Misdreavus Line
Morphs [Oak Catalog #]
- Misdreavus [200]
- Mismagius [429]
Misdreavus and Mismagius are ghost-type Pokemon surrounded by a lot of excess myth and superstition, due to the first form's tendency to scare people and the second form's tendency to curse people. Misdreavus bear a very loose resemblance to a woman's head with long hair and a dresslike body that extends a short distance behind it. Mismagius are slightly taller, with most of the additional height coming from the addition of a large, pointed "hat". It also appears to gain a slightly more distinct body, with two armlike wisps. Both morphs have a ring of pinkish jewels around their "neck", which appear to be the source of their powers. Mismagius are exceedingly rare and mostly seen when a Misdreavus is exposed to a Dusk Stone. Both Pokemon are quite intelligent, with tests rating Misdreavus at about the level of a seven or eight year old child, and regularly rating Mismagius as being smarter than humans. A rare, non-heritable mutation causes both morphs to be a dark yellow instead of a dark purple, with the jewels becoming bright red instead of pink.
Notable Biology
Being ghost-type Pokemon, identifying the exact physiological nature of Misdreavus and Mismagius is difficult, however a key distinguishing feature has been studied in some detail. The jewels are a critical part of the Pokemon, being used to focus their power. The current theory is that Misdreavus absorb the fear they create (see "Diet" below") and store it within the jewels. Since Mismagius do not seem to subsist on fear, it is less known how they use the jewels to store and release power, though several theories have been proposed. It is not currently believed by scientists that the jewels can exist without the Pokemon, though this has not stopped many occultists and Psychics from claiming they own a Mismagius jewel.Mismagius have the rare ability to curse or bless people, Pokemon, items, and locations. These do not appear to be traditional techniques learned by a Pokemon, rather a manifestation of spiritual power in some form. A Mismagius always chants an incantation of some kind when using this ability, and each incantation for each type of curse or blessing is unique and shared across the species. Some chants appear to sound remarkably similar to phrases in ancient languages, but this is not always the case. Studies have shown that a Mismagius does not need to be able to see what it is cursing, or even have a straight unobstructed line to it. They have also shown that a Mismagius can curse people at a range of up to five miles, or more if the Mismagius either knows the target well, has access to a depiction (held in one of its arms), or a part of the object (such as hair, a vial of blood, soil etc.) The curses and blessings are typically minor, usually ranging from headaches or some bad luck to feelings of wellbeing or some good luck. Mismagius curse and bless entirely based on their own reasoning, as each appears to have different targets - some having senses of justice, some simply not liking a particular colour, and anything in between. The curses take anywhere from a minute to several months to apply. It is believed by many that a Mismagius' hat is the source of this ability, and while this is merely an urban legend, it has not stopped some Pokemon Hunters and cult leaders occasionally organising operations to try and acquire a hat by force. To this day, none of these have ever succeeded.
Habitat
Both Misdreavus and Mismagius have been observed to have no obvious preference in environment. However, Misdreavus dislike light and adore darkness, as it better serves for surprising and scaring people and Pokemon. This means that outside of autumn and winter, these Pokemon are generally only found at night or in very dark caves such as within Mount Silver.Mismagius do not appear to have as much of a problem with light, but they are so rare that most people will never encounter one unless they try. They seem to be most attracted to either areas abandoned by people a long time ago or places filled with spiritual power. One of the few populations of wild Mismagius have been recorded at the Abundant Shrine in Unova as many Mismagius appear to travel there and stay for a time, resulting in a small consistent population, though the individuals change. They tend to wander, and rarely stay in one place long.
Diet
Like many ghost-types, Misdreavus subsist on a diet of negative emotions, in this case fear. They get their food by scaring or surprising people or Pokemon, typically with phantom noises and images. While this never directly harms the victim beyond perhaps causing them to need new pants, the panicking individual may inadvertently come to harm immediately after. They appear to be unable to subsist on other negative emotions. A Misdreavus that is unable to scare people does become weak and lethargic - it is currently unknown whether they can starve to death or not.Nobody knows exactly how a Mismagius gets sustenance, or even whether it needs it. Deprivation experiments that are successful in weakening a Misdreavus have no effect on a Mismagius. The most popular theory is that they gain sustenance from cursing and blessing things, something they appear to have a compulsion to do. There is no real evidence to describe how this works.
Hazards
Since Misdreavus are rare and only appear in darkened areas, light is the best way of dealing with them. Many of the myths about them (that they can hypnotise and control your thoughts, that if you hear their cry you will die) are greatly exaggerated. The main danger of a Misdreavus is their ability to cause fear. A glance from them can freeze a human or Pokemon in their tracks and prevent them from running away until the Misdreavus is unconscious, leaves, or allows them to leave. They also have a propensity for suddenly appearing and disappearing, confusing things and many other powers that most ghost-types have. One ability that some Misdreavus are known to have is an ability to sing a debilitating song. Anyone who hears the song and stays in the area where they heard it will rapidly fall unconscious, including the Misdreavus itself. The song itself is very characteristic, being in a descending minor scale. If you hear the song, it is best to leave if it has not already prevented you from doing so. Otherwise, call back any Pokemon who heard the song and send out any others that you have so they can rouse you afterwards. While one Misdreavus is easy enough to deal with or avoid, they tend to gather in groups which makes dealing with them very difficult. Unless one has a strong ghost-type or dark-type, one may want to prepare themselves for an evening of terror - if you refuse to be scared, most will give up quickly.Mismagius, apart from their cursing, won't attack humans on sight most of the time - if they do, it is a sign they want to accompany the human for a time and wish to be caught, and they will probably fight using a variety of special attacks. Outside of these circumstances, they will simply curse the human and their Pokemon before disappearing. Mismagius do not learn many new attacks when they evolve, but their power with what they know does increase. When seriously antagonized, Mismagius may resort to much more powerful curses that can last for several years or even one's entire life. They rarely resort to this because it is exhausting. Analysis of these stronger curses does reveal that all of them have some kind of rule where by doing a certain thing, the curse can be lifted.
Courting and Childrearing.
The mating season for this Pokemon is some time around mid-Autumn, and it is when they are most active. Both morphs can reproduce, and only do so with each other. Misdreavus will typically swarm. Males or females will single out a member of the opposite gender and try to impress them by scaring something. If the observing Misdreavus is able to get a good meal from the efforts of the other, they will then probably spend the rest of the night going around scaring things together before mating just before dawn. The pair will probably stay together for the rest of their life or if one of them is caught or evolves. All the female Misdreavus in a group will then place their eggs in a dark spot before abandoning them en masse, leaving the young to figure things out for themselves. Mismagius are very rare, and thus will generally stay together until the next Autumn when they meet. If they are the opposite gender, they will mate, and if they found each other good company, stay together for life, otherwise they will move on.Social Structure
Misdreavus gather in groups of odd numbers, with the size being as few as three to well over a hundred. Groups are not constant, and will typically change in size when two groups combine together. Since this would make an even number, one Misdreavus leaves. It is unknown why Misdreavus dislike even numbers, though the presence of this effect is diminished in captivity. The solitary Misdreavus that result from these interactions have been observed to be much more likely to become Mismagius. Interactions within a Misdreavus group have observed to be much like the interactions between a group of young children who are all friends with each other.Mismagius are solitary until they run into another Mismagius, at which point they will travel together until the mating season. This usually results in groups of two to five by that time, but in ruined towns or areas with high spiritual power this can become as many as twenty. Mismagius repeat this even once they have a permanent partner. If a Mismagius goes several years without finding a permanent partner, it may instead pair up with two similar members of its own gender. These "Mismagius Sisters" (though trios of males also occur) give up their wandering lifestyle and settle in an area to haunt it, resorting to cursing and blessing the landscape and items more often than people or Pokemon. Wandering Mismagius will communicate with humans if there an equal number of Mismagius and humans, and the Mismagius do not want to go with them but do not consider them worthwhile curse targets. They will typically do this by creating phantom writing in the air or on a surface. Mismagius Sisters will generally spend all their time with each other, and all three of them will communicate with groups of up to thirty humans. None of them wants to be caught, and if that should occur, then it is likely that the trainer who did it, their Pokemon, their friends, and so on will all be debilitated by a wide selection of curses. If they live near a town, Mismagius Sisters may take it upon themselves to guide, protect, or doom the populace there. Conversations with these trios have demonstrated that subtle differences arise in the personality of the group members over a long period of time - one appears to become more naive and childlike, one matronly and caring, and one sharp-tongued and critical.
In Popular Culture
For a long time, Misdreavus and Mismagius have been disliked, if not outright reviled. Several times during history, people embarked on Mismagius Hunts in an attempt to reduce their numbers or even kill them all off. These were fortunately never successful in the slightest. Trainers who owned these Pokemon - especially Mismagius - would often be harassed by anyone who had had the slightest bit of bad luck recently. In most cases they would back off when the trainer, informed by their Mismagius, would proceed to say exactly why the person was cursed in the first place, which often was - and is - an embarrassing or criminal reason. As study has revealed the habits of these Pokemon, this attitude has relaxed. Misdreavus now show up in a wide variety of horror and comedy films and stories. Mismagius have a long history in fiction, dating back into mythology. Most of the time, they filled the roles of shadowy villains who were never confronted directly, though even as far back as 2,500 years ago there was at least one partially sympathetic example. More recently as knowledge of their blessing powers became more widespread, they have had a recent surge in popularity, and characters based on them that are less malevolent and breaking with the sombre personality traditionally associated with them.Both members of the line are strongly associated with the traditional festival of Halloween, as they are usually seen the most around this time. It has been observed that Misdreavus will go around trick-or-treating in human cities during this day despite the light, a relatively recent development. Trainers with Misdreavus report this appears to be out of a sense of perceived camraderie with other Pokemon and humans. It has also been proven that Mismagius provide far more blessings on this day when compared to any other in the year. Misdreavus and Mismagius costumes remain a favourite amongst young girls.
Article by Smiggins. See other entries HERE
