The Alola Pokedex

Dartrix (Rowlet, Decidueye)
Sagittarius bombycilla alola



Overview

Rowlet is one of the three traditional starters in the Alola region, alongside litten and popplio. Of the three it is the easiest to take care of and the most sociable. They also have the least combat potential without fully evolving, and evolution carries a steeper cost than for torracat and brionne. Rowlet are the best choice for trainers who care more about socialization and exploration than the challenges of the island challenge. If they change their mind and decide to go into a career in battling, decidueye can carry them there.

Rowlet’s sociability is in large part due to the coevolution of the species and the Polynesians who scattered them across the Pacific Ocean. While they are not domesticated and wild colonies exist, they are easily adjusted to working with humans. Rowlet born in captivity seem to accept humans as large, featherless decidueye.


Physiology

Rowlet and dartrix are dual grass- and flying-types. Decidueye are officially grass- and ghost-types, although there is some controversy over whether or not they should retain the flying classification as well. This guidebook will not delve into the controversy over the so-called triple-typings.

All stages of dartrix possess excellent hearing and night vision. Rowlet and dartrix can see perfectly well on cloudy nights with a new moon. Captive decidueye have been able to strike targets in perfect darkness in laboratories.

Rowlet resemble a small, almost spherical owl with pale brown body feathers, a white “mask” and a green crest on their chest. It is widely, and incorrectly, believed that this crest forms two intersecting ovals in the rough shape of deciduous leafs. While some Rowlet do have crests like this, the exact shape and shade is unique to each rowlet. The crests of related rowlets are usually similar, allowing them to serve as an identifier. Rowlet are born pure white and slowly develop their colors as photosynthetic symbiote colonies grow inside of their feathers. 

Dartrix are slightly wider than rowlet. They gain a green headcrest and the brown feathers on their body darken considerably. Mature dartrix have developed projectile “blade feathers” that aren’t actually feathers at all, but rather thin spines coated in alpha keratin. These replace their talons as their main form of defense.

Decidueye’s green crests grow to surround their entire head and an orange one forms where their crest originally was as a rowlet. Decidueye wings are dark brown. Their quills are much sharper and harder than those of dartrix, and a trained decidueye is capable of shooting them at speeds of up to one hundred and fifty feet per second at ranges of up to fifteen hundred feet.

Adult dartrix in Alola are roughly two feet tall and weigh around five pounds. Dartrix can live up to thirty years in the wild and twenty-five in captivity.

Decidueye grow to heights of five feet and weights of fifteen pounds. It is unclear whether or not decidueye ever die of old age in the presence of combat and stress.


Behavior

Wild rowlet are nocturnal, although captive rowlet can be quickly trained to be corpuscular or diurnal. They perch on top of the highest trees in their area and spread their wings to allow their symbiotic bacteria to photosynthesize. At night, they leave their perches and eat leaves. This is both for nutritional reasons and to clear up more space to roost in direct sunlight during the day. In spite of their representation in folklore as powerful hunters, all stages of the evolutionary line are primarily herbivorous. They prefer to eat berries and other sugar-dense plants. On occasion they will hunt insects or small mammals.

Their reputation as warriors comes from the hunts of decidueye. When dartrix colonies face predators, the decidueye in the flock are known to set out at night and assassinate all members of the predator species within a several kilometer radius. Some subspecies have also been documented killing predators who did not hunt dartrix so, in the future, those species will aggressively cull those that do prey on them.

Captive rowlet are intensely social while awake and prefer to rest in direct sunlight or cuddle against warm-blooded animals or other rowlet for warmth. When allowed to do so they will frequently perch on top of their trainers. Dartrix, thankfully, grow out of this practice. They still enjoy engulfing their trainer in their wings. The exact purpose of this behavior is unclear.

Decidueye’s behavioral differences will be further detailed in the Evolution section.


Husbandry

It is best to acquire a member of the line while it is still in its first evolutionary stage. Rowlet are more fond of stasis balls than habitat balls, but do not like either. Rowlet should seldom be placed inside of a pokéball or separated from its trainer for more than twenty-four hours at a time. Separation for any length of time is stressful for very young rowlet and should be avoided whenever possible. The pokémon should be exposed to direct sunlight for at least six hours a day, five days a week. Most Pokémon Centers in Alola have rooms which can simulate natural sunlight. These rooms in the busiest Centers are typically filled with rowlet and dartrix, allowing for socialization (and an exercise in remembering your rowlet’s crest). During periods of particular stress rowlet prefer to be cradled by humans or dartrix or, at the very least, given a cramped space to hide in.

The dartrix line, like most birds, tend to defecate whenever they get ready to fly. Thankfully, rowlet and dartrix much prefer short hops and walking on their talons to flight (see Battling). They are still quite difficult to house train and the only real consolation is that their waste is more solid, and thus easier to clean up, than most birds. There is a five hundred dollar fine for not cleaning up your bird’s waste in a public area.

All stages of the dartrix line should be fed a mix of berries. Each individual develops their own preferences. Some very well-trained dartrix can be trusted to point to want they want when taken to an orchard or farmer’s market. Rowlet are more likely to jump in to a pile of fruit, rake their talons over it, and then eventually pick out a piece to eat.

Adult dartrix can be held in pokeballs for considerable lengths of time, although most find this irritating. Using their pokéball frequently will undermine trust in their trainer. Dartrix without a photosynthesis-condusive pokéball should get thirty hours of direct or simulated sunlight a week. Decidueye need only three hours of sunlight per week, although they will become more active if exposed to more light. Decidueye also tend not to have strong feelings on being held in their pokéballs.


Illness

The most common illness by far for all stages of the dartrix line is feather bleaching. During a bleaching episode a dartrix loses all color in their feathers and become pure-white across their entire body. Bleaching can be caused by prolonged exposure to cold temperatures, severe injury, inadequate exposure to sunlight, too little humidity, isolation, disease, starvation, overeating, or for no apparent reason at all. They will quickly heal if the stimulus is removed, they are given rest, and the symbiote is introduced via injections or proximity to other dartrix. If your dartrix begins to bleach, immediately consult a veterinarian.

It should be noted that molting, the loss of feathers in certain parts of the body and slow regrowth of initially white feathers, is separate from bleaching. Unless feathers don’t gain color for over a month in an adult or three months in a juvenile it is not necessary to consult a veterinarian.


Evolution

Rowlet naturally evolve into dartrix provided food, sunlight, companionship and time. The formal point where a rowlet becomes a dartrix is the growth of a full headcrest. This typically occurs when a rowlet is nine months old. It takes another five for a dartrix to fully mature and become ready for their next evolution.

Wild decidueye are exceedingly rare. In times of great external stress such as pandemics, sudden habitat loss, natural disasters, or predation, the eldest dartrix in a colony will begin to rapidly gain size and start to develop projectile quills. This will continue to happen with more dartrix evolving one by one until the crisis is resolved. Decidueye only live for one to three years after the most recent crisis.

Projectile quIlls can be surgically removed to render evolution impossible. Otherwise, a dartrix exposed to enough battles over the course of roughly one year (or a handful of particularly dire ones in rapid succession) will begin to evolve on its own. During evolution, dartrix should be offered greatly increased amounts of food and sunlight and given as much as it wants of both.

Dartrix evolution is not recommended for all but the most serious of trainers. Decidueye cut off from frequent, high-level battles tend to rapidly decline in health and die within a year. This makes retirement effectively impossible for decidueye trainers. Decidueye also undergo a temperamental change arguably greater than their physical ones. Decidueye sleep less than two hours a day and spend the remainder of their time hyper-vigilant and seeking out battles. If no opponents are presented to them in formal engagement, they will pick their own fights.

Decidueye otherwise lose almost all of the cuddly and expressive nature that dartrix are known for. While they will not decline physical affection, they will almost never initiate it. The bird will stand guard for their trainer when outside of their pokéball and do little else. Because of this many trainers who evolve their dartrix complain about a death of personality in their beloved pet and some will lose interest and abandon their decidueye. The dual shocks of combat withdrawal and losing the “colony” they evolved to protect and will usually kill the decidueye within six months. Decidueye seldom accept new trainers once abandoned.


Battle

Rowlet and dartrix are relatively durable pokémon and both are far more clever than they appear. They have naturally good aim for the handful of projectile attacks they have. Unfortunately, they are not so capable at flying as to be able to dodge projectile attacks. Most dartrix and all rowlet are unable to dodge melee moves from average-size pokémon. They also tend to loathe battling and must be bribed into each individual fight. As such, they are not the recommended starter for trainers interested in serious battling.

Decidueye, as mentioned above, are addicted to combat and violence. They are much more adept fliers than dartrix, have near-silent movement, and can put their natural aim to much better use with their quills. Their only real counters are pokémon capable of taking a quill to any point of their body and continuing to fight. Projectile moves that manipulate temperatures to either extreme are damaging to their tissue and symbiotes and should be avoided. Very fast attacks from behind can also throw a decidueye into a panic. Decidueye tend not to surrender fights until they are physically incapable of continuing, so a trainer should be mindful of the above weaknesses and withdraw their decidueye if they appear to be visibly hurt.


Acquisition

Children between the ages of ten and twenty can obtain a rowlet from certified distributors free of charge with a Class I certification. Children who have cleared the grand trial on at least one island and did not receive a rowlet as a starter can purchase or adopt one. Dartrix in licensed shelters can be adopted with a Class II license or higher. Decidueye adoptions are handled on a case-by-case basis.

Dartrix colonies are found in Poni National Park, Exeggutor Island, the interior forests of Melemele, and Alolan Rainforests National Preserve. It is illegal to collect any member of the line from the wild without explicit government approval. It is also entirely unnecessary given the strength of captive breeding programs.


Breeding

Requires a Class IV license with an additional certification in dartrix breeding. The certification course has further information.


Relatives

As island-dwellers with limited flight, there are nearly two dozen species and subspecies of dartrix. As such, this section will not cover them all in detail.

The small islands of the Pacific are littered with different dartrix subspecies. Most of them are quite similar to the Alolan dartrix, but smaller. Almost all are endangered. The Heahea conservatory has an exhibit showcasing several of these subspecies.

Indonesian and Filipino dartrix (Filipino, Sumatran, Javan, Bornean, Guinean) typically have wingspans twice those of their Alolan counterparts at all stages. They are also much more capable fliers, and even some rowlet are capable of sustained, powered flight for a kilometer or more. Most of these subspecies are omnivorous during the wet season. However, their quills are not nearly as developed as the other subspecies and they hunt primarily through a combination of their talons and their silent flight.

The Queensland dartrix is the only dartrix species with naturally venomous quills. Queensland decidueye are less than a meter tall and their dartrix are correspondingly small. Their quills take several weeks to regenerate. These drawbacks have kept them from gaining popularity in the competitive battling scene.

New Zealand previously had two species of dartrix. The North Island dartrix is now extinct and the South Island dartrix at risk of extirpation. South Island dartrix regularly evolve into decidueye, regardless of external stressors. They are also nearly as large as the Sumatran decidueye and have much thicker coats. Despite their wingspan, they are nearly flightless and only use their wings for getting into and out of trees and slowing falls. Their primary weapons are their quills, by far the largest of any subspecies of decidueye. Photosynthesis aside, South Island decidueye are almost entirely carnivorous. During the summer they stay nearly stationary with their wings spread out in a field. In the long winter nights, they take up position on a low tree branch and wait to kill anything that comes close.

South Island decidueye form mated pairs until their chicks evolve into dartrix, at which point the pairs split up and leave the dartrix on their own.

While they have nearly been hunted to extinction in New Zealand, an invasive population in the Canadian boreal has become rather large. The latest estimates place the decidueye population in Alberta alone at over ten thousand. They have become a major safety risk for humans in the area as they will kill and eat any human who enters their territory in the winter. It is all but impossible to notice a decidueye before it notices you.

Due to legalized hunting and capture of Canadian decidueye, they are quite common on the international battling scene. They are also the ninth most lethal pokémon worldwide and require a Class V license to possess in the United States.

Torracat (Litten, Incineroar)
Pyropanthera gladius


Overview

The primary appeal of torracat as a starter rests in their typicality. Children who grew up in a household with a pet feline, pokémon or otherwise, or even a species of fox Pokémon, already have a headstart in caring for and understanding their first partner. They are also the friendliest of Alola’s felines. Some of their behaviors may seem alien to those unused to dealing with cats, but their quirks are mostly harmless.

Champion Selene’s incineroar has inspired a great many trainers hoping to get into serious battling to pick a litten as their first pokémon. It should be noted here that incineroar evolution takes time, luck and a willingness to go without the torracat for a while. Unevolved torracat are still loveable and capable of winning even moderately high-level battles if used well. Going without evolution is a perfectly reasonable choice for a trainer on an island quest.


Physiology

Litten and torracat are classified as pure fire-types. Incineroar’s greatly increased telepathic resistance merits a secondary dark-typing.

Litten have a rather typical feline bodyshape. They are primarily colored black. The exceptions are red stripes on their legs and a red crest on their forehead. The exact hue and the shape of the crest vary by age and individual. Litten possess an internal flame sac right below the junction of their neck and torso. All stages of the torracat line have thick, flame-resistant skin. The fur itself is surprisingly flammable. It is the fur they collect during grooming that serves as their primary flame source. Due to the time required for fur to regrow this does provide a limit to how much fire they are able to use in a given period, even with diet supplements.

Torracat are physiologically similar. They are far larger than their juvenile counterpart, growing up to roughly 0.75 meters in height at the shoulder, but the growth is mostly proportional. Torracat gain red stripes on their back and tail, and their head crest becomes more prominent. They also gain pronounced red whiskers that let them sense thermal gradients. The most significant change is the growth of a bell-like structure protruding from the flame sack. The bell is not metallic, rather, it is made of bone and coated in natural oils. The bell helps regulate the release of flames, something litten tend to struggle with. The bell is also capable of emitting a variety of sounds that other torracat can pick up on up to two kilometers away.


Contrary to popular belief, incineroar are primarily quadrupeds that sometimes rear up on two legs to reach higher, deliver more powerful blows with their forelegs or intimidate opponents. Their paws, claws and teeth are proportionally larger than torracat’s, and their muscles are more powerful and prominent. The incineroar’s headcrest has grown to encompass almost the entire head. Incineroar have replaced their reproductive system with additional flame sacs, allowing for more control and power. These replace the torracat’s bell.

Torracat can live up to twenty-five years in captivity and fifteen in the wild. Incineroar typically live about ten years after evolution, regardless of their age beforehand.

Incineroar can reach heights of one meter at the shoulder and weigh up to 300 pounds.


Behavior

Torracat, like most felines, understand human behaviors and desires through the lens of their own. Many people are vexed by their tendency to stay within the same room as their trainers but seldom initiate physical affection. They will frequently reject petting or grooming from even longtime trainers.  Due to the use of fur as a fuel source, it is extremely uncommon for a torracat to allow another torracat to groom them, with the exception of mothers with very young litten or an adult torracat to very sick individuals. As such, the offer of petting is an insult to them. Allowing their trainer to groom them is a great honor.

Captive torracat will frequently approach other mammals and offer to groom them to build up their fuel reserves. They will even do this with humans, although their preferred method of doing so is licking human eyebrows with their rather coarse tongues. They can be trained not to do this through simple reinforcement with a spray bottle filled with water. Many trainers are reluctant to irritate their pets, but torracat are quick to pick up on humans’ boundaries with regards to grooming and will usually stop after the first one or two reprimands.

This only applies to humans they respect. Torracat will often weather water sprays just to irritate a human they don’t like. This is a good first sign that either the pokémon needs replaced with a more compatible companion or serious effort needs to be put in to earning its respect. A torracat licking a human’s eyebrows after several reprimands is an indication that the cat should be donated to the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) breeding program before the insubordination escalates.

Torracat seldom harm humans in the wild or captivity and very well-trained torracat can be trusted alone with infants and toddlers.

Incineroar spend most of their time caring for their young in the wild. One incineroar in a pair will hunt or sleep while the other watches the litten.  Once a pair’s litten have evolved and left them, they will often appear to be lost and sleep far more than they previously did. They will sometimes seek to rectify this situation by adopting orphaned babies of other pokémon species. Sometimes they will even adopt babies they themselves orphaned.


Husbandry

At six months of age a litten can be used in battle or gifted to trainers. At this point litten have fully developed coats and flame sacks. The litten provided to trainers are almost all male, as female litten are retained in the breeding program. Sometimes a female litten that is particularly curious or combative will be given to trainers alongside the males, or a male litten that is physically or temperamentally unsuitable to be given to children will be retained.

Litten will generally provide their own exercise if allowed out of their pokéball for at least twenty hours a week for non-battling purposes. This exercise may be detrimental to the integrity of furniture and camping supplies, so it is advised to let them blow off steam in battle or more structured play with other team members or their trainer.

Even when properly exercised torracat and litten are well-known to scratch furniture and walls to mark their territory. This makes them somewhat unsuitable to be indoor pets for retired trainers without either extensive training and a close bond or a professionally done cat-proofing. They do not mark their territory through urination and are easily trained in the use of litter boxes.

All stages of the torracat line enjoy playing in the rain Litten and torracat will even take submerging baths, although they will not do so if they are forced to take them. Torracat cannot be safely submerged for more than ten minutes at a time. Incineroar cannot be safely submerged for any length of time.

Torracat and litten are omnivores. They will happily eat feline mixes sold in every Pokémon Center and pet shop in Alola, although they will require roughly 30% more food than recommended for a generic feline pokémon as they literally burn through their food. They will also happily eat most produce given to them. They prefer dried produce as it is more easily ignited. Torracat will not eat more dried fruit than they need. It is advised to give them an overabundance at meal times and then simply remove and repackage what was not eaten. 

Unlike most felines, torracat crave additional fur to eat. This makes pokémon with high maintenance needs and thick fur such as furfrou, lopunny or cinccino ideal partners. Vulpix also qualify provided the torracat or litten is adopted first. If it is not possible to provide a mammalian partner, fur supplements can be purchased in Pokémon Centers. These supplements are rather expensive for pokémon food.

Incineroar are obligate carnivores and apex predators and will require very large amounts of calories and fur to sustain themselves. The exact details vary by incineroar, but it is best to assume they will need 20% of their body weight in meat and at least 5% in fur every week. Incineroar will continue to groom team members that allow them to do so, but most pokémon will be too nervous to allow it.


Incineroar are fiercely protective of anything they see as their baby, which often applies to young trainers and small teammates. They will often growl or rear up on their hind legs if they perceive another human as threatening their trainer or if they see one of their teammates hurt in battle. It is recommended that incineroar be withdrawn during battles and kept away from stressful social situations.

All stages of the evolutionary line require scratching posts to keep their claws in check. Otherwise they will seek out wood, be it forest logs or furniture, and take care of their needs.

Wild torracat can live in mated pairs, litter groups, groups of multiple mated pairs, mixed groups or solitarily. They can adapt to almost all team dynamics in captivity. Incineroar prefer to live in small groups of three to five individuals. They can tolerate being in a full party. Smaller pokémon are strongly preferred to larger ones.


Illness

All stages of the evolutionary line are vulnerable to typical feline illness. Captive-born litten are given all necessary shots before they are given to trainers.

A torracat exposed to particularly heavy rains or submersion for long periods of time will develop waterlogged hypothermia, the most common illness for all fire-types. A waterlogged torracat will become very inactive, refuse to eat, and obsessively groom its own fur to the point of ripping out entire patches of fur or tearing into the skin. They will not produce flames. Waterlogging is rather easily cured in torracat with the provision of oils under veterinary supervision. If a torracat becomes waterlogged and there is not a Pokémon Center readily available, withdraw it and keep it in its ball. Drop it off at a veterinarian or Pokémon Center as soon as possible.

Parasites are particularly tricky to deal with in torracat as they will almost never allow a human to groom them. Fortunately, the few parasites that do prey on the species are usually near-harmless. Make sure your torracat has a full checkup by a veterinarian at least once a year.

Any immersion of an incineroar’s open flames in water should be assumed to be life-threatening.


Evolution

Litten naturally progress into torracat as they age. This process usually takes roughly one year. The formal demarcation between litten and torracat is the first vocalization with their bell.

Torracat evolve after reproducing with another torracat. The male will begin to eat and hunt more while the female is pregnant and begin the process of evolving, which will be completed by the time the female gives birth. After delivering a litter the female will begin to evolve in turn.

In captivity, all torracat breeding and evolutions are handled by DNR approved breeding facilities. Contact the DNR if interested in evolving a male torracat. Female torracat can be handed over for evolution, but they will only be returned to their trainer after their litten have been adopted out.


Battle

Wild litten and torracat primarily hunt with their claws and save their fire for self-defense, distractions, intimidation, and mating displays. They can be trained to use fire more regularly in captivity, although their diet will need to be adjusted to compensate. Torracat are capable of fighting at range with (relatively inaccurate) embers and streams of flame, or up close with their claws and teeth. As such, they should be trained in a variety of strategies and the one picked in battle should be determined by their opponent.

In the wild, torracat hunt through the use of rough terrain and large packs communicating over long distances to set up traps. In captivity this strategy is often unable to be replicated, as only the most experienced of trainers will be able to understand their torracat’s vocalizations in any detail and double battles are rare in Alola. It does mean that torracat are quite clever and can pick up on new moves and tactics quickly. This, combined with their reluctance to use fire, makes them less directly powerful than brionne or dartrix, but capable of using more complex maneuvers to compensate.


They are most easily countered by rock-types that can shrug off their claws and aren’t seriously hurt by fire. Very accurate or powerful water- or ground-types can also force a torracat into surrender by targeting its bell. Litten are not particularly water averse and have no direct opening to their flame sacs, allowing them to take hits from those attacks more easily.

Incineroar in the wild hunt with powerful flame blasts, bites and paw strikes. This makes them far more direct battlers than torracat in captivity. However, like most carnivores, they sometimes have trouble holding back. Incineroar seldom bother to defend themselves if they weren’t trained in defensive maneuvers as a litten. Instead they prefer to rush their opponents, rear up to bring their flame belt into play, and start scorching and slashing until one pokémon or the other is knocked out.

Incineroar has experienced a spike in popularity following Selene’s rise to the championship. They were previously limited to Alolan trainers and some cat experts, but recently a lot of competitive trainers have tried to acquire one. Incineroar is particularly popular in doubles matches, where harm to their partner causes the cat to grow angrier and more protective.


Acquisition

Children between the ages of ten and twenty can obtain a litten from certified distributors free of charge with a Class I certification. Children who have cleared the grand trial on at least one island and did not receive a litten as a starter can purchase or adopt one. Torracat in licensed shelters can be adopted with a Class II license or higher. Incineroar can be adopted by trainers aged 16 or under with a Class II license. Trainers above the age of 16 require a Class IV license, as they are slow to bond with adults.


Wild torracat colonies exist within Poni Island National Park. It is forbidden to capture wild litten or torracat without the explicit approval of the National Park Service. Following the introduction of pyroar to Poni Island a fierce territorial dispute has emerged. The pyroar have all but entirely won the conflict through their greater size and social cohesion. Incineroar without a litter will frequently hunt and kill pyroar in an attempt to reduce the threat to torracat and incineroar.

Wild incineroar will often attack adult humans on sight or younger humans that get too close to their litten. Trainers are advised not to enter Poni Island National Park without a pokémon capable of defeating a wild incineroar. Never approach a wild litten in the park, as at least one of its parents will always be close by.

All feral torracat encountered outside of Poni Island National Park are the property of the Commonwealth of Alola and, if captured, must be dropped off at a pokémon center within thirty days. Bounties for returned torracat are no longer offered.


Breeding

Torracat breeding with other torracat is handled by the DNR.

In captivity, torracat will mate with other felines and even mammalian fire types. They will also mate with subspecies of fire-types that are not themselves fire-types, such as Lanakilan vulpix. Mixed-species pairing will not trigger evolution. The resulting babies will only be fertile if produced with another member of the Pyropanthera genus. Torracat pregnancies typically last eight months. They should not be withdrawn into habitat pokéballs once the pregnancy becomes visible, and neither the mother nor her litten should not be withdrawn into any pokéball until the babies are six months old.

Litten typically abandon their parents at eighteen months of age in the wild. Litten of this age can be gifted to the DNR. Trainers will receive a $1200 tax break per litten handed over.

Relatives


The genus Pyropanthera contains multiple species of large cats, one of which has since been introduced to the archipelago. P. gladius has no living subspecies. No other member of Pyropanthera is native to Alola, raising questions as to how and when incineroar arrived. They were present when the first humans came to the islands. The fossil record suggests they have lived in Alola for over 3,000 years.

Primarina (Popplio, Brionne)
Aria aria

Overview
Popplio is often described as the middle choice of Alola’s traditional starters. Rowlet have somewhat bizarre care requirements as a photosynthetic bird. Litten are fairly similar to common household pets. Most trainers, by contrast, will have never worked with a pinniped by the time they get a popplio.

It has its own strengths over the other starters. It can evolve without either permanent health consequences or pregnancy and parenthood. Primarina is also by far the most intelligent of the starter’s final stages. This intelligence has the drawback of making primarina easily bored and in need of near-constant stimulation. Trainers who want a pokémon that functions more as an equal than a loyal pet or fierce guardian may be inclined to pick popplio. Queer trainers and musicians are also often drawn to the sex-changing siren of the seas.

Physiology

Popplio and brionne are classified as pure water types. Primarina is classified as a joint water- and fairy-type. Both rulings are undisputed.

Popplio are dark blue almost everywhere on their body. Their shape is typically pinniped, with two large front flippers used for movement on land and two smaller back flippers used for movement in water. Their muzzle is colored white and ends in a pink orb. There is a pale blue frill around their neck. Popplio use this frill to help regulate their temperature. The orb on popplio's nose is used to sense and produce vibrations to view the world in echolocation. It is believed that this is their primary sense. Popplio skin is quite thick and rough, aside from the frill. The skin gets thinner as they grow and evolve.  

Brionne are lighter in coloration and the tips of their flippers are white. They gain two more frills around their midsection. The most notable change is the development of two antennae on their head. These are used to produce vibrations and help with controlling the water around them.

Primarina have quite a few major external and internal differences from popplio. Their body as a whole is thinner and sleeker relative to their size, and their frills (now located on their forehead, the start of their hind flippers, the start of their tail and the area around their front flippers) are proportionally smaller. Their tail is longer and bulkier than a brionne's and dark blue in coloration. The skin on their tail is similar to a popplio’s in thickness and color. The rest of their body proper is white. Primarina and older brionne gain a thin layer of blubber under their skin to insulate them on long pelagic journeys.

The biggest difference between brionne and primarina is that the antennae are replaced with thousands of long, fine hairs. These are used to sense and modify vibrations, allowing for much more complex sounds to be created.

All three stages can emit slime from glands across their body. Their slime and acoustic capabilities combine to allow for very well controlled hydrokinesis. More complex sounds allow for more complicated water attacks and more nimble movement when submerged. More slime in an area allows for more water to be manipulated. Primarina have some of the most advanced vocal chords of any pokémon and can produce sounds several octaves above and below the range of human hearing.

Brionne can live up to fifteen years in the wild or thirty in captivity. Primarina can live up to sixty years in both the wild and captivity. Brionne typically grow to be three feet long and they weigh up to forty pounds. Primarina can reach lengths of six feet and weights of 130 pounds.

Behavior

Popplio are naturally curious and playful. They will attempt to mimic almost all sounds that they hear and will practice their attacks and singing ability constantly. In the wild they are prone to huddling together with other members of their evolutionary line. They will not do this with humans or any other species. Popplio sleep on land during the night and enjoy playing on beaches during the dusk and dawn. A small group of brionne or the choir's primarina will supervise them during this time. During the day wild popplio typically play with each other and forage around the choir's resting place.

Brionne are perhaps even more curious about sounds, but they now possess the proper anatomy to replicate them. In the wild they will frequently beach near human settlements to listen to music and urban sounds. They also frequent bird rookeries to listen to bird calls. Captive specimens are fascinated by sports and dancing. Brionne sleep during the day by hooking themselves to sea grass or rocks on the seafloor.

Wild primarina spend most of the day resting. At night they teach their songs to the choir's brionne (see Evolution) or beach on land to learn new sounds or forcefully introduce theirs to anyone in range. They are also known to forage for pearls, sea stars or anything they consider to be beautiful. They subsequently adorn their hair with these items.

Popplio hunt small birds and insects through ambush tactics. One of their favorite strategies is to sneak up on a flock of small seabirds, make a loud noise to startle them into flight and then attempt to pick off one with a well-aimed burst of water. Their diet is supplemented by shellfish, benthic fish, and and insects provided by the older members of their choir.

Brionne typically hunt in groups. They will find large schools of small fish and swim around them in a group while emitting very loud cries. Individual brionne will break out of the circle and swim into the school, picking out as many fish as they please.

Primarina hunt by stunning or killing fish. They can also use their hydrokinesis to propel themselves up to fifty feet per second for short distances. Primarina can also use one of their songs to kill almost all insects within one hundred feet. Insect kills are either done for sport or to feed their young.


Husbandry

The biggest challenge with caring for all stages of the brionne line is meeting their need for stimulation. In the wild popplio play with each other and the older members of their choir. This is hard to replicate in captivity as most humans do not have the patience to play with their popplio for several hours a day every day.

Popplio will need at least four hours a day of enrichment. Brionne require at least three. This can be done by giving the pokémon a toy such as a ball or rattle or just by putting an MP3 player on. Brionne in particular are quite fond of children's television featuring dancing, singing humans.

Television and toys will inevitably prove necessary as even humans who want to play with their popplio will quickly discover that their pokémon has more energy and stamina than they do. It is recommended to spend as much of this time as possible playing with the pokémon yourself or with your team members. Since popplio and brionne's play enhances their battling prowess, this time can be used to work on moves and strategies. Indeed, one of the biggest strengths of the line is that they never need to be cajoled or bribed into practicing.

During the remainder of the day popplio and brionne are almost always fine with resting in stasis balls. Habitat balls are not recommended as being alone in a constant environment is boring.

Food designed specifically for brionne is sold in every Pokémon Center in Alola. Trainers are encouraged to allow their pokémon to hunt and forage on their own at least once a month.

The best partners for brionne are musically inclined pokémon. Toucannon, crobat, noibat, mismagisus, and oricorio all make good teammates for brionne and can save their trainer time and energy in enrichment. It is recommended that trainers who intend to evolve their brionne get some form of musical training as it will be a good bonding tool with the pokémon and a necessity for understanding how to command one in battle (see Battling).

Wild primarina never have any relationships with an equal partner, platonic or otherwise. As such they tend to adopt a maternal attitude towards their trainers. They will frequently embrace their trainer or even fall asleep on them if allowed to. Primarina require less in the way of enrichment than their pre-evolutions, but they become quite protective of their trainer and will want to spend several hours a day in the same space as them. They also very much enjoy singing to and with their trainer.

All stages of the line are amphibious and brionne and primarina are primarily aquatic in the wild. It is important to allow them to soak in seawater whenever possible. Brionne and primarina will need to sleep in the ocean at least once a week for optimal health. Almost all large, inland Pokémon Centers have saltwater pools that can be used as a substitute when necessary.

Primarina are long-lived, intelligent and social. Many will begin to learn human languages, although their pronunciation is often jarring due to the different structure of their vocal chords. They don't learn commands through reinforcement of behaviors and the building of trust so much as through actually reasoning through their trainer's words. This has obvious advantages. It also means that sometimes your pokémon will tell you you're making a bad decision in as many words. Primarina are frequently conversational in multiple pokémon languages and will usually be willing to translate the wishes of other team members. Of course, by the time a trainer has taught a primarina to do this they will likely have a good idea what their pokémon's behaviors mean.

A final word of caution: primarina frequently steal jewelry and other shiny objects from their trainer to adorn their hair. They will refuse to give these objects back and, if the objects are taken from them, they will scream loudly and incessantly until they are returned. Watch your valuables around primarina.


Illness

The most common illness affecting all stages of the evolutionary line are surface wounds and infections. Their frills (and, to a lesser extent, their skin) are thin, porous, and often coated in mucus. This means that attacks that would leave tiny scratches on most pokémon can become gaping wounds on them. Fortunately, they heal somewhat faster than most other pokémon when allowed to submerge in clean seawater. Make sure to watch how rough your pokémon are playing with your brionne and be willing to withdraw them from battle early in melee exchanges.


Evolution

Healthy popplio naturally progress to brionne over the course of roughly three years, although constant exposure to enrichments, clean water, battle, and food can accelerate the process. The development of the third frill is the formal demarcation point between popplio and brionne.

All popplio and brionne are male. All primarina are female. Every choir has exactly one primarina. When there is no primarina, the dominant brionne begins to evolve and changes sex in the process. They then form a reverse harem with the brionne in the choir. A solitary brionne will never evolve. Evolution requires trainining multiple brionne, which may be advisable simply due to their social needs, or loaning your brionne to a primarina collective.

In primarina collectives captive brionne on loan from other breeding programs or trainers, as well as injured wild brionne that could not be returned to the wild, are held inside a large enclosure. When a primarina evolves, they are removed. This does not stress the brionne as primarina frequently depart from their choirs in the wild and outside brionne frequently join them (see Breeding).

Primarina songs are more inherited than improvised. In order to develop properly a primarina must spend time with either another primarina after evolving or a wild-raised primarina before evolving. The wild brionne inside of breeding collectives help teach their captive counterparts the songs they learned from wild primarina.

Licensed primarina collectives are run by the Commonwealth of Alola through the Hau'oli Aquarium, Heahea Conservatory, and Malie Zoo. Privately owned collectives can be found in Brooklet Shire, Seafolk Village, Heahea City and West Beach City.

Wild primarina are often willing to teach songs to their captive counterparts. See Acquisition for the locations where they are most commonly found in Alola.


Battle

Popplio’s thick skin and watery projectiles helps them function as a tank of sorts. The weakness of their frills keeps them from living up to this potential and leaves them in an awkward place, too slow and weak to be sweepers and with too large a weakness to be walls. Their one strength is that their intelligence lets them learn tricks faster than most pokémon. Brionne, with their thinner skin but more powerful voices, are more akin to conventional glass canons.

Primarina settle into a niche of their own. They are powerful arena shapers when well trained and played. While they still might get taken out by one good serrating hit or a few blunt force attacks, they use their control of the battlefield to prevent most grounded physical attackers from ever reaching them.

Primarina use their slime and hydrokinesis to condense water from the air and fill durable slime bubbles with it. They will then either use these bubbles as projectiles, trapping moves, or a means of riding around the arena. The latter serves as both a way for them to move quickly on land and to coat the arena in a thin layer of slime that allows for more control of the water. They will then use the slime and water coating the battlefield to lock down their opponent's movements, all the while bombarding them with sonic moves, moonblasts, hydro pumps and other powerful ranged attacks.

If primarina have a drawback, it is that their trainers can almost never understand exactly how their song works. They have limitations that can sometimes seem pointless but are not easily fixed without overhauling the entire song, something that would take multiple lifetimes for them to do completely. Because primarina songs are mostly inherited, this allows opponents to come up with primarina counter-strategies that work against almost all members of the species.

Birds durable enough to take a ranged hit or two and fast enough to outpace a moving primarina can be reliable counters. Toucannon often find it difficult to fly between their beak's weight and rapidly condensing water in the air, but their bullet seeds and rock blasts are often able to knock out a primarina in one or two volleys. Vikavolt, hodad, and magnezone hard counter primarina.

Despite this, primarina have always had a niche in competitive battling. So long as they aren't too popular in a given metagame few trainers will have bothered to come up with a counter strategy. And it is rather difficult to stop a powerful, mobile, arena controller without having a plan in place at the start. This is especially true as some primarina have learned how to emit sounds that disrupt complex thoughts in humans without being readily detectable. Because primarina trainers are seldom much use themselves in the heat of battle, this almost always works to their advantage.

The discovery of this ability has led to the ban of primarina from the Pan-African and European Union leagues. The primary leagues in China, Australia and Japan allow them provided that the exact frequency they use against humans is monitored during the battle. The Global Battling Federation and United States Competitive Pokémon Association currently allow primarina with no restrictions.


Acquisition

Children between the ages of ten and twenty can obtain a popplio as a starter free of charge with a Class I certification. Children who have cleared the grand trial on at least one island and did not receive a popplio as a starter can purchase or adopt one. Brionne or primarina in licensed shelters can be adopted with a Class II license or higher.

Wild brionne are frequently found at Exeggutor Island, Kala'e Bay, Hano Beach, or the coastline of Poni Island National Park. It is illegal to capture a wild specimen at any stage of the evolutionary line without the approval of the Department of Natural Resources. However, these colonies will happily play with and teach songs to wild popplio or brionne. Wild primarina seldom interact with each other. However, if a captive and a wild primarina are allowed to bond for several days the wild one will often agree to teach her songs to the captive primarina.


Breeding

Primarina tend to mate once a year, usually in mid-September. They will select one to three brionne to mate with based on their genetic diversity, proficiency in learning songs, and the responsibilities they have taken over popplio rearing. The brionne chose to father the offspring hold no special role in parenting and do not appear to gain any status over other brionne.

After a five month pregnancy, primarina give birth to roughly six offspring. These popplio are typically only fifteen to twenty centimeters long and are under constant watch by the primarina and brionne of the choir until they reach roughly six months of age, at which point they are roughly forty centimeters long. At this point popplio are given more leeway to play and explore, albeit with a brionne or primarina always keeping a watchful eye on them. Even so, many die from illness and predation.

If conditions are not ideal to continue raising popplio, a primarina will take a few brionne and swim elsewhere to reproduce and set up a new choir. The dominant brionne that remains will evolve. Brionne frequently leave their choirs to join new ones. The impetus for this is unclear, but it serves the purpose of diversifying the gene pools of any given choir.

Primarina collectives seldom actually result in offspring given the frequent removal of the choir’s female.


Relatives

There are three major species of primarina. The primarina given out as a starter in the Alola region is the pelagic primarina.

Reef primarina have brightly colored hair that flows beyond the end of their tail. Their hair contains nematocysts which emit a neurotoxin. They hunt by floating slowly through coral reefs and waiting for fish to die in their hair. The primarina then eats these fish. Due to differences in jaw structure, primarina can eat a fish or pokémon up to thirty percent of their body size. This has left them mostly unable to control sonics. Popplio and brionne in these regions have similar vocal chords and hunting strategies to their pelagic counterparts. The main difference in them is an immunity to most toxins and slightly more maneuverability in the water at the cost of being slightly slower on land. Reef primarina are entirely aquatic. They still breathe air by going to the surface and taking large gulps. They have virtually no presence in the international competitive battling scene. They are a popular attraction in aquariums worldwide due to their bright colors, large size and odd movement patterns.

Mangrove primarina and brionne are roughly half the size of their reef and pelagic counterparts. They are mottled green and brown and tend to hunt insects, fish and small birds and mammals through the use of sonic attacks and traps. They rest in seagrasses off shore during the day and lie waiting in ambush between the roots of mangrove trees at night. They tend to have the fewest slime glands and smallest frills of the primarina species. Mangrove primarina are officially classified as water and ground types, as opposed to the water and fairy typing of pelagic primarina and the water and poison typing of reef primarina.