Tag: pokédex

The Whismur Line

Whismur
The Whisper Pokémon
Type: Normal
Official Registration #: 293
Entry: A small, rabbit-like pokémon first discovered in the cave systems of Hoenn. It prefers quiet, difficult-to-reach places, as it is notoriously timid and easy-to-startle. While normally a soft-spoken pokémon, it is fully capable of releasing cries at ear-splitting volumes, and it does in fact do just that whenever startled or scared. Unfortunately, because it’s often unused to its voice, it can also startle itself or those around it, thus building up not only the volume but also the number of whismur cries in a given area. Yet very likely, despite the fact that the resulting sounds can likely destroy sensitive equipment as well as the human eardrum, a cave full of whismur is still objectively more desirable to listen to than a toddler on an airplane.

Loudred
The Big Voice Pokémon
Type: Normal
Official Registration #: 294
Entry: The evolved form of whismur, by battle experience. As tempting as it may be, it is actually a terrible idea to use this pokémon as an alarm clock. While, yes, a loudred shout could wake you up from the deepest of slumbers, that is just one end of the spectrum. The other end of the spectrum involves permanent hearing loss and structural damage, and few loudred understand how to discern which end of the spectrum is appropriate to use when.

Exploud
The Loud Noise Pokémon
Type: Normal
Official Registration #: 295
Entry: The evolved form of loudred, by battle experience. A shout from a single exploud is loud enough to be heard up to six miles away and destructive enough to shatter every single window of a house it’s occupying at any given moment. Simultaneous shouts from a full team of six exploud, however, is a transcendent experience.

Makuhita and Hariyama

Makuhita
The Guts Pokémon
Type: Fighting
Official Registration #: 296
Entry: While it’s true that Symposium makes an effort to choose designations that fit their respective pokémon, makuhita’s designation is especially apt due to its bravery and tenacity. No matter what is thrown at a makuhita, it either endures it or gets back up shortly afterwards. Some even throw themselves right back into the fray in the exact same way that had gotten them knocked down in the first place.

Bill, I swear to both of our pantheons that if you reference yet another somewhat popular 90s pop song that only a fraction of our readers remember… —LH

Well, I wasn’t going to, but if you’re going to tempt me, okay. —Bill

Makuhita gets knocked down, but it gets back up again. You aren’t ever going to keep it down. It does not, however, piss the night away, as alcohol is generally toxic to pokémon.

Hariyama
The Arm Thrust Pokémon
Type: Fighting
Official Registration #: 297
Entry: The evolved form of makuhita, by battle experience. Incidentally, yes, high fives with this pokémon end just about as well as one would think they would.

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

Bruxish

Bruxish
The Gnash Teeth Pokémon
Type: Water/Psychic
Official Registration #: 779
Entry: A large, filefish-like pokémon native to tropical reefs. This unique pokémon possesses not only formidable jaws but also potent psychic abilities. It is also, due to its habit of hiding half-buried in the ocean floor and its inherent viciousness, not an easy pokémon to find or overwhelm. It’s barely visible until one gets close, and by then, these victims are unfortunately within range of bruxish’s telekinesis. What follows afterwards is swift: the bruxish smashes its prey into the rocks via telekinesis, further stuns them by grinding its teeth, and proceeds to crush and eviscerate them via their strong jaws. However, if one can get past its swift hunting tactics—say, by distracting them with magikarp used as bait—then they’ll be delighted to know that bruxish are rather easy to catch, filet, and fry and, in fact, are Alolan delicacies for this exact reason.

Feebas and Milotic

Feebas
The Fish Pokémon
Type: Water
Official Registration #: 349
Entry: Because of its rather plain appearance, many trainers and researchers overlook this pokémon in favor of the far more wondrous-looking creatures that cohabit its native freshwater streams. It’s a shame, really, as all feebas have the potential to be fascinating subjects. For example, it’s fascinating that feebas can eat quite literally anything in its path. It’s fascinating that they’re so resilient and tenacious that they can thrive in even the most polluted environments. It’s fascinating that feebas are not rare at all but rather congregate only in the warmest parts of a river, often packing themselves tightly into a square foot of water just to remain in that spot. It’s fascinating that despite the apparent elusiveness of this pokémon, they are also apparently extremely easy to catch, as they will latch onto baited hooks over and over again, sometimes even immediately after being thrown back into a river by the exact same trainer. Or, in short, it’s fascinating that feebas are absolutely, fantastically, and uncannily human-like.

Milotic
The Tender Pokémon
Type: Water
Official Registration #: 350
Entry: The evolved form of feebas, via trading if the subject has been given a prism scale. Said to be the most beautiful pokémon in existence (and certainly the most soothing to look at), milotic has been, for countless generations, a sort of muse to humankind—an inspiration to countless works of art, music, literature, and so forth. Because of the fact that it evolves from such a plain-looking pokémon, it is also said to be a bit of a metaphor, specifically for the idea that inner beauty is far more important than outer. However, considering the fact that both feebas and milotic are judged based on their looks and the fact that some milotic are extraordinarily vain pokémon liable to turn a Hydro Pump on any trainer who fails to polish their iridescent scales in just the right way, the author is inclined to believe that whoever insists milotic is a metaphor has very likely missed a rather important point here.

Shroomish and Breloom

Shroomish
The Mushroom Pokémon
Type: Grass
Official Registration #: 285
Entry: Contrary to popular belief, this mushroom-like pokémon is not hallucinogenic. You cannot, as the urban legend claims, snort its powdery spores in order to experience transcendental visions. Rather, its spores are actually toxic and will simply cause paralysis and full-body pain when inhaled. Also contrary to popular belief, the author does not know this from experience; he simply went to college with several gullible gentlemen and a girl who had a shroomish and a strong dislike for college first-years who would hit on her then-fifteen-year-old sister.

Breloom
The Mushroom Pokémon
Type: Grass/Fighting
Official Registration #: 286
Entry: The evolved form of shroomish, by battle experience. It’s never easy to figure out whether one should be more wary of the front end of the back end of a breloom. On the one hand (no pun intended), breloom are famous for their lightning-fast punches and kicks, facilitated by the elasticity of their claw-tipped limbs. On the other, they also possess hollow rattles on their tails—seeds containing highly toxic spores capable of inducing horrendous stomach aches when ingested. Should anyone wonder exactly how the dangers of ingesting breloom seeds are relevant to its battling style, please note that breloom can learn no fewer than four different seed-based attacks, two of which come naturally. And yes, this is something the author knows from first-hand experience.

Baltoy and Claydol

Baltoy
The Clay Doll Pokémon
Type: Ground/Psychic
Official Registration #: 343
Entry: In the decades following its discovery deep within the ancient desert ruins of Hoenn, multiple experiments have been conducted by the topmost researchers in the field of pokémology to study the limitations of baltoy’s balance. Baltoy have been subjected to everything from rain to earthquakes to being forced to balance on quicksand, yet no matter what terrain or conditions it’s put through, baltoy never falters or wavers as it spins about on a single foot. It does, however, get rather angry when one attempts to throw it off-balance—specifically, the sort of angry that leads to Self-Destruct.

Claydol
The Clay Doll Pokémon
Type: Ground/Psychic
Official Registration #: 344
Entry: The evolved form of baltoy, by battle experience. According to anthropologists, paintings on the temple walls of a variety of ancient civilizations indicate that baltoy had been created for either religious or magical purposes. Some cultures used them to “absorb” illnesses, while others used them as effigies of fertility goddesses. Whatever the reason for baltoy’s creation may have been, one thing is consistent among all accounts: the more a baltoy was used, the stronger it became until it evolved at last into a larger, more potent form. From what anthropologists can gather, resulting claydol were often revered within ancient societies, as the increase in both size and power were seen by primitive humans as the gods’ attempts at literally embodying the idols that had been crafted for them. …Of course, the fact that all claydol are telekinetic and capable of shooting destructive beams from both hands likely helped this perception too.

The Snorunt Line

Snorunt
The Snow Hat Pokémon
Type: Ice
Official Registration #: 361
Entry: Despite the fact that this childlike pokémon is much more comfortable in regions with heavy snow, it was curiously first discovered in the Hoenn region, specifically in the lower chambers of Shoal Cave. Given the general warmth of the seawater in that region, the presence of snorunt—and, in fact, the frigid environment of the cavern it lives in—has baffled researchers since its initial discovery. However, the author would also like to remind the research community that this is the same region whose legendary pantheon includes a giant sentient block of never-melt ice, so honestly, the fact that there is a chamber that has been iced over and sealed off from the outside world for centuries should come as a surprise to absolutely no one.

Glalie
The Face Pokémon
Type: Ice
Official Registration #: 362
Entry: The evolved form of snorunt, by battle experience. Through the process of evolution, a snorunt gains a shell of rock, which in turn collects a thick hide of ice thanks to the instantaneous freezing of the moisture in the air immediately surrounding it. The resulting pokémon is a creature that not only has the ability to instantly freeze anything surrounding it but also appears to be a giant, floating, disembodied head. Yet despite its intimidating powers and appearance, it’s actually quite gentle, largely because it retains the shyness of its pre-evolved form. Despite this, it is still not recommended to come into physical contact with a glalie, largely because—thanks to its ability to instantaneously freeze anything within immediate vicinity of it—skin-to-shell contact has the same effect as licking a metal pole in the dead of winter (not that the author has done either).

Froslass
The Snow Land Pokémon
Type: Ice/Ghost
Official Registration #: 478
Entry: The evolved form of female snorunt, by exposure to dawn stone. Sinnohan legends warn about froslass. According to regional folklore, travelers lost on snowy mountains may encounter what appears to be a beautiful woman beckoning to them. If one goes to this woman, they will quickly find a wild froslass instead, who will immediately freeze them and drag them to her lair. Whether or not this is true is still a matter of debate, but it is known that tamed froslass do have a habit of staring at their trainers oddly and growing unsettlingly quiet whenever it snows. The author reassures his readers, however, that there have been no cases of a tamed froslass kidnapping their trainers and stealing them away to frozen wastelands … that he knows of, anyway.

Stop scaring the readers. You know that only happened six times in recorded history. —LH

Celebi

Celebi
The Time Travel Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Grass
Official Registration #: 251
Entry: Although those from mountainous East Johto, seafaring West Johto, and rural Central Johto are in disagreement as to which is more important between Lugia and Ho-oh, each Johtonian sect is in agreement that the other most important kami to our collective belief system is Celebi. According to general Johtonian belief, Celebi is the guardian of time, forests, and young pokémon, and its domain is specifically Ilex Forest. For this reason, not only is Ilex Forest sacred ground (and thus untouched, despite a major metro area bordering it to the north), but the region is also dotted with shrines dedicated to Celebi, the largest of which is located deep in Ilex itself. Additionally, there are a number of festivals throughout the year dedicated to Celebi, including one on New Year’s Day. This festival is called Shogatsu, which was the old word for the holiday in general but is, nowadays within Johto, used in reference to Celebi’s festival specifically. On Shogatsu, it’s customary to give thanks and ask for purification from Celebi in the form of offerings (of mochi, rice, or cards) left at any of its shrines throughout the region. 

Although it’s technically a religious festival, Kinjin, or residents of Goldenrod City, are a very hospitable sort and would be more than happy to accept foreigners into our celebrations. However, we also understand that many of you may not know all of our Shogatsu customs, which is why kimono girls are often seen performing demonstrations of Johtonian culture in the various Shogatsu street fairs held throughout Goldenrod City. Simply approach one and ask in Old Johtonian (that is, our language before Common became prevalent) to be shown how to give thanks, and the kimono girl will gladly teach you. For Unovans who might not know how to speak or write Old Johtonian, the author suggests something special for particularly respectful treatment. Simply present a prayer card with “助けてください私はアメリカ人です” written on it, and the kimono girl will be sure that your prayers will be sent to Celebi.