Pokémon The Alola Pokedex

[Persephone]

Hydreigon (Deino, Zweilous)
Lernaean horriblus maris

Overview

Dragons haunted the nightmares of early humans. Even as walled cities were erected and ever more powerful pokémon domesticated, the dragons could tear apart all they had built. Their only exploitable weakness were the faeries, every bit as dangerous in their own way. The hydreigon was the most terrifying dragon of them all.

Hydreigon boast a vicious temperament, cunning mind, and incredible power. Their dragonfire is the strongest of any common dragon. Their venom can leave debilitating wounds meant to make their prey an example rather than kill them outright. When civilizations progressed past a single city, hydreigon began to kidnap priests and royalty as insurance against attacks. In Mesopotamia it was viewed as imprudent to build a city or till the land within twenty-nine miles of a hydreigon’s roost. The Persians believed their pantheon had fought a mighty hydreigon in the past and that, in the future, the hydreigon would return to kill the gods and plunge humanity into an age of chaos and despair. Across the world hydreigon were almost always the rivals of gods, not mortal heroes.

Even in the modern era the remaining hydreigon have razed major monuments and skyscrapers when offended. Only the taming of stronger fairy-types and the use of poisoned carcasses has made a dent in their population. These extermination campaigns came at a price: when the remaining hydreigon realized what was going on, they began to coordinate the destruction of dams, major transit hubs, and power plants until their habitats and hunting grounds were protected.

Hydreigon are sadists with the power to burn through ten feet of concrete and one of the most painful bites on the planet. They are best avoided at all costs. Only champion-tier trainers are called in to handle problem hydreigon. Only the most experienced of dragon masters should attempt to raise one. Even the younger stages can be extremely difficult to care for.

Physiology

All three stages are classified as dual dark- and dragon-types. There is a minority opinion that the line should instead be dual poison- and dragon-types due to their venom. The view is generally disfavored. Dark-type attacks have been known to leave healing-resistant wounds like hydreigon venom. Hydreigon are also among the most psionic resistant of pokémon rather than being vulnerable to psychic attacks as a poison typing would imply.

Deino are quadrupedal dragons. A single horn protrudes from the back of their head to deter predators from attacking from behind. Their eyes are atrophied and almost always closed. Even when opened, deino’s vision is limited to determining whether light is present or not. Deino instinctively avoid light. Young specimens can even be scared away by a particularly bright flashlight. Their blindness is not a problem in the cave systems they inhabit. Deino instead find food with a powerful sense of smell and navigate their home by memory.

Deino rely on fur and thick leathery scales to keep them warm in the cool subterranean air. Black or dark blue fur covers their head, neck, and shoulders. Their eyes are almost always covered. Deino’s scales are black, blue, or purple. All stages of the line heal quickly. Hydreigon can even regrow a minor head within a few months. Surface wounds heal slowly or not at all. As a result, most deino are covered in scars. Hydreigon rarely have a square foot of their body without a major scar. These scars are attractive to potential mates and make the dragons look more intimidating and experienced than they actually are.

All three stages are venomous. Deino venom interferes with clotting and prevents the wound from naturally healing. It is mildly corrosive and damages nerves in a way that leaves the victim in agony for weeks, months, or even years after the bite. Hydreigon venom ranks among the most painful in the world. A hydreigon that has recently eaten will rarely kill an intruder. Instead, they will leave a non-lethal bite. This lets the victim escape and serve as a warning to others. It also allows the hydreigon to later follow the blood trail from the unclotted wound to find the victim and their family when it is time for their next meal. Hydreigon are also capable of injecting concentrated drops of venom into their saliva, letting them inflict serious pain on opponents just by breathing into their eyes or an open wound.

Zweilous are similar to deino, with the key difference of having two heads. Each head is also capped by two horns instead of one. Both heads have their own brain that controls the head and neck. Each brain can also take control of the full body, but only if the other head allows it. If the heads disagree then only the heads, necks, and autonomous functions can function. In practice the submissive head usually allows the dominant head to control the body. Dominance varies by the day depending on which head ate more at the last meal. Zweilous often overeat as both heads battle for dominance. Sometimes the heads will even attack each other in a moment of anger. The line are highly resistant to their own venom and have thick scales along the neck to protect against attack. These bites often leave scars but rarely seriously injure the other head. It is difficult to study live zweilous due to their surprising power and vicious temperament, but the few studies that have been conducted have advanced the fields of neurology and computing.

Older zweilous develop a pair of wings on their back. These wings are not yet usable. Zweilous also develop stripes as they age. In males the stripe color almost always matches the father’s scales. In females stripe color is usually a mix of their parents’ scale colors. Sometimes a female’s stripes are not readily visible.

Hydreigon have three heads. Only one, the most dominant zweilous head overall, is in control. This is the center head. The two minor heads, one at the end of each arm, contain venom sacs, teeth, and a throat that connects to the lungs and stomach. Hydreigon have been known to pretend like these heads have their own personalities as a display of intimidation or for their own amusement. This is a ruse: the heads are physically incapable of independent thought. Hydreigon’s fur covers less of their body than that of a zweilous or deino. The fur around the head also tends to be more vibrant than the fur on the rest of their body. It is usually a similar shade to their stripe color. Hydreigon also have working eyes and rather good long-range vision. Hydreigon are extremely far-sighted and can still struggle to make out fine details within twenty feet of them.

Hydreigon have six thin wings on their back and spend much of their lives airborne. The wings themselves are too thin to keep such a heavy creature in the air. Instead hydreigon use channeled draconic energy to fly. The same elemental well that gives hydreigon nearly unmatched dragonfire also lets them effortlessly keep themselves aloft. The wings are used primarily for heat exchange, intimidation, and guiding the pokémon’s movement while underwater.

In addition to their wings, hydreigon develop a prominent tail that helps them balance on land and swim through the water. Hydreigon’s unique arm structure make them unable to crawl on all fours. They must instead either slither on their stomach or walk bipedally when on the ground. Southern hydreigon are accomplished swimmers that can hold their breath for twenty minutes and dive to depths of eight hundred feet.

Hydreigon can grow to be fourteen feet long from their snout to the tip of their tail. They can weigh up to 400 pounds. Wild lifespans are probably around 110 years. Captive lifespans are poorly understood. Longitudinal studies of hydreigon rarely last for more than ten years before the hydreigon migrates or drives off the researchers. Safely subduing a hydreigon long enough to implant a subdermal tracking device is nearly impossible.

Behavior

Deino and zweilous are cave dwellers that are almost never seen on the surface. They will eat anything that comes near them, but both stages are believed to rely more on scavenging than hunting. Frequent vocalizations and stumbling into cave walls drives off most prey well before the pokémon arrives. Few predators will pick a fight with a deino and risk a bite. As a result, deino can usually eat any carcass they come across. After meals the pokémon will retreat to the lower levels of a cave for water and safety. These pokémon can and will attack anything that approaches them on land. Deino are uncharacteristically wary of bats. This lasts throughout their life. Hydreigon almost never antagonize noivern in the wild. Even captive specimens are reluctant to fight one. While hydreigon would almost certainly win a one-on-one confrontation, noivern tend to live in larger social groups and could easily kill deino and zweilous. As a result, adults of the two species tend to keep their interactions brief and polite.

Deino and zweilous are relatively solitary pokémon. They will accept food and guidance from their parents and rarely attack their siblings with intent to kill. Anyone else, conspecific or not, is seen as either food, a threat, or both. Cave routes tend to seal off access to areas that deino and zweilous frequent. When they do wander onto a commonly traversed path, they will be captured by a ranger and released deeper in the cave.

Hydreigon are surprisingly social dragons. They mate for years at a time, if not for life, and seem to enjoy spending time around their partner. Hydreigon are fiercely territorial but will approach the boundary of their territories to socialize with their neighbors. They are doting parents and will sometimes adopt orphaned dragons. Adoptions of non-dragon pokémon, animals, and even humans have all been documented.

Despite being social, hydreigon appear to have an innate dislike of humans and will usually lash out at any perceived intruders in their territory. The best response to seeing a hydreigon is to run away immediately. Leave everything behind. This will distract the hydreigon and make it easier to run. Humans cannot outrun a hydreigon, but they can convince it that they did not mean to intrude and are leaving as quickly as possible. Anecdotal evidence suggests that they can smell urine and see it as a sign of submission. This may also be survivorship bias: the people most likely to run from hydreigon and be allowed to flee are also more likely to wet themselves while running away. The actual best way to stay safe from hydreigon attacks is to stay away from a hydreigon’s territory or, when this is impossible, to stick to ranger-designated paths. If a deino or zweilous is seen outside of a cave, run. Do not harm a deino or zweilous unless you are preparing for a capture. Even this is risky. See the Acquisition section for more information on negotiating with deino and zweilous.

Hydreigon are prone to migrating once every few years. This may allow local prey populations to recover. They may also migrate because they desire a change in scenery. The behavior of highly intelligent species is often divorced from simple survival instincts. Recent evidence suggests that hydreigon may have a human-comparable intellect. Laboratory studies are nearly non-existent. Field studies suggest that hydreigon are capable of employing strategies designed to take out prey they would ordinarily struggle against. Hydreigon even seem to prefer hunting difficult targets for the challenge. In competitive battles hydreigon have come up with strategies independently of their trainer and employed tactics like feigning injuries, digging trenches with their dragonfire, targeting the wings of birds, creating apparent openings to bait out an attack, and forming clouds of dust or smoke to obscure their movements. Hydreigon in Paldea were even observed creating an apparent sport involving stolen volleyballs. The game spread across Southern European and North African hydreigon populations before abruptly falling out of favor two years later. A more enduring fashion trend can be found in Siberia where northern hydreigon have dropped off carcasses by cities and let the citizens have the meat and bones in exchange for turning the pelt into a cape. Caped hydreigon are still often seen in Russia and occasionally sighted in Alaska, Scandanavia, and the Yukon. One captive specimen enjoys wearing hats.

Hydreigon are prone to living in groves of trees, especially cheri trees. There is a theory that hydreigon spread the cheri berry throughout the world on purpose. How or why they would do this is unknown. What is known is that cheri trees are abundant along hydreigon’s favorite migration paths, even the ones well outside of the cheri tree’s natural range. Hydreigon are obligate carnivores, but they will make exceptions for mint, cheri and roseli berries, and cinnamon. Many orchard owners have been driven off their land after a hydreigon decided to take over the property. Other times the hydreigon allows the owners to stay and tend to the trees as long as the hydreigon gets a share of the fruit.

For centuries Chinese villages would send sacrifices of “cheri priests” to the hydreigon. These were young girls sent to the groves on the outskirts of the city to spend their lives tending the trees. The girls were not killed and usually grew to an advanced age, at which point they would take over the care and training of the new priestesses. Cheri priests were treated with immense respect when they entered town and were consulted on matters of agriculture and war. Villages and cities with cheri priests were almost never attacked by wild hydreigon or even other dragons. Sometimes the hydreigon would even defend the nearby settlement against foreign armies. The only recorded cases of a hydreigon turning on their hosts occurred when their priests were assaulted or a warrior dared to attack the hydreigon, their mates, or their offspring. The priesthood was briefly outlawed in 1966. Many priests were imprisoned, or even executed, as counter-revolutionary radicals. A group of forty-one hydreigon stormed Beijing and wiped out all but six members of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. The practice was reinstated shortly after, but relations between the central government and wild hydreigon have been rocky ever since.

Husbandry

The first consideration when raising hydreigon is not food, social structure, enrichment, or environment. The primary issue is simply how to keep one from destroying your home, killing your family, leaving you in agony, and then flying away. Hydreigon do not appear to kill for sport. Their cruelty seems calculated to make a point. Hydreigon can even be kind to certain humans. The draconic tribes seem to have relatively little difficulty gaining their trust. The dragons are wary of or hostile towards most other humans.

There is not a widely agreed upon solution to this problem. The most widely accepted approach is to raise the dragon from a deino. However, deino are deeply unpleasant to work with as they are prone to biting everything that comes within range of their mouth. Even an accidental bite can be incredibly painful. Few pokémon are willing to cooperate with a deino and few trainers are willing to risk a bite. The scarcity of captive specimens willing to donate venom has led to very high antivenom prices. Labs attempting to use deino or zweilous are often destroyed by an upset hydreigon. Zweilous are less likely to accidentally bite their trainer but more likely to do it on purpose. It is very difficult to predict a zweilous due to their two heads. Their personality can shift dramatically in a matter of hours. Zweilous seem to dislike all other organisms, including their other half.

Hydreigon will rarely bother to listen to a human explaining why they should join their team. Proving battles have mixed results. Hydreigon seem inclined to respect pokémon who can match them in combat, but this respect rarely extends to the trainer giving orders.

A few dragon masters, mostly from the dragon tribes, have kept an apparently tame hydreigon. Even the hydreigon trainers who are not tribe members are unwilling to share their secrets with researchers. A few things can still be inferred. Hydreigon appear to enjoy physical displays of affection with humans they are close to. Even the successful trainers will regularly have their orders ignored in battle and must rely on pleading as much as commanding. These interactions and preserved accounts from cheri priests suggest that hydreigon refuse to see humans as superiors, or even as equals. Some humans are the hydreigon’s cherished pets or adoptive children. Even then they will mostly refuse to recognize a human as an expert on battling worth listening to. The hydreigon seem to enjoy roaming across a fairly large territory. Almost all professional dragon masters own at least 300 acres of land. Even this is rarely enough for hydreigon. The Persians speculated that hydreigon territories had a sixty-mile diameter. Modern research suggests that this is more or less accurate, even when the hydreigon does not need to hunt. Tame hydreigon rarely cause problems while roaming, aside from terrifying anyone they come across.

Most trainers and facilities that work with deino and zweilous on a short-term basis recommend keeping at least a ten-foot distance and slightly overfeeding the dragons. A full deino is less likely to cause trouble than a hungry one. Deino are known to be exceptionally passive after eating a large meal. This is the only safe time to draw venom in a laboratory setting.

The line are almost entirely carnivorous. Like most dragons, they will eat up to 40% of their body weight a day and then go several days before eating again. Feeding 15% of their body weight every other day will keep most dragons reasonably active at all times while still meeting nutritional needs. Hydreigon are generalists who will happily eat almost any kind of meat. The limited available research suggests that they particularly enjoy fish and poultry. Hydreigon are capable of breaking bones to eat marrow and can digest almost every part of a carcass. In the wild hydreigon will share particularly large kills with local deino, zweilous, and even other hydreigon. It is unclear if they are defensive of their food in captivity.

Berries, mint, and cinnamon probably make for good treats. The scents might also be good enrichment. Laboratory studies suggest that the smell of mint make deino more relaxed and reduce staff injuries by as much as 25%.

In the wild hydreigon can go without fresh water for weeks while migrating across oceans. Lab deino still need to drink frequently and will get cranky if they do not have clean, cool water available for drinking and bathing at all times. All stages of the line seem concerned with cleanliness and will take multiple baths a day if the opportunity presents itself. Hydreigon may spend more time in the water than in the air. Lab deino with access to a pool spend about 30% of their time in shallow water, 10% in deep water, and 60% on land. They will often sleep near the water’s edge.

Deino and zweilous, like most subterranean pokémon, appreciate cool, damp, and dark environments. Care must be taken to keep mold from growing in their homes. Light is entirely unnecessary and only serves to agitate them. Researchers are divided on how soft their environment should be. Both stages are prone to injuring themselves against hard surfaces like concrete and stone walls. However, these injuries are common in the wild and do not seem to bother the pokémon. One hydreigon met several scarless deino raised in a lab and proceeded to slash their skin with his claws and fangs. The deino seemed to appreciate the gesture. Minor injuries may be a necessary component of a deino’s psychological development.

There is precious little research on the interactions between deino, hydreigon, and other team members. Both wild and captive hydreigon seem to be protective of any young dragon they come across and have never been observed engaged in cannibalism. Even the harshest ancient texts stop short of accusing hydreigon of that particular offense. Hydreigon also appear reluctant to attack children of all species, including humans, although they will not go through too much effort to protect them from becoming collateral damage.

Captive deino are known to tolerate noibat and zubat in their environment but never go out of their way to interact with them. They will attempt to bite mineral pokémon but are unable to do much of anything to them. Large mineral pokémon are likely to ignore the deino altogether. Hydreigon are most frequently seen on the same teams as other large dragons, but this may be because only dragon masters bother to raise one. As with all apex predators it may be unwise to keep hydreigon on the same team as prey species. Unfortunately, almost all organic pokémon are prey species. As are humans.

Illness

All three stages are usually coated in scars and constantly sustaining minor injuries. These will rarely result in lasting, serious damage. They can regenerate horns, limbs, and minor heads. Hydreigon are probably cancer-resistant like most true dragons, but there is not enough evidence either way to be sure. Unlike most dragons, hydreigon are even resistant to hypothermia with their dark scales, subdermal fat deposits, and variable metabolism. This is necessary given their habits of living in water and caves. Anecdotal evidence suggests that hydreigon may even be uncomfortable at sea level in the tropics. Hypothermia and hyperthermia are probably the biggest health problems for captive specimens. Hydreigon should have access to cool pools and shaded areas in warm weather and indoor areas in cool and cold weather.

Zweilous naturally fight with themselves. The injuries inflicted may seem severe but usually heal quickly. The wounds may be necessary for establishing dominance and facilitating evolution. Attempts to keep the heads from biting each other have just agitated both heads and resulted in coordinated resistance to the facility keeping them.

Evolution

Deino evolve into zweilous around five years of age. This may be accelerated by frequent combat, but the research on the subject is limited. Very few captive-born deino are intentionally battled with. For wild-caught deino an exact age can be difficult to determine. Deino stop growing larger around their third birthday. A decrease in violent behaviors is observed in the weeks leading up to evolution. The second head appears during flash evolution. Few other changes occur. Growth continues for the next one to two years. Infighting between the heads increases dramatically for a month leading up to evolution before ceasing abruptly. The second evolution is likely to occur within a week of this point.

Newly evolved hydreigon are about twice the size as they were previously. The remainder of their growth occurs over the next three to four years. Hydreigon struggle to fly and understand the things they see upon evolution. It takes a few weeks of trial and error along with training from their mother before a new hydreigon can take to the skies and seek out a territory of their own.

Battle

Hydreigon’s usage is limited primarily by the difficulty of raising one. There are very few professional trainers who own a hydreigon. Almost all of them consider it their ace. Hydreigon are primarily known on the competitive circuits for their immense ranged firepower. A well-trained hydreigon can fire off dragon pulses stronger than many dragons’ draco meteors. Anything that gets close can be debilitated by a venomous bite. Hydreigon are also no slouch in melee and are strong enough to knock out frailer foes in one blow without venom. If that isn’t enough, hydreigon boast high natural intelligence and a wide variety of coverage attacks such as flash cannon, surf, flamethrower, and focus blast. Southern hydreigon’s only real weakness are fairy-types. Fairies can tank dragonfire without issue and retaliate with devastating moonblasts. The frailer fairies still need to fear a hydreigon rushdown or coverage such as flash cannon. If the fairy isn’t on the field when the hydreigon comes out, then the dragon will still probably land a knockout. It is very difficult to stall down the switch clock against a clever opponent that can fly and punch through all but the sturdiest of walls. Many dragon specialists still train the somewhat slower and weaker northern hydreigon to mitigate the fairy weakness.

Fairies aside, there isn’t really a good way to combat hydreigon. There are simply responses that are varying levels of inadequate. Southern hydreigon do not mind the cold as much as other dragons. Northern hydreigon can shrug off all but the strongest of blizzards and sheer colds. Ranged fighting attacks can wear the hydreigon down without risking a bite. Fairy coverage attacks are also reasonably effective when available. Only the sturdiest of pokémon can afford to take a hit from hydreigon. Even steel-types should be wary. Faster pokémon are better at avoiding hits. However, many are also frail enough that even a glancing blow or a coverage attack can knock them out. Blissey can deal with the dragonfire reasonably well and are all but immune to hydreigon venom. They are still prone to being knocked out by an outrage will. Aside from relatively weak dazzling gleams there is little they can do to threaten hydreigon back. Goodra, especially Manchurian goodra, are capable of holding out for a while and knocking out hydreigon with a draco meteor or two. A well set up sweeper might be able to hold their own. Destiny bond can at least allow for a draw. Just be aware that hydreigon can learn taunt to shut down trickery.

Other powerhouses like tyranitar and volcarona can take on hydreigon in a fair fight. Most of these pokémon suffer from the same problems as hydreigon, though: they are dangerous and expensive to own.

Hydreigon can also be worn down gradually over the course of a fight as they are not particularly durable. By the time they go down they may still have taken out multiple other pokémon. Dragon specialists often use hydreigon early to bait out and either knock out or do serious damage to the opponent’s best dragon checks. Then the rest of the team can run roughshod over the remaining opposition.

Anyone with a hydreigon on the island challenge is highly unlikely to be stopped by any obstacle before the Elite Four. Trainers should be aware that using hydreigon venom in battle without an available antivenom is highly frowned upon. If the pokémon is willing, some labs will exchange raw venom for an antivenom dose.

Zweilous and deino need to be trained not to use their venom in battle to be safely and cheaply used. It is simply too painful and too long-lasting to be legal in casual matches. If antivenom is available and the trainer is willing to spare it, zweilous and deino work best rushing to their opponents to deliver a bite or a few drops with their breath and then waiting, using rest and sleep talk as necessary, for the opponent to surrender.

Acquisition

A female hydreigon spends most of the year around Ten Carat Hill. She is remarkably well-behaved for her species and allows trainers to enter for totem battles and captures, people to live in the vicinity, and even for fireworks to be launched nearby if she’s given advanced warning. This makes her one of the only hydreigon to live within ten miles of a major urban center. She is mated to a salamence and has deino and zweilous children inside of the hill’s caves. The hydreigon has expressed a desire not to be caught. She will allow deino and zweilous to be caught if they agree to it or the hydreigon gives her express permission.

Deino and zweilous are still difficult to tame because they will bite anyone who comes near. Proving battles can upset them and risk retaliation from their mother. There is no reliable way to gain the trust of a deino or zweilous. Bribes of food over a period of several weeks often work, but sometimes don’t. Other dragons on the team can either earn the pokémon’s trust or result in territorial aggression. A mistake could end in a very painful bite.

Captive specimens are hard to come by. Most are held by specialist breeding operations or antivenom laboratories. Specimens of all three stages can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Docile specimens will cost well over one million. Adoption is handled on a case-by-case basis.

Deino and zweilous can be purchased, adopted, or captured with a Class IV license. Hydreigon require a Class V license to possess.

Breeding

Very little is known about hydreigon reproduction in the wild. It is known that they tend to mate for multiple seasons, if not for life, and are fiercely devoted to their mates. Female hydreigon appear to be dominant in relationships. Even in captivity, male hydreigon are very deferential to their mates. There are no papers on the captive breeding habits of female hydreigon. Such knowledge is fiercely guarded by the various dragon tribes and the cheri priests. Male hydreigon have mated and had cross-bred children in captivity. They tend to leave parenting to their mate if allowed to do so.

Wild hydreigon mothers frequently enter into caves to spend time with their children. The exact nature of their bonding is unclear. Hydreigon can smell out and destroy cameras and will usually scare away or kill anything that crosses their path during these times. They are protective of their offspring and even the offspring of other dragons. Poaching of young dragons in their territory can send them into a rampage.

Relatives

Hydreigon, tatsugiri, and dragonite are the three living species in the family Aquadracones, the most ancient lineage of true dragons. Hydreigon are the last living member of the genus Lernaean, an offshoot of mostly blind species that moved into subterranean rivers and eventually onto land. Most of these species were closer in size and temperament to tatsugiri than hydreigon.

Southern hydreigon are primarily found in regions with relatively mild winters and summers. This includes most of Western Europe and the Mediterranean as well as portions of subtropical and temperate Asia and the Americas in the Northern Hemisphere and the Australia, Southern Africa, and the Pantanal and Atlantic Forest regions of South America in the Southern Hemisphere. Alola is at the edge of their preferred range and has historically only been used as a resting point for the rare hydreigon migrating between hemispheres. The only documented permanent residents lived on the islands from 1781 to 1846, 1921 to 1924, and 2010 to the present.

Northern hydreigon (L. h. zmei) prefer colder climates such as the Crown Tundra, the Canadian boreal, and the northern Rocky Mountains. There is also a subpopulation in the Andes. Northern hydreigon are officially classified as dragon- and steel-types, although there is a strong argument in favor of a dark-steel or dragon-dark dual typing. Northern hydreigon have much thicker coats and two large wings instead of many smaller ones. Northern hydreigon are capable of flying under their own power. They also have longer and sturdier legs that can let them either walk through the snow or slither on top of it. Their fangs in all three mouths and the claws on their feet are metallic and extremely sharp. Northern hydreigon have a partial resistance to fairy attacks and have much more powerful flash cannons than southern hydreigon. Powerful dragonfire and aerial maneuverability have been traded for increased durability and physical power. Northern hydreigon can still punch through city walls with time, but not as effortlessly as a fully grown southern hydreigon. They are more reliant on trickery to get what they want and tend to avoid humans whenever possible.

Hydreigon’s metal, known as dragon iron, was considered the most precious metal of all in the ancient world. It keeps a strong elemental charge even when melted down and reforged. A full sword would require slaying or looting the carcasses of at least three dragons. In exchange, the sword would often have mystical powers resembling those of a pre-awakened aegislash, leaving wounds that festered without healing, deflecting dragonfire, or easily sheering through dragon scales. Many royal families kept a dragon iron weapon or shield as their most precious heirloom. Beyond the mystical properties of the weapon, it also signaled that either the wielder or their ancestor had managed to slay multiple powerful dragons.

 

[Persephone]

Krookodile (Sandile, Krokorok)
Crocodilus minalsahra

Overview

The world is full of microclimates, small areas where the weather is strongly influenced by local pokémon. These climates can be far different from areas less than twenty miles away. In Alola the two most prominent microclimates are located right next to each other: the ninetales-maintained cold of Mauna Lanakila and the flygon-maintained loose sands of the Haina Valley. Flygon are one of the most prolific creators of microclimates worldwide between their ability to fly long distances and to create perpetual sandstorms. Flygon will establish themselves in construction sites, the aftermath of natural disasters, or other disturbed areas and begin their storm. A patch of sandy desert will be firmly established in a matter of months.

Krookodile are well adapted towards these unnatural environments. In fact, they are flygon’s natural partners. It is now believed that when flygon stir up a storm to hunt, they are really just trying to drive prey into a blind panic. In their haste to escape they may fall into a krookodile’s trap. Afterwards the krookodile and flygon will split the meal with minimal physical risk to the flygon. It was long believed that krookodile came to the flygon deserts as escaped pets from local cities. In 2018 a photographer captured a swarm of flygon carrying sandile with them as they moved to a new potential desert. This would make flygon one of three known species to intentionally spread an invasive species to new continents, after humans and lapras.

Krookodile themselves are vicious ambush predators in the wild. Captive specimens can be surprisingly docile. They are not the easiest crocodilian to care for, but they are also not exceedingly difficult. Trainers with some experience with reptiles, predators, or ground-types may be up to the challenge of adding this powerful pokémon to their team.

Physiology

All three stages are classified as dual ground- and dark-types. The ruling is not controversial.

Sandile are small quadrupedal crocodilians. Their abdomen scales are pink with dark brown stripes. The scales elsewhere on their body are tan or brown with black stripes. Sandile have large eyes surrounded by thick black stripes and raised bone ridges that make them appear even larger. Their eyes also have nictitating membranes to keep sand out and further enhance their vision. Sandile and its evolved forms have excellent vision up to 500 yards away in clear conditions. The evolved stages also develop pit organs that let them see infrared light and detect heat signatures. This helps compensate for the often poor visibility in their desert habitat.

The sandile line have poor thermoregulatory abilities. They need to stay in warm areas during the day and often burrow into the sand when they begin to cool. At night they burrow up to thirty feet beneath the surface to stay warm. Temperate flygon deserts are usually located around volcanoes with an abundance of fire-types that help keep the desert warm in the winter. This effectively confines krookodile to the reliably warm areas around the desert. In Alola the line can and do safely travel along Ula’Ula’s southern coast without fear of hypothermia, although they usually retreat to the desert in the wet season.

Krokorok have broader hind feet and much stronger hind limbs than sandile. They also have a proportionally longer tail. These traits allow them to stand bipedally and hold their balance long enough to scan for nearby prey. Their jaws are also somewhat longer than sandile’s and their jaw muscles are far more developed. A series of bony plates now extend from the back above the spinal cord.

Krookodile primarily differ from krokorok in coloration. The scales on their abdomen are now white or light grey and lack striping. The remainder of their scales are red, dark brown, or even purple with thick black stripes. Krookodile’s snout is also longer and broader than that of a krokorok. Finally, krookodile are much more adept at sensing ambient ground elemental energy than krokorok. This lets them feel the movements of artificial sandstorms around them and develop a mental map of whatever the sand moves against. Their sand sense, excellent vision, and pit organ give krookodile a nearly-unmatched view of their surroundings.

Large male krookodile can grow up to twelve feet from their snout to the tip of the tail. When standing upright they can be six feet tall. Adults typically weight three to six hundred pounds, but exceptionally large specimens can weigh up to nine hundred pounds. Wild lifespans are poorly understood due to the difficulty of researching burrowing pokémon in flygon deserts. Captive specimens can live for eighty years.

Behavior

Krookodile live in gangs consisting of a dominant female krookodile, a few of her daughters or younger sisters, and several males. The gang do not hunt together. They will bask together on clear, sunny days and huddle together in their burrows to share heat. Kills will be shared with individuals too young, elderly, sick, or injured to hunt. All other members are expected to procure their own food.

Sandile and krokorok are almost exclusively ambush predators. They create small pits and wait for something to stumble in, usually during a sandstorm. Sandile are impatient and will usually lash out at anything that comes near their trap rather than waiting for it to be sprung. Their hunting success rate is exceedingly low as a result. Krokorok usually only attempt ambushes when they see injured prey wandering into the desert or when a sandstorm is raging. Otherwise, they either burrow or bask.

Krookodile will act as ambush predators during a sandstorm, but will chase down prey that comes close. Krookodile’s broad tail and hind legs let them swim through the loose desert sand like water. Few large pokémon can outrun krookodile in the desert. Anything from outside the valley that has the misfortune of stumbling in can easily find themselves falling victim to the crocodilians.

Krookodile have been known to preserve uneaten food by mummifying it under the sands. The food can then be eaten at a later date or used as bait. Krookodile will stay hidden just beneath the surface with a piece of meat lying above them. When a scavenger approaches, krookodile will burst out of the water and snap up their prey. Krookodile have a bite force of 2,500 PSI. This lets them access bone marrow and obtain more nutrition from their kills.

Any kill made during a sandstorm is partially shared with local vibrava and flygon. In exchange the dragon-types rarely bother krookodile or vice-versa. Sometimes there are conflicts between trapinch and sandile. These rarely escalate to involve the adults.

Husbandry

Krookodile are large predators with all of the usual problems that entails. A fully grown male can require up to one hundred and fifty pounds of meat in a week. Krookodile instinctively save or mummify food they will not eat. In captivity they will stop eating and attempt to cache food when they are full. This will still result in slight overeating and trainers should give them slightly less than they would try to cache. Krookodile can get almost of the water they need from their food. Access to clean freshwater once a week is ideal, although there isn’t any harm to providing a water dish at all times.

Like most crocodilians, krookodile need to swim and bask almost every day to be satisfied. Basking is easy enough: in Alola pretty much any rock on a sunny day will do. During the wet season a dedicated indoor basking area may be required. The Haina Valley and most flygon deserts experience far less rainfall than the areas surrounding them and the valley will only see about ten days of rain per year, almost all in the rainy season.

Krookodile can swim in water if they must but despise doing so. They much prefer to swim in sand. Trainers will either need an expensive habitat ball for their krookodile or frequent access to a swimming pool filled in with sand. Krookodile can be trained not to defecate or urinate in their pool. Other pokémon might do so, however, and the sand may need to be changed frequently if this is the case. Indoor pools need changed out less frequently than outdoor pools. Krookodile will need a warm, dry, and cramped area to spend the night if they dislike sleeping in their ball. Many krookodile enjoy sleeping next to their trainer or teammates. They are not particularly soft pokémon but are rarely dangerous towards those they favor.

Like many dark-types, krookodile are intelligent and easily bored. They will need frequent access to enrichment in the form of battles, toys, new sensory stimulation, or interactions with other pokémon. Other large reptiles or mid-size dragons make the best companions for krookodile. Most dark-types are nocturnal and are more likely to bother krookodile when they’re trying to sleep than to provide welcome enrichment. Smaller prey species are poor choices of teammate for krokorok and krookodile unless they were first introduced to them as a sandile.

Krookodile seem to be very uncomfortable around trees and abundant greenery. This can extend to grass-types as well. They will usually want to be in their ball when traversing forests or prairies. Outdoor pools should not have any nearby trees as they will make sandile nervous and krookodile aggressive.

Illness

Krookodile are hardy pokémon. They still must be monitored for two health concerns.

In the wild krookodile only stand on their hindlegs to intimidate aggressors who come too close to their eggs or offspring. Captive krookodile do it considerably more, either to intimidate opponents in battle, to reach high objects in their environment, or to mimic the humans around them. This can put stress on their ankles. Obesity can compound the problem and lead to serious cases of gout. Do not let krookodile overeat on a consistent basis. They should ideally only finish their food about one out of every five meals.

Hyper and hypothermia are more common day-to-day problems, especially outside of Alola. In the wild krookodile rely on burrowing and basking to maintain an ideal temperature. These options are often unavailable in captivity. Krookodile prefer temperatures in the low-80s. Access to basking rocks cool sand should be provided whenever possible. Krookodile dislike being outside in the rain and should not be taken into it whenever possible. Outside of short battles krookodile should never be released into snow or freezing temperatures.

Evolution

Sandile gradually evolve into krookodile between twelve and eighteen months of age. The formal demarcation line is the first time standing bipedally for more than one second. In the wild this time is marked by increasing hunting responsibilities and assistance raising the next clutch of sandile.

The second evolution takes place between ten and fourteen months after the first. The scales gradually shift in color and the pokémon becomes more independent. This transition is accompanied by sexual maturity and courting mates. Newly evolved pokémon often leave their gang and either attempt to form their own or integrate into another one.

Battle

Krookodile are relatively durable, are quite fast in the sand, and have a monstrous bite force. This makes them a perfectly decent choice in competitive play. At present only one ranked trainer uses one with any regularity, and even then it’s only used in about half of the tournaments she enters. They are more common among professional, unranked trainers. Simply put, krookodile suffer from competition with feraligatr and garchomp. Ranked trainers will almost always go for either a long-held feraligatr or a garchomp. Trainers who are wary of trying to train a large, aggressive dragon may find krookodile a more reasonable option. They still compete with feraligatr, which are much easier to obtain and raise, but krookodile can cover electric and psychic weaknesses that feraligatr can’t.

The one niche krookodile have on the circuits is their role as a cleaner for sandstorm teams. At the end of a match, when the battlefield is coated in sand, krookodile can outspeed and outmaneuver many opponents while seeing through the storm with their pit organs. This lets them trap and eliminate their foes with ease. This requires some set-up: the sand must be deep and airborne pokémon must be weakened or eliminated. Outside of stone edge krookodile have few ways of hitting airborne enemies. Once these conditions are met krookodile can tear through the remaining opponents. They still compete with garchomp in this role and often compound the defensive weaknesses of sandstorm teams.

Outside of professional matches, krookodile are extremely formidable pokémon. They are large, strong enough to pierce many armored foes with one bite, and surprisingly nimble. Krookodile can also learn tricks such as taunt, torment, sand tomb, and stealth rock to sway the match in their favor. On top of that their armor makes them difficult to reliably take down without powerful ice- or fairy-attacks. Grass-types can intimidate the krookodile but may also provoke an angry outburst. Most pokémon are understandably wary of facing down a furious predator that can stand six feet tall.

Krokorok lack the raw size and physical power of krookodile but are still decently armored and can break bones with their jaws. They tend to be warier of an outright brawl than their evolved form and prefer to fight on their own terms. Sending them out against weakened pokémon or with some terrain manipulation in place will do wonders for their confidence. When fighting krokorok it is a good idea to intimidate them through displays of power and terrain manipulation. They are ambush predators in the wild that shy away from fights whenever possible.

Sandile are much slower than krokorok and krookodile and unable to stand up two legs to reach the weak points of taller enemies. Their bite is still formidable for a young pokémon. Sandile work best against melee attackers that must come to them to deal damage. Fighting-types in particular struggle against sandile as they tend to rely on punches. To land attacks they must get close enough that sandile can bite their legs and hold on with a single-minded persistence. Quadrupeds are also usually low enough to the ground that sandile can cause them problems. Conversely, sandile have no reliable way to deal with levitating or flying opponents, even if they’re only a foot or two off the ground. Ranged attackers, especially fairy-, water-, and grass-types, can also cause them no end of trouble.

Acquisition

Krookodile are an introduced species, but they’re contributions to the flygon desert microclimate have led them to the DNR making no efforts to remove them. Capture of krookodile is even prohibited to allow the population’s breeding adults to continue to reproduce. The line are most often found basking along major footpaths in the valley or at the edge of the desert. These are the places that prey are most abundant. It is not safe to traverse the valley during a sandstorm. Thankfully, both stages can be frequently seen basking in sunny weather and are easy to find. A proving battle will be required to earn their trust. Very young sandile less than sixteen inches in length cannot be captured. Catching a sandile smaller than two feet in length is not recommended without the permission of a krookodile.

There are a few breeders who work with the line, but they are not commonly stocked in any major store. Contact a specialist dealer for more information on obtaining a captive-bred specimen. They are generally friendlier and more loyal than their wild-born counterparts. Some trainers enjoy having close bonds with their pokémon. Others prefer to deal with them at arms-length. Wild-born krookodile can give their trainer needed space and act independently. Captive-born specimens are often somewhat clingy and dislike being away from their trainer for hours at a time.

It is common for krokorok and krookodile to end up in shelters and dedicated rehabilitation facilities. Many trainers purchase sandile expecting them to stay relatively small and docile. Others grow frustrated by their need for pools of sand. It can be difficult to rehabilitate a wild-born crocodilian that disliked their previous caretaker. There are entire sanctuaries dedicated to the species on the mainland. Others are adopted by dedicated breeders, collectors, or flygon trainers. Krokorok or krookodile who end up in shelters are generally not suitable to be standard team members due to their hostility towards humans.

Sandile can be obtained with a Class III license. Krokorok can be captured or purchased with a Class III license or adopted with a Class IV. Krookodile can be purchased or adopted with a Class IV license.

Breeding

Krookodile live in loosely structured gangs of five to eleven individuals, depending on the availability of food and the space available. Krookodile pair off during December and January. Males compete by gathering the most food, digging the deepest burrows, and having the deepest vocalizations. Krookodile mating bellows are too low for the average human to hear them.

The pairs mate in February. In April or May the female will lay a clutch of ten to forty eggs in her burrow. Like most crocodilians, the sex ratio of the hatchlings is determined by the temperature of the burrow they are incubated in. The parents take turns guarding the eggs during the day. The eggs hatch in July at the height of the dry season. This is when the most food is available as desperate prey will wander into the valley in the hopes of eating the drought tolerant plants within.

Both parents share caretaking duties for the first year, at which point both the sandile are evicted from their parents’ tunnel. The male may also leave if the female chooses a new mate for her next clutch. However, it is rare for a female to change mates between two breeding seasons. It is far more common for there to be a gap with no breeding before a new mate is selected. Krokorok also assist in watching all sandile in the gang. This helps them gain practice with childrearing and shows off their prowess to prospective mates.

Captive krookodile need a large secluded burrow to feel comfortable mating. During the months before and after the eggs hatch the pokémon will withdraw from their trainer and potentially even become hostile if they approach the burrow. Once the sandile are consistently leaving the burrow a trusted trainer will be allowed to interact with them.

Crossbreeding with other crocodilians is fairly commonplace, even if the differences in swimming habits can cause friction in the relationship. This is especially true when the krookodile is the mother as the father may attempt to teach the children to swim in water. The young will survive the experience but both they and their mother will be upset.

Krookodile are only distantly related to the other extant reptiles. The crocodilians are an ancient lineage more closely related to the dinosaurs and birds than to snakes, lizards, dragons, and turtles. The only successful crosses outside of crocodilians have been with dinosaurs. Even then these hybrids are usually not fertile and the different approaches to parenting can strain the relationship.

Relatives

Krookodile are in a monotypic genus. They branched off from other crocodilians over eight million years ago. There were once as many as seven sand crocodile species. Recent ice ages led to a decline in Earth’s warm deserts and left krookodile as the only survivor.

Scientists debate whether krookodile should have two or more subspecies. The krookodile that live in flygon deserts are generally smaller and more social than their relatives in North Africa and the Middle East. However, many of these specimens are directly descended from the mainline krookodile population. For now no subspecies are recognized.

Mainline krookodile tend to live around oases, trade routes, cities, and desert edges. This is where prey is most abundant. They have long been known to prey upon pack animals and livestock that wander into the sands. Many nomadic groups still present krookodile with offerings as they pass by to avoid becoming prey themselves. Ancient civilizations in the area often regarded the krookodile as servants of a major god and offered them sacrifices, including human sacrifices, to appease them. In return the major urban areas were often spared from the incursions of even larger predators and sandstorm-summoning flygon. Natural disasters of all kinds were often seen as a sign of the krookodile’s displeasure.

 

[Persephone]

Alcremie (Milcery)
Creptiodefructibus eton

Overview

Alcremie, alongside vanilluxe and slurpuff, form the family Dulcifae, the cream fairies. The three species appear to be entirely made of dairy products or sugar. They do not appear to have any proper skeleton or muscle. Scientists have gone back and forth on their origins and nature with no one entirely sure why or how they are alive.

Alcremie are generally calm, benevolent, and interested in humans, which is an almost unheard of combination among fairy-types. This is especially strange as their closest living relative is one of the most murderous pokémon on the planet.

On balance, alcremie are one of the duller fairies and are far from the most powerful. This can be frustrating for trainers on the island challenge. Alcremie are still as good an introduction as any to the husbandry of fairy-types and a must-have pokémon for avid bakers and confectioners.

Physiology

Alcremie and milcerie are classified as pure fairy-type pokémon. The classification is not seriously disputed.

Milcery appear to be large drops of cream with small tentacles extending outwards from it. Two pale dots mark the eyes. Some appear to have a thin mouth. Others don’t. The mouth, and potentially the eyes, are non-functional.

Alcremie are more humanoid with an apparent torso, head, and extensive hair. All of their body except for the eyes and adornments is homogenous. The ‘hair’ is nothing of the sort. Alcremie usually form small mouths but do not ingest food through it. Their eyes are crystalized sugar with no apparent ability to sense light. They do not have a brain. Alcremie see and think regardless. One thing alcremie lack is legs. They must glide along the ground. Alcremie are at least sticky enough to cling to vertical surfaces and even move while suspended upside-down.

Upon evolution alcremie adopt a distinctive flavor and adornments. The flavor and adornments may have an impact on their biology, personality, and combat prowess. They may not. There is an ongoing debate as to whether alcremie will only evolve into a form that matches their personality and strengths, if the form determines personality and strengths, or if there is no statistically significant difference and the perceived variation is due to stereotyping and outliers. Milcery are weak and unemotive, so it is difficult to compare a specimen’s psychology and performance before and after evolution.

No one is entirely sure what alcremie are. The leading theories until the invention of the microscope were that they were either a slug or a pile of cream possessed by a ghost. Analysis of their cellular structure has confirmed that they are not living animals. They do not photosynthesize. Most of their body is organic, although they lack most hallmarks of a complex organism such as a central nervous system and cardiovascular system or any organs at all. There is a great deal of bacteria in their body constantly producing and breaking down the cream. Some scientists have theorized that alcremie are a hive mind of the bacteria.

Alcremie also have strong ties to fairy-type energy. It is not unknown for fairies to manifest as common objects in spite of all biological evidence suggesting it should be impossible. Klefki is one such example. Alcremie may just be a fairy manifesting as a mass of cream. The strongest evidence of this is slurpuff, a similar fairy made of crystalized sugars. For now all three species in the family are classified as organic pokémon adjacent to the true psychics.

Alcremie primarily feed by absorbing biomass and converting it to cream. Food is taken up by the base of the pokémon and then slowly moved into the center of the body. The exact chemical or biological process by which this occurs is poorly understood. In the wild alcremie primarily graze on plants, fungi, and bacteria. They have been documented feeding on carcasses when grasses are scarce, but it is believed that they are simple scavengers rather than predators. Alcremie have a strong aversion to violence. Even captive specimens are known to hesitate and hold back in battle.

Well-adorned, well-fed alcremie can grow to weigh three pounds. One to two pounds is more typical for the species. Alcremie can alter their body shape far more than the average pokémon. Typical specimens are between ten to fifteen inches in height most of the time, but can potentially compress down to six inches or up to twenty by widening or thinning their body. Wild lifespans are not well documented. Captive specimens typically live for five to eight years.

Behavior

Milcery are relatively simple and solitary pokémon. They prefer to seek out dark, cool places and hunt for food to absorb. This often puts them into contact with mold, one of their favorite foods. A handful of homeowners rely on milcery to perform some cleaning and sanitation duties, or at least to direct them to the least sanitary parts of a building. Some milcery have been known to sneak into refrigerators and try to blend in with white surfaces when they hear approaching vibrations. Milcery are not particularly social organisms. They are cleverer than their appearance suggests and can use their amorphous body to squeeze into tight spaces if they smell food. They can also mold their body into a thin layer and undulate it to allow for crude, short-distance flight.

Alcremie are generally nocturnal in the wild. At night they wander fields or forests and try to absorb nutrients. They have been known to climb up trees and absorb any moss growing on them. Alcremie have many potential predators. While they will try to defend themselves, in a pinch they will simply throw out part of their body with a charm woven into it. Charmed alcremie cream is a powerful psychoactive drug that induces an intense feeling of serenity. Pokémon under its effects won’t make any attempt to pursue a fleeing alcremie or even to defend themselves if another predator comes along and takes advantage of their altered mental state. Ordinary alcremie cream has much weaker effects. It tends to increase serotonin production and reduce cortisol levels, but people under its effects can and will defend themselves and pursue other goals. The blood sugar spike and caloric intake are far more dangerous than any short or long-term psychological effects.

Most alcremie eventually end up domesticated or semi-domesticated, preferring to exchange milk for cream with humans. This can be a very profitable industry for everyone involved. So long as they are given adequate food, space, and enrichment, alcremie adjust well to captivity. Alcremie may wish to change trainers but rarely wish to return to the wild after being tamed.

Husbandry

Milcery and alcremie can theoretically eat almost anything inorganic, from plant matter to meat to microorganisms. Cream and milk are their most desired foods. Powdered milk and cream can form the basis of a diet as long as they have access to water. Neither stage will drink pure water. There must be flavorings, microorganisms, or some other kind of food suspended in it. Butter and cheese are also happily accepted but are slightly harder to digest. Meat, leaves, and bark are alcremie’s least favorite foods. Moss, mold, fruit, and algae are staples of the species diet in the wild and should make up at least 8% of a captive specimen’s food intake. Alcremie will also seek out food related to their flavor and adornments. This is often fairly self-explanatory. Trainers who are confused as to what this means for their pokémon should consult specialist literature.

Inedible waste may be excreted in the form of pellets or sludge. Alcremie are easily housebroken and can dispose of waste in the correct spot. Just make sure that their waste receptacle is easily accessible for a creature of their size and does not contain litter that will be difficult to remove from their body. A box of frequently changed newspaper is often the best option. Toilets where the bowl is dry unless flushed can also work. Alcremie can be taught how to operate the toilet themselves. So long as the pokémon’s diet is based around dairy, moss, mold, algae, and fruit, they will only need to excrete once or twice a week. More frequent excretion can be a sign of dietary problems or deeper health issues.

Milcery are less intelligent and more prone to wandering. They will tend to leave waste in random locations. Thankfully they only produce an ounce or less at a time and it is easily washed out of clothing or absorbed from hard surfaces. Milcery trainers may wish to avoid having carpets or rugs in places their pokémon can access. Milcery are capable of fitting through gaps only a few millimeters wide and flying a few feet into the air, meaning that most places in their home will be accessible to them.

Alcremie are entertained by most children’s toys and media. They are fairly solitary creatures that may wish to shadow their trainer or a teammate for an hour or so a day but would otherwise like to be left alone. Many alcremie trainers have a room for them similar to a toddler’s play area filled with toys and a cool, hard surface for the pokémon to rest upon. Alcremie are also capable of operating basic technology like a television or light switch. Some have been taught to play video games, although the controls can be difficult to handle with their biology.

Milcery need little in the way of enrichment. Hermetically sealed mazes work as housing with food occasionally put inside and waste removed. Occasional flying time outside their enclosure may be associated with better adjusted alcremie post-evolution and a shorter time period to evolution. Research on the subject has been inconclusive.

Other fairies will often tolerate alcremie without being particularly friendly. Inorganic pokémon will not try to eat alcremie and can receive cleaning in return. Spectral pokémon are often playful enough to keep an alcremie entertained without posing a risk of attempted predation. Pokémon similar to animals will often try to eat alcremie, causing tensions on a team. Plant pokémon will sometimes see alcremie as a threat and lash out.

Illness

Alcremie’s bizarre biology makes treating illnesses through surgery or medication next to impossible. Thankfully, the major health problems can all be averted through proper husbandry.

Spoiling is the most common ailment. The bacteria to cream ratio rapidly increases, resulting in the pokémon digesting most of its own body and changing its color, texture, and flavor. If allowed to continue it can prove fatal. Spoiling can be avoided by frequent access to fresh food and cool, shaded areas to rest. Spoiling is treatable for a few days after onset through removal to a cool and sanity environment and the provision of a constant supply of fresh milk. Symptoms will usually partially or completely reverse within a week.

Depletion is the most common health problem among battling specimens. Alcremie can lose portions of their body during fights. Any body mass loss to consumption or attacks must be replaced. After battles, alcremie need a large amount of high-quality food to replenish their biomass. They should be allowed to rest for a few days after depletion of more than 10% and for at least a full day for depletion between 5% and 10%. Depletion of more than 40% can be fatal without prompt treatment.

Digestive problems are marked by either an excessive amount of waste or a very long interval between defecation. If either is observed, make sure that the pokémon is getting enough to eat. Then replace all food sources with milk and moss for a few days to see if the problem continues. If problems persist or lead to spoilage or depletion, immediately consult a veterinarian.

Damage to the eyes is probably just cosmetic and will heal within hours.

Many trainers have questions about whether alcremie cream is safe for consumption. After all, it comes from a living organism and is laden with bacteria. It is safe. Alcremie’s bacteria seem to preserve the cream and even prey upon other microorganisms that would cause it to rot. They are benign in the human digestive system and may even help restore it following antibiotic treatment. The cream should still be reduced for culinary reasons as undiluted alcremie cream can cause intense sugar highs, stomach aches, and a loss of appetite for days afterwards.

Evolution

In times gone by alcremie evolution was shrouded in mystery. Folk stories told of wild dances deep in the woods where a ring of fairies would spin and dance around a milcery until it evolved. Wild alcremie populations have likely been sporadic or non-existent for centuries. Alcremie are not social with conspecifics or other fairies. Captive specimens can evolve. These stories are likely only that.

Captive milcery evolve when they have had a reliable source of food for several weeks in a row. During this time the milcery will begin to grow larger and exhibit more complex behaviors. They will seek out many food sources to sample their flavors and attempt to find edible objects such as berries or candies to adorn themselves with. Once they have picked a flavor and adornment they will begin to grow to their new full size over the course of one to three weeks. Their cream will mutate to match their desired flavor’s taste and texture. The new alcremie will seek out as many adornments as they can and add them to their body in a seemingly haphazard fashion. The adornments further alter the flavor and consistency of the cream and might have an impact on elemental affinity, personality, and future dietary preferences. Going forward the adornment will be one of alcremie’s favorite foods and an easy way to bribe them.

In their native Galar, alcremie are capable of gigantamaxing. The form results in a rapid growth into a roughly ten-feet-tall version of themselves perched on top of an eighty-feet-tall multilevel cake. The frosting is so calorically dense that eating four milligrams will put the average person into a diabetic coma. Their body hardens upon impact, making it nearly impossible to defeat them with blunt force. Blades, flame, freezing, psionic attacks, and poison are the only reliable ways of dealing with a gigantamaxed alcremie.

Battle

Outside of Galar, alcremie see no use on the competitive circuits.

On the island challenge alcremie can function as slow, bulky setup sweepers. Calm mind or acid armor can be used to increase elemental or physical defenses. The former also increases elemental power. Alcremie can then rely on fairy attacks such as moonblast, draining kiss, or dazzling gleam to attack enemies. Unfortunately, alcremie learn very few coverage moves without TMs. Their options will still be limited even then. Alcremie can also support their team with aromatherapy or keep themselves healthy with recover.

Alcremie’s main natural defense is not very useful in organized combat. Opponents can avoid the deleterious effects of charmed cream by simply not eating it. The defense nullifies biting attacks and can surprise the unprepared but does little else. Alcremie are vulnerable to blunt force attacks when not gigantamaxed. Water attacks can make it difficult to maintain their consistency. Poison attacks and even some healing moves can cause severe damage to their microbial environment. Sand-based attacks can cause them extreme psychological distress. Fast, physically powerful opponents or elemental attackers with a beam attack or good coverage can knock out alcremie well before they have a chance to set up. They can be made to work by a clever trainer who plans fights around their disadvantages, but they are not easy to fit onto a team.

Milcery should not be battled with. They can reflexively defend themselves, but any combat risks serious damage that could set back their development by months.

Acquisition

Feral milcery and alcremie can occasionally be found in the forests and abandoned buildings at the base of Mt. Lanakila. The higher regions of the mountain are too cold for them and hold vanilluxe and ninetales, two known predators. Most of Alola is too hot. The feral population mostly descend from captive specimens that were abandoned during the rapid population decline in Southern and Western Ula’Ula.

It is easiest to acquire either stage from the private trade. They are popular with breeders, confectioners, and casual trainers for their cream and relative ease of care. Many fairy-specialist breeders carry them. Even a few larger pokémon or cooking supply stores will sell milcery. Shelters rarely keep the line for long as they can be rather easily rehomed and do not do well in standard shelter facilities.

Milcery and alcremie can be acquired with a Class II license.

Breeding

Scholars believed for centuries that milcery were formed when sweet particles in the air congealed into a new organism. Meanwhile, the more mystical shrine maidens and keepers of folklore warned that the fairies would cause cups of milk or plates of soft cheese to spoil if left unattended. The folklore was ultimately right. Alcremie that are sufficiently well fed can reproduce by touching and infecting cream. However, alcremie refuse to infect food specifically given to them. They must infect cream that they believe does not belong to them and they do not have permission to access. Attempts at captive breeding must rely upon deception to get the alcrmeie to do something they believe the breeder does not want them to do.

How much genetic or pseudo-genetic influence the parent has upon the child is debated. Milcery do not inherit the flavor of their parent. Laboratory studies where a milcery is given access to a variety of different flavors and adornments show only a slight preference towards their parent’s. Personalities and preferred combat styles of battling alcremie are often similar to their parent, but this could simply be selection bias. Trainers who want to battle buy milcery made by powerful alcremie and then train their new pokémon to battle. Most proper randomized trials are for flavor and nutritional value rather than personality.

Alcremie lack parental instincts. They will not cannibalize milcery unless desperate, but they will also not care for them. Adults can even be territorial with milcery and drive them away from food sources. In captivity it is best to keep them separated from their offspring.

Relatives

Traditional alcremie are one of two morphs of the species. They are born in milk cream and have physiology resembling it. The second morph, often referred to as alcrebrie, is born from whey and have a more bitter, cheesy flavor and a more solid form. Alcremie and alcrebrie can interbreed by reproducing in whey or cream, respectively. The hybrid will often have a consistency and flavor somewhere between their parents. As a result they are not classified as separate species but as morphs within the same species akin to the evolutions of eevee or the colors of butterfree.

Vanilluxe is usually regarded as alcremie’s closest relative as they are both made of cream. Whether they are a bacterial hivemind or a possessed object remains unclear. Vanilluxe have a very different temperament from alcremie and do not have distinct flavors or adornments. They will also happily prey upon any alcremie they encounter. Vanilluxe also have no particular affinity for fairy-type energy and reproduce sexually rather than asexually. These differences have led some theorists to speculate that they may simply be convergently evolved species with no close relation.

It is difficult to form a satisfying taxonomy for fey and phantoms due to the lack or unreliability of genetic evidence. Scientists disagree as to whether they should be grouped by their physical form at all or simply split into categories based on their diet and rituals. Alcremie are classified as physical, familiar, asocial, non-bargaining fey. They eat real food, are eager to associate with humans, do not partake in rituals with other fairies, and do not have any inclination or ability to make and enforce bargains. Under this schema sylveon is one of their closest relatives. This result is unacceptable to many academics, leading to discussion of a fifth or sixth criteria, such as relation to non-fairies or reproductive methods.

 

[Persephone]

Per a bonus entry poll on my discord...

Indeedee
Lares miltonii

Overview

Indeedee have long worked alongside humans as household or personal servants. They are true psychics that feed in part off of gratitude and other positive emotions. This leads to them helping an intelligent creature, often humans, with their work in exchange for silent gratitude and token material gifts.

Despite their millennia of service, indeedee have never been domesticated. They are surprisingly prideful creatures that refuse to let humans meddle in their romantic affairs or treat them as mere pets. For most indeedee trainers their pokémon is an often-unseen servant in the background, treated as an equal, and rarely battled with. Few indeedee have the inclination and temperament for combat. Like chansey they tend to fill more of a supporting role behind the scenes of a team rather than actively fighting on the frontlines. For some trainers this trade-off is more than worth it.

Physiology

Indeedee were historically often classified as dual psychic- and fairy-types. They are mercurial creatures native to Galar with many of the same quirks as fairies. However, indeedee are absolutely adamant that they are not fairy-type. This is consistent across populations. Merely implying they are fairies can result in them leaving in the dead of night. Most indeedee ignore or subtly undermine fairy-types on the team, especially bargaining fairies. Non-bargaining, asocial fairies like sylveon and alcremie may be tolerated. Indeedee have instead been classified as dual normal-types due to their almost total immunity to curses and ectoplasm-based attacks.

Indeedee are bipedal pokémon similar to mammals. Their biology appears to be more cogent than most true-psychics with a complete digestive tract, liver, heart, and kidneys. Less than 20% of indeedee have lungs. Those with lungs rarely breathe. Their heart is in the neck.

Indeedee have proportionally very large heads and hips with a torso only slightly thicker than the neck. Their legs are about half as long as their arms. Indeedee have a short tail about three inches long. It appears two to three times as long as it is due to fur.

Indeedee have white and royal blue, navy, or purple fur three to five inches thick. It is very dense and soft. Patterns vary by sex. Males tend to have white torsos, feet, and faces with darker fur everywhere else. In females the white fur extends halfway down the hips.

Indeedee’s mouth is usually quite small, only two to three inches across. Their eyes are fairly large, up to five inches tall and two inches wide on large females. Both sexes have horns on the sides of their head surrounded by coarse black fur. In males the horns curl down. In females they curl up. Touching horns greatly improves indeedee’s telepathic abilities.

Some indeedee have shown an ability to greatly amplify all psionic energy around them, apparently through chants or small rituals. These indeedee consistently refuse to explain how the act works, just that it does. Scientists have theorized this ability only develops when it is needed for service, such as when bonded with a psychic human or pokémon.

Modern indeedee are about three feet tall. Weight can be tricky to discern as indeedee consistently only weigh about five to six pounds on a scale, although when unconscious their weight can balloon up to forty to fifty pounds. It is believed that they reflexively lift most of their weight off the ground telekinetically. In Imperium Era Galar indeedee were consistently described as being five to six feet tall. Whether these were the same species as modern indeedee is disputed. See Relatives. Indeedee can live for at least two centuries.

Behavior

Behavior varies considerably between males and females. Both sexes feed passively on gratitude. They earn this gratitude through service. It is the target of their service, and the resulting adaptations, that varies between sexes.

Male indeedee tend to serve a single individual at a time. Their ward is usually human. The indeedee will take on many household tasks and other duties as they believe necessary for proper service. They are mildly precognitive and can even anticipate and address situations before they arise, such as having new plates arrive immediately after an old one breaks. They seem unwilling to avert these incidents and only use their abilities to ensure the damage is mitigated after the fact. Males prefer to perform their duties during the day when their target is awake. They rest at night. A male may perform tasks for their liege’s family if they have time, but they tend to prioritize fixing even minor problems for their liege over solving major problems for their partner and children.

When not actively in service indeedee tend to fade into the background. It is a common conception that they can make themselves invisible. They cannot. Indeedee simply exploit the boundary of the conscious and unconscious. There are many sensory inputs that the conscious mind is not aware of due to their perceived insignificance, such as the taste of one’s own saliva. Indeedee use telepathy to keep themselves out of a target’s conscious mind. If noticed at all they will be immediately dismissed as something very ordinary.

Females are more similar to chansey. They adopt a ward to serve rather than a single individual. This can be a population of pokémon, a family, a distinct unit of unrelated individuals like an apartment building, or even an institution such as a town or university.

The amount of housework females do depends on the size of their ward. An indeedee watching over an entire town may clean the streets and important buildings but will rarely enter into homes to do laundry. One serving a nuclear family in a single household will behave much like a male. Females are much more likely to serve pokémon than males are, with roughly 40% serving pokémon and 60% humans. Some blur the line by serving a Pokémon Center, helping with the housekeeping blissey can’t or won’t do. In general the two species pair well together as blissey tend to physical and emotional wounds while indeedee handle day-to-day affairs.

Neither sex of indeedee enjoys direct attention. Masking their presence to many minds is more difficult than blocking themselves from one or two. This leads females to a more nocturnal lifestyle.

Both sexes abhor violence and will usually try to break up any they witness. For males this takes the form of vigorously defending physical assaults on their trainer. Females are more likely to telekinetically pull both sides apart and make them talk things out. If violence becomes common they are likely to leave.

Husbandry

Indeedee are capable of taking care of themselves. This section is more focused on how to avoid offending one.

While indeedee are primarily aminovorous they can and will accept small offerings of food. These usually take the form of small bowls of milk, cream, tea, or some other liquid and a few small pastries or fruits. The nutritional content is irrelevant. The meaning behind the gesture as a small expression of gratitude is important. These are best left in a conspicuous place in the evening before going to sleep. Indeedee usually dislike directly recovering things. Forgetting offerings too often will offend the pokémon. In some cases, such as illness or a sudden event, they may forgive the slight so long as a somewhat grander offering than usual is left at the next opportunity.

Male indeedee usually do most laundry and cleaning for their trainer. Females bonded to a household will usually do so as well. The trainer should avoid intentionally making messes and make some effort to do tasks themselves. An indeedee that feels like they are taken for granted will likely lash out or leave.

Most indeedee are not conversational. They are telepaths and can communicate if they want, but tend to limit their conversations to figuring out how they can be of service or relaying critical information. It is rare for one to enjoy being directly addressed or even publicly acknowledged at all.

The species still has some desire for socialization. It is common for them to allow themselves to be seen during meals. Plates left for them will likely be ignored. Any food dropped to the floor will be picked up and disposed of. It is usually disposed of by eating it. Making the feeding arrangement obvious will upset them but tacit, unacknowledged gifts are appreciated. They seem to enjoy watching over communal meals and appreciate when they are held regularly in the indeedee’s usual home. Most specimens will also stay around and listen attentively if someone reads aloud. They will promptly leave if their presence is acknowledged during the reading.

The exception to these rules is usually children too young to understand indeedee’s preferences. Females in particular seem to enjoy helping children and love babysitting. Sincere gifts from children, especially of high symbolic value, are usually kept for years or even decades. Male indeedee will at least tolerate a child’s attention and will usually honor harmless requests.

In the past it was believed that offering an indeedee clothes or trying to convert them to a religion would instantly cause them to leave. This is true, but not for the reasons previously believed. Indeedee see gifts of clothing as an insult to their body and religious conversion as an insult to their way of being. Both suggest that they are beneath humans as they are. Indeedee cannot stand being looked down upon.

Clothing given for temporary, practical reasons, like keeping sand out of fur or offering protection in a hazardous area, can be accepted if explained. Females may also dress up for children as part of a game. If this game is done often they may tolerate a shopping trip alongside their usual playmate.

Similarly, religious and philosophical discussions are not strictly off-limits with more conversational specimens so long as no disrespect is implied. It is usually best to stay clear of such subjects, though, especially if a party is particularly fervent in their devotion.

Indeedee are believed to be quite clever for pokémon. Some scholars have argued they have human-comparable intelligence. It is possible to discuss delicate, fringe situations with them. In important matters they will accept being addressed directly if their input is helpful or their life is likely to be significantly impacted.

Indeedee usually help trainers with pokémon care such as supply gathering and cleaning. They will not cook under any circumstances and tend to avoid more direct tasks like grooming. Pokémon usually annoy indeedee more than they help. This is especially true for dark, psychic, and fairy-types that can resist their mental suggestions and bother them at will. More relaxed pokémon such as inorganics are their best teammates, aside from blissey and audino. Highly intelligent pokémon can serve as an additional source of gratitude.

In any case, the most important problem to avoid with teammates is competition for food. Anything that eats indeedee’s offerings is a cause of concern. It’s best to put any possible scavengers behind locked doors or inside their ball shortly after the offering is laid out.

In terms of living arrangements, indeedee appreciate soft beds sized properly for them. If all humans in a residence have their own room they will insist on one as well. If rooms are sometimes shared they may accept a smaller space. In essence, don’t give indeedee a room substantially smaller than the smallest bedroom for humans. Do not ask them to give it up for guests unless humans are doing so as well and they were consulted beforehand. Indeedee dwellings are usually sparsely decorated beyond their bed with only a few shiny rocks or gifted keepsakes. They are intensely protective of the few material possessions they do collect.

Illness

Indeedee are fairly resistant to most of the illnesses that impact true psychics and ghosts. If they are starved for gratitude they will simply leave. Unease in a person or community they protect can bleed over into stressed behaviors like skin picking, insomnia, and vacantly staring into the distance. It can be hard to identify signs of illness as they reflexively mask their presence. It is believed that these illnesses are from the stress of perceiving themselves to be bad caretakers more than a direct telepathic burden. Explaining the cause of stress and how the pokémon can and can’t help can alleviate symptoms.

Combat injuries, while rare, can be difficult to treat due to feedback loops. Sustaining serious injury often accompanies a massive loss. The loss can result in frustration in the trainer, potentially dimming gratitude or leading them to withdraw. The pokémon also cannot actively serve while injured, reducing the chances to earn gratitude. The lack of sustenance can slow healing, exacerbating the problem. Ideally serious injuries should be avoided at all costs. A healer like blissey, alomomola, or audino should be kept on team or on call to quickly heal injuries that do occur. Trainers will also have to walk the fine line of being sincerely grateful for their pokémon without coming off as insincere or patronizing following a loss.

There are good reasons not to battle regularly with an indeedee, even if they will acquiesce to doing so. They should be kept in reserve as a last resort and the battle planned to keep them out of dangerous matchups.

Evolution

Very young indeedee lack horns. They develop as they age. Indeedee lack conventional sex organs. Gender appears to be something chosen, with the appropriate horn pattern forming as a result. It is not a subject that indeedee discuss often. Both sexes are classified as the same evolutionary stage. Juveniles are essentially just miniature adults without horns. For the time being the entire line is marked as a single stage.

Battle

Few indeedee are willing to battle. Those that will are usually males bonded to someone obsessed with the sport, making combat a form of service. On occasion a female may agree to support a human in their care or, in extremely rare cases, because they enjoy it. Never assume that a given indeedee will agree to battle. Those that have in the past may change their mind at any time. Attempting to press an indeedee to change their mindis a sure-fire way to get them to leave. The indeedee that do enjoy combat rarely enjoy large crowds.

The main asset of indeedee in battle is their telepathic masking. Opponents will know they are in a fight and maybe have vague ideas of their opponent, but not be able to detect them or remember much information on counters. This effect can also be cast on the opposing trainer in some leagues. In Alola and most of the United States, including all major national-level tournaments, this is forbidden as an assault on the other trainer. In leagues where minor telepathic interference is prohibited trainers can just tell their pokémon where to aim. In those where it is allowed indeedee are best countered by telepathy-resistant pokémon or broad area of effect attacks, although in the moment an influenced trainer is unlikely to remember this advice.

A few individuals can also passively amplify psychic attacks, including their own. They can have telepathic power akin to an alakazam or boost other teammates. Indeedee can also learn disruptive techniques like encore and more niche supporting moves for double battles like follow me and helping hand. Indeedee are generally most comfortable filling supporting roles rather than dealing damage themselves.

Acquisition

There is no reliable way to obtain an indeedee. Males tend to follow a friend or relative of their mother they believe needs assistance. Females will typically test out caring for a few institutions or families near their mother’s before finally settling on one. Both sexes tend to be drawn towards marginalized and impoverished wards rather than affluent ones, especially ones who already have servants or abundant employees of their own.

It is far easier to lose an indeedee. This is what most of the section will discuss.

Indeedee leave if they are not adequately fed with gratitude. They also do not accept ostentatious displays of it. A quiet understanding, occasional smiles, and genuine but mostly unexpressed appreciation work best. Unlike bargaining fairies, there will be no repercussions to briefly, privately thanking an indeedee.

Signs of disrespect are the second most common cause of departure. These include any signs they are taken for granted, such as leaving large messes completely unattended to, expecting an indeedee to take on more work without either consulting them or taking away another responsibility, regularly forgetting offerings, or being flippant about their service when talking to others. Any mention of ownership will also be rejected. Indeedee do not believe they can be owned, even by their ward.

Indeedee do not make many requests. They will almost always leave if a rare request is denied or an important promise is broken.

Breeding

The details of indeedee reproduction is poorly understood due to their long lifespans, telepathic masking, and desire for privacy. A male and a female living in close proximity may begin to seek each other out around dusk and dawn. Both may take a roughly day-long break from their duties and retreat to a private location. Roughly six months later, a baby will appear near the female. The exact manifestation has never been observed. The mother will act perplexed when someone suggests the baby was not always there. It is best to simply go along with it.

Children stay close to their mother’s side for the first few months of life, but do not perform any duties. Around eight months of age they begin to perform basic tasks. After another two years their horns will grow. Males will depart shortly after. Females will stay near their mother as they try and select a ward. Sometimes a younger indeedee will come back to stay near their mother after leaving their previous ward. Visits that last for more than two weeks are rare.

Cross-breeding has potentially been observed between a male indeedee and a blissey. The offspring was genetically a pure happiny, but was talented with psychic moves and regarded the indeedee as their father. The indeedee was very indulgent of the happiny and allowed her to follow him almost everywhere. Both species have extremely odd reproductive methods and it is possible that they can influence each other.

Relatives

Indeedee are described as being human-sized in surviving Imperium Era sources. Over the next thousand years they became progressively smaller in literary and artistic depictions, before settling around their current height. No one is certain as to why this shift occurred.

The leading theory is that indeedee altered themselves like jynx to a form better-suited for service. It isn’t clear why they would do this. No Imperium or Medieval sources associate servants with a very short stature. Indeedee probably wouldn’t care about human perceptions of servants anyway.

Some scholars have claimed that indeedee became smaller due to starvation in the Imperium where slaves were seen as sub-human and performed most manual labor for the nobility and merchants. The cultural explanation is weakened by indeedee being about the same height throughout the world in the present day. Unless every culture on the planet is less grateful than the ancient Celts, the cause is something genetic or otherwise universal rather than a result of a poor upbringing.

Others have argued that something unique to Galar allowed indeedee to reach massive sizes. Modern specimens on the island are about the same size as everywhere else. Another theory is that the old, larger indeedee were just adults and that no living specimens are fully grown. Scientists have documented indeedee that began to slow down over time before eventually passing off what appeared to be old age. Growth also seems to stop after around five years with no statistically significant difference in height between new adults and those confirmed to be over a century old.

Whatever the cause, most taxonomists currently reject a full species split between modern and ancient indeedee but will occasionally support a subspecific one.

Indeedee’s closest relatives are difficult to determine. It is suspected that they are a missing link of sorts between the bargaining fairies and the true psychics. Both have extremely odd biology with different elemental strengths and social behaviors. It is still often theorized that gardevoir, mime sr., hatterene, or another dual psychic- and fairy-type best represent the link. But indeedee, a true psychic with fey-like qualities that denies being a fairy, make another compelling link. Alternatively, they may simply be the descendants of fairies that, for whatever reason, reject the tribe of their ancestors.

 

[Persephone]

A commission by Crashmoth

Azumarill (Azurill, Marill)
Caudaolei littoralis

Overview

The world is full of small pokémon that receive relatively little attention outside of local beginning trainers. Azumarill, as a small herbivorous lagomorph, may seem like they should be no more useful in battle than the average lopunny.

Azumarill are much odder than they appear. Their unique biology has made them of great interest to researchers and a common laboratory specimen.

They have even established a small but reliable role in even the highest levels of competitive play. Private trainers, leagues, battling associations, and even governments have intentionally introduced them outside of their native range to provide new trainers with a beginner-friendly pokémon that can hit far above its weight class.

Physiology

Azurill are classified as dual normal- and fairy-types. Marill and azumarill are instead classified as dual water- and fairy-types. Azurill show fairly little interest in the water and rarely use water-based moves. Instead, they rely more on normal-type or uncharged attacks when they must fight. They are also small mammals prone to living in fields or forests. All of this has led to a tentative provision of a normal-typing. There are still scholars who argue that a pure normal-typing better fits with the tradition of minimizing type changes between evolutions. In any event, azurill rarely stay unevolved long enough for their typing to be of much practical significance.

Azurill appear almost spherical in shape as a result of their long, blue fur. They have broad feet but arms that are barely visible beneath their coat and essentially useless. Their skin is blue and rubbery. Healthy specimens have ample fat reserves underneath.

All members of the line have large ears and incredibly well-developed hearing. Azumarill can determine which fish and other creatures are swimming in a stream just from listening from the shore. Azurill hearing is primarily tuned to the pitches used by azumarill to avoid being lost or entering an unfamiliar adult’s territory.

Azurill have a two-part tail. The first part is thin, black, and surprisingly elastic. It is typically about eight inches long but can stretch to five feet when fully extended. This seems impossible at a glance. It is. Experts are still divided on where, exactly, the extra matter comes from during maximum extensions.

The second part of the tail is a bulb roughly the size of azurill’s main body. It is highly elastic and has a high coefficient of restitution. This lets azurill move by bouncing on their tail. The bulb is ordinarily filled with fats and oils to serve as a food reserve if food is unavailable. This is necessary to help offset the line’s incredibly high base metabolism.

Marill and azumarill can also temporarily lower their metabolism by entering daily torpor, a state where their body temperature, heart rate, and respiration plunge for several hours before being brought back to baseline. This is most common during periods of scarcity or unusually high or low temperatures. A newly awakened pokémon will need to quickly eat to fully exit torpor. Many trainers struggle to distinguish a sleeping marill from a dead one. Trainers must be careful not to show excessive concern or happiness when torpor is exited, as this risks training the pokémon to associate torpor with rewards.

Marill resemble azurill in their general body shape. However, they have developed arms only a little shorter than their legs. Their tail bulb stays the same size or even contracts slightly despite growing larger elsewhere. Much of the fat reserves in the bulb are used up during evolution. Some oils remain in the bulb to help the pokémon float, or at least to know which way is up during strong currents. Marill also develop white, counter-shaded fur on their ventral area. Marill generally have a thicker coat of hydrophobic fur than azurill do.

Azumarill have a more elongated body than their pre-evolutions. They also have even longer and more sensitive ears. These contain muscles and joints that allow them to be independently maneuvered to pinpoint the origin of sounds.

Azumarill’s coat contains bubble-like patterns that disrupt the boundary between blue and white fur. This helps them blend in with the clouds of bubbles they can create to distract predators while they escape. Azumarill have an incredibly high lung capacity and are even capable of stretching their ribs to take in more air. When fully inflated, azumarill must also draw in water to fill an internal buoyancy sac. Azumarill can hold their breath for upwards of forty minutes. This can increase to several hours if they enter daily torpor while diving, something that is generally safe for them to do.

Many people believe that the line possess exceptional musculature. They are certainly capable of impressive feats of strength such as denting lairon armor with a punch. Azurill can even hurl themselves through the air by spinning around and then throwing their tail.

Azumarill are not substantially more muscular than their relatives. They are naturally strong enough to push aside objects of their own body weight, but nothing more. Azumarill’s incredible strength appears entirely dependent on how much force they want to exert and how motivated they are to do it. The ‘strongest’ azumarill in a fierce battle against a hated rival can match a machamp in raw power. Most azumarill care far less about combat and only show enhanced strength sporadically, usually when in the presence of a predator. The exact source and mechanics of this strength are the focus of much ongoing research.

Azumarill usually grow to be about thirty inches long, excluding their tail and ears, and weigh around twenty pounds. Wild specimens typically live three to five years. Captive individuals can live for up to fifteen.

Behavior

Marill and azumarill frequent open wetland ecosystems. They prefer environments with slow-moving water, muddy banks, and a great deal of foliage at the water’s edge. They prefer large streams and small rivers but can be found in estuaries, swamps, ponds, and lakes. A few have taken to living in sufficiently vegetated retention ponds. Agricultural land with access to nearby water is theoretically ideal habitat, but often results in conflict with nearby humans and their pokémon.

The species is primarily herbivorous. Grasses make up the core of their diet, but almost any form of plant material will be eaten if available. Azumarill are also not above eating tadpoles, insects, or small fish they encounter and are able to catch. Fresh carrion will also be eaten if found.

Marill and azumarill spend most of their day foraging near the water’s edge. Their tails can be extended when in the water to wrap around mangrove roots, stones, or overhanging branches and anchor them in place. They are not particularly strong swimmers and risk being swept away otherwise. Bonded pairs may also hold hands while foraging to increase the odds that at least one of them remains anchored.

Azumarill’s primary defense when a predator approaches is to jump into or out of the water. Advanced hearing can give them time to get hidden in the reeds before they are themselves seen or heard. This works well against birds and fish. It leaves them vulnerable to most mammalian predators with a well-developed sense of smell. Azumarill are not fast enough to escape most encounters. This only leaves them with the option to fight.

Most azumarill struggle to tap into their enhanced strength, even when threatened. Enough can that many predators will not bother to risk the encounter. The exceptions are pack hunters capable of distracting the azumarill and threatening from multiple angles and extremely agile, smaller-bodied predators that can avoid getting hit at all. Floatzel are particularly threatening to azumarill and are the main check on their population in Eurasia. Yungoos dislike getting wet, but a sufficiently motivated squadron can easily snap up a marill and may try to hunt an azumarill. Swampert will also happily eat any they encounter and have nothing to fear from all but the strongest azumarill.

Wild azumarill are typically diurnal in Alola so they are not ambushed by gumshoos in their sleep. Activity varies depending on the local predators.

Azumarill typically build their nests out of grasses at the edge of water channels. They will also happily take over any abandoned burrows they find. Sometimes bibarel or other species will let azumarill cohabit with them for increased protection. Torpor lowers their body heat and heart rate, making them harder to find while asleep. It also makes them slower to respond to threats if they are ambushed. Azumarill frequently sunbathe on the edge of the water while warming up after exiting torpor. This is a uniquely vulnerable time for them.

Azurill rarely leave the nest without an azumarill’s supervision. They sometimes enter the shallows on warmer days but spend most of their time learning to forage on land. Azumarill can bounce on their tails to move faster than azumarill. “Lasso throws” can be used to quickly move them short distances or injure attackers that get too close.

The species is generally solitary outside of the occasional bonded pair or an azumarill with offspring. Males and females are territorial with each other but allows some overlap with the opposite sex. They may still be defensive of their preferred foraging grounds.

Husbandry

Grains, grasses, and leafy greens should make up the majority of the pokémon’s diet. Azumarill and marill can be trusted to forage under supervision. Older azurill can be slowly introduced to foraging. Ensure that pesticides are not in use where the foraging occurs. Food must be made available immediately upon exiting torpor. Some fruit, mushrooms, or tubers can be mixed in with the food at this time. Even captive azumarill can spend several hours a day eating, especially if they frequently see battle.

As lagomorphs, azumarill naturally engage in cecotrophy. That is, their digestive system is designed for food to take two passes through it. They will eat wet pellets but leave dry ones behind. This is normal for the species. Trainers wishing to discourage the behavior should provide enough easily digestible foods such as fruit to compensate for the loss of the energy-dense pellets. Conventional litter is unattractive to azumarill. Wild azumarill do have dedicated latrine areas to mark the border of their territory. It is relatively easy to teach them to defecate in one particular spot. The lack of litter means that it must be checked and thoroughly cleaned often.

Azumarill must be supplied with adequate bedding. Straw and reeds can be used for naturalism. They will also happily accept larger boxes with blankets in it. Azumarill are fairly pokéball tolerant and are unlikely to actually sleep in their bed for long. Pokéballs replicate the energy saving and increased safety of torpor without the associated vulnerability.

Swimming opportunities should be provided when staying in one place for more than a day or two. Azumarill prefer shallow fresh or brackish water. They may venture into deeper water to retrieve something or avoid someone. Most specimens prefer to have simulated branches or other anchors draped over the water for them to hold onto. Ladders and handrails may serve this purpose. Azumarill do not share most fairy-type’s instinctive dislike of metal.

Individual azumarill can be relatively sociable and even fond of cuddling, brushing, or other interactions. Most are somewhat wary of contact with humans and other pokémon, even ones that they generally like. They also need relatively little in the way of enrichment compared to other fairies. They rarely start problems with other pokémon. Predators that act too interested in them can still lead to serious altercations and the risk of injury to both parties.

Azurill husbandry is much more hands-on. They require near-constant supervision, food and play throughout the day, and are generally slower to learn commands. Azurill can also be very skittish around larger pokémon and may attack without warning when they believe they are threatened. It is generally best to let azumarill care for their offspring until they evolved. It is not necessarily to acquire the line as infants to build a bond. Orphaned azurill are generally handled by specialists in pokémon rehabilitation.

Illness

Azumarill are susceptible to a number of internal parasites such as roundworm. This is especially common among specimens that routinely forage in the wild. Symptoms of infestation include weight loss, an unusual increase or decrease in appetite, and lethargy. Most cases can be resolved by a simple round of prescribed medication from a veterinarian.

External parasites such as ticks are actually uncommon due to the density of azumarill’s coat. It is difficult for insects to find their way through it before being washed away when the azumarill next swims.

The most concerning diseases from a public health perspective is tularemia, a human-communicable bacteria. Azumarill are less prone to infection than most lagomorphs due to the density of their coat, but they can still catch it from being around other infected lagomorphs or eating the pellets from an infected specimen. The main symptoms, fever and ulcers, are particularly difficult to detect in azumarill due to their wild swims in body temperature and difficulty of seeing the skin. Secondary symptoms such as disorientation, pained movements, and lethargy are better indicators of infection, but these only manifest late into the infection. Trainers who believe their pokémon may be infected should immediately withdraw the pokémon and bring it to a Pokémon Center. Thankfully, the disease is treatable. Unfortunately, this may require a fairly long course of antibacterial medication in a quarantine pen. This can be distressing for both pokémon and trainer.

Evolution

Azurill store an increasing amount of nutrients in their tail to prepare them for evolution. The core body does not grow much between one week and the onset of evolution, typically between six and eight weeks. The tail steadily decreases in size while rapid growth occurs in the main body. This period is typically marked by long stretches of torpor punctuated by manic feeding frenzies. In the wild, azumarill will typically bring the azurill the food they need to grow during evolution so that they can be awake for as little time as possible. Trainers should similarly ensure that an evolving azurill has access to its body weight in food at all times. The entire process takes roughly one week.

Marill evolution is more gradual. The onset is similarly marked by a slight buildup in the size of the tail followed by a period of rapid growth. Marill are awake for more of evolution and can spend up to fifteen hours a day foraging for two weeks straight. Marill evolution typically occurs around three months of age. The formal demarcation line between marill and azumarill is the resumption of normal behaviors following the evolutionary period.

Battle

Azumarill at their base strength are reasonably durable and strong for their size but otherwise unremarkable. They are capable of feats of extraordinary strength. Trainers intending to use one as a serious battler will need to train the pokémon to tap into its emotions to more consistently access this strength. A well-trained, well-bred azumarill can reliably access its enhanced strength for up to a half hour at a time. This can be further enhanced with moves such as belly drum. The risks of using it are lower for azumarill than other prominent attackers as they are not likely to withstand more than a hit or two from a competitively trained pokémon regardless.

The main drawback for azumarill is that, despite their sheer physical power, they are still quite slow on land and in the water. This can be partially offset by trick room, tail wind, and baton pass. All of these options require some setup. This leaves azumarill with three major roles.

The first option available to azumarill is that of a one-off wallbreaker. They may be slow, but species like gigalith and blissey are equally so. Aqua jet can be used to close the distance before a series of relentless blows finishes off their opponent. The azumarill will likely go down to the next pokémon sent out, but this allows their trainer to consistently demolish a wall that could have been problematic to the rest of the team at the expense of one team slot.

The second option is a late-game cleaner that relies on its teammates to knock out airborne and speedy pokémon and ideally set up the battlefield to optimize azumarill’s performance. Belly drum setup against a fairly passive pokémon can allow the azumarill to shred the rest of a team with a little skill and luck. There are more reliable cleaners, but there is something primally satisfying about watching a competitive team get demolished by a small mammal that can make these trainers quite popular.

The third option is as an emergency dragon check. Most dragons are primarily physical attackers that rely on dragonfire at range. Azumarill can consistently beat all but the strongest of dragons in a close-quarters brawl. Specimens used for this role typically have more specialized training in melee combat against faster foes and tanking a few powerful hits. Even if the dragon could potentially win, they may not wish to get close to a pokémon that can break their bones. Attacks such as ice beam can be used to punish dragons that hesitate.

The main advantage of azumarill in these roles is that they evolve quickly and are easily obtained compared to most competitively viable species. On balance, their fragility and relatively short lifespan mean that most azumarill do not enjoy long careers. Many rising trainers use them on their first competitive team before replacing them after a few years with something a little more versatile and long-lived. A few dedicated trainers will keep training new azumarill, usually with their current team member mentoring a protégé.

Azurill should not be used in anything but mock battles. Serious matches risk damage to the azurill or their opponent given their low defenses but surprisingly high power in a pinch.

Marill are very good in the early stages of the island challenge. They hit hard enough to soften up totems and the first few trials do not have many, or any, other pokémon to gang up on the marill. By the time their durability begins to catch up to them, they are likely close to evolving.

Azumarill can hit really hard when emotions are high, such as a milestone on the island challenge like a trial or grand trial. They dislike fighting multiple opponents at once. Azumarill trainers should clear a totem’s allies and then rely on azumarill to do the bulk of the work against the totem itself. Be wary of totems that use their opponent’s distraction to set up themselves. Totem ribombee and other airborne pokémon can also be challenging for azumarill to deal with.

Acquisition

Azumarill and marill have been introduced to eastern Akala. They are especially common in the mangrove swamps and slower pools of Brooklet Hill Commonwealth Park. The best time to find them is typically around dusk and dawn on the banks of slow-moving pools or streams. They dislike faster currents and particularly saline waters. Brackish areas are tolerated, especially when well-vegetated. The easiest way to win them over initially is with bribes of food and an impression of security. Both can undermine trust later on when initially fruit-heavy diets are transitioned to something healthier and the pokémon is expected to battle.

Azurill capture is currently prohibited for the average trainer. Orphaned azurill are given to licensed rehabilitators.

Wild azumarill are perfectly fine for the island challenge. There are, however, many breeders specializing in lineages of competitive azumarill. These pokémon typically have reduced fear responses and a more consistent ability to tap into supernatural strength. Trainers wishing to purchase one of these marill can expect to pay thousands to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the quality of the bloodline and the individual attributes of the pokémon.

Marill and azumarill may be captured, purchased, or adopted with a Class I license. Azurill require a Class IV license to possess.

Breeding

Azumarill are the rare mammal to have sequential hermaphroditism. That is, roughly three out of every four azurill are born female. This allows the population to quickly grow if it has been depleted by a temporary hardship such as disease, a surge in predator numbers, or a natural disaster. If numbers are stable and the environment is near carrying capacity, some or even most female azurill will become male upon evolution. This reduces the number of potential births and helps prevent famine from overburdening the environment.

Azumarill tend to mate in the late spring. Most males do not stay near the female beyond the act of copulation. Females may mate with multiple partners and even have children in the same litter with multiple different sires. A typical litter contains six to eight azurill. Azurill are stashed away in the nest for the first two weeks of their lives while their mother periodically leaves to gather food. They are allowed very limited, heavily supervised leave for the two weeks after that. Then they are given more autonomy as the azumarill forages.

Crossbreeding is rare in the wild. It is often attempted in captivity. Males will readily hybridize with other rabbits and hares such as lopunny, cinderace, and diggersby. Females will only reluctantly do so. Many attempts have been made to cross-breed azumarill with a more famous lagomorph: raichu. The resulting cross could be an azumarill with enhAanced speed and elemental power or a raichu with enormous physical strength. The long-sought ‘pikablu’ remains out of reach. The two species are rarely willing to mate. Even artificial insemination has yet to result in offspring that survive longer than a few days.

Curiously, azumarill will at least attempt to mate with completely unrelated fairies such as wigglytuff, azumarill, and sylveon. These mixes occasionally result in viable offspring that are even stranger than their parents.

Relatives

There is some debate as to whether azumarill bred specifically for battle, including many of the introduced populations throughout the world, should qualify as a separate species or subspecies. The two populations will readily interbreed and selected traits will quickly fade after two to three generations of cross-breeding. There are few readily apparent differences between the populations as the desired traits are mostly elemental or behavioral.

Azumarill are believed to be most closely related to diggersby, with whom they share muscled ears. Azumarill’s are far less prominent and they are generally better suited for an amphibious lifestyle. It is currently believed that the two diverged due in part to interbreeding with an unknown and potentially extinct fairy-type.