The Pokédex - Extended Fanon Edition

Okay, indexing is done.

As for shoring up the early entries, I figured I'd just start at the beginning and reopen the Bulbasaur entry for comment.

'k then... So do those flowers on Ivysaur and Venusaur do anything, or are they just for show?

The flower is the thing that produces the powders for all those status effect moves. In addition to being able to focus solar radiation.

^ Erm, would they have any non-battle functions? Are they pleasant-smelling? Or do they smell like rotting corpses?

I think it was mentioned that they also produce sweet smelling pheromones (presumably during mating season) to attract other Venusaur.

Venusaur would attract friendly Bug-types who want to get acquainted with the Rafflesia on their back.

The bulb can provide additional nutrition via photosynthesis.

...unless... if Bulbasaur are in fact insectivorous, using the flower for a lure... hmm...

^I thought we decided that Bulbasaur were herbivorous and that the photosynthesis occurred in the chlorophyll rich skin of the pokemon.

^ Yeah, just brought it up since we're revising. Probably both the plant and skin photosynthesize, though.

So, how do these things' social structure work (well they're obviously rare, so groups probably aren't that large...)?

Oh and my next article will be about Mareep, if no one's already called it...

Rarity's debatable; seemed to be a lot in that forest in the anime, and several could be found by the River in Snap.

I guess I'll get around to making my Slowpoke Line entry soon enough. I'm just wondering how I should handle Slowpoke>Slowbro and Slowking evolution.

Well, it's usually depicted as being a symbiotic relationship with Shelder.

For hazards associated with these little buggers (Bulbasaur et al), we might want to add some tidbits about stuff like their tackle-based attacks, Vine Whip, Seed Bomb, and SolarBeam...

EDIT: So when are we going to start counting the Cubone article as newly finished?

edited 11th Aug '10 1:51:54 PM by CaptainNapalm

*updates sig* You saw nothing!

^^^ Guess I'll go with that. I'll just stick to the Shellder biting the tail or head triggering evolution.

edited 11th Aug '10 4:37:24 PM by rmctagg09

So what happens to our favorite Frog/Rafflesia hybrids if their plants on their backs die? Does it lead invariably to death, or something that would be lethal in the wild that is survivable in captivity (either through transplants or being crippled for the rest of one's life)?

In the current entry, the flower is in fact a part of their body. So as far as nutrition goes, it'd be the equivalent of part of your stomach dying.

The plant dying apart from the Bulbasaur as a whole is likely a very rare condition; in the wild, it probably leads to starvation in most cases, but if detected early in captivity may be survivable with either transplants/grafts or acclimation to a fully heterotrophic diet.

edited 13th Aug '10 8:39:04 AM by Tangent128

Hmm... So when are we going to start buffing that entry?

I'm finishing up something important now. Tonight or tomorrow I can properly focus on the entry.

Sorry that I haven't been too active, but I'm just recovering from illness and no inet@home. The Surskit entry will be posted soon I hope.

On Bulbasaur, and maybe applicable to other plant-like Pokémon especially if they are nocturnal (not neccesaarily associated with Dark-type, though maybe Shiftry?): does theirt photosynthesis work both directions the same as with "our" plants? Ie.: CO2 -> O2 + nutrients when sunlight, the reverse direction in absence of sunlight? I'm not sure if such detail would have consequence for those species who live alone, but I'm sure it would obviate or effect certain behaviour when living with humans (as would hapen with Pokémon with 24/7 natural flames).

Other details for consideration on Bulbasaur and evolutions: is the seed inside the bulb actually used for Leech Seed and if so, how does it work? I'd assume the "fetch HP from the enemy" mechanic is just a game details for balance and Does Not Work That Way™ in "real life"  ^ž

Any guise of how many vines does Venusaur have? Anime says a lot of big ones but doesn't go beyond that; I had thought at the beginning that a relatively nice number was eight or so in a radial pattern from the base of the flower-like part of the organism, but after an examination of its design and name origin I thought that multiples of four in side-by-side rows made more sense, after all Venusaur is related to the Rafflesia of which some subspecies do parasite grapling/tendrilous vines, some of such grow in grouped-row patterns. My Yahoo-Fu is not very good today but the one family of vines that comes to mind is "Tetrasina" or something like that. More importantly, for them to be useful in dangerous situations they must be able to bind and pull with incredible force (such as to help a downed/hanging Venusaur regain some balance or up a ladder) so if my physics is not wrong sharing the least common surface area on the organism should be of benefit.

On their tackling attacks, I do not recall any mention of them being a good attack except something about it was like being hit by a speeding truck, but I'd guess with their body shape and strength, side-by slams and "elbowing" would be their preferred method of pushing opponents away to Vine Whip-ping distance, with headbutting and right out Body Slamming the preferred method to... um... compare sizes.

I've got nothing on their habitat, sounds generic and good enough, although if going by the anime is their number that bugs me. I'd guess however that the older Venusaur would prefer windier places, since they can get more from the world (smells and particles carry information as well as nutrients) without having to move their heavy bodies around too often.

One thing that I was thinking is that if they have large-space periodic migratory habits and since their shape is easily recognizable from above, the presence and movement of sole Venusaur could serve as a sort of groundbound GPS for bird Pokémon species that happen to share their migratory cycle/period. Speaking of shape and above, the Bulbasaur line seems pretty vulnerable in design to shadowing or diving aerial predation so I'd expect the mechanism to release poison from the plant-part of the organism be triggered by either thigmotropism (eg.: sudden loss of touch with the ground, or direct attempt at predation against the plant-part) or something which out of ignorance of the subject I'd call pneumotropism (eg.: when the body is wrongly twisted, distribution of air inside the plant-part is disrupted, causing a movement that releases the air together with compressed spores, or something).

On all starters — I'm not sure if this is just Fanon or if there is anything in canon that supports it but I read somewhere, definitively not a fic, a Venusaur whose Trainer has recently died will settle in the area of demise and visit the exact spot for several years even if the place has changed (due to construction, etc). Maybe I'm dreaming a bit too high here but the starter families are supposed to be a bit more special than the rest when it comes down to bonding with humans. Lifespans of the species may have to be taken into consideration (although let's not expect to match Wartortle. Or Torterra...).

Yeah.... have been thinking a lot. I'll save something more for Totodile and Treecko. Going away now.

And I'm hopping for a Smugleaf entry as soon as we are able to...

The starters definitely have a strong social aspect, which is why they are not too difficult to train.

^ How's that work with our Totodile article then? We mentioned that they (like RL alligators) occasionally eat their own young, and that their final morph is pretty much solitary except for when it comes time to breed...

v EDIT: Wait... Since when did male anything ever go into heat? Females go into heat...

edited 15th Aug '10 10:28:04 AM by CaptainNapalm

Or my assumption that a male Swampert in heat is not to be approached...

I would find it difficult to otherwise explain how Mari manages to forge a close bond of family/friendship with her Feraligatr Gnaw.

Presumably some pokemon have vastly different behavior when you compare a wild critter to that friendly guy in your party.

How would something like this happen? Simple, the presence of a human friend/tamer/trainer will flip several hormonal flags that changes the behavioral pattern of a pokemon, gradually making it more sociable (This ties in with the Happiness/Loyalty stat in-game). This might also alter some of its biological rythmns, and almost certainly promote growth of increased intelligence.

The shock of going through a Trading Machine will reset this behavioral state.

After all, it's not like Timid, Calm, and Sassy Gyarados are readily seen in the wild.

edited 15th Aug '10 9:52:22 AM by AceOfScarabs