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A Backwards Grin (Pokemon) (Mawile SI)

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Flairina said:
unscrewing the lid of a max potion and just straight up chugging it.
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How else would you treat stomach ulcers? I am more worried about breathing the stuff to treat lung necrosis from spore/smoke attacks.
Tfallout said:
Paul shout out Sucker Punch

Flairile do the act to punch and ended biting them
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Ehh, biting takes time, you gotta open the mouth, angle it, move it into position, close again... not great for a priority move. I feel it'd be more like:
Flairile draws back a fist, takes a ready pose, and starts head-banging.
...
And now I am imagining a mosh pit filled with head-banging mawile and I am terrified.
 
Aunty Shi Ping said:
Ehh, biting takes time, you gotta open the mouth, angle it, move it into position, close again... not great for a priority move. I feel it'd be more like:
Flairile draws back a fist, takes a ready pose, and starts head-banging.
...
And now I am imagining a mosh pit filled with head-banging mawile and I am terrified.
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Fake biting them with the huge set of jaws then surprise bite them with the normal mouth.

It won't do a lot of damage but hey, Mawile can feel smug about surprising the other pokemon until the other pokemon slugs them in the face.
 
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Aunty Shi Ping said:
Ehh, biting takes time, you gotta open the mouth, angle it, move it into position, close again... not great for a priority move. I feel it'd be more like:
Flairile draws back a fist, takes a ready pose, and starts head-banging.
...
And now I am imagining a mosh pit filled with head-banging mawile and I am terrified.
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That is the cutest mosh pit ever. Don't go near it.
 
I'm trying to picture Mawile in one of those heavy metal band shirts that come into fashion about once every decade... but she'd need to wear the shirt by entering through the neckhole.

Clothing is weird when you are almost all mouth.
 
JadeKaiser said:
I actually got the impression that a mawile being a huge eater is probably pretty normal. It's a pokemon specifically known and built around having a giant maw. You think it won't eat several times what its size would seem to indicate?

Moreover, it's quite likely that mawile are generally always hungry. The fact that Flairile is eating enough to actually get full on a semi-regular basis is probably unusual and may just result in her appetite steadily growing ever larger to match her intake. Or rather, to exceed her intake.
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So you think that Mawile is something like the deep sea predators, in that they might be feast/famine (meaning that they can eat large amounts when prey is plentiful and go without for long period when prey is absent) predators?

That could make sense, given what we know about the deep cave ecosystems of the Pokéverse. Lots of mineral-esque food items (mineral deposits and mineral Pokémon), fewer organic food items (Mawile in Sinnoh are never found by cave entrances and can only be found on the deeper floors), and likely no berry food sources at all. If this is so, then Mawile in the Sinnoh wild might take prey items larger then they are and go long periods of time without as they digest akin to snakes or many deep sea fish.

The only evidence beyond the locations that they have generally been found in to support this would be that Mawile have always been able to learn the Stockpile, Swallow, Spit-Up moves (a move-set triad that has historically has been used primarily by Pokemon with a tendency towards feast/famine lifestyles such as Gulpin, Ekans, Victrebel, and Lanturn); as well as a PokeDex entry that states that Mawile can swallow prey whole using their horn-jaws.
Ultra Sun PokeDex Entry said:
A cunning and terrifying Pokémon, its cuteness makes opponents let down their guard—and then it swallows them whole with its huge jaws.
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I am hesitant to say that the Stockpile move-set triad proves anything because it also has been used historically by Pokemon species with a tendency for Gluttony and near constant hunger, such as the Snorlax family, or Pokemon with a diet that requires near constant feeding, such as Komala and Heatmor.

Of course, that is only if Mawile needs meat rather than minerals (I am leaning on this however, due to the protein base of the majority of their body, rather than mineral like their horns). If Mawile does need more minerals than meat though, than it's likely that Flairile just needs to eat a more mineral based diet. The jaws would likely be adaptations to crush down hard mineral deposits that inflexible horns were unable to aid in the consumption of in a manner akin to a hyena's bonecrushing jaws.
Black Swallower - Deep Sea Fish


The above pictured fish can eat prey items 10x its own weight, and also has collapsible jaws (something akin to what Flairile can do) that allow it consume prey items much larger than itself. It's stomach has expandable walls that allow it to take in those larger prey items.

Gulper Eel - Deep Sea Eel



Probably one of the more famous fishes of the deep sea, it's probably a really good example for what large jaw size + lure + small body means in a low prey density environment. They take prey many times larger than they are, likely through lunging at them rather than suction like most large jawed predatory fish. How do these fish get close to the Gulper Eel? Well, the Gulper Eel has a light lure on their tail that they might use to bait other predatory fish into range. The portions of the body behind the jaw can expand to many times their original size, as can be seen below.
EDIT: Apologies about the long exposition about animals. (-_-; ) I kinda got carried away.
 
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AnimalKrazed said:
So you think that Mawile is something like the deep sea predators, in that they might be feast/famine (meaning that they can eat large amounts when prey is plentiful and go without for long period when prey is absent) predators?
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Not so much, though that could be a thing as well. I was more talking about how if you have a pokemon whom literally has a giant maw as their most prominent defining feature... they're probably a pokemon that eats a lot. In fact, they likely have, as you described, a tendency for gluttony and near-constant hunger like the Snorlax family. The fact they don't have the Gluttony ability in games being basically irrelevant.

The description specifically calling Mawile out as swallowing opponents whole despite being relatively small would seem to support that fact. Black hole stomach syndrome seems to be pretty standard for them.
 
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I do kinda like the idea of some less active Members of her species having a big meal and then basically falling into Torpor until the next food increase...
 
Huh... If the pokedex specifically calls them "swallowing their prey whole", then is it possible that Flairile should be swallowing something more substantial than mulch? Maybe she is having difficulty getting over the concept of never swallowing a power-source larger than her own head? Elekid would meet that description...
 
Aunty Shi Ping said:
Huh... If the pokedex specifically calls them "swallowing their prey whole", then is it possible that Flairile should be swallowing something more substantial than mulch? Maybe she is having difficulty getting over the concept of never swallowing a power-source larger than her own head? Elekid would meet that description...
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It could also be that Flairile needs to use both her mouthes to eat.

It has two mouths. The big jaws on the back of its head can't taste anything, so that's the mouth it uses to eat foods it doesn't like.
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Just to bring back discussion on Surprise Punch for a bit, the Punch series may equate with striking the enemy in a specific manner.

Like using a spear, you can swing it around like a staff or bat and do some damage that way, but what it is really meant for is a single strong, armor-piercing strike in a linear path.
To throw a good punch or stab with a spear, you need strength, speed, weight, set up and good aim.

What that means for Mawile is that they need speed, because they don't have much muscle to begin with, barring Steel-type bullshit.
They have the agility for it as seen with Mama Usraring, the weight of a steel-type is on their side, and any Mawile can do good set-ups, see title of Deceiver Pokemon. And good aim comes with practice.

So Mawiles are more suited for Punch-type moves than some may have thought. Including me at first.

Movement moves are going to be good for Mawile over all for any number of reasons and/or physical attacks.

But that's for the author to decide.

TLDR: Punching is like using a pointy stick. Mawiles seem suprising good at punching. Wow I went on a tangent, sorry y'all if it doesn't make sense.
 
... Is Paul raising a team of literal babies?

Idk about Murkrow, but Elekid is Electabuzz' baby form, Chimchar is a babbu, Mawile is so tiny so as to not be able to swallow prey whole yet, which I'd guess is why they're so hungry and also why their non vegan meals are so messy and gory.

Paul the baby pokemon trainer. Appropriate, since he's such a baby. :V
 
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Onmur said:
... Is Paul raising a team of literal babies?

Idk about Murkrow, but Elekid is Electabuzz' baby form, Chimchar is a babbu, Mawile is so tiny so as to not be able to swallow prey whole yet, which I'd guess is why they're so hungry and also why their non vegan meals are so mess and gory.

Paul the baby pokemon trainer. Appropriate, since he's such a baby. :V
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Only elekid is a literal baby. Baby pokémon, by definition, are unable to breed, since they haven't reached sexual maturity. Murkrow, chimchar, and mawile can all breed.
 
If I was aiming for pure endgame strength then, yeah, starting as young as possible makes sense. In the short term it might be advantageous to take down and field veteran pokemon but it would give you a lot less time to finesse their growth curves. A team of babies, especially if you are sifting for diamonds in the rough and discarding the rest, will give you a team of demigods eventually. Also, they are more likely to yield to his bullshit rather than murdering him outright.

So, yeah, Paul is probably targeting the youngest pokemon he can find that show even the slightest hint of strength.
 
chocolote12 said:
They're both minuscule? Beyond that, you're going to have to elaborate.
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One of the first traits the protagonist displayed was the desire to get stronger. Regardless of the fact she had to eat more people to keep up the energy.

They both also desire more power, but. Well...

Mawille knew her training methods weren't very effective. Paul's training methods, while harsh, also aren't very effective.

Also yeah their both shorties with a bad attitude. :V
 
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Frozen Flame said:
Yes? That was the point. That Paul, despite being in poke earth with living pokemon, seems to treat them with the same care we give fictional ones.

I'm not really sure what you were trying to say here. This wasn't a dig at people's morality, just a comparison for clarities sake. What people would do if the games were real is largely irrelevant to what was said.

EDIT: Not trying to be rude, just confused as to what prompted the big rebuke.
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Taking your and @Battleship_Fusou's posts together, I thought the two of you were making the comparison in order to defend Paul and attack players. Guess I was wrong about that; sorry.

Flairina said:
Meaning it would definitely fool Ash and co as well, and probably anyone with them at the time. The sheer number of paper-thin disguises that Team Rocket has fooled them with frankly boggles the mind - you'd think that eventually the quote-unquote twerps might start suspecting every trio of people they come across where one has red hair, one has blue lavender hair, and the last one is a dwarf, but they remain just as shocked by the reveal every single time.
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Please have a scene where one of these events is happening while Flair (I'm still calling her "Flair," BTW) is present and sees through the disguise instantly.
it's also entirely possible Ash is simply not aware that there is a map function. He's uh... never been the brightest kid.
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Now I'm imagining Ash wandering aimlessly for an hour before Flair goes, "Uuuuugh, for the love of--give me that!" gesturing to his Poketech. Cue massive bewilderment on the part of himself and any other humans present.

JadeKaiser said:
I actually got the impression that a mawile being a huge eater is probably pretty normal. It's a pokemon specifically known and built around having a giant maw. You think it won't eat several times what its size would seem to indicate?

Moreover, it's quite likely that mawile are generally always hungry. The fact that Flairile is eating enough to actually get full on a semi-regular basis is probably unusual and may just result in her appetite steadily growing ever larger to match her intake. Or rather, to exceed her intake.
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That would be...horrifying. :o:cry:

zxzx24 said:
One of the first traits the protagonist displayed was the desire to get stronger. Regardless of the fact she had to eat more people to keep up the energy.

They both also desire more power, but. Well...

Mawille knew her training methods weren't very effective. Paul's training methods, while harsh, also aren't very effective.

Also yeah their both shorties with a bad attitude.
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I have to call foul here. Saying they both have a bad attitude is an insult to our dear protagonist, and all the other comparisons you made were vague and/or niche as all hell.
 
RusselsSilvrware said:
Taking your and @Battleship_Fusou's posts together, I thought the two of you were making the comparison in order to defend Paul and attack players. Guess I was wrong about that; sorry.
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Ah, that explains it.

Yeah, it was more along the lines of noting how Paul's outlook is fairly close to how players might handle their pokemon in-game. That the only thing that matters is having the optimal team and treating pokemon like generic assets to be discarded or changed when inconvenient rather than living beings with thoughts and feelings of their own. The comparison was not favorable to Paul, especially since it casts him in a borderline-sociopathic light.

No harm done though, I can see how you reached that conclusion.
 
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Flairina said:
I'm a little surprised at the theorizing regarding what's going on with Mawile!me's voraciousness... not that it's happening, but more simply that nobody's nailed it dead on yet. I would actually think the answer to be quite obvious.
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I'm going to say it is a combination of potential factors others have hit on, being both a need for more direct mineral intake and a need to eat using her normal mouth. The interesting thought that comes to me is that what if the secondary jaws are despite being under her control somewhat a separate organism from her having their own digestive tract and nutrition needs and she is neglecting her own body in favor of the jaws. Honestly don't think that is the case, but has some frightening implications if it was. It could also be as others have said that Mawile are feast/famine predators and her human mindset is causing her to overeat.
 
zxzx24 said:
One of the first traits the protagonist displayed was the desire to get stronger. Regardless of the fact she had to eat more people to keep up the energy.

They both also desire more power, but. Well...
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Yeah, I call foul. Mawile wants to get stronger for reasons of personal safety, as she had and has good reason to think that being weak and isolated would end with her dead. For Mawile, getting stronger is a matter of survival, not ego.

If Paul, on the other hand, was also only interested in getting stronger in order to preserve his own life, he could have just stayed home in his comfortable* life as a human who lives in a fairly prosperous peace-time nation. He doesn't do that.

Their goals are flatly non-comparable. Its the same sort of pseudo-logic that leads to people saying that the KKK protesting how difficult it is to kill minorities are somehow equivalent to minorities protesting for how not-impossible it is for them to be killed by the KKK. Yeah, technically, they both want a stronger position, but the gulf between the amount of power they're starting from, not to mention the gulf between their desired end-states, is farcical.

If Mawile met a nice Gyarados that took a shine to her and decided that Mawile was her new granddaughter, we have no reason to think that Mawile wouldn't consider herself sufficiently secure to scale back her training to a sufficient degree as that she could stop eating people and instead choose to live a far more calm, relaxed life with her new safety-sea-serpent. Meanwhile, Paul would certainly not consider that as a rational course of action and would very much not stop trying to become more powerful.

For Mawile, getting stronger is a means to an end. For Paul, Power is the end in itself.

*I don't know what kind of place Paul lived prior to his Pokemon journey, but I'm going to assume it was somewhere where getting eaten was kinda unlikely. As opposed to where he lives now, ie the middle of the wilderness like he's in the Viet Cong or something, where getting eaten is actually a significant risk. Even ignoring his under-feeding of a ravenous wild animal he's keeping around.
 
Jamie Roberts said:
*I don't know what kind of place Paul lived prior to his Pokemon journey, but I'm going to assume it was somewhere where getting eaten was kinda unlikely. As opposed to where he lives now, ie the middle of the wilderness like he's in the Viet Cong or something, where getting eaten is actually a significant risk. Even ignoring his under-feeding of a ravenous wild animal he's keeping around.
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I don't know. One thing about his current life is that he at least has the illusion of control, of life or death being at least sort of in your own hands. Meanwhile a lot of this planet is cosplaying at Catachan, a beautiful hellscape where... any day now... something will arbitrarily come along and pick the bones of your whole town. Before or after eating their souls. Larger population centers buddy up to the local militia called a gym and maybe you will be okay, everyone else has to subsist on a little bit of luck.

The kid is fucked up, but something probably made him fucked up. You don't fall into the cult of hard choices that thoroughly without a little push.
IvanDead said:
Is it wrong that I want to pet this eel's inflated belly? Or that I think it's cute?
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If its wrong then I don't want to be right.
 
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Jamie Roberts said:
Yeah, I call foul. Mawile wants to get stronger for reasons of personal safety, as she had and has good reason to think that being weak and isolated would end with her dead. For Mawile, getting stronger is a matter of survival, not ego.

If Paul, on the other hand, was also only interested in getting stronger in order to preserve his own life, he could have just stayed home in his comfortable* life as a human who lives in a fairly prosperous peace-time nation. He doesn't do that.

Their goals are flatly non-comparable. Its the same sort of pseudo-logic that leads to people saying that the KKK protesting how difficult it is to kill minorities are somehow equivalent to minorities protesting for how not-impossible it is for them to be killed by the KKK. Yeah, technically, they both want a stronger position, but the gulf between the amount of power they're starting from, not to mention the gulf between their desired end-states, is farcical.

If Mawile met a nice Gyarados that took a shine to her and decided that Mawile was her new granddaughter, we have no reason to think that Mawile wouldn't consider herself sufficiently secure to scale back her training to a sufficient degree as that she could stop eating people and instead choose to live a far more calm, relaxed life with her new safety-sea-serpent. Meanwhile, Paul would certainly not consider that as a rational course of action and would very much not stop trying to become more powerful.

For Mawile, getting stronger is a means to an end. For Paul, Power is the end in itself.

*I don't know what kind of place Paul lived prior to his Pokemon journey, but I'm going to assume it was somewhere where getting eaten was kinda unlikely. As opposed to where he lives now, ie the middle of the wilderness like he's in the Viet Cong or something, where getting eaten is actually a significant risk. Even ignoring his under-feeding of a ravenous wild animal he's keeping around.
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*It seems fairly likely to me that you could get eaten in pokemon cities. Muk, grimer, various ghost types, those hings that pretend to be ice cream cones ect...
 
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