History FanonPokedex / Gligar

As their physiology and their relative resistance to cold temperatures (though it should be noted that both Gligar and Gliscor fare exceedingly poorly when exposed to abrupt bursts of cold temperature and sustained exposure to temperatures below 273K) would suggest, Gligar and Gliscor dwell primarily within mountain ranges and in more rugged windward valleys. Swarms of Gligar and Gliscor typically make nests in alcoves along cliff edges and faces, which enable them to have enough clearance to enter a successful glide and provide some protection against wind chill, and periodically leave their nests to make new ones elsewhere when prey becomes too scarce or environmental conditions become non-conducive to continued habitation. Stable populations of Gligar are known to exist in the area surrounding Johto's Route 45, in a range of areas near Mount Coronet and Stark Mountain in Sinnoh, in the areas within the immediate vicinity of Unova's Route 11, 15, and 23, and an introduced population currently resides in the Hoenn Safari Zone and its immediate surroundings. For presently unknown reasons, it appears that there are no stable populations of Gliscor outside of diminutive populations that have been recorded along Unova's Route 11 and Route 15.

As their physiology and their relative resistance to cold temperatures (though it should be noted that both Gligar and Gliscor fare exceedingly poorly when exposed to abrupt bursts of cold temperature and sustained exposure to temperatures below 273K) would suggest, Gligar and Gliscor dwell primarily within mountain ranges and in more rugged windward valleys. Swarms of Gligar and Gliscor typically make nests in alcoves along cliff edges and faces, which enable them to have enough clearance to enter a successful glide and provide some protection against wind chill, and periodically leave their nests to make new ones elsewhere when prey becomes too scarce or environmental conditions become non-conducive to continued habitation. Stable populations of Gligar are known to exist in the area surrounding Johto's Route 45, in a range of areas near Mount Coronet and Stark Mountain in Sinnoh, in the areas within the immediate vicinity of Unova's Route 11 and Route 15, and an introduced population currently resides in the Hoenn Safari Zone and its immediate surroundings. For presently unknown reasons, it appears that there are no stable populations of Gliscor outside of diminutive populations that have been recorded along Unova's Route 11 and Route 15.

The initial form, ''Scorpiovolans venenatis'', more commonly known by its colloquial name, Gligar, is a four-limbed, arthropod-like, bipedal creature that typically stands 110 centimeters tall upright and weighs just under 30 kilograms (though it should be noted that due to a series of data recording errors, many older Pokédexes record Gligar's average weight as being just under ''65'' kilograms), with arms terminating with pincers and a prominent, proportionally narrow segmented tail terminating in a venomous stinger, with stingers among male Gligar proportionally larger relative to their body than among female Gligar, which are typically larger than their male counterparts. Gligar also possess prominent membranes incorporating a rigid structure topped with a spike occupying a region between its arms and legs that enable it to glide. Other notable features of Gligar's physiology include a chitinous exoskeleton with a flexible external film covering the regions of its exoskeleton comprising its head, the front and back of its thorax and abdomen, its lower arms, and its upper legs, giving a contiguous, fleshy appearance, feet terminating in a single "toe" spike, structures analogous to ears that, strangely for a Pokémon with an exoskeleton, are housed in two prominent and movable spike-like structures on the top of Gligar's head, two prominent eyes with refractive corneas and white sclera, and a mouth structure with features rare among Pokémon with exoskeletons, including the presence of true teeth, two particularly prominent teeth protrude from Gligar's upper "jaw."

The Pokémon of the Gligar line are venomous creatures that share a set of behavioral patterns, the use of gliding as opposed to true flight for aerial movement, and a general physiology possessing a curious confluence of physiological features that are consistent with those of vertebrate and non-vertebrate organisms.

Gligar and Gliscor possess a number of physiological features that have caused many scientists to hypothesize that the creatures are either a significant biological intermediary among Pokémon, or an immediate descendant of such an intermediary. The most notable of these features is the amalgamation of traits that are associated with both vertebrate and invertebrate Pokémon. Features that Gligar and Gliscor share with vertebrate Pokémon include a complex structures analogous to ears, hollow true teeth that regenerate rapidly if broken off, a circulatory system with true lungs and a chambered heart, and eyes with refractive corneas and nictitating membranes from the former. At the same time, Gligar and Gliscor also possesses an exoskeleton with segments containing vestigial spiracles, distinctly arachnid tails with poison glands, and have young that hatch from eggs with a structure that is most commonly seen among invertebrate Pokémon.

Like a number of other Pokémon, Gligar possesses a method of evolution that is tied to hormonal levels within its body. Typically, these hormones accumulate exceedingly slowly with time, and most wild Gligar will live out the duration of their lives without ever accumulating a hormonal level high enough to facilitate evolution. Curiously, the rate at which these hormones accumulate appears to greatly accelerate when an individual is exposed to a small number of hormones that accumulate within a Gliscor's body. One of the regions in Gliscor's body where such hormones accumulate is in the pulp of a small number of its teeth, which remain present for extended periods of time even after such a tooth falls out. These teeth, occasionally referred to as "Razor Fangs" are frequently used as evolutionary aids both among wild Gligar and trainers of captive Gligar, though it should be noted that the process through which the hormones in such a fang are extracted to accelerate a Gligar's evolution invariably either result in the destruction of the fang (e.g. crushing the fang for the preparation of balms) or leave quantities of hormones behind that are too low to be successfully used to accelerate another individual's evolutionary process. Curiously, it appears that even with sufficient hormonal levels, Gligar are incapable of evolving into Gliscor in environments with high amounts of light, a phenomenon that remains of interest to biologists.

Both Gligar and Gliscor frequently employ biting attacks, bites from the former will easily leave puncture wounds that will need to be sterilized, while bites from the latter are capable of severing digits, leaving deep gashes, and leaving fractures in bones. Both Gligar and Gliscor also utilize offensive techniques utilizing their pedipalps, which range from bludgeoning assailants, raking opponents with open pincers, and delivering crushing squeezes with their claws, which depending upon the technique used and the strength of the individual, can result in anything from bruising, deep gashes, internal bleeding, to multiple fractures in major bones. One particularly hazardous technique utilized by some Gligar and Gliscor is to apply a crushing squeeze to an opponent's windpipe, and then make an abrupt jerking motion downward. Although such an attack is often slow to be executed and often easily avoidable, it should be noted that being hit by a successful attack of this nature by a wild individual (or a captive individual that has not been fully trained to engage restraint in battle) is capable of inflicting severe neck wounds. Gligar and Gliscor also have been known to utilize tackling techniques, which are capable of anything from causing moderate bruising to broken bones and massive internal bleeding.

An unfortunate behavioral quirk among some Gligar swarms, especially among populations with heavily skewed phenotype distributions, is the maltreatment of individuals with phenotypes that diverge from that of the swarm's prevailing norms. In many Gligar swarms, members with phenotypes that dramatically diverge from the swarm's norm occupy lower positions on the swarm's pecking order than comparable individuals with more "normal" phenotypes, and are often harassed, if not outright ostracized their peers. This phenomena appears to be more pronounced among individuals carrying mutant phenotypes, who suffer from markedly higher mortality rates than their non-mutant peers. An uncommon phenomena is the formation of entire swarms of "outcasts" in regions with large Gligar and Gliscor populations, which are known to researchers to possess markedly higher distributions of Gligar and Gliscor with mutant phenotypes than normal swarms, with a tiny number of historically recorded "outcast" swarms composed primarily of carriers of mutant phenotypes.

Despite their often playful temperaments, the relative ease with which individuals from this line can be trained, and their general lack of antagonism towards creatures not perceived as viable prey or as aggressors, Gligar and Gliscor have only recently begun to cultivate a positive perception in human society. Historically, Gligar and Gliscor were maligned as cruel and heartless creatures, with many folktales telling of the suffering inflicted by swarms of these creatures, with one particularly venomous parable telling of a trainer who nursed a Gliscor near death back to health, only to meet an untimely demise at the claws of the creature that he trusted. Gligar and Gliscor only appear to have begun to shake this often libellous depiction with the emergence of Gligar and eventually Gliscor as sympathetic, albeit belligerent, figures in some media beginning roughly three decades ago, including in a prominent superhero franchise that saw its inception during this era.