pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop - Tumblr blog

pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 2 days

Text

thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm glad someone's looked at my lil website <3 (humor) I like to think my biology & english degree is good for something ;)

Meltan & Melmetal

Meltan (#808)

Galliumvitae singula

General Information: Meltan is a Pokémon composed of gallium and bits of solidified metal parts. They are entirely composed of inorganic substances.

Meltans are tiny Pokémon, averaging at about 8 inches (0.2 M) tall and weighing 17.6 pounds (8 kg).

Habitat: Meltans can be found around natural deposits of metal ore.

Life Cycles: Meltans have one of the strangest life cycles known to Pokemonkind. Their reproductive habits are more akin to that of certain slime molds, than anything animalian—which is to say, completely alien to our notions of how reproduction should work. To start, Meltans are born when they break off from a Meltan—this process does not harm the Meltan.

A Meltan will remain as a Meltan for a long time, living in a herd of other Meltans. Eventually, one of these Meltans will become stronger than the rest and when it is strong enough, will absorb its herdmates to become a Melmetal. This process is consensual. A Meltan can become a Melmetal starting at level 45, but it must absorb other Meltans in the process or no evolution will occur. Ideally, a Melmetal has at least five Meltans, but they can be made using fewer individuals. The biggest reason it’s better to have more Meltans than fewer, is because the Melmetal stage is effectively the “sporangia” phase of the Meltan/Melmetal lifecycle. Like with certain slime molds, the individual Meltans combine their magicks to form a bigger cohesive unit. Inside the Melmetal is the individual magicks of each Meltan that composes it, and from there these energies combine and mix together to create new Meltans, which eventually separate from the Melmetal and become its own unique entity. A Melmetal can reproduce for as long as it is alive and has the stored magic to dedicate to this task. However, unlike a slime mold, Melmetals are unable to “devolve” back into the original Meltans that composes it. The decision to become a Melmetal is permanent, as is all Evolution, no matter how foreign it may be.

Meltans can be eaten by any Pokémon that would find a living amalgamation of gallium and a hex nut to be delicious.

Behavior: Meltans are social creatures that rely on their herd for survival. They are shy but sociable, who stick together tightly with their herd.

Diet: Meltans serve the absolutely vital function of being the scavengers and up-cyclers of the Metal Pokémon Food Web. They eat the scraps of metal leftover from the bodies of dead steel-type Pokémon, scavenging kills as big as Aggrons and Metagrosses even.

Conservation: Unknown, suspected to be Least Concern

Relationship with Humans: Scientists have no idea where Meltans come from. Are they Earthlings? Are they even from our dimension? Who knows! But Meltans and Melmetals have been around for so long that the ancients spoke of them. The line is so unlike any other Pokémon that scientists know of that live on Earth, that they are held to an entirely different kingdom of life (or higher, depending on who you ask) than all other Pokémon, even the Living Minerals Kingdom. Meltans are strange alien-seeming creatures living amongst us, quietly scavenging metal parts and ores. There is great ecological interest in Meltans for their role in the poorly-understood Metal Pokémon Food Web.

Classification: The genus name “Galliumvitae” simply means “Living Gallium.”

Melmetal (#809)

Galliumvitae multipula

General Information: Melmetal is the evolved form of Meltan. It is a strange Pokémon of mysterious origin, but like all life forms, it must repair and rejuvenate its body: when this happens, metal shards and flakes will fall from its body. Like its pre-evolution, Melmetal can stretch its liquid body and utilizes centrifugal force to deliver devastating punches.

Melmetal has a Gigantamax form.

Melmetals average at 8’2 feet (2.5 M) tall and weigh around 1,763.7 pounds (800 kg). The Gigantamax Melmetal is around 82+ feet (25+ M) tall.

Habitat: Melmetals can be found around metal ore deposits, or other places with lots of metal scraps and debris.

Life Cycles: See Meltan.

When a Melmetal dies of internal issues (ie: “natural causes”, “old age”, etc.), its body will rust (when applicable) and shatter. From the shattering of its gallium body, it creates Meltans one last time.

There is not much that predates upon Melmetals, and it is mostly creatures like Dusknoirs. A Melmetal could die of starvation or battle injuries, or even truly just old age. The death of a Melmetal is not common, for these creatures have no known upper limit on age, but it does happen eventually. Melmetals composed of more Meltans live longer than the ones composed of fewer, and in death its shattered metal body will produce more Meltans than a Melmetal made of fewer Meltans would.

Behavior: Melmetals are strong, stoic, but gentle giants of the mountains and forests. They may assist the Meltans nearby in their search for metal ores, utilizing their great fists to smash apart boulders for the little guys.

A fascinating thing about Melmetals, is that while they act like a single organism, they are still composed of multiple entities, who must agree on a course of action. This can cause delays in a Melmetal who experiences great confliction, and a Melmetal with more Meltans inside it may be slower to decide on a course of action. This is why Melmetals are notoriously very slow Pokémon—though their size doesn’t help.

Diet: Metal. No one is sure how a Melmetal (or Meltan) can eat any type of metal, when that’s a huge range of elements, nor how its body is able to convert that metal into energy or into gallium specifically. The ways of the Metal Pokémon Food Web are mysterious, but it is worth noting that the hard parts of a Melmetal can be composed of many different metals, depending on what its been eating.

Conservation: Unknown

Relationship with Humans: Melmetals have been scavengers of metal for ages, and humans have loved them for their ability to seemingly produce metal from nowhere. The non-living metal bits that fall off of Melmetals have been used in tool making for thousands of years… well, we’re assuming it’s only the non-living bits. Personally, I wouldn’t put it past some ancient peoples to melt down a Meltan and use its melted corpse for black/silver-smithery.

In modern times, some municipalities have implemented a Melmetal to clean up their metal “recycling”—the stuff that people throw in the recycling bin in earnest but will never actually be recycled for one stupid reason and that. Have no fear! Melmetals will eat them for you 😊

Classification: The species epithet of Melmetal is “multipula” which means “multiple.” This refers to the fact that Melmetals are actually a composite organism.

Evolution: See Meltan’s life cycle for explanation.

~~~~~~~~

Hey guess what, if you like my stuff, this is my website where you can find other Pokémon I've written on and more information about the game that I’m slowly making! Check it out! I write books sometimes too.

8 notes · View notes

pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 2 days

Note

If it’s ok with you, could I make a request for you to write about the Golurk family’s biology?

sure!

I'll try to write it next week since I just wrote up Milcery & Alcremie today btw, in response to your previous inquiry about good parents and the mineral Pokemon, i was inspired to write about Onix and Steelix... their post is scheduled for next wednesday! I had fun writing that one :)

#requests #golurk #golett #onix #steelix

3 notes · View notes

pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 3 days

Text

Meltan & Melmetal

Meltan (#808)

Galliumvitae singula

General Information: Meltan is a Pokémon composed of gallium and bits of solidified metal parts. They are entirely composed of inorganic substances.

Meltans are tiny Pokémon, averaging at about 8 inches (0.2 M) tall and weighing 17.6 pounds (8 kg).

Habitat: Meltans can be found around natural deposits of metal ore.

Meltans can be eaten by any Pokémon that would find a living amalgamation of gallium and a hex nut to be delicious.

Behavior: Meltans are social creatures that rely on their herd for survival. They are shy but sociable, who stick together tightly with their herd.

Conservation: Unknown, suspected to be Least Concern

Classification: The genus name “Galliumvitae” simply means “Living Gallium.”

Melmetal (#809)

Galliumvitae multipula

Melmetal has a Gigantamax form.

Melmetals average at 8’2 feet (2.5 M) tall and weigh around 1,763.7 pounds (800 kg). The Gigantamax Melmetal is around 82+ feet (25+ M) tall.

Habitat: Melmetals can be found around metal ore deposits, or other places with lots of metal scraps and debris.

Life Cycles: See Meltan.

Conservation: Unknown

Classification: The species epithet of Melmetal is “multipula” which means “multiple.” This refers to the fact that Melmetals are actually a composite organism.

Evolution: See Meltan’s life cycle for explanation.

~~~~~~~~

#meltan #melmetal #pokemon #pokemon biology #homebrew #ttrpg #pokemon biology irl #pokemon tabletop #tabletop #tabletop homebrew #pokemon irl #pokemon biology irl tabletop #pokemon go #pokemon gen 7 #gen 7 pokemon #pokemon let's go #pokemon lgpe #pokemon let's go pikachu and eevee #gen 7

8 notes · View notes

pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 10 days

Text

Wooper, Quagsire, & Clodsire

Wooper (#194)

Palustrisderma bibranchia trivilias ([OG] Wooper) Palustrisderma bibranchia virosus ([P] Wooper)

General Information: Woopers are an amphibious Pokémon that secrete a poisonous mucus around their bodies to keep themselves from drying out while on land. The (OG) Wooper bares a small amount of sexual dimorphism: the males have two pairs of branches in their gills and the females have one pair of gill-branches—this doesn’t seem to impact either of their ability to breathe, so it must not make much of a difference. While (P) Wooper do not have these sex differences.

Both variants of Wooper are the same height, averaging at 1’04 feet (0.4 M) tall, but (P) Woopers are significantly heavier due to the hardening of their bodies as they adapted to living primarily on land. The (OG) Woopers average at 18.8 pounds (8.5 kg) and (P) Woopers average at 24.3 pounds (11 kg).

Habitat: Speciation of Woopers occurred at the ecosystem level. (OG) Woopers enjoy living in clean fresh water streams, ponds, marshes, swamps, and lakes, but not anything with strong rapids. Woopers of all stripes are not exactly powerful swimmers, after all. But while (OG) Woopers enjoy clean fresh waters with a relatively neutral pH, the (P) Woopers like bogs and fens, and other sources of acidic standing water. Neither of them enjoy tidal marshes, these little guys are strictly freshwater creatures. But one final key difference between them, is that while (OG) Woopers enjoy clean waters, (P) Woopers don’t care nearly as much. The (OG) Woopers make decent ecosystem indicators, but (P) Woopers will live in heavily polluted waters, including waters with toxic metals. Human actions have given rise to the presence of (P) Woopers in industrial areas and have become associated with factory and mining pollutions.

Life Cycles: Woopers born in clutches of 20-30 eggs each Spring. They are readily eaten by many predators, but especially Arboks. Some Woopers achieve reproductive success before Evolution (level 20), but not many.

Woopers are the juvenile stage of the amphibian lifestyle and thus are not capable of reproduction! Only their evolved forms can reproduce. A Wooper must focus on staying alive and getting along with its herd!

Behavior: Woopers are gregarious and hypersocial creatures that rely on the protections offered by a herd. While they often strike trainers as being rather dull-witted and unaware, Woopers are still intelligent enough to figure out the complexities of human cities and learn to navigate around.

Trainers, should you have a Wooper, please give it a friend. It may grow lonely or develop poor social skills as a consequence.

Diet: Woopers eat grass, mushrooms, and the occassional mosquito larvae. Woopers are very useful to have around.

Conservation: Threatened ([OG] Wooper), Least Concern ([P] Wooper)

Relationship with Humans: Woopers are regular sights in both the wild and in cities. They are all over the globe, both in the New World and the Old World—though not found in Australia or Antarctica. Humans regularly portray them as Just Little Guys Hanging Around. Some cultures will eat (OG) Woopers and have developed ways to get rid of the poisonous film on their bodies, but even (P) Woopers are considered inedible.

Both types of Woopers make excellent starter Pokémon, for they are easy to care for, great with children, and are highly cooperative.

Classification: Woopers are in the order Urodela. They bare the species epithet “bibranchia” which means “two-gilled.”

Quagsire (#195)

Palustrisderma pleiotrivilias (Quagsire)

General Information: Quagsires are an amphibian Pokémon known for its blank stares and seemingly-unaware nature. They have a bad habit of accidentally bumping their heads as they swim, but their heads are so hard and skulls so protective, that they are entirely unfazed by this.

Quagsires average at 4’7 feet tall (1.4 M) and 165.3 pounds (75 kg).

Habitat: Quagsires live in clean freshwater ecosystems, such as ponds, lakes, streams, and marshes, or even a good muddy swamp. They are strong swimmers when they need to be, but rarely venture outside of their pleasant streams and slow-moving rivers because the Woopers that they protect cannot venture into strong rapids.

Life Cycles: Quagsires mate in early Spring when the songbirds return and the first flowers have emerged. They court each other by presenting their crush with the best rock it could find and some food, to demonstrate their commitment toward building a nest together and caring for Woopers. Three weeks later the Quagsire lays her eggs in clutches of 20-30 and will rotate with her mate to guard them. In four more weeks the eggs hatch and the herd becomes flooded with a new wave of baby Woopers!

In their herd, Quagsires are the big brutes, the protectors, the big siblings, the caregivers. Woopers are notoriously poor swimmers, so often rely on the Quagsire(s) in the herd to ferry them across more dangerous waters.

Behavior: Quagsires are gentle creatures, slow moving and not in a rush to get anywhere, but beware: should you threaten the Woopers in its herd, these big guys suddenly find the motivation they need to strike back. They have few enemies, except Arboks, whom they will band together to fight off at first sighting.

Outside of mating season, mated pairs will often do little dances together in the rain.

When the sun is hot, Quagsires like to lay in mud at the bottom of a pond and hide there—maybe even take a nap!

In the two days leading up to the full moon, Quagsires will find the roundest object that they can and make off with it. These round objects (which are sometimes stolen!) are then shot as high into the sky as they can. This ritual is in honor of the moon 😊

Diet: Quagsires do not hunt for food. They sit around with their mouth wide open and wait for food to swim inside. Or they eat plants. They’re not in a rush, so they can wait for their food to come to them. They are omnivores that eat tiny fish, bugs, plants, mosses, mushrooms, duckweed, and algae. They do not prefer the duckweed and algae, but will eat it if their options are limited.

Conservation: Threatened

Relationship with Humans: Habitat loss from environmental pollution is the primary driver of Quagsire population decline. In modern times, Quagsires are common sights in households for their easy-going natures, protective tendencies, moderate-maintenance, and cooperation with other Pokémon.

Classification: Quagsire has the species epithet “pleiotrivilias,” a combination of “pleio-“ meaning “bigger” or “larger in size/quantity” and “trivilias” (the species epithet for [OG] Wooper) which means “commonplace.” In combination it means “a larger commonplace creature.”

Evolution: Quagsire evolves from Wooper at level 20.

Clodsire (#980)

Palustrisderma quadrivirosus (Clodsire)

General Information: Clodsire is a large amphibious Pokémon that secretly contains large poisonous spikes that it can stick out of its back if it needs to. However, this appears to cause the Clodsire at least some pain, though this fact doesn’t seem to stop it from using this ability. These spikes are highly dangerous—not enough to worry about death, but enough to want to stay far away from them. The poison is known to excite pain cells in Pokémon and humans alike, a pain that can last for several hours without end. Be wary.

Clodsires are huge Pokémon that average at 5’11 feet (1.8 M) long at full size! They weigh about 491.6 pounds (223 kg).

Habitat: Clodsires love bogs and fens, enjoying the acidity of stagnant or slow-moving moving. It can be found happily residing within wastewater ponds, mining run-off, and other places of polluted water. Their resistance to acidic waters and toxins is a product of their poison-typing, making them strongly resistant to these conditions. They can be found in cleaner waters or waters with higher pHs, but they just prefer otherwise.

Clodsires particularly enjoy residing at the bottom of bogs and fens, where the mud is, and where they spend their days chilling.

When Woopers in its herd need a lift across more treacherous bodies of water (like a river or a moderately-fast stream) the Clodsires will ferry them across to the other shore.

Life Cycles: In Spring the Clodsires will court each other by presenting their love interest with the best rock or bone that they could find, plus some food, to demonstrate their commitment toward building a nest together and caring for Woopers. Once mating occurs, the clutches of 20-30 Woopers are laid three weeks later, and in another four weeks they’ve hatched!

Behavior: Clodsires are very protective of Woopers. They are relaxed Pokémon that enjoy taking things slow and aren’t in a rush, but nothing will make them draw out the poisonous spines faster than someone trying to hurt one of the Woopers in their herd. They particularly hate Arboks, the biggest predator of Woopers.

Diet: Clodsires are patient omnivores that eat plants (especially moss), small fish, detritus, and bugs. They feed by opening their mouths and waiting patiently for food to swim inside it.

Conservation: Least Concern

Relationship with Humans: Clodsires are synonymous with bogs and fens, often startling folks who are fool-hearty enough to try walking across one. Folks tend to think that Clodsires are these relatively smaller-end Pokémon, like a Quagsire, when in reality they can achieve some monstrous sizes when 5’11 feet long is an average.

Despite the danger that their spines present, Clodsires are considered suitable companions for beginner trainers. See, so long as a Clodsire is treated well and isn’t being attacked by a human, it is highly unlikely to use its spines to poison a person. Even the grabbing and pinching of toddlers is tolerated admirably—they seem unbothered by the small pains and aches this causes, which makes sense, if using its spines causes it pain and it still uses them Clodsires must logically have a high pain tolerance. Besides, even if a toddler got nicked with a spine, it’ll just be an inconsolable toddler for the next day, and really, aren’t all toddlers inconsolable for a whole day at some point in their lives? There are much worse Pokémon allowed around babies and small children all the time!

In some parts of the world, Clodsires are used as Ride Pokémon for their ability to use Surf. Classification: Clodsire’s scientific name is “Palustrisderma quadrivirosus.” The genus name “Palustrisderma” combines “Palustris” (of the marsh) and “derma” (skin), which in combination means “marsh-skinned” and it refers to how the genus produces a poisonous mucus to protect itself on land when it emerges from the “marshes” (wetlands in general) that it lives in. The species epithet “quadrivirosus” combines “quadri” (four-legged) and “virosus” (poisonous/venomous), meaning Clodsire is a “Marsh-skinned four-legged poisonous creature." Evolution: Clodsire evolves from Wooper at level 20.

~~~~~~~~

5 notes · View notes

pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 17 days

Text

Luvdisc

Luvdisc (#370)

Amares pisces

General Information: Luvdisc the Rendezvous Pokémon. When two of these Pokémon “kiss” they’re able to use their bodies together as wings and fly out of the water.

Luvdisc get up to 2 feet long (0.6 M), and they weigh about 19.2 pounds (8.7 kg)

Habitat: Luvdisc are native to the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean, preferring to propagate around coral reefs and shallow waters, especially the tropics. They like to make their nests in the branches of Corsolas—this relationship is mutualistic*, the Corsolas provides safety for the Luvdiscs, and the Luvdiscs defend the Corsolas from predators. Or, at least they try to. The Luvdiscs do no harm to the Corsolas, so at worst the Luvdisc living in its branches does no harm to it, and at best they protect it from predators. Sometimes Luvdisc schools will breach the open ocean for migratory reasons.

Trainers who wish to keep a Luvdisc need to ensure that the Luvdisc has a sufficiently large tank, for they get startlingly large.

*When lay-people say “symbiotic” they mean “mutualistic.” A “symbiotic relationship” is literally any type of ecological relationship between two species, including predation and parasitism. A mutualistic relationship is specifically when it is an ecological relationship that benefits both parties. -Professor Redwood, a very exasperated ecologist

Life Cycles: Luvdisc are born every winter in the tropics along coral reefs, hatched in clutches of several hundred per mated pair. These schools of newborn Luvdisc crowd the waters they’re born in. These annual hatchings become a feast for predators, particularly Pelippers and Sharpedos, but even Huntails and Gorebysses when they happen to be in the area. In the first hours after the mass hatching, Luvdisc numbers are significantly lower. This is a survival tactic, to overwhelm predators with so much prey that they can’t possibly eat all of them. The survivors go on to live in schools of other Luvdiscs, who go on to flourish in the warm, shallow waters of the tropics.

Unfortunately for Luvdiscs, they are very much the snack food of the ocean. They’ve developed many survival tactics that work, such as living in Corsola branches or forming gargantuan schools of other Luvdiscs, but by the end of the day just about any predator that could find a Luvdisc a delicious meal, will eat them, especially Pelippers.

When it’s time to mate, Luvdisc from all over the region will gather to form mating schools, a phenomenon that turns the ocean waters pink.

In captivity, a Luvdisc will live up to around 20 years.

Diet: Luvdisc are mostly herbivores that eat algae (including kelp) and sea grasses.

Behavior: Luvdisc are hypersocial Pokémon that rely on others of its kind and its allies to survive. Trainers must have another Water-type Pokémon (or similar) that can hang out with it in its tank or other given habitat, ideally other Luvdiscs. A lonely Luvdisc will get depression and suffer ill health effects, including increased susceptibility to predation. It is considered neglect to have a Luvdisc by itself in its aquarium.

Conservation: Least Concern

Relationship with Humans: Luvdiscs are the quintessential Valentine’s Day Pokémon, a heart-shaped cutie that many couples associate with honeymoons and proposals. In the tropics, Luvdiscs are known to follow loving couples that it likes, garnering its name. At honeymoon resorts, the hotels will release several Luvdiscs into a pool for the honeymooners, and in some parts of the world its considered a deep, meaningful gesture to gift your lover a Luvdisc. But trainers beware, for Luvdisc are much harder to care for than meets the eye: they grow far larger than media indicates meaning they require huge aquariums, and they must have a friend in that aquarium with them, preferably several friends. They are prone to depression and loneliness and require regular affection. They are wonderful pets if you’re willing to put the effort into it, but many folks gift a “baby” Luvdisc to their lover, unprepared for its needs, and end up abandoning it later for this reason and that. For this reason, there are Luvdisc Rescues and annual public awareness campaigns trying to educate the masses on the plight of abandoned Luvdiscs.

Classification: Luvdisc are known as Amares pisces, or “love fish.”

Game Mechanic: Heart Scales

In the games, a Heart Scale can be traded to certain fanatics that then allow your Pokémon to re-learn a move it had the potential to learn at an earlier level, or knew previously through other means, including Egg Moves. It is up to the Game Master whether this mechanic is implemented on a literal level, a meta level, or none at all. Conversely, they could just be another pretty item that can be sold for a pretty penny.

~~~~~~~~

#luvdisc #pokemon #pokemon biology #homebrew #ttrpg #pokemon biology irl #pokemon tabletop #tabletop #tabletop homebrew #pokemon irl #pokemon biology irl tabletop #gen 3 pokemon #pokemon gen 3 #gen 3 #pokemon rse #pokemon ruby and sapphire #pokemon emerald

2 notes · View notes

pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 17 days

Text

if there's one thing we can learn from this booping experience it's that we need to give people notes and interact with them for tumblr to be fun and thriving

84K notes · View notes

pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 21 days

Note

This might be a weird question, but what inorganic pokemon, would you say, are the best parents?

Hmmmmm.... I had to look up the Mineral Egg Group and give the Only In This Group listing a hard look

My gut is telling me that Golurk would probably be the best parent 🤔 there were others solely in the Mineral Egg Group but then I realized they were all technically organic so didn't count. I'm uncertain if Steelix/Onix would be a good parent... Parenting is often reflective of a species role in the ecosystem (but not necessarily). A species that provides good parenting often have relatively fewer babies in a year, like birds, elephants, cats, penguins, humans, etc. But there's also cases like octopuses where they dedicate their lives to protecting their eggs and then die of starvation, but they have HUNDREDS of eggs. And few would argue that was anything less than truly stellar and dedicated parents. And there are spiders who will vigorously protect their egg sacs until they hatch, then go on with their lives afterwards, often facing immense starvation, even death. But there's also frogs and bugs and other such species. And then there's plants and fungi! Or corals (an animal). All this to say, that having not thought too hard yet about the ecology of Steelixes and Onixes, I can't say for sure if they'd actually be good parents, or if they'd be like many animals and abandon their eggs to fend for themselves... But I have a gut feeling that Steelixes/Onixes would be good parents. As for Golurks, well obviously they'd be great parents! They're golems! Golems are protectors! And Golurks with their protective natures and human-like resemblance, lends me to believe that would they would be marvelous parents.

Hope that answer was satisfactory :)

#asks #golurk #steelix #pokemon #pokemon biology #pokemon biology irl #pokemon irl #pokemon biology irl tabletop

7 notes · View notes

pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 24 days

Text

Murkrow & Honchkrow

Murkrow (#198)

Corvustenebrae americanas

General Information: Murkrow the Darkness Pokémon. They’re startlingly intelligent Pokémon that are even capable of learning human speech.

Murkrows average at heights of 1’08 ft tall (0.5 M) and 4.6 pounds (2.1 kg).

Habitat: Murkrow are native to the New World, nocturnal Pokémon who awaken at dusk in the forests and swamps that they call home. They’re also found in cities and towns, but especially cities with shadowy alleys and tall buildings to perch themselves on, making them particular menaces to society in major cities like Montreal, Chicago, Santiago, Los Angelos, São Paulo, San José, and Guatemala City. They’re occasionally found in wooded mountains and highlands, too.

Life Cycles: Murkrows are born in nests of 3-6 hatchlings every Spring after incubating for 18 days, and tended to lovingly by both parents. Unfortunately, seeing as how baby birds are the snack foods of the food web, many will die before learning to fly. Once flight is achieved around 36 days old, the mortality rates drop drastically.

Murkrows do not become reproductively viable until they are at least 2 years of age (or level 15, whichever comes last), and most do not go on to find mates of their own until they’re 4-5 years old. At which time, they will often leave the nest properly and go on to join or form other murders. During this time, their parents may have more babies, that the previous years’ fledglings will help care for and learn vital parenting skills themselves.

Mated pairs will form groups (“murders”) with each other up to as many as 15 family units at a time. This provides group cooperation and protection to everyone, especially the hatchlings and eggs. These murders stick together as a team and as a family, creating tight social bonds. It’s not uncommon for infidelity to occur within Murkrow murders, but it only serves to strengthen the desire to protect each other’s babies.

Murkrows live for 15-20 years in captivity.

Behavior: As the true menaces to society that they are, Murkrows love anything sparkly and will go to great lengths to procure objects of interest, even going so far as to loot the stashes and caches of Meowths and Gabites. This has caused some intense rivalries in major cities between Murkrow murders and Meowth colonies. These tricksters are known to lose trailers by steering them down dark alleys or dark forest paths, sometimes even doing this on purpose just to be a dick after stealing someone’s precious shiny thing.

Diet: Murkrows are omnivores. They will eat carrion, fruits, nuts, and stolen lunches! Picnickers beware!

Conservation: Least Concern… seriously, they’re crows. Crows are everywhere.

Relationship with Humans: Murkrow are feared as bringers of misfortune and naughty tricksters, though relatively harmless ones in the grand scheme of things. Colonizers of the Americas developed the chant, “Workrum, Workrum—bad luck, don’t come” to protect themselves from Murkrow shenanigans. There is also the saying, “Get home before the Murkrow fly,” that parents often say to children.

Murkrow are often depicted in ghost stories and haunting tales and featured prominently in Halloween decorations.

Classification: Murkrows are passerine bird Pokémon in the genus Corvustenebrae, the same genus as Corviknight.

Honchkrow (#430)

Corvustenebrae magistras

General Information: Honchkrow the Big Boss Pokémon and the evolved form of Murkrow.

They average at 2’11 ft (0.9 M) tall and weigh 60.2 pounds (27.3 kg).

Habitat: Honckrows are native to the New World, living primarily in forests, swamps, and cities.

Life Cycles: On rare occasions, a Murkrow will chance itself into evolving to Honchkrow, where it gains considerable strength, size, and bulk. There is rarely more than one Honchkrow in a flock, if there is one at all. The tight family bonds of Murkrow flocks/murders lends to a Honchkrow’s rise to power—with their newfound power, they become the de facto leader of the flock and primary protector for bigger threats.

Behavior: The Honchkrow is respected as family, and the Honchkrow returns the love of its murder by becoming its most threatening and violent asset. This power comes with some perks, including the ability to summon its flock with a loud command and command them when need be. But power corrupts, and the loyalty that Honckrows feel toward their flock must be returned, and individuals who betray the family/flock/murder will be dealt with mercilessly, and mistakes are not readily forgiven. Murders with a Honchkrow are more likely to be aggressive and violent toward perceived threats and territory infractions, especially to rival Meowth gangs. The Honchkrow also earns the privilege of openly mating with other members of the flock, an activity that functions to deepen social bonds and encourages inter-flock loyalties.

It is rare for a Honchkrow to be ousted by an outsider. If a coup to the leadership does happen, it will be because another Murkrow evolved and wants to take the Honchkrow’s place—but should this new Honchkrow be kin, and the old Honchkrow advanced enough in age, they may just as likely reach a mentorship arrangement, and the flock is at peace again.

Honchkrows like to spend plenty of quality time alone preening themselves—they must look presentable, after all!

Diet: Honchkrow are large omnivores that eat carrion, fruits, and whatever loot they can steal from others.

Conservation: Least Concern

Relationship with Humans: Honchkrows are the go-to Pokémonification (get it?) of the “Big Mafia Boss” stereotype in media. They are far more common on trainer teams than in the wild, but this simply because trainers tend to have easier access to Dusk Stones than wild Murkrows do. A Honchkrow is a reliable partner, who’s loyalty to its trainer knows no bounds—it’ll even try bossing its teammates around like it would a flock, though the success of this varies. “Not all Honchkrows are fit to lead” as the saying goes.

Classification: Honchkrows are named Corvustenebrae magistras. “Corvustenebrae” means “darkness crow.”

Evolution: Honchkrow evolves from Murkrow when exposed to a Dusk Stone or an equivalent.

~~~~~~~~

7 notes · View notes

pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 1 month

Text

Amaura & Aurorus

Amaura (#698)

Glaciesaurus brevihyemalis

General Information: Amaura the Tundra Pokémon. This is a fossil Pokémon that lived around 100 million years ago, and it can be revived from a Sail Fossil. Its sails can change color with its mood. The ice-crystals on its side do not melt.

It is speculated that Amauras likely averaged at 4’3 ft (1.3 M) tall and might have weighed about 55.6 pounds (25.2 kg).

Habitat: Amauras once lived in prehistoric taiga forests, in lands that had few large apex predators, and the largest creatures were all herbivores for hundreds of miles. When winter settles in the Northern hemisphere, Amaura travel with its pack to more Southern latitudes to enjoy the foliage there.

Life Cycles: Amauras are born as single-tons or pairs to an Aurorus couple. While Amauras can reproduce as early as level 15, there are social norms in place that only allow the Auroruses in the pod to reproduce. The Amaura will stick with its pod/herd/aurora until evolution, at which point the females will stick together and the males will roam independently until they find a bachelor herd to join. An Amaura will usually be at least 8 years old before it’s strong enough to become an Aurorus. During these eight years, is their greatest susceptibility to predators. Their propensity for colder climates protects them from many apex predators, however there are still creatures that would find an unprotected Amaura to be rather tasty.

Behavior: Amaura have strong social bonds with their siblings and herdmates, making them intensely social animals that require friends/others in its herd, to be happy. They are also intensely nocturnal, preferring the wee hours of the night and sleeping during the day. Their frills glow in auroraescence and their whinnies produce auroras proper, allowing them to make their own light in the night.

Diet: They eat a specialized diet of conifer trees, but could eat other types of leaves if available. Amauras in particular, because of the massive height difference between it and an Aurorus, eat the fallen needles, fruits, and cones on the ground, and even bushes and thorny plants.

Conservation: Extinct

Relationship with Humans: Sometimes humans find frozen specimens of this Pokémon or fossil remains. For a long time, it was uncertain if Amaura and Aurorus were part of the same family, for Pokémon Paleontology is a difficult field to research, but after an Aurorus and its baby were found fossilized together, the scientific community decided that was good enough evidence.

Classification: Its genus name “Glaciesaurus” follows the Sauropod naming convention of a description (“glacies” = Ice, in latin) and -saurus as the suffix. Its species epithet "brevihyemalis" means “little winter.”

Aurorus (#699)

General Information: Aurorus the Tundra Pokémon, and the evolved form of Amaura. This Pokémon and its pre-evolution can be revived from a Sail Fossil.

They are estimated to be around 8’10 ft (2.7 M) tall and weigh about 496 pounds (225 kg).

Habitat: Auroruses once lived in prehistoric taiga forests, in lands that had few large apex predators, and the largest creatures were all herbivores for hundreds of miles. When winter settles in the Northern hemisphere, Aurorus travel with its pack to more Southern latitudes to enjoy the foliage there.

Life Cycles: Once an Aurorus evolves from Amaura, its life span is near-guaranteed to last well into the lower 100-years, barring extraordinary circumstances and freak accidents.

Behavior: These Pokémon are normally calm, quiet, and kind Pokémon, but when forced to unleash their wrath, can dish out walls of ice that encase its enemies. Pretty much only other ice-types, as well as certain steel and fire-types, can survive this. This defense mechanism is a big reason that large apex predators simply did not survive the cold norths of the ancient past, allowing Aurorus to become a strongly K-selected species.

Normally, should an Aurorus find itself encased in another Aurorus’s ice wall (a rare event), it can subsist on its own energy and magic stores for quite some time until its herd (or other Pokémon) come by and break it out, if it doesn’t break itself out in due time. However, under the right circumstances, it is possible for an Aurorus or other ice-type to die of these ice walls, too.

Diet: Aurorus eat the needles and leaves from the upper reaches of trees, particularly conifers. Its rock and ice typing gives it a high tolerance to the prickliness of thorns and needles.

Conservation: Extinct

Relationship with Humans: An incredibly rare find, a fully-grown Aurorus trapped in a glacier, was found near Greenland a couple decades ago. Unfortunately, the poor creature was dead, and likely suffered a slow and painful death, but apparently not even an Aurorus can survive being in a glacier for a 100 million years. But! This find was immensely profound to the paleology community, and has proven to be one of the greatest preserved specimens of ancient Pokémon ever discovered. It is the reason that modern scientists know with great certainty what an Aurorus looked like.

Classification: Aurorus are part of the Sauropods, giving them a distant relation to other extant sauropods like Meganium and Tropius (who are both Tropiusaurs). Its species epithet “magnusaurorus” means “large aurora.”

Evolution: Aurorus evolves from Amaura at level 39 at night.

~~~~~~~~

6 notes · View notes

pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 1 month

Text

Shellos & Gastrodon

Shellos (#422)

Limarex cornusformosus pacifica (West Sea Shellos) Limarex cornusformosus atlantica (East Sea Shellos)

General Information: Shellos the Sea Slug Pokémon. When under duress, Shellos emit a sticky purple fluid from themselves. While otherwise harmless, this fluid serves a vital defense mechanism against threats.

There are two main forms of Shellos: the West Sea and East Sea variants. There may be more unofficial variants.

Both forms of Shellos are 1 foot tall (0.3 M) and weigh about 13.9 pounds (6.3 kg).

Habitat: Shellos are found all around the world. They generally live in shallower waters near coral reefs and sponge reefs, able to crawl onto land for a few hours at a time before they risk drying out and have to return to the water.

The East Sea variant prefers the colder waters of the Atlantic, and have in recent centuries steadily decreased in numbers and even immigrated farther to the poles. In contrast, the West Sea variant prefers the warmer waters of the Pacific & Indian Oceans. They have proliferated under the rising ocean temperatures of climate change, and are steadily spreading to other parts of the global ocean, including the equatorial and Mediterranean regions of the Atlantic, as they make their way through the Suez Canal.

The West Sea and East Sea variants are named such because the scientist who realized that these two Pokémon were the same species, was from the Americas, so to him the Pacific Ocean was the West Sea and the Atlantic Ocean was the East Sea.

Life Cycles: Shellos are born from tiny eggs by the hundreds every winter, when oceanic oxygen saturation is at its peak. These eggs are not tended to by its parents, and many are eaten long before they’re ready to hatch. Upon hatching, the Shellos is fully independent and ready to start eating algae. Their natural defensive measure, the purple sticky ink stuff, is fully self-automated just like making mucus and breathing is for humans.

Every autumn, the Shellos begin the mating cycle, which is involves finding another Shellos (or other species, of course) that they fancy and a few weeks later laying a giant clutch of tiny Pokémon eggs. And I mean tiny, Shellos eggs are about the size of an adult human pinky-finger bone.

Behavior: Shellos are colonial animals that enjoy safety in numbers. They are amicable though scared easily by perceived threats.

Diet: They eat algae.

Conservation: Threatened (East Sea), Least Concern (West Sea)

Relationship with Humans: Shellos are neat little critters of the ocean. They have been food, companions, and just little guys you can keep in a saltwater aquarium. There is a misnomer that Shellos are “low-maintenance” pets, and this is far from the truth. They are saltwater organisms that require highly specific habitats just like other saltwater pets. While they have a tolerance for land, they need to be in saltwater for at least half of their day when outside their Pokéball. Of course, the specialty Pokéball, the Dive Ball, automatically provides a stable salt or fresh water environment depending on the species.

The spreading invasion of West Sea Shellos is a pressing point in marine conservation biology, and local Rangers and scientists are already trying to curb the spread and reintroduce East Sea Shellos in their old homes. Unfortunately, these efforts are limited in their success not because the East Sea Shellos can’t handle the warmer waters, but because the West Sea Shellos handles it better—they’re faster, quicker to react to predators, and have a greater tolerance for the lower oxygen levels. The two subspecies don’t even directly compete, in fact Shellos and Gastrodons alike are amicable with each other, it’s that they are evolutionary adapted for different ocean temperatures.

Shellos are capable of rapid regeneration and immense stretchiness of their limbs. Their regenerative capabilities are a source of scientific investigation.

Classification: Shellos are in the clade Anaspidea (Sea Hares). The species epithet “cornusformosus” roughly means “well-formed horns.”

Gastrodon (#423)

Limarex gigasformosus pacifica (West Sea Gastrodon) Limarex gigasformosus atlantica (East Sea Gastrodon)

General Information: Gastrodon the Sea Slug Pokémon, and the evolved form of Shellos. Just like its pre-evolution, Gastrodon release the same sticky purple fluid when under pressure, which allows them to flee from threats. Their bodies are startling soft and squishy, and they leave behind a trail of sticky slime when they move around on land. Once upon a time, the ancestors of Gastrodons once had a shell that protected them.

They average at 2’11 ft (0.9 M) tall and weigh about 65.9 (29.9 kg).

Habitat: While Shellos live deeper in the water along reefs, Gastrodons prefer shallow tide pools, beaches, and rocky shorelines. They will move about on land as seen fit, especially during rainy weather, but have to be wary of their hydration levels for Gastrodons are susceptible to dehydration if they are out of water for too long.

Life Cycles: Gastrodon life cycles are identical to Shellos life cycles. The only difference is that Gastrodons are capable of laying more eggs than Shellos.

Behavior: Gastrodon are less friendly toward each other than Shellos are. While they are protective of their own, Gastrodons from other colonies/pods are seen as encroaching on their territory. Normally, pods are respectful of each other’s territory and there’s rarely conflict. In modern times, as West Sea Gastrodons steadily invade the Atlantic and Meditteranean Sea through the Suez Canal, this has led to a rapid uptick in violent conflicts between Gastrodons.

Diet: Gastrodon eat plankton, which is why they’re closer to the water’s surface than Shellos are.

Conservation: Threatened (East Sea), Least Concern (West Sea)

Relationship with Humans: The regenerative capabilities of Gastrodons are astounding, and are a growing area of research for organ replacement science.

Gastrodons are reasonably liked Pokémon. They’re not hugely popular like Eevees or Pikachus, but they’re well-established within the broader pop cultures of the world. There is an entire line of immensely soft and huggable plushies that are based on the squishy Gastrodon and Shellos. They are also popular in tournaments due to their reliability as a partner and surprising usefulness as battlers.

Classification: The genus name “Limarex” is based on “mare” (sea) and “limax” (snail) in Latin.

Evolution: Gastrodon evolves from Shellos at level 30.

~~~~~~~~

5 notes · View notes

pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 1 month

Note

What is the maximum amount of support pokemon for a person? Like can I just have a team of pokemon just helping me while I have a seperate team of pokemon to battle with? Of course they will have their free time (obviously), but I really just like the idea of multiple pokemon just following me around like a posse. Thanks!

While most officials in various regions will not be comfortable with any one trainer carrying more than 6 mons around, each case has a varying degree of leniancy.

The rules tend to circulate the notion that if you cannot care for the pokemon you have, and keep them in good health, then you may need a human assistant instead. This is a two way street as they also need to keep you safe and well too, but you are still their primary care giver, and it should never be seen the other way around.

Most regions limit assistant mons while travelling to three, but you can apply for varying paperwork to increase that number, and plead your case to a board of selected local specialists in that field of work. The most i've ever seen was a team of 5 care mons, and four fighting pokemon for a battle circuit. I have heard of more being utilised, but never seen it personally.

If you arent travelling then the number can increase, especially if you live in a secure environment with your care pokemon. With adequate space, time, funds and resources, you may keep many pokemon with you at home as care assistants, given they're provided for.

All that matters is your paperwork is up to scratch, and that your care pokemon are being treated with due respect and concern. If you have that in place, can give them the correct time and energy, and can prove you need as many as you think you do, then most places are allowing.

86 notes · View notes

pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 2 months

Text

Charmander, Charmeleon, & Charizard

Charmander (#004)

Pygoignus ignusura

General Information: Charmander the Fire Lizard Pokémon. They are famous for their flame tails that mark an individual’s health. In a healthy individual, Charmander’s tail-fire will burn bright and strong even in the rain, while an unhealthy individual will have a small and weak flame. Yes, when a Charmander’s tail-fire goes out, it dies, but understand that the fire is not directly impacted by the environment, rather it is indicative of the Charmander’s internal vitals. The tail-fire can be rained as much as the rain pleases or even be dunked into water and do the Charmander no harm, in fact the fire will cause the water to steam away, but if the Charmander itself is exposed to the elements, its tail-fire will flicker and dim over time. To simplify, the tail-fire is an indication of health and liveliness, not the cause of poor or good health.

Charmanders average at 2 ft (0.6 M) tall and 18.7 pounds (8.5 kg).

Mechanic change: The sex ratio of the Charmander line has been changed from 1:7 to 1:3. Not all of the in-game starters will receive changes to their sex ratios, but some will.

Habitat: Charmanders are found in warm, arid climates of the American Cordillera—this is the mountain chain that extends from Alaska all the way to Chile. They are particularly numerous in the Grand Canyon region of the United States, but can certainly be found elsewhere. There are some smaller, scattered, populations in the northern latitudes, but they do not thrive as much as the populations nearer the equator.

Life Cycles: Charmander eggs are laid as singles or pairs (rarely triplets). They are often born at the start of the summer after being kept warm during the cold season by their parents and whatever warm place their parents were able to find for a nest. There are dedicated Charmander nesting grounds where many Charizards and Charmeleons will arrive at from all over the region, often returning to the nesting ground of their birth. These nesting grounds are found at geological and climate hot spots, such as Yellowstone or desert caves. Charmander eggs that are raised at these specialized sites only need to overwinter there, and will hatch in about 7-8 months, while those that are cared for in colder climates will take 10-15 months, depending on the environment.

The only primary predator of Charmanders are Moltreses. Of course, there are other creatures that will take a stab at a Charmander if given the opportunity, including opportunistic packs of Houndooms or Talonflames, but the rate of predation by these Pokémon is minimal compared to Moltreses. Most predation upon the species occurs at the Charmander stage.

Charmanders often become Charmeleons around 2 years of age. At which point, their parents leave them to return to where they came from.

Behavior: Charmanders are social creatures that will call for others of its kind/pack when they find food. While they certainly have Charizards and Charmeleons around to care for them, its important that Charmanders develop bonds and strong relationships with the other Charmanders in its cohort.

Diet: Charmanders are omnivores who eat fruit and bugs that they can catch.

Conservation: Endangered in the wild. They are threatened by habitat destruction and poaching.

Relationship with Humans: Charmanders and their evolutions are beloved by people. They’re cute little fire lizards who make excellent starter Pokémon and are generally considered safe to be around human children, despite being fire-types. Their sociality as a species makes them great companions, and their strength as they evolve makes them desirable on teams. As with all Pokémon with fire as part of their anatomy, the tail-fires of Charmanders rarely caused accidental harm.

Charmanders are mostly available from Certified Pokémon Breeders, who supply localities with domesticated stock. While they can be found in the wild, they are rare even in their natural habitats, and many states have banned or severely limited the ability for trainers to capture wild Charmanders.

Gameplay Note: Pokedexes are updated with modern catchability laws, and will warn of these laws & record the capture of illegal catches, if not outright stop them. This does not apply to Pokedexes that have been hacked (or built) to prevent this, of course.

Classification: Pygoignus ignusura is the scientific name of Charmander. Both the genus name and the species epithet mean “fire tail.”

Charmeleon (#005)

Pygoignus cepheloceros

General Information: Charmeleons are the evolved form of Charmander.

They average at 3’07 ft (1.1 M) and 41.9 pounds (19 kg).

Habitat: They live in warm, arid environments of the American Cordillera.

Life Cycles: Charmeleons are the awkward middle stage of the Charizard life cycle. They are strong and freshly independent of their parents and capable of reproducing themselves—if anyone will take them. They’ve developed strong bonds with the others in their cohort, and they’re ready to prove themselves to the others. This is the stage where Charmeleons will do a lot of stupid things (much like teenagers and young 20-somethings do in humans) in an effort to stake their identity and learn about the world around them. Because of this, Charmeleons may not be predated upon as much as Charmanders (but Moltreses still like eating them), but they do risk Death By Doing Something Stupid And Reckless. Maybe they picked a fight with a Tyranitar! Maybe they went climbing up the wrong mountain during the wrong season, who knows!

It's hard to say how long Charmeleons live for, but it can certainly take anywhere from a few years to a decade or longer to become a Charizard.

Behavior: Charmeleons are reckless, aggressive, and hot-headed. They love to pick fights with each other and other Pokémon. This is an important developmental stage for them as they grow in strength and learn to be the powerful dragons that they are destined to become one day. Strength is the name of the game amongst Charizards, and Charmeleons must learn to be strong—which involves being an idiot and reckless teenager, first.

In addition to their efforts at learning to be strong and powerful and wise to the world, Charmeleons take it upon themselves to care for the Charmanders at the hatching grounds. While there are certainly some Charmeleons who go off to explore the mountains, there are many who stay at the hatching grounds that they grew up in, since they are unable to fly away with the Charizards. But remember that not all Charmanders were raised at specific hatching grounds, and some blazes are able to raise their Charmanders at home, meaning not all Charmeleons are truly parentless upon evolution. In cases where the blazes, normally ones who have the means to raise eggs in their home territory are then brought up with greater attention from the blaze as a whole, including the passing of specific knowledge and wisdom about the local environment. These Charmeleons are less likely to find mates at this stage in life than their counterparts at the hatching grounds (who may find mates from the other Charmeleons or other Pokémon), but they are also more likely to survive to become a Charizard. Pros and cons.

Diet: Charmeleons are omnivores who eat fruits and whatever small prey they can catch.

Conservation: Endangered

Relationship with Humans: Charmeleons are known for being the Difficult Stage in raising a Charmander, and more than one Charmeleon has been abandoned at this stage in its life because of attitude problems. Domestication has done little to curb those tendencies.

Classification: The species epithet is “cepheloceros” which means “horned head.”

Evolution: Charmeleons evolve from Charmander at level 16.

Charizard (#006)

Pygoignus lacertardere

General Information: Charizard is the final evolution of Charmander and Charmeleon, known as the Flame Pokémon. They are powerful Pokémon, apex predators of the ecosystems that they inhabit.

Charizard has 3 temporary forms: possessing two mega forms (Mega Charizard X and Mega Charizard Y) and a Gigantamax form.

Charizards average at 6’7 feet (2 M) tall even in their mega forms, but are certainly capable of being far larger, especially in the wild. Regular Charizard averages at 235 pounds (106.6 kg), Mega Charizard X is 278 pounds (126.1 kg), and Mega Charizard X is 256 pounds (116.1 kg). Then the Gigantamax form Charizard is over 91’10 ft (28 M) tall with an unknown weight average.

Habitat: Charizards can be found all over the Southern latitudes of the American Cordillera*. They often live in separate blazes from Charmeleons and Charmanders, but not necessarily. Places that are dedicated to Charizard-only blazes are called Charicific Valleys. These places are normally protected by Rangers and often their locations are kept secret by locals and state officials, for conservation reasons. * It is possible that there could be a regional variant of Charizards that are better adapted to the colder climates of Northern Latitudes, in which case there could be Charizard populations covering the entire extent of the American Cordillera, from the Andes of South America to the Aleutians of Alaska.

Life Cycles: Charizards normally reach this stage in at least the fifth year of life, but it can take decades longer. They are known to live upwards into the 100s and 200s, typically only dying from disease, organ failure, starvation, or from each other.

When it’s time to find a mate, male Charizards will compete aggressively and violently for the attentions of the females. In fact, these duals can become lethal and are the primary way that Charizards die: from each other. Strength is not the only determining factor though, and personality (including sociability and tenderness toward Charmanders) is important too, and it varies from each individual what they value more.

Charizards will copulate every several years, varying widely between individuals. Whether they migrate to hatching grounds or stay home to raise their eggs, depends largely on where they live or what blaze they are from. When they do raise Charmanders, they will remain with the babies until they evolve into Charmeleon. The females are the most likely to return to the blazes of their parents when the opportunity presents itself, but in truth blazes are often comprised of unrelated individuals, multiple sets of different cohorts who set out together as fully fledged adults to find blazes to call home. The initiation process can be brutal for newly fledged Charizards, but once a Charizard has been accepted into the blaze, they are a member for life unless extraordinary circumstances should force them to be exiled.

Behavior: Charizards do not have any true hierarchy to their blazes. They are aggressive but loyal to each other, a “we can beat each other up as much as we like, but if outsiders try to fuck with someone they’re going to find out what happens when an entire blaze of Charizards is mad at you.” They are hypersocial creatures at their core, who become depressed and lonely without others in their “pack” and are keen on being helpful to each other. This also makes them ideal companions for trainers, and is why many localities have trained Charizards to fly people around.

Diet: Charizards are omnivores that eat fruit and whatever medium-sized game they can catch. They generally find humans distasteful and too bony.

Conservation: Endangered

Relationship with Humans: Charizards are extremely popular with humanity. They’re cool, they’re big, they’re orange, they’re dragons—wait, no they’re not! Whatever! A dragon is a dragon is a dragon. They’re ferocious but loyal, dangerous but friendly, and they are immensely useful to Pokémon and Emergency Organizations the world over. They’re popular in merchandise, they’re popular in children’s literature—there’s even a Charizard on Tuesdays with Turtwig named Charla who delivers the mail! Charizards are the ultimate cool Pokémon.

They may be endangered in the wild, but their conservation is a high concern to modern humans. Many Charicific Valleys are closely guarded, and the Charmander Hatching Grounds are tightly guarded secrets amongst the Pokémon Rangers it concerns. Unfortunately, their life cycles are not terribly conducive to rapid repopulation from poaching and habitat destruction, but the effort is there.

Classification: The species epithet of Charizard is “lacertardere” which means “blaze lizard.”

~~~~~~~~

7 notes · View notes

pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 2 months

Text

Shuckle

Shuckle (#213)

Shuckle modernus

General Information: Shuckle the Slime Mold Pokémon! This non-evolving Pokémon is known for its ability to turn berries into a mysterious juice packed with vitamins… and the fact that it has the strongest defensive stats out of all known Pokémon!

Shuckles have powerful digestive juices that allow them to turn their food into nutritious “Shuckle Juice” (it’s not always made with berries), and Shuckles will use their digestive juices to slowly dissolve rocks to form a new shell.

They average at 2 ft (0.6 M) tall and 45.1 pounds (20.5 kg), that weight being almost entirely the rock that forms its shell.

Habitat: Shuckle live in the mountains all over the world. How did they get there? Who knows! But Shuckle fossils have been found in rock beds for long over half a billion years, particularly in the modern remnants of the Central Pangean Mountains (Appalachians, Little Atlas Mountains, the Scottish Highlands/Caledonian Mountains, Ouachita Mountains), a range that was formed by multiple orogenous events over hundreds of millions of years. Because of this, Shuckles are believed to be one of the earliest surviving Pokémon species, a living fossil event amongst the other living fossils. Their simple shapes and survival strategies have earned them the privilege of remaining relatively unchanged after all this time, though of course it’s hard to know for sure what ancient Shuckles looked like since it’s their rocky shell that fossilizes well, not the soft squishy bits of their real body. But to better understand the longevity of the Shuckle species, they survived multiple mass extinctions and were ancient even to the dinosaurs, and they will likely survive humanity, too.

Life Cycles: Shuckles can live for decades. They are laid in small batches of 10-20 at a time, but each batch can be laid within a month apart from each other under optimal conditions. Newly hatched Shuckles receive no parental care, instead left entirely to fend for themselves. This is fine because Shuckles have a powerful instinct to know what they need to do: find a rock and claim it as theirs. Often the parent Shuckle will gather some discarded Shuckle shells or suitable rocks to have near the eggs—this is the extent of their parental care. The eggs will hatch in about 3 weeks after laying.

Unprotected Shuckles are at a strong risk of predation from primates, birds, rabbits, and rodents. Their soft squishy bodies make a fun gummy snack for predators, but once a Shuckle has its shell the risk of predation drops tremendously. Now, the predation risk comes from Pokémon that like to eat rocks, because they will definitely also eat the Shuckle. But have no fear, Shuckles are tough Pokémon that have survived on Earth for half a billion years for a reason!

As for mating habits, Shuckles have higher understanding of when it’s time to make more of themselves and when its not. They can reproduce up to every month for years at a time, but this is seldom necessary. Instead, Shuckles have an innate sense of when its an appropriate time to reproduce and when it isn’t. Scientists are uncertain when this higher reasoning trait evolved, but it almost certainly has led to Shuckle’s success as a species. Plus, while Shuckles have “males” and “females”, they are fully capable of agametic reproduction should it become necessary. And their “males” and “females” are not determined by sex chromosomes, but rather is determined by mysterious environmental factors that have eluded scientists for centuries.

Behavior: Shuckles are not terribly picky about who they mate with, and will often mate with whoever is nearby and down. The fact that Shuckles are, for some unknown reason, in the “Bug” Egg Group, has surely done the species a huge advantage in mate availability.

As individuals, Shuckles are shy Pokémon who will hide in their shells at the sight of danger. They are incredibly slow moving and thus do not spread out quickly. Sometimes a Shuckle will hitch a ride with a bigger and faster Pokémon to get to where they want to go.

As companions, Shuckles are loveable and friendly and super safe for children of all ages.

Diet: In “modern” times, Shuckles eat berries and other fruits. These are stored in its shell that slowly decompose and ferment into its famous Shuckle Juice. What did Shuckles eat before the evolution of flowering plants? That’s a great question, and one that has been puzzling scientists for decades. Its believed that Shuckles once ate lichens, mushrooms, algae, and the early terrestrial plants that existed half a billion years ago. In fact, Shuckles will still eat lichens and mushrooms if their favorite food (fruits and berries) are unavailable, but this produces a Shuckle Juice that is distasteful to humans.

Conservation: Least Concern

Relationship with Humans: Humans have had Shuckle friends for millennia, a source of fermented fruit juice that is packed full of vitamins and amino acids that may be difficult to acquire during hard times. This harvesting of Shuckle Juice is not a fast process and certainly no substitute for having enough food to eat, but poor families have been able to feed their Shuckles beets, blight potatoes, or even certain inedible berries and have their Shuckle produce a juice that helps balance their nutritional intake, making it easier to withstand famines and blights. Shuckle Harvesting is a time-honored tradition in Northern Europe, Morocco, and the Eastern United States, where Shuckles are at their most abundant.

In modern times, Shuckle Juice is moderately expensive, often made in small batches at local farms.

Classification: There are many “species” of Shuckles over the years, but many of these species designations are for archeological distinctions rather than any substantial evidence that there is a meaningful difference between them. There have genuinely been clear species distinctions, largely in the form of different shell shapes, but for the most part Shuckles have remained relatively the same. The modern version of Shuckle, Shuckle modernus is called thus because of the fact that it happens to be the current species.

~~~~~~~~

6 notes · View notes

pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 2 months

Text

Nacli, Naclstack, & Garganacl

Nacli (#932)

Naclaeus familiaris

General Information: Nacli are Pokémon who’s bodies are entirely composed of rock salt. When they move, they scrape their bodies against the earth leaving behind little bits of salt wherever they go.

Nacli average at 1’4 feet (0.4 M) tall and 35.3 pounds (16 kg).

Habitat: Nacli can be found in mountainous regions of the world or where large deposits of terrestrial rock salt can be found.

Life Cycles: Nacli are born deep underground, where their parents kept the eggs there for protection and safe keeping from predators and poachers alike. Not many Nacli are born at a time, often a batch of a handful every few years per parental pair. Nacli are typically born to Naclstacks and Garganacls, rather than other Naclis. This is not because of any issues with Nacli’s reproductive abilities, but rather they are often more focused on survival to evolution than they are on making more of themselves. Nacli are not eaten by much, but they are eaten by very specific types of Pokémon, namely those who eat rocks. As such, Larvitars, Tyranitars, Steelixes, Mawiles, and even the occasional Lairon or Aggron will help themselves to a Nacli. Weirdly, Sabeleyes are not a problem for Naclis, as their Purifying Salt ability deters ghost-type predation. Still, predation on Naclis is limited, and most Pokémon want to keep them alive for their delicious salt-producing benefits.

Their primary predator, Larvitars and Tyranitars, tend to leave Nacli eggs alone—they eat rocks and dirt, not eggs!

Nacli do not have a known upper limit on their lifespan. This isn’t to say one doesn’t exist, so much as they tend to evolve for their own protection before that limit can be found.

Behavior: Nacli are rarely predated upon and generally well-liked by the fleshier organic Pokémon in their environments, so they have not developed fear responses to other Pokémon—well, except to their predators of course! Because of this, Nacli are rather friendly sorts who live in colonies with each other, and are readily accepted into any habitat that they choose to live in. Even the most aggressive of Pokémon, like Rhydons and Nidos, will allow a Nacli into their territories, knowing that they’re harmless little guys that make delicious life-saving salt.

Diet: They eat dirt! Just get them some nice potting soil 😊 They’re eating the vitamins and minerals found naturally in soils.

Conservation: Endangered (in the wild), Least Concern (Captivity)

Relationship with Humans: Nacli are beloved Pokémon by humans since time immemorial. They’re little portable Pokémon that make salt. And that means, humans have been using Naclis for millions of years. The Nacli is rarely mistreated, because a well-loved Nacli will stick around of its own accord, but countless family dramas and inheritances and even violent conflicts have been fought over access to Naclis and their evolutions. People go nuts for these little guys, and as such long-ago developed mining techniques for stealing Nacli eggs from the earth, thus forcing Naclstacks and Garganacls to bury their nests deeper and deeper underground in an evergreen Red Queen Hypothesis, leading to the modern day issue of Nacli nests being immensely difficult to track down. Wild Naclis are getting harder and harder to find as the centuries go on, for more and more are being brought into captivity to be cared for by humans.

In days gone by, Naclis were so coveted by humans that dowries would include a Nacli if applicable, and that was often worth more than gold or livestock, and could see a peasant family jump to middle class if their cards were played right.

Classification: The genus “nacleus” uses “NaCl” (sodium chloride/table salt) as its base word, much like Nacli and its evolutions use it for the base of their names. “Familiaris” refers to the friendliness of Naclis.

Naclstack (#933)

Nacleus fortis

General Information: Naclstack is the evolved form of Nacli. They are able to compress its rock salt into hardened pellets that are then shot out with enough force to puncture sheets of iron! Contrary to population notions about their names, Naclstacks and family contain more than NaCl in their bodies, they contain other varieties of salts, too, based on what minerals they’re able to extract from their food and the environment around them, NaCl just happens to be the most common one.

Naclstacks average at 2 feet (0.6 M) tall and weigh 231.5 pounds (105 kg).

Habitat: Anywhere Naclis can be found.

Life Cycles: Once a Naclstack evolves from a Nacli, its chances of survival increase tenfold. There is very little that will even try eating them, reserved for hungry Tyranitars and risk-taking Aggrons. They will mate sporadically every few years with other members of the Mineral egg group, then bury their eggs deep underground where no one can find them or hurt them. After that, their parental care is incredibly minimal, but they will protect any Naclis that they happen to come across.

Behavior: Naclstack are patient Pokémon with little fear of other Pokémon. They are slow-moving creatures of the mountains and hills and salt beds, with ways that are mysterious to those around it. They don’t form the colonies that Naclis form, but also won’t deter Naclis from following them around for safety and familiarity.

Diet: Naclstack are scavengers. They no longer eat dirt (well, they do a bit, old habits die hard), and instead will happily eat the leftover rotting carcasses of other Pokémon, the parts that no one else wants, including the bones. They are immune to the diseases carried by rotting flesh, both because they use their body salt to cure their food and because as a Living Rock Pokémon (Vivogaiaformes) they don’t have true organic bodies, thus not susceptible to the diseases of organic life.

Conservation: Endangered (in the wild), Least Concern (Captivity)

Relationship with Humans: If you thought Nacli were obsessed over, wait until you meet Naclstacks. They’re bigger, stronger, and produce more salt than Naclis! A well-loved Naclstack was/is a family heirloom, someone who was invaluable to the preservation of meat, household cooking, and trade with others. A family with a Naclstack was a family that would survive winters and plagues.

Classification: They were originally named by Linneaus, by he had erroneously placed them in the same genus as Geodudes, when in fact they are largely unrelated to the other Living Rock Pokémon (Geodude, Rogenrola, Rolycoly, etc.), who are all under the Order Vivogaiaformes.

Evolution: Naclstack evolves from Nacli starting at level 24.

Garganacl (#934)

Nacleus giganticus

General Information: Garganacl is the final evolution of Nacli and Naclstack, and is known as the Rock Salt Pokémon. Their salt is rich in a variety of minerals and is known to have medicinal properties, powers so strong that even severe wounds are known to heal—whether this is a result of the salts themselves or something magical inherent to Garganacls, is unclear. Other Pokémon are known to lick up the salt that Gargancl leaves behind when it walks.

They average at 7’7 feet (2.3 M) tall and 529.1 pounds (240 kg).

Habitat: Wherever Naclis and Naclstacks can be found and beyond. Some are stationary, some are roamers. Their ways are mysterious indeed.

Life Cycles: Garganacls are known to live for centuries as patient and gentle behemoths of the forests and mountains that they call home. Long ago, there were thousands of Garganacls, even tens of thousands the world over, but these days there are perhaps only a few hundred left in the wild, a natural consequence of humans gradually taking more and more from the wild than can be replenished.

Behavior: Garganacls are finally able to stand up to their predators, Tyranitar and Aggron, and will squash Mawiles with a vengeance that is rarely seen elsewhere. They get along well with Tinkatons, likely because of Tinkaton’s proclivity toward hunting steel-types like Aggrons and Steelixes. Other than this, they are gentle giants.

They are known to rub their fingertips together over wounds, healing the injuries of Pokémon and humans alike.

Diet: Garganacls eat the heavily-decayed bodies of other Pokémon, as well as berries and nuts as seen fit. They are omnivores through and through, but do not hunt, only scavenge.

Conservation: Endangered (in the wild), Least Concern (Captivity)

Relationship with Humans: Garganacls are the gentle protectors of forests and mountains, the bringers of life-giving salt to all they encounter. But though they know no fear of predators, they do know fear for their offspring, and will go to great lengths to stop humans and Pokémon alike from stealing their eggs before they’ve even had a chance to hatch.

In ancient times, royalty and religious orders sought to have a Garganacl for themselves, an unmistakable sign of wealth and prosperity understood by all.

There are Garganacls alive today who saw the rise and fall of entire Empires, wars, and countless generations of humans. Some cultures worship Garganacls as life bringers, blessings from the gods, and so forth.

Classification: Garganacls and their pre-evolutions are in a clade all to themselves in the Vivogaiaformes.

Evolution: Garganacls evolve from Naclstack at level 38.

~~~~~~~~

9 notes · View notes