Am I right in that the entries currently tagged as "to-be-collaborative" are Tropius  ^☕

, Eevee  ^☕

^{because Eeveelutions}

, Tepig  ^*

^{called in as collab ago by Cpt. Napalm ~Feb 27}

... am I missing any other?

As for the guidelines, I hope the discussion goes OK. I'll post a quick rundown of the SWOT  ⁺

analysis sometime this week for discussion, and from there I hope we can go on the contributors list or the articles-in-progress page, to ease things for new members.

That's why I'm asking. When we talked in the chat, C.N. said he wanted to make it collab, but there was never further indication in this thread IIRC. Then again, IMHO Starters entries should be way more open to contribution than usual.

edited 8th Mar '11 11:18:21 AM by SilentReverence

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

Wait, why Tepig?

Also, Captain Napalm hasn't posted in forever.

edited 8th Mar '11 11:16:50 AM by Marioguy128

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

I'm guessing you haven't heard about his handle trouble.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

^x2 O RLY?

Also, I made Tepig collaborative because I didn't feel comfortable with having a starter be a solo job. (Plus we're already planning on eventual collab revisions on non-G1 starters anyway.)

edited 8th Mar '11 11:19:05 AM by TracerBullet

Hard Boiled Detective Since 1985

I was just thinking, perhaps Cryogonal's rarity is due to the fact that it spends most of the year as water vapor.

edited 8th Mar '11 11:56:49 AM by rmctagg09

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

A better article than the last one I wrote, hopefully:

Oshawott Line

Morphs [Oak Catalog #]

• Oshawott [501] (Ankylutra diminituvus)
• Dewott [502] (A. euplocanthrus)
• Samurott [503] (A. ceracephalus)

Notable Biology

Oshawott, the official Water-type starter Pokémon of the Unova region, is most definitely an unusual specimen. It is the only mammalian Water starter, and it evolves from a sad-looking diminuitive creature into one of the largest and most fearsome aquatic predators of the Unova region. Oshawott become very attached to their shells, which grow on their stomachs and eventually detach at a sufficient age. At this stage in their development, however, they rarely use it for more than cracking open particularily tough prey (usually brought to them by their mothers) and as a headrest or toy to play with. Occasionally, they may use it as a weapon, using it as a crude club or discus to frighten off predators. Oshawott are mostly hairless, and cannot swim in cold water for long.

Upon evolving into a Dewott, the creature’s fur and whiskers grow in fully, giving them a much more developed and fearsome appearance. Dewott are stronger and more independent than Oshawott, and their shell can be used to far more deadly ends, particularily when taught by a skilled Trainer. Dewott will often throw it at nearby objects as a form of target practice. Over the months, they will become increasingly more skilled with it. Dewott also tend to accumulate another shell during this time, and often wield one in each paw. These ‘shell blades’ also make a formidable melee weapon, and, working in tandem, are often used to crack open tough foods in the wild or to brain attackers.

A Samurott is one of the largest and deadliest creatues in the Unovan oceans. Such is the creatures’ bulk that it is reduced to a quadrupedal stance, but at the same time these predators are extremely muscular and capable of alarmingly quick movement. Both sexes possess a large set of vibrissae projecting from either sides of the face; these sensitive whiskers allow them to find their way around when hunting in dark waters as they are wont to do. Furthermore, all Samurott are clad in thick, bony armor, and posess a large and powerful horn. When a Samurott chooses to attack, it will rear up and attack the foe with Water-type moves, sharp fangs and teeth, its horn, and alarmingly precise swipes of its sword.

Samurott also play an important role in the mythology of native peoples. Some coast-dwelling Native Unovans believed that Samurott were responsible for creating the earth as it is today One such myth tells a tale of a lone Dewott diving to the bottom of the sea to collect dirt when the world was flooded, which later grew into the Unova region when brought to the surface. The gods blessed the Dewott by giving him a sword and helmet forged from the purest bone, transforming him into the first Samurott.

Habitat

Oshawott and its evolutions are found in the northern regions of Unova, making their homes on beaches or coastlines. They are capable of diving many feet underwater; one mature male Samurott managing to dive almost fifty feet under the sea. However, they are still a very elusive species of Pokemon and it is a very lucky Trainer who will manage to find, subdue, and capture a wild one, instead of recieving one from their local Pokemon Center or Professor as a starter.

Diet

All three species are piscivorous. Young Oshawott will usually have their food regurgitated to them by their mothers. (Trainers raising an Oshawott can achieve the same effect by mashing Berries and meat in a blender.) Older Dewott and Samurott can be fed much like any other carnivorous Pokémon. When in the wild, female Samurott will hunt together, chasing shoals of prey into a central bait ball which can then be eaten at their leisure.

Hazards

Oshawott are regarded as a relatively easy Pokémon to train. Their cuddly appearance belies their gentle and affectionate personality. They are often recommended for trainers who feel nervous or insecure starting out on their journey. Dewott and Samurott have a strong bond with their trainers, and they will fight to the death if need be to protect them. This is not to say that they cannot defend themselves if needed- a stroke of a Samurott’s sword can break bones, while even an errant Dewott shell can cause a concussion or severe bruises. The horn of a Samurott function as a very effective lance, and more than one would-be attacker has found themselves impaled to death by this means. Adding to their melee prowess is the line’s Water-typing, meaning that foes can be easily drowned or swept away by powerful currents.

Fortunately, the line dislikes fighting in general and will prefer to flee from such complications. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Samurott make excellent babysitters, treating young children with surprising care and even giving them rides on their back or head.

Courting and Childrearing

Male Samurott live in deeper waters, and will rarely come ashore. During mating season, in late autumn, Samurott will attempt to woo a female with a ‘gift’- usually a collection of food and shiny things found out at sea. Quite often, this will include discarded scales, tin cans, or even fragments of glass salvaged from shipwrecks. The Samurott with the largest such collection of appealing items will most often win mating rights, and will breed furiously over the next few days. Samurott may also settle mating disputes through nonlethal combat, using their horns and helmets to hold headbutting matches.

Females are pregnant for about 9 months, and litters of 3-5 Oshawott are born the next summer. The female Samurott will spend most of her time and effort caring for her babies until they evolve, and will usually regurgitate food from hunting trips for them. It is for this reason that it is not recommended to catch wild Oshawott, as quite often their mother will be nearby, and she will not take their capture well.

Social Structure

Female Samurott live in groups along the coastline, raising their children communally. Males live alone, often in caves or on islands, returning only to the mainland to mate.

____________________________

(Also, how do you put pictures onto a forum thread?)

edited 12th Jun '11 5:37:25 AM by Locoman

Good article, but the Pokedex does state that Oshawott shells are made of keratin, implying that they're born with them.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

↑↑Look at the Zigzagoon or Giratina articles, for example, for the required formatting. You need to upload the image to the TV Tropes servers first.

I'll comment on the entry later, as I al also writing some stuff for the spanish Bulbapedia's Oshawott articles.

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

^x3 Continuing in a tradition...

• Mammals typically don't regurgitate their food for their young, that's typically a behavior limited to avian creatures.
• Both male and female sea otters in RL are very social creatures. (Though your bit about gender-segregated lifestyles is actually very close to the RL practice of sea otters living in gender-segregated rafts.)
• Remember that sea otters also eat large quantities of shellfish, they don't feed exclusively upon fish.
• Article as a whole seems a little top-heavy again (maybe some more Hazards?), though the notable biology part looks really nice.

Other than that, it seems like a nice start.

edited 8th Mar '11 2:30:54 PM by TracerBullet

Hard Boiled Detective Since 1985

^ Keep in mind that we don't have to slavishly recreate the behaviour of the animal it's modelled on, and we can have some creative liberties.

(Am I the first to notice we're on page 151? )

No notes on the Oshawott article at the moment.

Though we do need to figure out how the whole Starter business works. I'm still not convinced the League/Professors make a habit of passing them out.

(Also, re: Castform: the article doesn't need to be in italics. Otherwise, well-written enough. May want to elaborate more about the circumstances of their creation, though.)

I'm starting Black later tonight, may have more useful thoughts then.

Do you highlight everything looking for secret messages?

Starter Pokemon spontaneously generate in certain people's homes for no particular reason.

^ Personally, I'm of the school of thought that 'mons should be like their RL analogues unless otherwise specified by canon / prevailing depictions, but each to his own, I suppose.

Hard Boiled Detective Since 1985

Comments on the Castform entry:

The entry looks mostly good. Besides some notes on the research that led to the development of this species and liking to the development of the Porygon line, there's nothing specific I might want to add. A more explicit examination of their social structure, no matter if they have nothing close to it, may be at hand as this species should have been under careful and extended watch.

On a second visit, and after recalling an examination on their sprites I did (and something that apparently not even On The Origin of Species touches), the formation of Castform's "clouds" are pretty much similar to the cummulus nimbus phenomena and classification to which such weathers are associated in real life (in particular Rain Castform), despite the fact that such formations are mostly a mesoscale phenomenon. Maybe it was by design? The naming of Castform's ability (Forecast) seems to indicate so, meaning that Castform has quite a formidable control over water pressure.

---

Comments on the Oshawott entry:

The first item coming to my mind is that the 'dex and overall Pokémon design imply that the Oshawott is born with the seashell, Cubone-style. That has to be checked further to make it workable though. Forked and passed down by parents, perhaps?

Second: while Samurott's body stance is that of a quadruped, this shape may still allow for facultative bipedalism, if the official artwork and the body design (based on the sea lion with strong cinerea traits) are to be believed. If this is to be explored, it may be wise to pay attention to the likely hollowness of the helmet (based on the shells of the european murexes such as the cañadilla, which the helmet most resembles) and how the shape of the tail may help maintain balance when using the shellswords.

Also, although this has not been explored in the other Water starter entries, being based on the sea otter and sea lion it is probably that this line, in particular Oshawott, can hardly or not at all regulate their internal temperature.

If I am not mistaken, sea lions rely on smell and barely the other senses to detect foes and threats when they are among others of their own species, and rely on sight and touch (the whiskers) for anything regarding to prey and finding mates. I might have to check on that later.

On a last sidenote, the Snivy line is strongly tied to european (french/british?) royalty, but the other two lines do not precisely fall behind, or at least that's what I have noticed. While Pignite and Emboar have minor aspects of both Chinese history and military and wrestling (hearing this, Cpt. Napalm?), the animals from which the Oshawott line seems to draw that is, sea otters, sea lions and the like, are somewhat associated with sensuality (in Celtic culture if I am not mistaken), courage and success. The family of animals from whom Samurott's shell comes were in the past associated to royal heirloom if I recall my classes correctly.

So maybe nobility as perceived by different cultures is somewhat of a common theme in the design of the G5 starters...

The article is somewhat lacking on the diet, but beyond taking note that the younger forms use their shells to break hard prey, if it hasn't been noted already, I don't think there's much to add there until more from the official sources comes up.

---

Comments on whatever:

... Uh... Should be leaving now. But will be back in a couple of hours. And will be editing this post again shortly.

edited 8th Mar '11 6:09:30 PM by SilentReverence

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

so, more thoughts from playing white version.

It seems that, for once, gym leaders are playing a prominent role outside the gym. Skyla flies cargo planes, Elesa's a fashion model, Clay's the head of some sort of mining corporation or somesuch, etc.

XP granted for befriending a giant magical spider!

@ SR: I thought that Tepig et al were influenced by Journey to the West, could you explain the Romance of the Three Kingdoms bit?

Hard Boiled Detective Since 1985

@TB: My half-mistake. Tepig et all are based off of Journey To The West (just like Infernape); but, according to developer interviews, the decision and pointers to create Emboar were taken from one of the lead characters in Romance Of The Three Kingdoms  ^*

. I'll correct that one in a while.

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

Being born with a shell doesn't make sense. Dewott have two shells on either hip, so where did they get the second one?

Familial heirlooms? Otters are social after all and would likely be even more so were they semi-sapient as 'mons are, and we used that handwave with a certain other social 'mon. Plus, you'd think that a line of 'mons modeled after Sammer Guys samurai would have a couple rites of passage, why not make inheriting shell blades one of them?

Hard Boiled Detective Since 1985

I think it's actually more of a giant nail blade that looks like a shell.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

But they can pick it up and move it around. You can't do that with nails.

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

Heirloom shells are what makes the most sense, except for the fact that they'd have to be numerous enough to be there for each member of the species, and then how are they related to Samurott's shell armor.

How have we settled some other Pokémon-that-comes-armed like Farfetch'd, anyway?

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

For Cubone's helmets and clubs, we have them as heirlooms passed down by a tribe. Though with repair and such, the bulk of them are more clay than bone. (Head shielding is instinctive, so captive-raised Cubone are usually given plastic or wooden helmets. Since appropriating a bucket or trashcan looks ridiculous.)

Numbers are simple enough to account for; localized tribes don't tend to have exponential growth, so for Cubone there are plenty of ancestors to inherit bones from. Shells, you'll probably need to collect them as well as inherit them, but I would assume that on balance any individual should find quite a few weapon-worthy shells during their life.

Playing Black, I've noticed training seems to be a very prevalent part of Unovan society. Even the majority of preschoolers will challenge you... (which, if anything, makes you wonder why the player and friends get their starter so late...)

edited 9th Mar '11 2:23:30 PM by Tangent128

Do you highlight everything looking for secret messages?

Construction or inheritance of a "katana" is a major rite of passage among Dewott prior to their evolution.

Hard Boiled Detective Since 1985

Didn't Bianca's dad try to keep Bianca from going on her journey for as long as possible? I'd say her friends were just trying to be nice to her and waiting until her father was ready so that they'd all get their starters at the same time.

Please consider supporting my artwork on Patreon