[[header:'''Pidove Line''']]

!! Morphs [Oak Catalog #]

* Pidove [#519]
* Tranquill [#520]
* Unfezant [#521]

!! Physical Description

The members of the Pidove line are avian Pokémon that exhibit significant alterations in physiology and behavior at different points within their life cycle, with few constants between these stages other than an overall diet and the presence of gray plumage on regions of their bodies.

The initial form, Pidove is an avian creature that typically stands around 30 centimeters from head to toe and weighs just over two kilograms. Pidove are characterized by their distinctive plumage, which consists of a large light gray region covering its breast, distinctive regions of black feathers including a region surrounding and encompassing its tail, bands at the top and tips of their wings and a similar band running along the back of their neck, with the rest of its body, including a prominent tuft of feathers towards the back of its head, covered in a moderately dark gray coat of plumage. Other notable features of a Pidove's appearance include pink lower legs with feet with black nails on each foot's three digits and its heels, black "Generalist"-style beaks with pink cere located above and towards the sides of said beaks, and eyes with yellow sclera.

The second form, Tranquill, typically stands 60 centimeters in height upright, and weighs 15 kilograms on average. Tranquill exhibit a number of physiological differences from their initial form, including the emergence of markedly longer tail feathers, the development of a longer and more noticeably hooked beak, and longer legs with an absence of heel nails like their prior form. A number of characteristics of Tranquill's appearance also change significantly with its evolution, its
markings in this phase of its life include a fused set of reddish-pink arc-shaped cere above its eyes and beak, the redistribution of gray feathers to cover regions on its outer wings and the front of its head and neck, black regions covering the entire back of its head and neck, encompassing a prominent set of feathers towards the rear of its skull, the tips of its wings and tail feathers, bands lower along the outer surface of its wings, and a ring of tufted feathers around the rear of the base of its neck, with all other regions of its body covered by plumage similar in coloration to the darker gray regions of Pidove. Other changes in Tranquill's appearance include its possession of a yellow as opposed to black beak, and the presence of white sclera.

The third form, Unfezant, averages 120 centimeters in height and typically weighs in at just under 30 kilograms. Unfezant diverges significantly from the appearance and physiology of its younger brethren. Although it is capable of flight much as its younger counterparts are, an Unfezant's body plan is significantly more terrestrially-oriented than that of either that of Pidove or Tranquill. Unfezant's legs and tail plumage are proportionally longer than that of either of its younger forms, and its beak is similar in proportion and type to that of that possessed by this line's initial form, Pidove. Unlike its prior two forms, Unfezant exhibit dramatic sexual dimorphism. Females individuals possess brown feathers over a region encompassing their lower breast, both sides of their lower bodies, and the base of their tail, and have a mottled pattern that occurs where this region intersects a dark gray region covering their necks and the bulk of their head feathers at their upper breasts and back, feathers with a similarly dark gray pattern are also present on a small region of Unfezant's wings and partially compose Unfezant's banded tail feathers, female Unfezant also retain regions on their bodies covered in a lighter gray plumage, which covers the bulk of their wings and a heart-shaped region encompassing its face and part of its upper neck. Male Unfezant share the same gray-colored regions that their female counterparts possess, but have a region of green, as opposed to brown feathers that covers their lower bodies, two light blue regions above their eyes, and a "mask" of vivid red feathers including two particularly prominent, gradually arcing feathers with a vaguely streamer-like appearance. Other noteworthy changes in Unfezant's appearance include the alterations to its legs, which are now gray-colored, and possess noticeable spurs emerging along the back of the lower legs.

Members of the Pidove line occasionally exhibit a rare genetic mutation that causes individuals to possess significantly different appearances from normal members of this line. As Pidove, these mutants possess lighter and vaguely bluish plumage, orange sclera, and more reddish fleshy regions of their body. Upon their evolution into Tranquill, these mutants develop plumage of differing shades of green in place of conventional gray and black plumage, and possess a lavender cere along with similarly colored legs, as opposed to the red and pink coloration for these regions on normal Tranquill. Mutants that attain the final form of this stage have brown and olive plumage as opposed to the conventional gray plumage of typical Unfezant. Females have a lighter brown region in place of their normal brown plumage, whereas male mutants possess a teal region in place of their normal green plumage, along with a vivid violet mask and lilac eye markings.

!! Notable Biology

A notable facet of Pidove biology is the use of feathers and noisy calls as a method for intimidating would-be assailants. Although this behavior is best associated with male Unfezant's use of their distinctive calls and prominent head feathers stemming from their "mask" to frighten weaker creatures away from its mate or offspring, all members of this line appear to exhibit some sort of behavior analogous to this practice, which range from puffing out feathers to mobbing opponents while making loud calls.

Pidove by and large appear to become markedly more socially reserved as they evolve, with social interaction increasingly centering upon an immediate circle of intimates. The degree of aggression that members of this line exhibit appears to vary significantly by location. Pidove and Tranquill that live near urban environments appear to prefer to flee perceived disturbances to a greater extent than their counterparts further away from centers of human habitation. Unfezant appear to be significantly more aggressive than their younger counterparts, though appear to be reluctant to attack when not provoked.

!! Habitat

The members of the Pidove line possess a range whose diversity is matched only by those of a handful of other Pokémon. Pidove and Tranquil can readily be found in forests, in grasslands, in mountainous and sea side locations with cliffsides conducive to nest-building, and are one of a small number of Pokémon that routinely reside within human settlements in their feral state. Unfezant possess a more limited range, and are typically not found outside of forest and grassland habitats. Known wild populations of Pidove and its evolutions appear to be significantly concentrated within locations in Unova, with the primary non-urban populations of these Pokémon concentrated in the west and southeast of the region.

!! Diet

All stages exhibit a primarily herbivorous diet, and receive the bulk of their sustenance from feeding upon fruits and seeds. Tranquill and Unfezant appear to hunt periodically, the former appearing to do so on a more regular basis than the latter, with a heavy observed bias towards insectoid prey. All three stages in this line appear to engage in the practice of swallowing small stones, which become lodged in these creatures' gizzards and assist in crushing consumed food to be more efficiently digested.

!! Hazards

Although they typically occupy a lowly position in most ecosystems' food webs and their reputation for being docile Pokémon is not wholly undeserved, unduly harassing a member of the Pidove line is an endeavor to be undertaken only by the exceedingly foolhardy. Although urban Pidove typically prefer to flee in the face of a perceived threat, which has led to the seemingly nigh-pervasive practice of children of pursuing Pidove, it should be noted that they and more notably their non-urban counterparts have been known to mob assailants while in flocks. Although an individual Pidove's use of attacks such as the Quick Attack or Air Cutter technique is unlikely to cause much more than a minor laceration or bruise, it should be noted that being assaulted by a group of 20-30 noisy, angry Pokémon is both a vastly more painful and frightening experience. Tranquill are less ready to flee from the face of a potential threat than their younger counterparts, and are significantly stronger. Assaults by individual Tranquill will typically result in moderate bruising and scrapes, with more severe encounters capable of breaking minor bones and leaving gashes deep enough to necessitate medical sutures. Assaults by groups of Tranquill, while potentially serious, are not likely to leave life-threatening injuries. Harassing Unfezant is a vastly more dangerous exercise, as individual Unfezant are capable of readily causing hairline fractures in major bones and causing significant internal bleeding with their attacks. Although rare, reports of imprudent trainers dying from lack of medical attention after being attacked by an Unfezant on an isolated route are not unheard of.

!! Courting

All three stages in a Pidove's life cycle are capable of reproducing, with reproduction among Pidove being most commonly documented due to its comparative abundance to both of its evolved forms. Courtship among all stages in the Pidove line is initiated by male individuals, and involves fanciful displays of the male's plumage to would-be mates, which grow increasingly elaborate as an individual evolves. Upon successfully wooing a female, the male will mate with his mate at his mate's nest, and typically separate shortly after the female lays her eggs to leave the female to incubate and care for her young, though exceptions have been periodically noted, most commonly among Unfezant. One of these exceptions appears to be the occasional exhibition of harem behavior amongst Unfezant, in which a male Unfezant will mate and remain bonded to a number of female Unfezant for at least one mating cycle. In the wild, the observed average clutch size is 2-8 eggs, depending upon which form the female is, though curiously, most mating cycles in captivity only appear to yield one egg. Although members of the Pidove and its elder brethren are capable of mating with Pokémon outside their own line, this practice appears to be rare outside of captivity.

!! Social Structure

Female members of this line typically care for their young up until a point shortly after they are capable of independent flight, during which the female will provide her offspring sustenance from gathered food and crop milk. After this period of time elapses, said offspring will be left to fend for themselves, and typically either live alone, or as a member of a flock of other Pidove. Pidove flocks typically are composed of 20-30 individuals, and are relatively unstable, with members joining other flocks or entire flocks dissolving on a semi-infrequent basis. Upon evolution, Tranquill retain the flocking behavior of their younger counterparts, though said flocks seldom exceed 8-10 individuals, and are even more unstable than those of their younger counterparts. Cross-stage flocks are uncommon but not unheard of. The final form of the Pidove line, Unfezant, does not appear to exhibit a meaningful flocking mechanism beyond the occasional harem, with groups of Unfezant seldom exceeding 5 individuals before counting any offspring.

!! In Human Society

Members of this line have long been extensively domesticated by humans, and are among a small number of Pokémon to be raised commercially for food, although the practice of raising Pidove as a food source appears to have markedly declined with the rise of large-scale urbanization. Members of the Pidove line historically have also been used occasionally as an avenue for communications, with numerous recorded accounts of trainers using Pidove or Tranquill to ferry messages to and from remote locations.

A Pidove was seen flying away in an iconic scene from [[Film/BladeRunner a popular 1982 sci-fi movie about a detective chasing down fugitive robots]]. A Pidove was the star of a old Unova cartoon where [[WesternAnimation/DastardlyandMuttleyinTheirFlyingMachines four Team Rocket members in flying machines try to stop a Pidove from carrying messages]]

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[-Written by @/TracerBullet.-]