The Pokédex - Extended Fanon Edition

...I just have to say, you guys are friggin AWESOME for putting this together!!

I dont know why they let me out, I guess they needed a spare bed

Hehe, thanks.

Captain Napalm: I'm thinking maybe Tropius should be more of a collaborative entry, given the whole TV Tropius thing.

Reproduction... I'd say it's probably not all by egg. Inter-line breeding can probably still happen in some cases, though. Others' opinions?

edited 21st Jun '10 8:22:28 PM by Tangent128

Do you highlight everything looking for secret messages?

I'd have to concur. It's rather hard to imagine something like an Ursaring laying an egg anyway, no matter what the games show you.

The Danse Macabre Codex

^^ I dunno, I mean the only form of reproduction outside of laying eggs that I'm aware of that the games allude to is by budding/fusion (e.g. an Exeggcutor's head forming a new group of Exeggcute if it falls off, our favorite magnetic mites combining at evolution, etc...), and I've never seen anything alluding to live birth. That said, I think we could make the case that our favorite monsters reproduce by a modified form of ovoviviparity, where a mon egg is capable of surviving and hatching both inside and outside it's mother's body (real-life ovoviviparity has the eggs hatch within the mother in all circumstances)...

edited 21st Jun '10 8:33:15 PM by CaptainNapalm

Let's play a game about Pokémon...

Hows about this? Some do pokemon do lay eggs and some pokemon don't. When pokemon that don't lay eggs are at the day care and reproduce, the day care couple put the baby in their custom made Pokemon Infant Care Unit(PICU, for short)! It looks like an egg, and works on principles similar to a pokeball. It is designed to take care of the infant pokemons every need, and is programmed to break open(hatch) when the infant pokemon is grown enough to fend for itself.

Why would they do this? For the same reason they never seem to know where the eggs come from, of course; to keep the 10 year old PC ignorant about the Pidgeots and the Beedrills!

edited 21st Jun '10 8:38:59 PM by Blissey1

XP granted for befriending a giant magical spider!

^ Wouldn't PICUs (or whatever you want to call them) be crazy-expensive? Not to be a shill or anything, but I'd think that an easier handwave would be that all mons have eggs, but have them hatch under different methods in the wild and the infamously universal method that we've all witnessed at the Day Care in captivity. This way, we can have room to have our mammalian mons have live(-ish) birth in the wild (eggs hatch in a womb) while still maintaining the existence of eggs for mammalian mons in captivity.

edited 21st Jun '10 8:41:30 PM by CaptainNapalm

Let's play a game about Pokémon...

Deoxys, huh?

Good to see that someone else writes long. Now I no longer feel ashamed of my 13.4KB Lileep Entry! I will be able to post it later today. Not in time for the update...

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

^^ Actually, I suggested that a while back, but NOBODY LISTENED! NOBODY!

Formerly known as Crow T. Robot.

^^ I'm hoping to do the updates more frequently, actually. Part of the reason they were taking so long previously was just trying to keep the links ordered; now that I've placed the 'dex numbers in the list, though, it should be much easier to slip new entries in.

Do you highlight everything looking for secret messages?

^^ Which post was that? The one about multiturbuculates?

EDIT: v But TOW says that multiturbuculates weren't ovoviviparous...

edited 22nd Jun '10 9:12:28 AM by CaptainNapalm

Let's play a game about Pokémon...

Somewhere around there. YOU DIDN'T LISTEN! NOW YOU'LL ALL PAY!

edited 22nd Jun '10 9:01:38 AM by CrowT.Robot

Formerly known as Crow T. Robot.

^^ I know, but TOW says that some were arboreal, like Chimchar and co., which is what I was trying to say.

Formerly known as Crow T. Robot.

Ima be doing Skarmory in the near future.

XP granted for befriending a giant magical spider!

Just a thought- I think we should go by the anime for the city/town writeups (eg. Pallet Town is more than just three houses and a lab...)

edited 23rd Jun '10 7:26:15 AM by CrowT.Robot

Formerly known as Crow T. Robot.

I call dibs on Scyther and Scizor.

"Wait, it's IV. Of course they are. They'd make IV for Dreamcast." - Enlong, on yet another FFIV remake

Not solely the anime, but I think we can assume all the towns/cities are considerably larger than depicted in-game, yes.

Do you highlight everything looking for secret messages?

↑³: you mean instead of going on by games? Well duh, the alternative is that ~30cm ledges can not be leapt up (or northwards) and that people can not move diagonally, only in one of two orthogonal directions in fixed-size steps, So Yeah, it kind of it is implied... unless you meant maybe going on the Manga?

Anyways... took me long enough and it is kinda long, but here it is.

After this, I'm off to Nido entry and after that, unless someone dibs on them first, Hoothoot (just because Noctowl).

LAST UPDATED: 2010-06-25

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Lileep Line

Morphs [Oak Catalog #]

• Lileep [#345]
• Cradily [#346]

Lileep resembles a large sea flower. Its body is comprised of a main stem of purple colouration adorned with yellow rings, and a black head hidden by a purple bubble of tissue. The head has a mouth and two simple eyes and is surrounded by a ring of retractile tissue with eight tentacles attached. At the base of the stem a composite pod featuring four small protuberances with suction cups functions as a single foot and allows Lileep to anchor itself to surfaces.

Cradily is Lileep's evolution and is similar to Lileep in basic physiology; it is larger and stronget, with a longer stem and green colouration instead of purple, and has ring-like designs of yellow colour across its head.

Lileep lived long ago, protected at the bottom of the sea, where they remained hidden by numbers, imitating seaweed by waving their tentacles in order to attract prey. Those tentacles are bathed by a waterproof, sticky mucus that allowed them to firmly grab prey.

Notable Biology

The stem is made of miniature canals of muscle and tendril, bound together at even intervals by rings of cartilage. This gives Lileep fine-grained control of the stem's motion under the strong pressures and currents of the sea, a necessary attribute for a species that runs very long vigils to feed itself.

The cups in Lileep's foot suck water or air and lead it to internal vacuoles located at the base of the stem that are isolated from the rest of the organism; by forcing the vacuoles to expand, Lileep gains almost instantaneous anchoring when needed at the expense of strength. The foot also features microscopic cilia that can capture and lift nutrients available in the sea floor (see Diet). Lileep and Cradily's anchoring capabilities allow them feats such as resisting the pull of a Machoke grabbing their stem, or standing erect on a glass wall orthogonal to the ground.

An important change that Lileep undergoes upon evolution is the relocation of the tentacles. In the basic form they form at the top of the protective hood tissue around the head and have the primary function of serving as a lure and trap for prey; upon evolution the protective ring had moved down the hood and to the base of the neck leaving a layer of soft, inflatable tissue in its place. This new layer of tissue compliments the hood by hiding the real position of Cradily's eyes — a mechanism helped by the ring designs around Cradily's head, which also resemble eyes. The tentacles themselves relocate to the base of the neck, where their primary function becomes that of helping Cradily's thrust and maneuverability in water as well as protecting the mouth from interference when eating.

Habitat

In the distant past Lileep could be found at the bottom of the tropical seas such as the ones close to Hoenn, in large colonies that created the image of "waving carpets". This structure had a double role, helping them obtain their diet and protecting them from hunters, which at their time meant most likely Anorith [#347] and probably Gorebyss. Their evolved form Cradily, on the other hand, was most likely found below rocky cliffs and coral formations, closer to the surface of the sea.

Cradily has been discovered to have ventured into land for short bursts of time, during which they revealed their Grass-type nature by laying in the sand or rocky cliffs and capturing some sunlight. Sunlight being an essentially scarce resource in their normal lives however, it is currently unknown what did they use the stored energy for.

Locomotion

Anchoring to the sea floor and securing a spot was an important part of Lileep's life, however they weren't entirely incapable of motion. By retracting and extending the different parts of their foot rhythmically, Lileep could crawl slowly across the seafloor. If in danger, they could also "hop" short distances by detaching, then sucking and blowing water — a complicated and tiring maneuver that granted Lileep an incredible initial speed at the expense of the control of direction.

The "normal" way of traveling however was by "socially assisted surfing" of undersea currents: with the initial grab and thrust of others of their kin, a Lileep could detach from the seafloor and be "blown" to higher currents, where it could reorient itself and eject short bursts of water or use its tentacles to "glide" towards a new landing spot.

While they weren't physiologically fit to travel long distances, recent discoveries in the distribution of fossils suggest that Lileep were actually capable of reaching across large sections of the sea floor and even visiting the surface. How they achieved this is currently unknown, although it is probable that they anchored themselves to a passing and large Pokémon such as a Wailord ancestor and used it as transport.

Diet

The diet of Lileep and Cradily consisted mainly of plankton and fish. While attached to the seafloor, Lileep waved their tentacles to emulate the presence of seaweed that hunting species are fond of. Once prey was at reaching distance, Lileep would reveal itself by stretching and catching the prey, then dragging it to its mouth. If the prey was small enough, resistance will be futile as the prey will be swallowed whole and in an instant; a larger or fiercer prey will require Lileep to squeeze it and suffocate it by covering its gills or mouth with the tentacles' mucus in order to weaken and finally kill it.

Being marine creatures, Lileep have the ability to extract and process oxygen from the water, even under relatively high pressure and low temperature; they could also extract some minerals from the sea floor that were lifted and carried by the foot and tentacles. Their body is designed to extract most if not all of its oxygen from water however, which means they had to make advance preparations for any attempt to cross to shallow water or towards land.

It has been observed in reanimated Lileep that while they enjoy the easy meal that plankton and small fish provide, they won't miss the chance to try and lure larger Pokémon to their grasp, if not to eat them at least to serve them a fight; they may also acquire exquisite tastes, such as Hoenn Lileep having a preference for Feebas meat rather than other Pokémon (VERY far) more readily available. This may be representative of the level of patience they would need to hunt in the seafloor the way they did.

Hazards

Being relatively unknown Pokémon, Lileep and Cradily are very difficult to handle. However they have social traits that can make accommodation easy for the well experienced Water Trainer. Lileep are sociable, don't like solitude, are very attentive of their peers and don't have a perception of being "unique" or "singular", making them uncomfortable when they are the center of attention. Cradily on the other hand lead a life of habit and solitude; they pick a spot of their liking and settle there defending it fiercely and not accepting company or assistance unless they get sick.

Lileep are very ancient Pokémon reanimated only recently; as such not only they lack immunity against nowadays's environmental agents, in particular those carried or produced by humans, but also do not seem to have a well-adjusted spatial perception when on land. They can also get dehydrated very quickly if they are left unattended in a dry, heated environment.

When threatened directly, Lileep will resort to two basic strategies: first they will insistently spit acid or pellets made of seeds, shells or other food they have ingested; if the attacker chooses to get too close, Lileep will use their tentacles to wrap and immobilize the attacker and try to suffocate or inject them with a paralyzing venom. A strong and experienced Cradily can even try to take the initiative when fighting underwater by detaching its body and using the currents to propel himself as a homing projectile to hit and then grab its opponent, or even annoy the attacker into chasing them towards the seafloor (which may be infested by Lileep).

Reproduction

Nothing is known about the reproduction of this species since all existing specimens are currently produced artificially. Lileep may have gathered in the seafloor to proceed to a sort of ritual dancing. The absence of clear reproductive systems suggests the female produces a free-floating egg that is somehow fertilized by the male.

Social Structure

Lileep lived in seafloor in large colonies that may have been composed of over 400 individuals. Although very little if anything is known about the social structure of these colonies, observation of sibling Lileep allows to infer some social rules. Social differentiation between Lileep may have been little to nonexistent, as indicated by their small need for personal space, although access to footing is still a primordial good. Families may have remained together in common "resting spots".

Cradily are known to have lived alone in the outskirts of the colonies or far away from their kin, in the underwater cliffs and sandbanks closer to the surface, which added to their propensity to solitude suggests that their natural social place is that of scouts and invaders for their colony. Once they chose a standing spot, they would perch and remains there until whey were somehow forced to leave. They are also known to have ventured on land for obscure purposes.

Authorized Training and Careful Handling

Given their rarity and other factors, the Pokémon Association remains reticent to allow ownership of Lileep for Trainers. Only a handful of selected individuals may be allowed temporary care of one, mostly as medical research subjects. Application to host a Lileep, at least in Hoenn, follows a very tight long-term test that can last up to six weeks and incorporates live tests of mutual acceptance during the final stages.

Were a Trainer to reach the last stages of the certification process or find himself in a situation where interacting with a Lileep directly is needed, the following notes on handling may be of use:

Lileep are easy to lift and carry although prone to thrashing, just be careful to approach it and grab it using one and ONLY one arm (see below); be wary that if feeling uncomfortable it will try to anchor itself to your skin or clothes. Cradily is very difficult to approach, handle or carry and it is best to leave it alone — if feeling in need it may ask "permission" to attach itself to a peaceful and slow-moving Pokémon like Lapras or, in land, Torterra.

If you need to face an agitated Lileep: while it may sound counter-intuitive given their ability to use attacks such as Energy Ball and Confuse Ray, it is very —VERY— important to only approach a Lileep when facing it directly (more if you are alone), follow and never try to cover or escape their field of vision, and always move one arm at a time, hiding the other from view to appear thinner than you are; remember, Lileep have lived their species life at the bottom of the sea and faced danger as a colony in a common direction. Seeing itself alone and in the presence of an intruder too large to handle, Lileep may respond by ejecting all the venom or pellets it has stored in a last-stand shot.

Cradily is even more dangerous in this respect since it may, if experienced and threatened enough, detach itself from the ground and literally leap up to the approaching arm ( or head!) in an attempt to "suffocate" it, and will use its tentacles to wrap itself around incoming arms or tools to prevent attempts to remove him— until perhaps permanent damage has been delivered.

Given their particular sociability, Lileep and Cradily may be trainable by experienced Trainers so long as they are not given more than a certain amount of attention; however the issue remains that they seem to have great difficulty understanding human language and battle commands, making the overall process excruciatingly long.

EDIT: slightly reduced, links corrected.

edited 25th Jun '10 11:21:16 AM by SilentReverence

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

Wow. That's detailed. In a good way! But you put the rest of us to shame now.

(indexed!)

You may want to check your tenses a bit, though; they can be a bit confusing when dealing with fossil Pokémon.

So, how trainable are Lileep once given a chance to get acclimated to a Trainer? Or is that still under investigation?

edited 23rd Jun '10 5:58:38 PM by Tangent128

Do you highlight everything looking for secret messages?

Heh. Thanks for the confidence. I guess spending too much time researching instead of actually writing  ^*

finally paid off, in a manner of speaking.

Yeah about the tenses, I'll be checking them during the following days, also taking time to shorten the entry a bit where appropiate. I'll try to reduce everything to dual tenses: creature was like this v/s creature does this — it seems to make things simpler to follow in sections like Habitat, where most if not all wording will be done with regards to one time period.

And I'll also check the experienced Trainer stuff. In short, well-experienced Trainers (with other water Pokémon already in their party) should not have major trouble into getting a Lileep to feel comfortable; they should be quickly trainable once you get them to understand commands (because I'm sure there was no human languages in the era of prehistoric Pokémon! *DING*). I'd guess Cradily would still be a bit of a jerk though.

edited 23rd Jun '10 8:57:10 PM by SilentReverence

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

I guess I should do this next one, since the fic arc I'm trying to steer into will have one of them rather prominently. Wish me luck.

Ralts Line

Morphs [Oak Catalog #]

• Ralts [#280]
  • Ralts is a small humanoid Pokémon, a little over one foot tall. It is covered with short, glossy white fur that obscures its tiny ears and nose. The upper half of its head is covered with thick, lime-green hair that drapes over its eyes and resembles a bowl-cut, and a triangular red horn protrudes from its forehead and the back of its head. Its lower body is covered with a thin extension of long white fur that resembles a dress.

• Kirlia [#281]
  • The first evolution, Kirlia, stands approximately twice as high. Its hair splits around the eyes to allow unimpeded vision and grows at the sides into bangs, and the horns have rotated around to the sides of the head giving the appearance of hairpins. The fur dress becomes shorter and stands up like a tutu, revealing slender green legs.

• Gardevoir [#282]
  • The primary final evolution, Gardevoir, is nearly the height of a grown human (about five feet). Its tutu grows to an ankle length dress, the arms turn green and grow three articulated fingers. Its red horns shift down to reinforce its rib cage at the front and back. The green hair curls below the jawline and hardens into a protective helmet.

• Gallade [#475]
  • The alternate final form, Gallade, is only attainable by males. He stands at about the same height, wiry but deceptively muscular, and the horns have again moved to the chest and back. The fur dress is gone, resolved into short fur down his sides and legs. The green hair hardens into a crested helmet, and the lower arms harden into thick bludgeons that extend backward past the elbows in a tonfa-like shape.

Notable Biology

The signature dress-like fur extension on all forms is somewhere between the consistency of cotton and silk. All forms except the Gallade have a distinctly feminine appearance because of it, though males most certainly exist.

Of note is the way the green hair on top of the head gradually hardens as the specimen grows. Whereas the Ralts has soft hair, the Kirlia has a firm baleen-like texture at the forehead and back of the head, and both final forms have resolved all of the hair into protective helmets. This process is caused by the horns, which produce excess keratin to fuse hair and fur together as they shift around throughout the specimen's various stages. Over time, the final forms exhibit similar toughening of the fur in the upper torso around the current position of the horns.

The horns also function as foci and receptors for psychic energy. Once the final forms' horns migrate away from the head, the specimen is able to focus power through the brain or chest horn if either is injured; a natural defensive redundancy.

Gallades gain smaller, decentralized foci across their whole frame, particularly in their lower arms. Their long-range psychic powers and empathic senses weaken considerably, but their bodies toughen to compensate. Their powers and combat style shift to optimize close combat via supercharging physical strikes with psychic energy.

The line is very receptive to empathic psychic emissions that give away the emotions and intentions of those nearby; the Ralts line is thus alerted to danger far ahead of time, and reflexively resonates positive emotion.

Habitat

Wild specimens live relatively far from large cities, as they dislike the emanations of monotony and "daily grind" from the humans within. They also dislike the deep forest due to claustrophobia and the occasional empathic death throes of nearby prey creatures. Thus, they tend to live on the edges of forests near clearings, close enough to hide if they sense danger. They tend to be shy and reclusive, though they will approach a human or Pokémon emitting positive emotions.

In captivity, a specimen will form an empathic bond with and become very protective of its trainer. Like most psychic Pokémon, more mature forms will attempt to blend into the trainer's life as equals. Due to this line's empathic nature, they dislike the isolation of a Pokéball, though they will seek it out if the environment emanates negative feelings and they are assured of their trainer's protection.

Diet

While the Ralts line is biologically capable of processing meat, they find hunting quite distasteful due to empathic backlash of killing prey, and remain herbivorous unless their trainer or offspring desperately need food.

Hazards

The Ralts line are naturally skilled psychics, easily surpassing the abilities of trained humans; however, they are very mild-mannered and dislike causing serious injury due to empathic backlash. Most hazards are related to direct threatening of the specimen or its family or friends, of whom it is very protective.

It is, however, unwise to antagonize a Ralts or any of its evolutions — though it will almost certainly refrain from causing physical injury, a sufficiently annoyed specimen may find many ways to retaliate nonetheless, and antagonists may soon find themselves speaking incomprehensibly, or in need of a change of clothes.

Additionally, fully grown Gallade are fond of roughhousing, and in spite of their best efforts accidents are always possible.

Courting and Childrearing

The Ralts line reaches sexual maturity at the Kirlia stage. They form empathic bonds with mates, and mate for life. They attempt to choose mates within their current evolutionary level due to an awkward three-foot height difference between the intermediate and final form.

Males tend to prefer evolving into Gallades — in the wild this is mostly just a status symbol, though in captivity they may grow self-conscious about their species' feminine appearance due to nearby and prominent human perceptions. As this requires finding and use of a rare Dawn Stone, families may hand down Everstones to sons to give them more time to accomplish this.

A child is raised by the parents until it leaves to seek a mate.

Social Structure

The Ralts line has a family structure very similar to that of humans. Nuclear families stay together until the nest empties, so to speak, and family ties are kept afterward.

Due to their sharp empathic senses and protective families, it is unusual for one of this species to be captured by a trainer unexpectedly — the capture is usually voluntary unto a trainer that the specimen has already befriended.

Trainer's Notes

This Pokémon will attempt to establish itself as a social equal with its trainer. It is highly intelligent; though it is not capable of human speech, it is not unheard of for one of the Ralts line to become literate or communicate telepathically with humans.

It is very affectionate, holds family above all else, and applies the term rather broadly — that includes but is not limited to their nuclear family, you, your own family, your entire team, any traveling companions and their teams, and any other close friends. It will expect to be allowed to visit its parents when reasonably possible. It tends not to approve of trading away other Pokémon unless the one to be traded has been extremely unpleasant or is going to another trusted friend, and it will be deeply offended if you try to trade it to anyone — if the bond with the trainer and friendship with the team has deteriorated enough that leaving is seriously considered, it is usually better to release it back to its family altogether unless it has grown especially fond of the person you wish to trade it to.

This line tends to not enjoy battling at first, and may never develop a taste for it due to the empathic feedback of striking an opponent — those who adjust usually do so by learning to filter their sensitivity, and Gallades are particularly adept at this. Like most psychics, they are poor multitaskers in battle. Unlike most psychics, they are generally not headstrong enough to refuse to admit this, and will not need much persuasion to trust their trainer to handle strategy.

edited 13th Jul '10 2:21:24 PM by Pykrete

Rhino horns are basically fused hairs, so I don't really see it as a problem.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

^^ You might want to put a qualifier on that part about trading members of the Ralts family, I would imagine that a Ralts/Kirlia/Etc. would probably be vastly less annoyed if it was traded to a family member or close acquaintance of the trainer than it would if were pawned off to some stranger over the GTS...

EDIT: v Remind me to never train a Ralts...

edited 23rd Jun '10 10:01:37 PM by CaptainNapalm

Let's play a game about Pokémon...

Did the opposite — clarified that it would be offended at being traded at all, even under those nicer circumstances (though by default less so — but it's the difference between being shot in the heart and shot in the foot). Presumably it joined up for you, not your classmate Timmy Who Picks His Nose, or Uncle Hicksville Who Smells Of Cheese. Sure it probably loves those people as much as you do, but that doesn't mean it wants to live with them.

EDIT: I'm sure exceptions happen, though, as with everything. Added that too. But basically what I'm saying is everyone's got their neuroses, and they're empaths — of course they'll have a tendency to be clingy.

edited 23rd Jun '10 10:58:43 PM by Pykrete

Magcargo's by far one of my favorite pokemon, and it's a shame they never gave him a better ability, or stats, or evolution to make up for that typing. He's such a cool concept.

Slugma Line

Morphs [Oak Catalog #]

• Slugma [#218]
  • Slugma is a large, bulky mollusk -at least as gastropods go- reaching up to 70cm tall at the head when it draws itself up. While mildly interesting based on size, Slugma's most striking characteristic is that its body appears to be composed of bubbling lava. Slugma constantly glows a deep, rich red-orange as a result of this, most noticeably in the dark. Slugma may occasionally be found with a thin layer of hardened mantle over them, which occurs when they rest and the surface of their body is allowed to cool. Rare cases are reported where Slugma take on a grey coloration; this may be due to impurities in their silicate bodies.

• Magcargo [#219]
  • The next stage in Slugma's life is distinguishable by a large, bulky shell of rock stationed upon its back. Its mantle extends well into the heart of this shell and it can often be found resting inside in order to conserve heat. An urban legend involves the fragility of the shell; on the contrary, the shell thickens as the creature grows and its thickness is integral to proper insulation. Magcargo's bubbling, lava-like mantle is shared with Slugma, and glows a similar deep red-orange. The rare "impurity" morphs are notable for varying shades of blue and purple. Magcargo are considerably rarer than Slugma, for reasons detailed below.

Notable Biology

Slugma and Magcargo share similar biological traits and are closely related, to the point that Magcargo is a true stage in the Slugma lifecycle.

The most notable aspect of these two creatures is their baffling body composition - as mentioned earlier, they appear to be made of liquid-hot lava. ("Magma," while applied to their popular names, is not technically correct unless they are living under the Earth's crust, a habitat for which our scientists are currently unable to drum up research grants to explore.) On average, their body temperature hovers between 1000 and 1800 degrees Farenheit (attn: Prof. Elm, a typo in your Pokedex erroneously reads "18,000." Please update.) Autopsies performed on deceased specimens show bodies composed largely of silicate matter, with varying amounts of other igneous minerals and metals depending on location - differences are noticeable even on specimens collected from differing elevations on the same volcano.

Special note must be made for Magcargo, which differs from simply being a larger and more solidified Slugma in one key way - the development of an internal heat furnace located inside the shell. An active Magcargo will emit flames from holes in its shell more often than an inactive one. This feature allows Magcargos in plume (breeding - see later) to travel farther from the volcano and deposit their plumes in areas of low concentration.

Courting and Childrearing

While both Slugma and Magcargo are lithophages (discussed later), they also require considerable amounts of heat, especially Slugma, which depends on geothermal vents for most of its heat intake to break down rock as well as breed. Both Slugma and Magcargo, as gastropod mollusks, are hermaphroditic, though this is considerably less pronounced than in most. They tend to follow a more "male-shifted" or "female-shifted" physiology, the only real difference between the two being sperm vs. egg counts as well as predilections toward draft beer or appletinis.

A Slugma or Magcargo heavy with eggs will display them in large, thick bubbles upon its mantle which incubate the eggs while rotating them gently to ensure proper temperature regulation. This phenomenon is known as being "in plume," as the reproduction takes place with bursts of lava when the young have reached survival capability. Most of the hordes of young will harden and die, but those that survive keep close to other Slugma or Magcargo, but out of the way of their rasping radula to avoid being inadvertently eaten.

There was one case of a plume coinciding with a Numel/Camerupt migration wherein a young Slugma made themselves very comfortable inside the cauldron-like humps of the bull Camerupt and irritated it by chewing on its rocky protrusions.

Habitat

Slugma are more dependent on location than Magcargo - an important part of their lifecycle. As they are smaller and less well-insulated, Slugma must spend their time in habitats rich in both geothermal activity as well as mineral resources.

Both Slugma and Magcargo are prolific in locations where geothermal activity is highest, and a satellite map of zones where plates meet will invariably coincide with a distribution map of Slugma/Magcargo populations. Colonies have been found on remote volcanic islands with no indication of how they arrived, for example.

As mentioned earlier, Magcargo's role in the Slugma lifespan is a migratory one, explaining the internal heat source, added protection and increased range. Such Magcargo migrations are rare, occurring perhaps once every few dozen years, but the odd Magcargo has been sighted in such odd places as the beach (leaving a trail of glass behind it) and the forest (risking a dangerous fire) in its pursuit of new geothermal activity.

Diet

Both creature-types are primarily lithophages; that is, their primary matter intake is rock, which is slowly digested, broken down by their internal heat. The choice elements and minerals are absorbed and the waste products left behind as flakes of obsidian or lumps of granite.

They are also attracted to sources of heat. Cases have been found where Slugma have made the trek down from the mountain, found themselves lost, and curled up in a campfire or perhaps an iron stove to rest in a thin shell of hardened mantle.

That said, they are always game to try anything and their molten bodies help them break down nearly anything into its component elements - such as organic materials or, more worryingly, vital electronics such as a trainer's Pokedex or laptop computer. Trainers should be extraordinarily careful about allowing these creatures near battery-powered devices; they appear to be attracted to them in particular and can cause the batteries to explode or release toxins.

Hazards

Trainers are not recommended to attempt raising Slugma. Its molten body makes it at once too destructive and too fragile for all but the most dedicated trainers or researchers. Contrary to popular belief (i.e. Convection Shmonvection), the very air surrounding these lava creatures is enough to cause severe burns, and they occasionally belch poisonous gases. Furthermore, when taken out of their natural element, Slugma are prone to hardening over and perishing due to heat loss, and it is considered cruel by some to take such specialized creatures from their natural habitat.

Compounding this problem is the fact that Magcargo, as a migratory morph of the Slugma line (and thus considerably more suited to adventuring), can be obstinate and singleminded if not accustomed to human trainers. One possible solution is to capture a Slugma but train it in its natural home until it forms a bond with the trainer, in other words, resetting its geothermal-migratory compulsion to migrate along with the trainer. This, of course, is unwieldy and those dedicated few Magcargo trainers tend to simply deal with the creature's obstinacy.

Should one defy common sense and train a Magcargo for the road, be advised that the creature's sheer heat and molten body is an extraordinary hazard for one's own team as well as opponents' pokemon. A friendly match can easily end in tears, especially for less robust foes, as the opponent is reduced to ashes or, at the very least, suffers extreme burns from the molten lava. Trainers with pokemon who enjoy roughhousing (i.e. most Fighting types) are advised to keep them separate from the Magcargo for their own safety. Should a Magcargo's shell become ruptured, the resulting eruption may prove lethal before the creature can repair itself.

Social Structure and Interactions with Others

Slugma and Magcargo tend to live in large colonies, though they are not particularly social creatures in and of themselves. As volcanic activity is unrelated to seasonal change, they can be found outdoors even in the winter so long as their surrounding temperature remains high. In particularly harsh conditions, Slugma may congregate around the colony's Magcargo, huddling together in an amorphous pile for warmth and heat.

Due to their habitat, Slugma and Magcargo rarely interact with many other pokemon. Geodude occasionally wander around and reactions are generally mild until the gastropods attempt to rasp off a section of rocky skin. At this point, the Geodude generally flees, these being some of the few creatures it can outrun. Machop enjoy throwing small rocks at them and often compete amongst themselves to see how many they can hit. The Slugma tend to retreat behind larger and tougher Magcargo, which will discourage the Machop if struck.

Numel and Camerupt are an interesting case, and some speculate that their internal magma reservoirs are powered by microcolonies of Slugma feeding upon their rocky interiors. It may be becoming somewhat more discredited with the discovery that only Magcargo have such internal furnaces, though it is entirely possible that a different strain exists in a state symbiotic solely with Camerupt, similar to the clearly mutant Shellder existing with Slowbro.

edited 24th Jun '10 11:33:54 AM by Isotrope

Amateur pilot, writer and sketchbook jockey and a fan of astronomy, fish, cars and steampunk. ...for science!