The awe-inspiring beauty of the Brockville Railway Tunnel, showcasing a stunning formation of stalactites and stalagmites. These natural sculptures are formed over thousands of years as water drips from the ceiling of the cave, depositing minerals that gradually accumulate. The stalactites hang from the ceiling like icicles, while stalagmites rise from the floor, both glowing under the warm illumination. The tunnel, which is Canada's first railway tunnel, was completed in 1860 and is a testament to the country's rich history of railway construction.
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I used to draw fake Pokemon when I was learning pixel art, and while a lot of them weren't very good, they were eventually something I could be proud of.
These ones in particular are some of my favorite - Pagespar, Quartzquire, and Stalacknight, stalagmite cave monsters that are literal cave monsters.
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More Australia and Aotearoa/new Zealand based fakemon (sadly, not better art). Previous posts part 1, part 2, and part 3.
I really wanted to make a water/fire type, but was stuck on ideas. I debated on a naval mine bivalve and a hydrothermal vent Pokemon, but then it hit me: a sun sunfish. Meet Bilamola, the sunfish Pokemon, water/fire type.
It's based on the Mola mola, also known as the ocean sunfish. Molas are strange fish that look like someone chopped off their back ends. The name comes from their tendency to bask in the sun at the surface of the water. Pokemon already has a mola Pokemon: Alomomola, and I think Bilamola would be a close relative of it. Bilamola's rear end looks like a cartoony sun mixed with the strange, lumpy back ends of molas. Bilamola basks in the sun at the surface of the water to charge up its internal flame sac. Once charged, it dives into the dark and frigid depths ocean where the flam sac keeps it warm and allows it to release blasts of superheated water at prey and predator alike. Its name comes from "mola" and Bila, the sun goddess of the Adnyamathanha culture people of Australia
Another Pokemon found around the shore is Merconey, the mercury Pokemon, poison/steel type.
Merconey is a snail-like Pokemon with a body made of liquid metal and a shell made of metal and rock. The liquid metal that makes up its body is highly toxic. As a result, it has few predators. When it does face a threat, it shoots a harpoon from its shell at the target, which injects them with the same liquid metal that its body is composed of. It doesn't do this to hunt, as its diet consists of minerals and metals. Merconey evolves to Merxoon, the mercury Pokemon, poison/steel type.
Merxoon's shell is covered with spikes. These spikes act like hypodermic needles that inject the neurotoxic liquid metal making up its body into anything they touch. Because of this, it has no natural predators as nothing can safely touch it. It retains the harpoon of its previous stage. Lifeguards at beaches keep an antidote to its toxin on hand because, while Merxoon are not hostile to humans, beachgoers may accidentally touch one hidden underwater and get poisoned.
Merconey and Merxoon are both based on cone snails, a group of snails found in Australian waters that are famous for being so venomous that some can kill humans. Cone snails are active predators that use a harpoon-like radula to spear their prey and inject venom into it. The liquid metal aspect is an exaggerated version of the volcano snail, a deep-sea species that incorporates metal into its shell. I picked mercury as a metal because it is soft like a snail and because it's toxic, which fit because I decided I wanted to make a steel-poison type (I came up with this idea before SV publicly introduced the Varoom line). Merxoon also draws from snails of the genus Murex, which are famous for their elaborate, spike-covered shells. The name Merconey comes from "mercury" and "cone snail" and Merxoon comes from "mercury", "murex", and "harpoon".
Here's one that I came up with solely based on a pun, but ties in with one regional legendary. It's Stalactmite, the speleothem Pokemon, rock type.
Stalactmite grow over the course of centuries as running water creates stalactites and stalagmites that eventually break off and come to life. They feed exclusively on mineral-rich water and can live for centuries. Stalactmite are blind, but highly sensitive to vibrations in their cave habitats. Spelunkers should be careful, as a frightened Stalactmite may drop down on people passing beneath it. Legends say they are born from the life force of a legendary Pokemon that slumbers deep underground and may even be the rock itself.
Stalactmite is, of course, based on stalactites, stalagmites, and mites. Mites are tiny arachnids and there are some species that have adapted for a life spent entirely in caves. Stalactites and Stalagmites, as well as many other cave formations (also known as speleothems) form gradually over the course of centuries as water carries minerals into caves. I will note that while Stalactmite is not a bug type, it is still based on a bug and unlike almost every official bug type, it has the correct number of legs.
The final line I will showcase in this post it my first line of convergent Pokemon (or ecologically-similar Pokemon or whatever they're being called now). The first stage in this line is Baykacayka, the cupcake Pokemon, fairy type. Stories say the first one was a cupcake made by a master baker which was inhabited by a spirit. Its body is made of a delicious confectionary that will never go bad. They were once though to be a regional variant of Roggenrolla, but are now known to be unrelated.
Baykacayka evolves to Poundore, the cake Pokemon, fairy type. They consume an incredible amount of sugar and stores it in the form of crystals that look like decorative sugar. If one of these crystals is damaged, it will explode, leaving the surrounding area coated in fine sugar.
Poundore evolves to Gigalicious, the cake Pokemon, fairy type. Its body contains so many calories that a single bite can lead to long-term health problems. The sheer caloric energy stored in its body can be released in an explosion that can level buildings and leaves the rubble coated in icing. A Gigalicious visiting a bakery is said to be a sign of prosperity.
The Baykacayka line are convergent to the Roggenrolla line, but they're cakes instead of rocks. Baykacayka is a cupcake, Poundore is a cake slice, and Gigalicious is a tiered wedding cake. They can serve as a reference to fairy bread, a dessert from Australia and Aotearoa/NZ that consists of butter bread with sprinkles on it. I thought of this connection after I came up with the line, but I'm still rolling with it. They also fit with the trend of pastry-based fairy types. They don't have a consistent name scheme like the existing convergent Pokemon, but neither did the original line so I'm going to say I'm in the clear. Baykacayka is a corruption of "bake a cake" just like Roggenrolla is a corruption of "rock and roll". Poundore is "Boldore" + "pound cake" and Gigalicious is "Gigalith" + "delicious"
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