The Mantine Line

Mantyke
The Kite Pokémon
Type: Water/Flying
Official Registration #: 458
Entry: A sizable, manta ray-like pokémon native to the cooler seas of southern Sinnoh. Mantyke are often seen swimming within schools of remoraid. It’s not because mantyke eat them, of course. Rather, it seems that mantyke form symbiotic partnerships with the remoraid. Remoraid parasites that may latch onto mantyke’s fins, so the mantyke benefit from the relationship by having pokémon clean its fins as it swims. The remoraid, meanwhile, benefit from the relationship by seeing much of the world thanks to the mantyke. This is possible because cleaning the mantyke enables it to evolve, which in turn means the remoraid can cling to a much stronger and faster pokémon that can ferry them longer distances across the ocean. That and mantyke’s evolution, mantine, are known for breaching the ocean’s surface and flying up to 300 feet in the air, so the remoraid clinging to it can, quite literally, see much of the world before plummeting back to the ocean’s surface.

Mantine
The Kite Pokémon
Type: Water/Flying
Official Registration #: 226
Entry: The evolved form of mantyke, by battle experience, if the subject is in close proximity to remoraid. This elegant pokémon is known for its maneuverability. Not only can it glide through the water at top speeds, but it’s also capable of breaching the surface and leaping up to 300 feet in the air before diving back into the ocean depths. Scientists are not entirely sure why mantine breach; theories include for communication, for mating, or simply for fun. What is known is that it’s rather alarming to all parties observing a breaching mantine … including the remoraid that normally cling to the undersides of mantine’s fins (until it reaches a height of about 100 feet, of course).