Tag: Poochyena

What would you say are the closest relatives of the poochyena line?

This is actually a rather interesting question because there’s a bit of debate about it. You see, taxonomically and up until recently, poochyena were considered a canine pokémon. Many researchers still classify them as such when describing their behavior, as they behave very much like true canine pokémon (forming packs, hunting as a group, guarding territory as canines would, and so forth). In this regard, they’re often though to be the Hoennian cousins of growlithe or houndour—the latter especially, given the fact that poochyena’s behavior most closely mirrors that (possibly owing to their shared dark type).

However, genetically, it was recently discovered that poochyena are more accurately their own classification and that this branch of the pokémon evolutionary tree is less related to true canines and more related to … zangoose. Both families belong to, of all things, the feline class of pokémon; it’s just that they adapted to fill completely different niches. While zangoose is technically more cat-like than poochyena (albeit, yes, zangoose is still not a true cat, and in any case, skitty fills that ecological niche for Hoenn), the going theory is that poochyena developed canine characteristics due to the lack of a true canine species in the region (vulpix notwithstanding, as it only lives on a specific island on an island).

The Poochyena Line

Poochyena
The Bite Pokémon
Type: Dark
Official Registration #: 261
Entry: This small, puppy-like pokémon is best known for its persistent nature. Often seen in packs, when one member spots potential prey, no matter how large it is, the entire pack goes after that victim until said victim is exhausted … or until the victim strikes back. The latter condition is admittedly less known within the research community, likely because it’s very easy to forget that part when chased halfway across the Hoennian grasslands by an entire pack of tenacious canines with massive fangs.

Mightyena
The Bite Pokémon
Type: Dark
Official Registration #: 262
Entry: The evolved form of poochyena, by battle experience. Mightyena are highly intelligent pokémon of great ethological interest to the pokémon research community. They possess highly loyal natures that helps them to form packs in the wild, but in captivity, this loyalty instead drives them to bond deeply with humans they recognize as being strong trainers. In addition, much of their communication with either their packs or their trainers happens through complex body language. Even the most minute shift can mean the difference between happiness and aggression. For example, mightyena indicate happiness and comfort by wagging their tails from left to right. However, a mightyena that wags its tail from right to left is indicating extreme discomfort. Certainly, this difference may seem a little bit too difficult for the average human to spot, but if it helps, the tail wagging is also typically done as the mightyena flattens itself, growls deeply, bares its fangs, and generally looks like it’s about to rip one apart. Subtle clues, yes, but they’re very important subtle clues, in the author’s opinion.