Hoenn Legendaries, Part III

bills-pokedex:

Latias
The Eon Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Psychic
Official Registration #: 380
Entry: One of the legendary dragon guardians of the Soul Dew, an item of mystic power. Unlike most other legendaries, it’s known that latias live in small herds with multiple other latias and latios. Each latias is highly sensitive to human emotions, can understand human speech, communicates telepathically, and possesses coats of reflective down that can alter their appearance or render them invisible. Needless to say, these abilities in combination have caused much romantic confusion in the human race since the latias have first discovered us, and there is, indeed, an internet subculture dedicated to this exact breed of confusion.

Latios
The Eon Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Psychic
Official Registration #: 381
Entry: One of the legendary dragon guardians of the Soul Dew, an item of mystic power. Unlike most other legendaries, it’s known that latios live in small herds with multiple other latias and latios. These highly intelligent pokémon are capable of flying at mach speeds and telepathically coercing subjects into seeing whatever they see in their minds. Often born alongside a sister latias, latios are generally pacifist in nature … except when their twins “interact” with rather seedy-looking humans, at which point, they often use their considerable abilities to eliminate the perceived threat. Which, honestly, makes latios a pokémon the author can sympathize with greatly.

Mega Latias
The Eon Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Psychic
Official Registration #: 380+
Entry: The advanced form of latias, via latiasite. Contrary to popular belief, the change in this pokémon’s appearance does not indicate a significant boost in speed, nor does it lend any particular aerodynamic quality to the overall pokémon. Instead, it only boosts certain capabilities inherent in this pokémon’s genetic makeup, meaning it becomes even more capable of working in tandem with its sibling species. In other words, the physiological changes merely indicate the heightened ability to work as one unit with a mega latixs’s respective partner.

The Mareep Line

bills-pokedex:

Mareep
The Wool Pokémon
Type: Electric
Official Registration #: 179
Entry: A two-foot-tall, sheep-like pokémon native to the fields of Johto. This shy and docile pokémon stores electricity in its fluffy wool. The more electricity it stores, the more its wool puffs out. Eventually, the wool falls off naturally, and at that point, it can be collected and spun. If used immediately, mareep yarn can serve as a handy natural battery for small devices. However, if allowed to discharge its electricity through a grounder over a period of two days, it can be used as an adequate (albeit slightly glowing) substitute for yarn made of sheep wool. It is thus favored by crafters for its brilliant properties, as mareep wool can add shine and glitter to most knitting projects. Such as, for example, a … rather charming autumn sweater a grandmother sends to her grandson who doesn’t have the heart to tell her he hasn’t worn sweaters in years.

Flaaffy
The Wool Pokémon
Type: Electric
Official Registration #: 180
Entry: The evolved form of mareep, by battle experience. A two-and-a-half-foot-tall sheep-like pokémon native to the fields of northern Johto. Also: a sheep half-covered in coarse, electrified wool and half-covered in rubbery, non-conductive skin. Also: apparently what androids dream of, the author has been told.

Ampharos
The Light Pokémon
Type: Electric
Official Registration #: 181
Entry: The evolved form of flaaffy, by battle experience. Although ampharos loses its evolutionary line’s signature wool (except in its mega-evolved form, in which it gains long, flowing locks), it gains a tail tipped with a jewel capable of emitting brilliant light. This light is so bright it can be seen from space if wielded by a healthy (and perhaps angry) ampharos. Knowing this, the people of ancient, seafaring civilizations often used ampharos, both to communicate over long distances and to guide ships around rocky shores. It is therefore one of the few pokémon that has ever guided entire naval fleets using the power of its rear end.

Mega Ampharos
The Light Pokémon
Type: Electric/Dragon
Official Registration #: 181+
Entry: The advanced form of ampharos, via ampharosite. Upon mega evolution, ampharos gains not only an affinity for the dragon element and a boost in power but also a long, luxurious mane of wool. Additionally, it gains the ability Mold Breaker, which some believe is actually the result of the sheer power of the glory of its godly locks.

That is most definitely not true … although yes, ampharos’s mane is rather impressive. —LH

Why is the flygon line not bug type?

The trapinch line, despite their insectoid appearances, do not actually exhibit any affinity for the bug element naturally, anonymous. (Or, well, vibrava is capable of learning Bug Buzz without assistance, but other than that, I mean.) Rather, the entire line exhibits a strong alignment with the ground-type at first, then with the dragon-type as it grows into its advanced stages. This goes for both its offensive and defensive capabilities. It’s not only true that members of the trapinch line are incapable of learning bug-type moves, but it’s also true that none of them display any of the weaknesses or resistances of a bug-type.

Remember, anonymous, a pokémon does not simply receive an elemental classification according to its physical appearance. What matters more is that pokémon are both capable of controlling a certain element and respond to other elements in a certain way.

I’ve raised dragon Pokémon like salamence, flygon, and garchomp from eggs and recently was gifted a jangmo o and he acts a lot differed from the other dragons. He’s playful like a puppy rather than more territorial and extroverted. Why is this?

Although a researcher’s descriptions of a pokémon’s disposition may be a general overview, there are always outliers. Just as humans aren’t all social, outgoing, and so forth, not all pokémon are a specific set of traits. Gyarados aren’t always violent and angry, chansey aren’t always altruistic, and jangmo-o aren’t always territorial.

That having been said, it sounds like you were rather lucky. A playful, puppy-like pokémon may be easier to bond with and thus train as it grows. Take this as an opportunity to start off on the right foot, so to speak. Just be sure that your jangmo-o integrates well with the rest of your team, and you’ll be fine, anonymous.

Best of luck!

Are there any dragon types that are good choices for starter pokemon?

As I might have noted in this post, the dragon type can be a challenging one to master at first, partly because of the general temperament of the members of this element, partly because of their sheer rarity, partly because they grow at a somewhat slower rate than most other pokémon, and partly because some dragon-types are actually rather difficult to train due to physical limitations. For example, dratini can only learn a handful of weak moves (most notably Wrap) until it advances in age. Goomy, for another example, learn a wide variety of moves, but it must be kept in a moist environment at all times and thus can only really battle in pools, marshlands, or other largely wet battlefields. Deino, for a last example, is both strong and has few physical limitations that keep it from being a valuable member of your team, but it’s highly aggressive and liable to refuse orders when given them.

The others are by and large easier to train; it’s just a matter of finding them in the first place. For example, jangmo-o is an excellent battler, but it is only found in one specific part of one specific mountain on one specific island in the region of Alola. Likewise, noibat are only found in specific caves around the world, and axew, although it’s a popular starter pokémon among dragon-type fans, really only live in three other specific caves, separate from noibat habitats.

This means that of all of the dragon pokémon, really bagon and gible are your best choices, as they are fairly reasonable to train, eager to fight for a human (or otherwise grow towards evolution, in bagon’s case), and are far, far less painful to find. Granted, of course, this doesn’t mean that you can’t ever try to train the others. Really, all dragons can grow to be wonderful, powerful members of a team if given enough patience. It’s just that bagon and gible require less patience than others.

I was thinking about geting a dragon type Pokemon, becuse dragon’s. Most likely goodra, or dragonite lines since I do know where to get one legally. I gess I’m looking for care tips for them or dragon types in general. And aslong as I could meet there needs would thire be any problems geting both?

Offering general tips on how to care for a particular type is a bit tricky, anonymous, and the reason why is because even within a type family, different species may require vastly different things. For example, you wouldn’t take care of a seviper the same way you would take care of a standard muk, even though they’re both purely poison-types. Or for a closer comparison, you wouldn’t care for a scyther the same way you would a vespiquen.

Similarly, dragon-types, while all draconic in nature (obviously speaking), all have slightly different variations in care requirements. For example, noivern are nocturnal, eat fruit, and require a perch; garchomp are diurnal, carnivorous, and require wide-open spaces they can burrow into. Axew and jangmo-o are both similar to take care of (as they are both primarily carnivorous dragon-types that dwell in mountains and caves, require a source of heat, and evolve into at least one aggressive stage), but haxorus has a completely different personality from kommo-o and thus requires a different sort of training and psychological support. Granted, this doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t get along at all—and in fact, haxorus gets along quite well with a number of different pokémon, not to mention kommo-o generally feel protective towards anything it considers to be part of its herd or team—but it’s worth keeping in mind.

Then you have pokémon like dragonite and goodra. Goodra, by necessity, needs to be kept moist at all times. Otherwise, the fluids coating and composing its body dry, resulting in cracked skin that may be open to infection—or worse, general tissue damage. Dragonite, meanwhile, don’t necessarily need water to survive (although dratini and dragonair, being lake and river pokémon, do), but as wild dragonite live in and around the ocean, a tame one would be happiest when given a large pool. Thus, these pokémon may be difficult to keep with the aforementioned dragons, but they do quite well with the likes of kingdra and dragalge.

Other than that, goodra are primarily vegetarian (and one of the few dragon-types that are, with noivern being the other), whereas dragonite is an omnivore. Dragonite, additionally, cannot be put onto a full vegan diet, as it needs protein from meat sources to fuel its fantastic draconic powers. Both don’t normally need toys or extensive bedding, but dragonite needs a large amount of space, as it’s both a marine pokémon and one that flies. Letting it out to stretch its wings (so to speak) for a few hours should be enough for it. Goodra, meanwhile, is a less active pokémon and will require very little beyond a normal training routine. It’s worth it to allow a goodra at least an hour to swim, however.

Finally, as both goodra and dragonite fill very similar roles on a team, they can actually train together rather well. It would be a good idea to allow them to work together as they grow and learn new moves, as one pokémon can easily help the other to adjust and perfect their techniques.

In other words, by and large, there are certain combinations of pokémon that may be difficult to raise together, but at the very least, dragonite and goodra are highly compatible. The only differences between them are diet and exercise, really, unlike other dragons that require environments and routines that differ vastly from the more aquatically-inclined dragonite or goodra. If you plan on collecting more dragons than these, it’s imperative to do basic research into the habitats of the dragons you’re considering, as their natural environments will tell you a lot about what you would need to know to raise them—such as, for example, whether or not you can house them in the same enclosures as either dragonite or goodra.

Best of luck, anonymous!

The Bagon Line

Bagon
The Rock Head Pokémon
Type: Dragon
Official Registration #: 371
Entry: A small, dragon-like pokémon first discovered in the cave systems of Hoenn. The most notable fact about this dragon-like pokémon is its passion for learning how to fly. Indeed, it believes it can fly. It believes it can touch the sky. It thinks about it every night and day: spreading its wings and flying away.

I don’t know what’s worse: the fact that you know that song in the first place or the fact that you’re not above quoting it in lieu of a proper entry. —LH

Shelgon
The Endurance Pokémon
Type: Dragon
Official Registration #: 372
Entry: The evolved form of bagon, by battle experience. Shelgon is essentially the ultimate middle evolution. It represents the crossroads between the ever idealistic bagon with its dreams of flying and the high-flying salamence. However, in the process, shelgon is also literally a chrysalis, a stage in which a member of the bagon family slowly turns into a flight-capable pokémon, cell by cell. As such, shelgon possesses a hard, armor-like shell that fully protects it from any physical assault during its transformation. Although such a shell is rock-hard, it’s also extremely cumbersome, and because of this, most shelgon are slow and sluggish. This, of course, is a good thing—not because its slow pace allows it to focus on bracing for impact and more because it allows the average researcher to test exactly how durable this shell and then run away before enduring a Bite themselves.

Salamence
The Dragon Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Flying
Official Registration #: 373
Entry: The evolved form of shelgon, by battle experience. Also: a large, dragon-like pokémon that is roughly the size and shape of a winged wailmer. According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way this pokémon should be able to fly. Its wings are too awkwardly shaped to get its hefty body off the ground. The salamence, of course, flies anyway because it doesn’t care what humans think is impossible.

Okay, now you’re just being lazy. It’s not even a bee. —LH

To be fair, it’s a dragon-type, dragon-like pokémon the Symposium saw fit to call “the dragon pokémon.” I firmly believe I’m the least lazy person involved with distributing information about it. —Bill

UB-05: Guzzlord

Guzzlord
The Junkivore Pokémon
Type: Dark/Dragon
Official Registration #: 799
Entry: One of the Ultra Beasts, or strange pokémon that had appeared from another dimension. According to witnesses, this pokémon eats everything in its path, from garbage on the ground to full-on buildings. In fact, guzzlord is constantly eating, stuffing its massive maw with its crab-like hands. However, despite how much it consumes, no one can identify its anus or, in fact, locate its droppings. However, considering what it eats, perhaps it’s better that we never find the inevitable horror that must be guzzlord poop.

It’s good to know that you make an effort to maintain a level of class on this blog, Bill. —LH

It could be worse. These entries could be written by Bebe. —Bill

Good point. —LH

Turtonator and Drampa

Turtonator
The Blast Turtle Pokémon
Type: Fire/Dragon
Official Registration #: 776
Entry: A mata-mata-like pokémon native to the mountains of volcanic, tropical regions. Everything about this pokémon is explosive. Its shell is liable to explode violently on impact; it breathes volatile, highly flammable gases; its internal organs can be extracted and used as alternative fuel; and even its dung can be used as a substitute for TNT. This, of course, explains thoroughly why it lives in the hottest areas of volcanic regions, as close to sources of heat as possible. Given the hazards in trekking to this pokémon’s natural habitats to obtain one and the hazards in training one at all, if your opponent sends a turtonator out to battle you, it may be wise to forfeit. There is, of course, no true danger in facing a turtonator that’s been adequately trained (because, as noted elsewhere on this blog, pokémon can often control their deadlier abilities); it’s just that when seeing a pokémon this dangerous to obtain and train in the first place, you may wish to ask yourself if it’s really worth it to face a trainer who is apparently extremely deficient in self-preservation instincts.

Drampa
The Placid Pokémon
Type: Normal/Dragon
Official Registration #: 780
Entry: A Zhulong-like pokémon native to snowy mountaintops. An extremely friendly dragon, it comes down from its isolated habitat at the peak of a mountain to interact with humans, especially human children. However, it should also be noted that angering a drampa is unwise, as it also possesses the ability to level skyscrapers with its intense draconic breath. Naturally, it’s the favored subject of many children’s program, in part because of its cartoonish design and friendliness towards children and in part because showing a cartoonish, friendly dragon leveling cities is apparently fantastic entertainment to both Alolan and Unovan children.

The Jangmo-o Line

Jangmo-o
The Scaly Pokémon
Type: Dragon
Official Registration #: 782
Entry: A small, dragon-like pokémon native to the rocky canyons of Alola’s Poni Island. Although they look fierce, jangmo-o are actually highly timid pokémon around anything but other jangmo-o. As a result, they reside deep within Poni Islands’ cave and canyon system, in rugged terrain that’s very difficult for most humans and pokémon to traverse. There, they train against each other, bashing into one another with their rock-hard crests in order to harden their hides into steel-like armor … which of course is perhaps not the most advantageous thing they could do to preserve their reclusive lifestyle, seeing as the sound of one jangmo-o bashing itself against another jangmo-o produces a loud clang that resonates throughout their native cave system and thus alerts any possible outsider to their nests’ specific locations, but who is the author to judge?

Hakamo-o
The Scaly Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Fighting
Official Registration #: 783
Entry: The evolved form of jangmo-o, by battle experience. As this pokémon grows, it sheds its scales. Through this process, each hakamo-o develops a coat of scales that grows harder and sharper with each subsequent shedding. On a hakamo-o, these scales are invaluable and become integrated in their owner’s vicious, physical techniques. Their sharp edges can serve as weapons in a pinch and can inflict lacerations upon the slightest touch, especially as hakamo-o grows older or nears evolution. Off of a hakamo-o, however, they’re either great for slicing vegetables or a fantastically easy way to earn yourself a visit to one of Alola’s many lovely emergency medical facilities, depending on whether or not you were able to spot these shed scales before stepping on them.

Kommo-o
The Scaly Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Fighting
Official Registration #: 784
Entry: The evolved form of Hakamo-o, by battle experience. In order to intimidate any enemy it spots, kommo-o vigorously jingles the metallic scales on its tail. The author assures you that when facing a five-foot tall, 173-pound dragon that can either maul you with its claws, throw you, or slice you in half with the aforementioned tail, this jingling is a lot more intimidating than it sounds.