The Pokédex - Extended Fanon Edition

Jegus, that's a lot of information on a palm tree dinosaur's habitat. 0_o

Urgh, Sableye's entry is going slow. I've got it pretty much made, but I want to give it a bit more love and expansion. Oh, and that thing is creepy. Have you ever seen Sableye's Pokemon Colosseum animation? Shudder

Fight. Struggle. Endure. Suffer. LIVE.

Sableye is based on the Hopkinsville goblin, which was the product of epic drunkness and territorial owls. http://www.cracked.com/article_16671_6-famous-unsolved-mysteries-with-really-obvious-solutions.html

Remember that bit of trivia when working on it. ;)

Also, there is something that irks me in the Nidoran entry; the binomial names: The generic name strikes me as REALLY odd, even after being used to seeing such names, and using different specific names for the life stages, well... Different species of pokemon are like different bugs in a collection; caterpillars and butterflies get classified as different entities, but their scientific name is the same, and the differenciation is the phase they are in, not the species, because, as it is now, it is Taxonomic Term Confusion at its finest; Panthera pardus doesn't turn into Panthera onca, then into Panthera tigris with age, but Danaus plexippus Larva turns into Danaus plexippus Pupa, then into Danaus plexippus Imago with age. Sorry if I'm turning into a Single-Issue Wonk with that topic (or even the guy who comes in to complain but not add anything, I belive I'm a bit prone to doing so and I apologice), but... it just irks me a bit. My personal view is that the Pokedex is a catalog of formes of different animals used in battle, while the families are the actual species, so that may be different from your views and getting in the way of objectively reading the entries.

edited 26th Dec '10 9:14:18 AM by Eriorguez

It's called 'evolution' for a reason- one form undergoes a dramatic change into another form, which can sometimes bear little or no resemblance to it's previous form. Today, we classify animals that evolved from one another into different genus names; besides, in a world where your tiny little lizard can suddenly sprout into a giant flying dragon, taxomony is sure to be slightly different.

I agree with New-Crow on that regard. As far as I can tell, Evolution in the Pokemon World is akin to taking a heapin' dose of Real Life Evolution and two spoons of Puberty and mixing them together into what you see in the game. How else can you explain a baby-like Pokemon like a Ralts, for instance, 'Maturing' into a Kirlia and then again into a Gardevoir (Or Gallade) in the exact same way you explain a clam turning into an eel?

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The clam is actually a fish egg.

Also, Charmander just becomes larger, develops its skull, and grows wings. I see it as growing normally. The only trully WTF ones are Gyarados and Milotic.

Species is by definition a colective of individuals closer to each other that to anything else. By definition, an individual cannot change species.

Genus is a subjectively defined colective of species. Species itself is also a subjective concept, but it is larger that individual.

I'd say that that's where the concept is flawed in my opinion. Too much influence from studying biology and seeing weirder things (take a look at the sexual dimorphism of rotifers and then we talk about Charmander and Charmeleon being different species).

The Pokedex looks more like a catalog of critters used in battles, but, as it was pointed out before, caterpillars and butterflies are caught in different ways by collectors and have different common names, but are the same species and share the scientific name...

Again, this is just aplying real world stuff to this, biology gets too much into my head.

edited 26th Dec '10 11:10:24 AM by Eriorguez

Evolution creates different species IRL, I see no reason why different evolutions of Pokemon cannot be classified the same way.

In real life, populations evolve, not individuals. This is giving more importance to the word that to the concept.

Did Linnaeus ever exist in the Pokémon world (headache!)? And if, in fact, Skitty and Wailord are genetically compatible, the definition of "species" is already very hazy for Pokémon.

Since, unlike most metamorphic animals on Earth, a vet at a Center is expected to provide treatment to animals that can have significantly different biology at different points in their lives, it's plausible that stages of a Pokémon lifecycle may be individually named. Though the lines (species by Earth's definition) probably have a name as well, which in this case seems to mainly be the first name in binomial nomenclature.

edited 26th Dec '10 11:35:31 AM by Tangent128

Do you highlight everything looking for secret messages?

Yeah, the manga states that all Pokemon are the same species, and the difference is just due to genetic expresivity, just like a liver and a brain have the same genetic material but are not the same thing. Odd as fuck, yeah, but makes a tiny bit of sense too...

Hadn't we agreed about ten pages ago that taxonomy in the Pokémon world didn't necessarily had to use the same branching strategy as ours due to how different were the associated biological processes? Taxonomy helps giving names to stuff as we identify it (and mostly for that purpose).

In the Pokémon world, where the differences between evolutionary levels are so drastic and serve as an obvious metric of difference, it would make sense to use evolutionary levels as the first base, or at least as the first leaf for macroecologic organization, in the same way in this world we end up categorizing by species at the macroecologic level, even when having some species so similar to each other and some members of a same species having large differentiations... Of course all this stuff is Rolling Updates as the rest of the entries, and thus bound to change as we all do research as a group — take it with a grain of salt on what the binomial names actually are since if we ever get to tightly define a taxonomy all those things in the articles are bound to change anyway.

Rolling Updates is at the core of this project.

EDIT — grandiously ninja'd by Tangent128

edited 26th Dec '10 12:04:31 PM by SilentReverence

Fanfic Recs orwellianretcon'd: cutlocked for committee or for Google?

I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but I suggest we get back on topic and finish the Tropius Article. I'd hate for the project to be dropped after only one day.

edited 26th Dec '10 5:59:39 PM by CalamityJane

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Yeah, my apologices for ruining that, sorry.

I've been off the computer more than planned today. I still intend to do Diet in the next hour or so, though.

Do you highlight everything looking for secret messages?

I'll be available to contribute some things w/r/t social structure, but won't be able to take the issue directly.

Fanfic Recs orwellianretcon'd: cutlocked for committee or for Google?

That's all fine by me.

@Reverence: If you want I could give some bare-bones structures and you could go ahead and flesh 'em out, or is that not what you're getting at?

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Yeah, something like taking barebones already agreed upon by the community and start extrapolating from there. However, don't send me anything before Tue because I'll have to go do some research on Tropius, like the TCG and anime appearances and the species it is modelled after.

Fanfic Recs orwellianretcon'd: cutlocked for committee or for Google?

Diet

Like other Grass types, Tropius can obtain supplemental energy through photosynthesis via their Chlorophyll. However, as Flying types, their energy needs are far more demanding; as such, the core of their metabolic needs is met through their diet.

In nature, Tropius are almost exclusively frugivorous- the high sugar content of berries, apples, and other fruit make for ideal concentrated energy sources. A wild Tropius spends much of its day foraging around a large territory (with the aid of its flight), seeking out freshly-ripened fruit to consume.

Tropius do not possess teeth capable of thoroughly chewing their food; rather, mechanical breakdown of their food is performed by a gizzard. They will ingest new grit by taking mouthfuls of soil, to the eternal delight of any children watching. They can also extract supplemental minerals from the soil they ingest.

With surplus resources, Tropius produce a fruit from their necks, which they can Harvest as an emergency food reserve. In their preferred habitats, Tropius find food sufficiently plentiful that they can afford to gift these fruits to humans and Pokémon as snacks.

Wild Tropius seem to have a fondness for banana species, but Berries are more plentiful and cheaper for a Trainer to obtain. Try to provide a mixture of berry varieties, but feel free to indulge any particular preferences your Tropius may express. Due to their similarities to bananas, Nanab berries will likely prove popular. Also provide nuts frequently for protein.

As long as your Tropius is allowed outside daily, it should be able to obtain grit for itself. To ensure optimal digestion, allow its own instincts to regulate its intake; there is no need to force any mud on it.

Do NOT attempt to feed your Tropius meat; it will cause terrible indigestion at best. Many common Pokémon food mixes are similarly ill-suited to Tropius's frugivorous digestion; if a fruit-and-nut diet is infeasible, consult with your local Pokémon Center to find an acceptable feed mix.

---

Additional notes-

• probably add a note to the habitat thing that they seek areas where they can find fruit-bearing plants year-round. (Given the insanely rapid growth rate of Berries, this shouldn't be as constraining, but still.)
• a given area can't support too large a population of Tropius, but their rarity is offset by the high visibility provided by their bulk and foraging habits.
• probably requires an avian-style respiratory system
• maybe the fruit is a symbiotic plant instead? Allows for significantly different varieties of fruit per individual to make sense.

edited 27th Dec '10 10:40:27 AM by Tangent128

Do you highlight everything looking for secret messages?

why, exactly, are children so delighted to see Tropius eating dirt?

as for the fruit on it's neck, ya know how some critters IRL that eat poisonous stuff will metabolize and use that poison for themselves? Maybe somehow the fruit that grows on their neck is determined by the fruit they eat in a similar manner. Like the seeds in the fruit that it eats will move to it's neck instead of being digested and take root there.

edited 26th Dec '10 9:30:47 PM by Blissey1

XP granted for befriending a giant magical spider!

Would explain the mechanics of Harvest. And we should note that Tropius are naturally Monophagus but domesticated they eat many berries and live of the artificial (in a matter of speaking) fruits on there necks. (like lagomorphs and there pellets)

Closet DCLAU fan.

"Ewwwww, Mr. Banana just ate mud! *giggles*"

I'm assuming Harvest has something to do with which kind of fruit a Tropius is sporting, yes. Not sure of the mechanics yet, but probably a symbiotic plant the more I think about it. I think the seeds would be planted externally rather than migrating from the digestive tract somehow, though.

Hmm... I need to add a bit about domestic feeding, actually; I seem to have forgotten to mention that. Is there really anything other than "fruit, and lots of it! (berries are cheapest btw)", though?

Do you highlight everything looking for secret messages?

@Tangent: Changed the Habitat section a bit to include your suggestion. Adds more logic to the section, really.

On the fruit thing, maybe you should note a few exceptions or a note about how you should NOT try to feed your Tropius mud on a daily basis, how chocolate may or may not be poisonous, they faint at the sight of meat, etc.

edited 27th Dec '10 8:45:46 AM by CalamityJane

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well, looking at the way Tropius is set up, I can't see any way that it could plant the seeds there itself unless it was an internal process. For that matter, I'm not sure how it eats(reaches) the fruit on its neck either. Maybe they have a long prehensile tongue that can reach down there and grab a snack?

XP granted for befriending a giant magical spider!

Their leaf-wings are probably fairly flexible; I'd think they could reach the fruit that way. Or just do a flick trick.

Lengthened the diet section a bit. Marioguy, which bit did you think you'd do?

edited 27th Dec '10 10:42:04 AM by Tangent128

Do you highlight everything looking for secret messages?

I would tackle Hazards. ... Only thing is, I can't exactly think of many.

You got some dirt on you. Here's some more!

Hey Marioguy, ever seen the episode 'Odd Pokemon Out?' There's a fair amount of hazards there. One hazard is that, once a Tropius decides something, such as a tree, is their territory, DO NOT COME ANYWHERE NEAR IT OR YOU WILL DIE. Unless it really likes you, in which case, it'll just flatten its wings and do nothing. There's also a bit of 'That is my girlfriend and no you cannot have her!' goin' on.

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