Snorunt Line
Morphs [Oak Catalog #]
- Snorunt [#361]
- Glalie [#362]
- Mega Glalie [#362 M]
- Froslass [#478]
Physical Description
The juvenile Snorunt is a very simple creature, consisting of a central orb with two beady blue eyes and a large gaping mouth. Directly connected to this body are two black feet; a pair of orb-like hands roll around the cheek regions without the aid of any direct connection. Newborn Snorunts will remain at their nest until they are brought a significant amount of hay or other weaving material, at which point they will create their trademark clothing: a tent-like yellow cloak with a red rim in the front and three red diamonds in the back. Certain Snorunts have a genetic mutation that causes them to involuntarily activate the Regicite pores on their skin at certain intervals; while this has no effect on their abilities it does result in their tent-cloaks becoming a frozen blue. The same genetic mutation gives the Snorunt red eyes.
Glalie, the adult form of a Snorunt, retains the orblike central body, although it is much larger and denser than its pre-evolution, being compared to a boulder in many sources. The eyes have grown to match the size of the mouth, and the limbs have all been reabsorbed into the central mass; instead the creature has a pair of conical horns with three grooves each that project a minor levitation field, allowing the Glalie to float over the snowy land. Glalie also use their ice powers to cover themselves in thick glacial armor, with a number of large gaps arranged in a manner similar to a hockey mask. Glalie that evolved from red-eyed Snorunts still have the same genetic mutation; as a result, their armor tends to be a shade whiter.
Certain megastones can trigger a secondary transformation in a Glalie, changing them into a faster and more aggressive form known as Mega Glalie which appears to be a throwback to a predatory ancient form, instead of the guardian role they typically take on in the wild. A third horn grows out of a hole in their upper armor, and all three projections becom partially covered in ice as the pokemon's temperature decreases. The lower half of their ice armor is almost completely shattered by a rapid incorporation of minerals, giving the lower body a rough look, although two icy shards remain on either side of the chin area. Most frightening of all, however, is their now fully exposed mouth, wide as their body and ready to bite down on their foes.
Rarely, a female Snorunt will seek out a Dawn Stone, triggering the activation of latent genes and causing them to evolve into a Froslass. Like the Glalie, a Froslass consists of a central orblike body encased in icy white armor, but their central body now sports a purple hue and their blue eyes have developed yellow sclera. Two holes in the armor expose the eyes, with a third between them and a triple-pointed formation over the upper lip; the lower jaw is exposed, but a close-mouthed Froslass has their teeth hidden behind the three points. The whole "mask" is shaped like a droplet of water, with two icey horn projections and a pale blue skin covering the underside of the Froslass's central body. Of particular interest are the three white extenstions of the Froslass's body; two thin tendrils extend from the cheeks of the mask, ending in flared blue ice fins and three fingered hands, while a hollow dress-like projection dangles underneath the main body, a red ribbon tied midway down (pink, in the case of Froslass's evolved from red-eyed Snorunts).
Notable Biology
Snorunts and their evolutions are comprised of a central Regicite "skull" surrounded by a porous meshwork of umbrate and mineral compounds. The umbrate in Snorunts and Glalie is nearly inert, as the pokemon only shapes it to form limbs and hoverhorns, but newly evolved Froslasses quickly learn how to manipulate the umbrate of their bodies and combine them with their Regicite-based abilities. Because of this, it is speculated that the Snorunt line's ancestors were ghost-type pokemon, who lost their spectral abilities after migrating to their icy home.
The inside of the mouth is covered in small furlike projections, which directly absorb nutrients, and a smattering of Regicite pores that can generate a microblizzard powerful enough to erode away at anything a Snorunt or its evolutions can put into its mouth. Aside from this and the creature's simple eyes, there are no centralized organs; the neurological and capillary system are spread evenly throughout the body, with any waste product being incorporated into the creature's armor. Froslasses do have simple hearts, located in the point of their teardrop, but these exist only to pump nutrients from the central body to the limbs.
Some Snorunts tend to be almost zenlike in their reaction to the weather, hardly flinching at the dangerous weather changes, and this inner focus translates well into hostile encounters. Others will wander into hailstorms with wide open mouths, swallowing the ice and incorporating it into their bodies; this also gives them an edge in combat, as the ice can be used to quickly patch up its own body. A few Snorunts display an unusual moodiness, swinging from defensive and withdrawn to aggressive without warning; these unbalanced individuals are hard to predict in a fight. While Glalie displays all these traits as well, Mega Glalie dispenses of them all, preferring to chill its own body; this refrigeration changes all normal type moves into ice types and makes them even more powerful.
Most Froslasses will move only during hailstorms, using the snow as a cloak to evade detection or appear almost intangible during combat. A few, however, have instead used their umbrate to line their bodies with a curse that can disable attacks against them, changing a fight into a slow paralysis of the attacker while the Froslass waits to strike.
Habitat
Snorunt and its evolutions tend to live in mountainous regions with high amounts of snow and ice, although they will retreat to more cavernous locations if the weather gets too warm. Sometimes Snorunts will wander into people's homes, mistaking them for natural caves; this is considered good fortune, since the Snorunt tribe will spread word of their hosts to their fellow pokemon. Glalie are generally found patrolling around the cavern openings or homes that a Snorunt tribe is in, or following their pre-evolutions stealthily; they are rarely encountered unless a Snorunt tribe is seriously threatened. Froslasses will situate themselves in hard to reach caves on the mountainside, frequently roaming out to search for creatures lost on a snowy pass nearby. They are allowed in Snorunt caves without hesitation, but generally do not remain there.
Diet
Because of their simple biology, the Snorunt line is able to ingest almost anything and break it down over the course of time; most Snorunts will, for example, put a rock in their mouth and then generate an internal blizzard to erode away digestible material. However, this method of digestion requires a large amount of water to sustain, which forces most Snorunts to eat large amounts of snow or, in a pinch, drink liquid water. Glalie takes a more predatory approach, freezing creatures or parts of trees solid and munching on their victim at their leisure. Froslasses will also freeze passersby, but might carry the living statues up to their cavern and feast on their terror until they die from the cold.
Hazards
Every member of this line is capable of generating ice within their mouth cavity, which they can then use to spew forth various mists and icy shards at attackers. Sometime, they'll even freeze their large amount of teeth and bite down on a foe that particularly aggravate them, or just biting them without ice if they don't have the time to freeze their jaws. The Snorunt line is also capable of summoning hailstorms to provide them cover during their travels, which can have the side effect of causing other wanderers to be lost in the frozen winds.
Snorunts, in and of themselves, are generally very social and only use their ice-based abilities in self defense. However, their sociability means that they are usually good friends with the pokemon in the region, and attacking them will gain you the ire of the local wildlife... if a nearby Glalie doesn't freeze you solid first. It is generally recommended that trainers build up a camaraderie with a Snorunt tribe, providing them shelter and snow; one may eventually decide to be captured by a friendly trainer, considering him and his pokemon a new tribe.
Glalie have all the abilities that Snorunts do, and are capable of freezing foes solid on top of that. They quite willing to put a trainer on ice if they attack a Snorunt or themselves. However, they are almost purely reactionary, preferring to freeze portions of trees for their more common meals; simply being non-aggressive or backing away will generally leave one safe.
The most dangerous member of this line is the Froslass, who feed off the fear of those lost in snowstorms. They have complimented their Snorunt skills with umbrate-powered abilities that force a foe's defenses down. These pokemon will sometimes freeze wanderers and take them to their caverns to slowly leech off terror from the living statues. Fortunately, they need to keep their victims alive for this and can sometimes be convinced to let their prisoner go, usually by assuaging their loneliness in some manner. A Froslass is a jealous friend, however, and will react to any betrayal with swift retribution.
Social Structure
Snorunts form tribes of around five members at a time, although some groups have been spotted with more or less then that amount. Every tribe has one or two Glalie following after it stealthily, waiting to protect them from danger. A tribe of Snorunts will wander throughout their icy territory, working together to find food and shelter as well as to befriend their neighbors; they will offer assistance without question to any injured or starving creature they find, although they will not lift a hand to help anybody they find frozen solid. When warm spring weather arrives, however, the Snorunts will retreat to a local cavern.
Attempts to follow Snorunts into their home cavern have proven somewhat difficult, but some explorers have reported finding a large gathering of Snorunts and Glalie around some sort of glowing golden-leaved plant deep underground. These 'leaves of harmony' appear to be very important to the Snowrunts, as they apparently harvest them to make tents for their young, but the swarm of Glalie keep intruders from investigating too closely. What is known, thanks to some clever observation, is that tribes will break up and reform during these large gatherings; a Snorunt will find a new set of companions to join during the coming winter.
Snorunt tribes and caves hold a certain respect for Froslasses, but not a very positive one. Generally, one Snorunt will be selected every spring to search for a Dawn Stone, though how these individuals are chosen is not entirely understood. While a Froslass will be allowed free reign in a Snorunt cave, they will be kept away from the Leaves of Harmony and generally be given some distance. The Froslass will usually only arrive in a Snorunt cave if it needs to lay an egg, although sometimes they appear to make some sort of speech; Snorunts will always listen to these speeches seriously. Beyond that, a Froslass is a reluctant recluse, sometimes helping passersby to cross the mountain path, and sometimes kidnapping them to bring to her own private cavern.
Courting
Whenever a new tribe is formed, every member takes a night to copulate with every member of the opposite gender. The tribe will not leave the caverns until their females have laid eggs, and will take time to ensure that some of the Glalie who guard the Leaves of Harmony will also tend to these nests. Glalie, for their part, do not normally copulate in the wild, although they are certainly equipped to.
The enigmatic Froslass almost never mates its own kind, due to its reclusive nature, but sometimes a creature that has been brought to her cavern will manage to seduce her in some way. Usually the Froslass will lead their mate to a nearby cavern with Leaves of Harmony, introducing them to the local Snorunts and taking care of the egg until it hatches. However, the mate will not be allowed in the cavern without a Froslass consort, leading to a rumor that the Froslass always swears its mates to secrecy.
In Human Society
Snorunts are considered good omens and guides in the winterlands of the world, and many towns will place out small offerings of precious gems for them whenever they are spotted passing through. Conversely, both Glalie and Froslass suffer a negative image; Glalie's tendency to come out of nowhere and freeze their opponents before munch on them caused ancient people to consider them to be winter demons, while the Froslass's infrequent kidnappings made her a subject of ghost stories. Some legends even state the Froslass is a reincarnation of a woman who died in the snow, forever seeking to bring others into her icy clutch.
However, there are some more positive legends surrounding the two adult forms. Various towns in winter climates have learned to accept the guardian nature of the Glalie, hanging spherical representations outside their home to ward off bad luck. Some villages even have a winter ceremony where an adult wearing a Glalie mask leads a group of children dressed as Snorunts from house to house, asking for treats to take back to their own home.
The Froslass, meanwhile, has been occasionally interpreted not as a glacial predator, but as a wise woman of the mountain who guides the travelers through the snow. Most myths of this interpretation warn that the Froslass must be complimented and never insulted, lest they take their charge into their own home for a more permanent stay. Still, this interpretation has been gaining more acceptance in mainstream culture, as most trainers who give their Snorunts a dawn stone find the resultant pokemon to be just as affectionate as their prior selves.
Written by Masterweaver
