticate worldwide are often referred to as the eastern and western raticate. The eastern raticate is the direct ancestor of the Alolan raticate. They have a lighter coloration, with cream chest fur and light brown fur on their back. Eastern raticate are bulky than their descendants and are primarily quadrupeds who sometimes rear up on their hind legs for intimidation. The subspecies is even more prodigous than the Alolan raticate and can produce up to seventy offspring a year. Unlike the Alolan raticate, the eastern raticate is primarily diurnal. Most of their diet is comprised of small animals and pokémon, although they have also been known to dig up the roots of plants and eat them. Eastern raticate are found in eastern China, northern India, Central Asia, and many of the southern Japanese islands.

Western raticate have dark grey fur. Their tails are longer than their eastern counterparts and covered in fur. They are much more slender (and smaller, reaching lengths of only 0.6 meters) and have more developed legs and feet tipped in long claws. Western raticate do not dig burrows or seek shelter in caves. They live in social groups of one pair of raticate and their most recent litter. Western raticate seek shelter in tall grass, marshlands or tree branches when possible. Their range covers temperate Europe from the Iberian peninsula to the Caucuses. Most raticate subspecies in the Americas are their descendants.

Raticate have fared poorly in Africa due to the sheer number of mid-sized predators that exist, including the plains gumshoos. The main subspecies there is the six-eyed raticate. These raticate do not, in fact, have six eyes; they have two and, ironically, are nearly blind. The remaining :eyes" are their nostrils and two facial markings that serve and unknown purpose. They are one of the smaller raticate subspecies (the largest recorded specimen was, from their nose to the end of their tail, 0.36 meters long), but they are also one of the heaviest, reaching weights of up to 30 kilograms. This is because their bodies are coated in thin layers of metallic fur, and their claws are composed of nearly pure iron. They dig and live in elaborate tunnel networks underground. One of the few things that is well documented is that they seek out and eat metal deposits. This previously limited their range and numbers, but the growth of modern, metal-filled cities on the continent has removed these limiting factors. There have been dozens of events where swarms of thousands of six-eyed raticate ascend upon the business district of an African city and begin to devour the buildings. Whether or not they eat something other than metal has yet to be established, as they have a history of eating any cameras stuck in to their tunnels to observe them. No specimen has survived in captivity for more than three weeks.

Polar raticate, native to Scandanavia, northern Siberia, Alaska, northern Canada and Greenland, are some of the largest and most aggressive predators among the raticate subspecies, reaching lengths of up to 1.3 meters. They have thick white fur coats and their hind legs are large and webbed. Their tail is broad and coated in the same waterproof fur as the rest of their body. Unusually for polar animals, they dig deep burrows in the summer and hibernate. They emerge in the winter to hunt. Their prey: other hibernators. They use their keen sense of smell to find the dens of other pokémon or animals. Then they assemble a hunting party of three to six raticate, burrow in and use their superior numbers and sharp teeth and front claws to overwhelm and kill their young or sluggish prey. Then the pack will disassemble and move on to finding their next target. Polar raticate are currently endangered across their entire range due to hunting, climate change (especially potent in the post-Sootopolis atmosphere), and capture. Prior to the Arctic Wildlife Protection Pact, polar raticate were common in professional battling circuits as an anti-metagame pick due to their niche as a slayer of apex hunters and their status as one of the few ice-types with good speed, power and bulk.

The Caribbean raticate is the only species known to spend most of its time in the water year round. They have long, broad tails roughly equal to half of their body length (1.1 meters, tail included). Their paws are large and webbed and their body is slender with short, fine, counter-shaded fur. Caribbean raticate swim out to coral reefs or similarly abundant areas during the day and dive down to hunt slow moving or stationary pokémon underwater. They use their front paws to grab ahold of their prey and their powerful jaws to crunch down and kill it. Carribean raticate are the only predators of the Gulf clamperl. At night they retreat to nearby islands to sleep on or near the shore. Faster invasive species such as sharpedo have begun to compete with them for food or hunt them directly, leading to a sharp decline in their numbers in the last fifteen years. The species is still in no danger of going extinct due to a strong captive breeding program. The Hau'oli Zoo currently has a breeding pair on display.

While the six-eyed raticate can damage cities and the western raticate is a well-known carrier of plagues, neither has terrified the public quite like the so-called atomic raticate. Prior to 1971, the dominant raticate subspecies in Papua New Guinea were arboreal herbivores that moved from tree to tree eating leaves and fruit and using their fangs to tear into trunks to drink water inside of the tree. This subspecies, the New Guinean raticate, only reached lengths of roughly 0.8 meters. In March 1971, the United States government began a series of oceanic hydrogen bomb tests in the sea between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. That August, a field biologist in New Guinea recorded seeing a raticate roughly two meters in length. In October a second biologist working on the opposite side of the country documented a three-meter raticate. The atomic raticate became too large for the trees to support them and they moved to the ground. At some point, they changed their diet to suit their new habitat. By the start of 1971 the provinces of Enga, the Southern Highlands, the Western Highlands and Hela had experienced mortality rates of over 80%.

In 1974, there was an outbreak of crossbred atomic and western raticate in the suburbs of London. Approximately 85,000 people were killed over the course of three years. A 1982 outbreak in Toronto led to the destruction of the city's subway system and the deaths of approximately 11,000 people. Subsequent outbreaks across Canada killed another 5,000, although there have been no sightings of the species outside of New Guinea since 2002. Atomic raticate are by far the most prodigious breeders of all subspecies, capable of producing up to 600 offspring a year, which mature over the course of roughly eleven months if properly fed. They have been known to bide their time in the forests near urban areas, slowly killing off the local wildlife until their numbers are great enough to begin their proper hunt. They actively seek out humans to kill and eat. It is unknown if this is for sport or nutritional reasons.

International law prohibits the study of live atomic raticate specimens and field research upon them is extremely difficult. The limited research conducted by professional battlers and biologists prior to the London and Toronto outbreaks suggested that the atomic raticate had a very powerful connection to whatever force it is that allows pokémon to do what baseline plants, animals and minerals cannot. This granted them effective dynakinesis, creating bursts of fire, radiation or electricity around their body. Their crossbred offspring exhibited exceptional elemental powers of the other subspecies' typing. All variations of the atomic raticate used their power to dampen incoming attacks of almost every nature, making them nigh-invulnerable to everything but some toxins.

In 1997, the United Nations Security Council designated the island of New Guinea as a nature preserve under U.N. administration and began to relocate the survivors. Australia was initially supposed to take the refugees, but a new government installed at the last minute prevented them from disembarking. At present they are being held on the Solomon Islands in a state of legal limbo.

Drone expeditions and satellite imagery have confirmed that the atomic raticate population remains strong on New Guinea but have found very little else there except for plants, birds, and canopy-dwelling pokémon. It is unclear exactly what the raticate are eating. If there is any silver lining, it is that the atomic raticate are not adept swimmers. It is illegal under international law to possess a Caribbean raticate within 300 kilometers of New Guinea in order to prevent this from changing.

 

[Beth Pavell]

As is tradition I have only a few comments to share on this one. It's interesting that you've made rattata eusocial, after a fashion, though it does pretty well explain raticate's odd body shape. I don't know if it was intentional, but you give the impression that raticate are a lot more delicate than rattata, given their prissy dietary requirements.

The subspecies section reads a bit like a love letter to the rodent, but hey, rodents are a very successful order of mammals

 

[Persephone]

I'm not sure if "delicate" is the proper word, but they take a much more passive role in combat and rely mostly on size and blubber to keep themselves safe for long enough to land a bite. I suppose their diet does make them more delicate than the rattata they leave to scrap over the scraps.

I based them more on mole rats than proper rats given their habit of living in caves in large nests, both of which are canon in Sun/Moon. I added a proper mole rat subspecies later on.

And, yes, I adore rodents. I figured raticate's mammalian hardiness and rapid reproductive cycles would make them good candidates for having lots of fun subspecies.

The atomic raticate was based off of a pulp novel and its film adaptation, scaled up a bit. Rats the size of small dogs aren't quite impressive in Pokemon.

Glad you liked it, thank you for reading!

 

[Persephone]

Metapod (Caterpie, Butterfree)

Overview

There is a paradox at the heart of Alolan ecology. Virtually all pokémon on the island save the birds were introduced by humans, either by the original Polynesian settlers or the waves of colonizers and immigrants who came later on. Yet, Alola’s ecology is remarkably balanced. With the partial exceptions of gumshoos and rattata, no single species has come to dominate the island. Even the dozen or so apex predators mostly keep their numbers and ranges small and specialized to minimize conflict and further diversify the ecosystem. Scientists are are conflicted on why, exactly, this is. I think that metapod are as good a representation as any as to how this can be true.

Metapod were introduced to Alola by Japanese immigrants in the 1920s. They quickly carved out a niche and expanded in population… to a point. A variety of factors prevented Metapod from ever experiencing the initial explosive growth rates of some invasive species. To start with, caterpie and butterfree are picky eaters who’s preferred diet mostly constitutes introduced plants, which are themselves limited by other factors. While they later became quite fond of the so-called “meadow quartet,” they found competition in those spaces from ribombee and oricorio, in addition to the migratory birds in Alola that already knew how to deal with metapod.

There has never been a serious attempt to exterminate the metapod population. This is because they have come to fill an important ecological niche. Ribombee tend to go dormant in the wet season, allowing newly evolved butterfree to pick up the slack as the dominant pollinator. Butterfree are also widely regarded as the most beautiful of Alola’s insect pokémon and the blue butterfree in particular has become a source of pride.

Due to their relative cuteness, low maintenance, battle niche and short life expectancy, metapod are an excellent first bug-type for trainers. They are also quite gentle and surprisingly playful. This makes them a popular pet for acclimating children to pokémon.

Physiology

Caterpie and metapod are classified as pure bug-types. Butterfree is classified as a bug/flying type. There have been period efforts to consider it as either a bug/psychic or a psychic/flying type, but its powerful flight and control of wind currents as well as its distinctly bug-type anatomy have led to those proposals being rejected.

Caterpie looks like a green worm with eight distinct segments of decreasing size from head to tail. Its head has two large eye-like markings. These are not actually their eyes and are used solely for intimidation. Caterpie’s eyes are slightly below the markings. Caterpie have a pair of legs on each segment but their first and last. Their head has a large branched antennae. They do not appear to use this antennae for sensory purposes. Instead, it contains glands that allow them to emit a horrific stench.

Metapod are shaped like green crescent moons with eyes. Once again, these are not real eyes. Metapod do not, strictly speaking, have eyes. They do have eye spots which allow them to sense ambient light levels. The shell of a metapod is extremely durable, capable of taking hits from even pikipek and other young birds. By contrast, their insides are mostly composed of a highly viscous liquid and. Despite the prevailing narrative, there is no evidence that metapod insides solidify as they approach evolution. Metapod seldom move and never eat or defecate. The most metapod can do in their own defense is secrete a sticky silk-like substance. There have even been some attempts in the scientific community to reclassify metapod as an egg rather than a pokémon, with caterpie and butterfree being technically separate species. This theory has not gained the endorsement of any major scientific organization and the authors of this guidebook find it to be baseless. Metapod are typically around 0.7 meters tall and have a weight of roughly 10 kilograms.

Butterfree grow to a height around 1 meter and a weight of roughly 16 kilograms. Other guidebooks have reported butterfree weight as exceeding 32 kilograms, which is obviously false. No insect of butterfree’s size could fly, much less float and glide, with that mass. It is true that a butterfree absolutely drenched in water can reach a weight close to that, but it seems disingenuous to count that as its true weight.

Butterfree possess a body with two blue segments, blue feet and red feelers. Additionally, they possess a large pair of red compound eyes. Their wings are far larger than their main body and have a white coloration with various black lines marking them. Butterfree wings are remarkably water resistant and they are both strong and nimble fliers. This enables them to launch spores for up to 10 meters with reasonable accuracy, as well as fly relatively unencumbered in even the heaviest of rains.

All stages of the evolutionary line are almost exclusively herbivorous. They primarily seek out and eat plants with either horrific taste or toxic properties. Caterpie and metapod store the spores, toxins and oils inside of themselves to create horrific smells and tastes to deter would-be predators. Butterfree are more active in seeking out specific spores, which they then store in chambers right beneath their wings. They can then emit powders with effects dependent upon their diet. In Alola, Melemele butterfree typically specialize in paralytics, Akala butterfree in psychoactive powders, Ula’Ula butterfree in chemical burns and rashes, and Poni butterfree in sleep inducing spores and other depressants. In captivity their diet can be selected to alter or maximize their capabilities (see Husbandry).

Even with their taste and defenses, butterfree still have a fair few predators. Some birds such as fearow, noctowl and skarmory don’t seem to mind the taste at all; the latter also lacks a sense of smell. Crobat can also shrug off some of their spore attacks and ambush butterfree at night when their vision is weaker and they tend to be tired or asleep. Snorlax and toucannon sometimes prey upon metapod. Arbok prey upon metapod and caterpie. Ariados have been known to snare and hunt caterpie and butterfree and, on the rare occasion that they leave their nest, they have been known to carry back any metapod they encounter to feed upon at a later time.

In captivity and the wild, butterfree can live up to fifteen months after evolving, but they typically only live for about ten (see Illness). Caterpie can live up to two months before they attempt evolution, even in highly unfavorable circumstances. Metapod may be immortal if not exposed to predators or water.

Behavior

Caterpie are diurnal foragers. They have a highly developed sense of scent and will walk for up to 100 meters to find the optimal plant in range. This may not sound like a long distance, but for a small and slow-moving insect, it definitely is. Once a caterpie finds their desired tree it will climb into it and eat leaves until it is forced out by a competitor or predator, the tree dies or stops producing leaves, or a better foraging opportunity presents itself. When a caterpie exits a tree they produce a silk line and slowly lowers itself to the ground. A captive caterpie that is provided leaves at regular time and in adequate supply will still seek to climb on objects around it such as walls, lamps or their trainer.

Metapod have no behaviors worth noting, beyond their complete absence of any movement beyond reflexive self defense.

Butterfree are diurnal, but they are most active whenever it is raining. Butterfree take advantage of harsh storms that ground other birds to go out and forage for flowers and spore-producing plants that provide but nutrition and ammunition. They also serve as pollinators, seeking out nectar and other sweet substances and then moving from plant to plant. Most smoothie stores in their range tend to have at least one resident butterfree camped out nearby, hoping to pilfer leftovers or steal from customers. When dormant, they perch and sleep in the canopies of tall trees. They sleep with their wings fully extended at their sides to make them appear larger to any would-be attackers.

Husbandry

Caterpie eat primarily leaves, although some nutritional supplements can be mixed in. It is advised that trainers conduct further research from a more specialized guide and alter their caterpie’s diet towards more toxic or foul-tasting plants that the caterpie can still digest. All bug catching stores and some general pokémon supplies stores will keep these leaves in stock. Caterpie being raised as pets, especially for small children, should be fed a standard leaf mix available at all Pokémon Centers and supply stores. This prevents them from gaining a particularly foul scent.

Metapod do not consume food.

Butterfree diets are more difficult to replicate in captivity. Some mix of fruit, flowers, and nectar is advisable. Detailed specialist guides can outline combinations that have been shown to work well for butterfree aimed at battling. A simple assortment of fresh or live flowers, honey and nectar will usually do the trick. Sugar water and fruit juices make for good rewards.

Caterpie can not be housebroken. Butterfree can be, although it requires a fair bit of effort and will likely require a more experienced bug trainer to assist in the process. Caterpie waste is a dense soild; butterfree waste is a thin, almost colorless liquid.

It is recommended that trainers bond with their caterpie before it evolves into metapod. This can be accomplished by supervising it while it forages in nature, holding leaves and making caterpie crawl over you to get them or providing it a climbing perch where its leaves are regularly provided and frequently standing or sitting nearby it so the caterpie can become acclimated to your presence and associate you with food.

Butterfree will frequently perch on their trainers’ head or outstretched arm when allowed to do so. As a word of caution, they are surprisingly heavy. A gentle flick of the arm or head will usually be enough to convince them to leave. They are remarkably intelligent and enjoy toys such as balls, puzzles containing nectar, fans, surfaces with strange textures, misters, and strobe lights. It is good for butterfree’s enrichment to allow them to go outside on rainy days. Few of their predators fly in the rain, which makes it one of the few times they can safely remain unsupervised. Butterfree are smart enough to be taught to respond to even fairly complex verbal commands with time.

Caterpie show no particular aversion to being held inside a pokéball. Metapod should be transferred inside of a pokéball, but should otherwise be left alone and outside of their ball. Butterfree resent being held in all but the most comfortable pokéballs during the day, although it is sometimes necessary to keep them from flying off. They show no particular aversion to their ball at night, and some butterfree seem to prefer it as a means of keeping them safe from real or imagined predators.

Illness

Unfortunately, time is something butterfree have in short supply. In their native range, caterpie typically hatch in early spring, evolve a few weeks later, evolve again two to six weeks after that, lay eggs in the fall and die off in the winter. Migration is largely impossible as they are outcompeted by faster and more aggressive butterfly and moth species to the south of them.

In Alola, there is no particular reason that they need to die off in the winter. However, butterfree macroevolution has done little to select against age-related diseases beyond eight months. As such, butterfree typically succumb to organ failure or cancer between nine and twelve months of age. Some butterfree have been documented as living a few months longer, but none have ever lived to sixteen months of age.

Technically, some illnesses affecting caterpie, metapod and butterfree can be cured. Veterinarians at Pokémon Centers will fix up the simple ones for free. Most more serious injuries or those related to illness rather than battle wounds are not covered for the simple reason that they would give the butterfree another year of life at most. Theoretically, some private sector veterinarians may be willing to cure serious butterfree illnesses. But, is it really worth prolonging the creature’s life until another serious illness inevitably strikes a few months later?

Evolution

A well-fed caterpie will grow rapidly over the course of roughly six weeks. They do not grow linearly, though. Instead they periodically shed their skin and crawl out. Over the next twelve hours they grow in size and develop another exoskeleton. This process will be repeated roughly ten times before caterpie are able to evolve.

In the wild, caterpie climb up to an inaccessible or hidden spot in a tree, tie a thick silk line, and form a thick exoskeleton cocoon around themselves. In captivity, caterpie should be provided a safe place to rest at least once a week to see if they will evolve. Once evolution occurs, the metapod should be left undisturbed in the same place for a week. They should never be battled with. If a metapod evolves inside of a Pokémon Center room, the trainer will be allowed to stay there for the full week.

Metapod evolve under very harsh or persistent rain. In nature they can sometimes lie dormant for the entire dry season. If natural rain is unavailable one to three weeks after metapod evolves in captivity, it is best to seek out a sprinkler room used to care for amphibians and water-types. Some of the largest Pokémon Centers have them. Failing that, most fish or herpetology specializing stores will typically have a room available for a fee.

Metapod undergo so-called “flash evolution” rather than the traditional gradual, if rapid, changes of most evolutions. One moment a metapod will be apparently undisturbed. The next, it will become engulfed in bright white light as its body transfers into what appears to be an energy state. The light will grow and contort itself into its new shape. When the light fades, the metapod will have become a butterfree.

Battle

Caterpie are not natural battlers and actively avoid conflict whenever possible. In the wild their primary defense mechanism is to be so awful tasting and smelling that almost nothing wants to eat them. In captivity, this makes them hard to coax into fights beyond forcing them onto a battlefield and hoping they reflexively defend themselves. Caterpie are typically too nervous or unintelligent to be properly trained. Their self defense mechanisms amount to (weak) bites, (weak) full body tackles, discharges from its scent glands and (surprisingly strong) silk tripwires it uses to bind or trap opponents so it can run away. It should be noted that caterpie will simply run away from a sufficiently bound foe rather than taking the opportunity to damage them further. It is recommended that if caterpie must be used in battle at all, they be used to tie up a particularly tricky opponent and then be withdrawn or forfeited to give another more combative ‘mon an opening.

Metapod should not be battled with. The slabs of their exoskeleton are incredibly durable and can take hits from pikipek and rattata. However, they are poorly built for handling impacts and will frequently burst and lose their inner liquid. These injuries are fatal.

Many an aspiring youngster or bug catcher has dreamed of shocking the world stage with their butterfree, something they believe to be criminally underrated. The delusion isn’t helped by the simple fact that most trainer’s first abject humiliation comes from a butterfree. Flying projectile users are incredibly good counters for melee fighters, which most basic pokémon available to new trainers are. Butterfree have access to moderately powerful psychic attacks and delicate but powerful wings. Those traits in tandem allow them to strike with gusts of wind or carry spores to hit their target with surprising accuracy. From there it’s only a matter of time before they finish their helpless opponent off.

More clever trainers still will note that butterfree would be a perfect addition to so-called “rain teams,” because it’s a capable flier, the rain mitigates super effective fire attacks, and the weather allows for more powerful hurricane attacks. Even if the weather isn’t raining, butterfree’s aim allows it to usually land hurricanes. Unfortunately, butterfree is not the strongest of pokémon. Or the most durable. Or the fastest. There’s a reason that their main defense in the wild is being inedible. A well-used butterfree might remain viable towards the end of an island challenge, but it’s hopelessly outmatched by pokémon such as swanna and pelipper on the world stage. It’s role as a status spreader is better left to bulky grass-types.

Acquisition

Caterpie are most common in meadows, temperate forests and near large man-made gardens or orchards. All stages of the evolutionary line can be captured, trained, adopted or purchased with a Class I license. Many trainers are tempted to go straight for capturing butterfree as there are no higher license requirements for doing so. This is usually inadvisable. To start with, butterfree are free-spirited, highly intelligent and resistant to confinement. By the time a trainer gets a butterfree to cooperate, it will either be mostly obsolete in battle or on death’s door. Butterfree tend to reflexively trust trainers who cared for them and fed them as a caterpie, and watched over them as a metapod.

Metapod can, technically, be captured. This ensures that a butterfree is obtained while they’re still young and the capture process is much easier. However, the butterfree will not recognize their trainer and all the usual problems of establishing dominance will apply.

Most shelters simply release butterfree rather than caring for them in their spaces. They don’t do well indoors and tend to fare well upon reintroduction to the wild.

Butterfree, especially those of alternate colorations, can usually be purchased from breeders in major cities or near flower meadows. However, they will often charge a price that a battling trainer may not find worth it to pay to have a low-power pokémon for a few months. Caterpie are frequently sold in pet stores, but there’s no particular reason to pay to obtain one when they’re already quite common and not particularly hard to capture in the wild. Captive-born caterpie will be slightly more used to humans, but caterpie adjust to new circumstances quite quickly as it is.

Breeding

Butterfree find mates during the summer and fall months. After a courtship ritual involving elaborate flight patterns and one party providing the other with flowers or honey, they will consummate the relationship. Roughly three weeks later, the female will lay their eggs in leaves near the canopy of a tree, typically during or after rainstorms. They do not continue to watch these eggs after they are laid and show no particular loyalty to their offspring. In captivity, butterfree are somewhat more maternal and have been known to roost over their nest during their day and seek out and provide food to their offspring once they hatch. The reason for this difference is unclear.

Theoretically, butterfree can be bred in captivity. But given how common caterpie are at the time of year when most trainers set out, and the low price commanded by even a full nest of ordinary-colored caterpie, there isn’t much purpose to doing so. If you want to go ahead with it anyway, provide the butterfree a mid-sized real or artificial tree in an indoor environment. Make sure the environment is kept relatively moist. Have enough leaves in supply to feed the caterpie once they hatch.

Subspecies

Butterfree technically has no subspecies. However, it does have alternate color schemes. While these do not have any major physiological differences they still appear to be more different from the baseline butterfree than some actual subspecies do. The most common alternate color schemes are blue, yellow, pink orange, and dark green butterfree. Botanical gardens, zoos and the royal aviary frequently have summer exhibits displaying butterfree of many different colors. These butterfree enjoy no substantial benefits in combat, but they do cost more to obtain and are almost exclusively found in captivity.