Hmmm. I want to get the thread started off right with an omake, I've even selected the pokemon I'm gonna write the paper on (Whismur, selected by using a 1-11 random number generator and then a 1-6), but I'm not sure how pokemon actually work in this AU - are types biological, aura-based or something else entirely, what's the general intelligence level, how ungodly powerful do high-level mons get, etc. - and I don't want to get it wrong. I'll do my best to write around it, but if I'm wrong on how pokemon work in your AU @OxfordOctopus then by all means correct me. I'd like to be canon. Expect the omake in the next ~6 hours.
i am so hyped for this quest! Thank you for writing!
[X] You were a urban kid
i too grew up as a city kid. also i like Perception
[X] Kanto
for the Pokémon pool, though I also like Sinnoh
PS: could we possibly get a spoiler box at the end of the post or something with all the vote options and explanations? if there are multiple votes in a post like this one 🙇
Hmmm. I want to get the thread started off right with an omake, I've even selected the pokemon I'm gonna write the paper on (Whismur, selected by using a 1-11 random number generator and then a 1-6), but I'm not sure how pokemon actually work in this AU - are types biological, aura-based or something else entirely, what's the general intelligence level, how ungodly powerful do high-level mons get, etc. - and I don't want to get it wrong. I'll do my best to write around it, but if I'm wrong on how pokemon work in your AU @OxfordOctopus then by all means correct me. I'd like to be canon. Expect the omake in the next ~6 hours.
- Pokemon are on average more intelligent than animals in our world, but they aren't by default at human-levels of intelligence. Some are, mainly psychics, but to use Whismur as an example, a non-baby Whismur's probably going to be as smart as a bear.
- To TLDR this: aura is an energy present in all lifeforms, and will match the typing of the Pokemon (though it will be a random monotype among humans). Aura is used as an energy pool to use moves (among other things), and when the aura type matches the move type, you get STAB. I'm half awake, and haven't checked my notes yet, so my advice is to just steer clear of the topic of aura for the time being.
PS: could we possibly get a spoiler box at the end of the post or something with all the vote options and explanations? if there are multiple votes in a post like this one 🙇
[X] Sinnoh
[X] You lived by the sea, in all its splendour
This is my choice not because of the polemon or stat spread but rather the lore of such a background.
A familly of icefishers wanting something better for their boy. Growing up in blizards on the water, all but isolated from the outside of the world.
Seeing not only the beuties of the sea but some of the fiercest storms it can toss at a human.
I'll be closing the vote in an hour! Currently there is a tie between Orre and Kanto for the regional origin, and to avoid me panicking if it happens: in the event of a tie, whichever member of the tie was voted for most recently wins the vote. I am tempted to extend the voting period another 24 hours, but I really wanna get this quest moving on to the fun bits, rather than just character creation. Good luck!
i don't want to start an uproar and worry the poor baby but i am so glad (!!!) that we have one of the boys of all time (!!!) as our partner. it feels fated when you think about that omake offer barnabusbarnabus made being focused on whismurs too (!!!)
Well, that's appropriate considering the omake I'm literally just now posting!
A Comprehensive Study of the Normal-Type, Vol. 21: The Whismur Line
Professor M. Calendula
With Credit to C. Juniper & J. Cerise
The Whismur line, for Normal-types, are surprisingly rare. Native only to Hoenn, though small immigrant populations exist in Kalos, Fiore, Orre and Galar, they are classed as At Risk due to their stringent territorial requirements and generally low population. Colonies almost exclusively reside in caves, preferring densely forested flatlands or wetlands if a suitable cavern is unavailable. The Whismur line follow a migratory lifecycle, usually involving two primary sites - a creche, in which young Whismur are born and raised, and a separate nest, some distance away, in which the later evolutions reside until they have learned to modulate their voices to avoid startling their more timid kin.
Whismur are small, bipedal leporid pokémon, averaging out at around 2'00" in height. They are covered in extremely dense pink fur, with yellow (or rarely green) markings around the ears, feet and tail. This is because Whismur have incredibly good low-light vision, but cannot distinguish colour - the brightness of their fur allows them to discern the difference between members of their colony and the walls of the cave at a glance via contrast. Beneath this fur, Whismur share a general body shape with their later evolutions, and the same blue (or rarely purple) skin. The species is primarily frugivorous, leaving their caves at night to gather berries, but will also consume insects and other plant matter. In their nativity region, Whismur take advantage of Hoenn's mild winters, in which some plants - such as the notoriously hardy Oran, and the particularly cold-resistant Aspear - still bear fruit. Though the common stereotype for small, cute pokémon is an enjoyment of sweet-tasting food, in the wild Whismur have been observed to preferentially consume plants with very strong flavours - preferring astringency, sourness and spice over other palates. Wild Whismur in other, colder regions are known to struggle during the winter.
The primary defensive adaptation of the Whismur species is their sonorous cry - when startled, usually by a loud noise, a Whismur may let out a cry at roughly 140db, the same volume as a jet engine at fifty meters. This shriek can severely damage or disorient a potential predator, and can permit the Whismur to escape or alert a more powerful relative to the danger. This comes at a cost, however, as the Whismur species is incredibly sensitive to loud noises, and the cry of a Whismur may cause another of their colony to begin crying - which may cascade until the entire colony is shrieking at once. A related adaptation is the Whismur's multiple tracheae - a Whismur has three paths to its lungs, one that leads from the mouth and two from the holes at the base of its ears. In this manner, a Whismur may continue to scream using its mouth practically indefinitely, breathing through the other holes, until it lowers its ears to cut off the airflow or collapses from exhaustion.
Whismur are typically shy, passive, defensive pokémon. Colonies are extremely communal, huddling together for warmth and safety in numbers. It is not uncommon to see, when walking through Rusturf Tunnel, a so-called "hugpile" of sleeping Whismur just off the beaten path, having perhaps knocked themselves out by screaming at a perceived threat. It is recommended not to disturb them. They have driven most other pokémon out of their primary creche cavern in Rusturf due to the volume and commonality of their screaming, save for a few particularly stealthy (and possibly deaf) Geodude feeding off of the minerals in the rock, which provides a safe nesting ground for their young and means that they are not in any active danger of extinction, but this may change should the safety of Rusturf for their kind be compromised.
When a Whismur evolves into a Loudred, the single most important thing that occurs is not the size increase, or the shedding of the pink fur, or the massive increase in baseline sound production capacity. The most important evolutionary change is the complete restructuring of the eyes. A Loudred has the low-light and colour vision typical of a second-stage Normal-type - which is to say, good but not excellent, and red-green colour-blindness. This is a remarkable change from the total colour-blindness and incredible low-light vision that Whismur possess - the adaptation is theorised to ease the transition from a nocturnal, frugivorous diet to a crepuscular hunting lifestyle. The only consistent wild Loudred population (outside Fiore's Ranger reservations) in the world exists in Hoenn's Victory Road - in all other regions where the line is present, difficulties with nutrition during the winters and lack of a suitable migration location post-evolution prevent all but the most determined wild Whismur from evolving.
A newly-evolved Loudred is unable to regulate its volume - what was a whisper is a shout in their new body. For a Loudred, to be quiet is an act of genuine will. This can distress their smaller kin if they are not intensely and constantly careful, and so they migrate to a different cave to learn to modulate their voices. This is a process of years, and requires real and constant self-discipline, but there is a way around this; an Exploud is not, contrary to the name, loud by default. Hence, most Loudred choose to seek strength instead of self-control, and only return to the cave of their birth if they have evolved once more.
Loudred take the defensive weapon of their previous evolutionary stage and turn it into a potent attack - the sound they are capable of producing can tear apart wood and push large metal objects. This intensification occurs through a biologically mystifying process not unlike winding a clockwork toy. When a Loudred stamps their feet, their lungs contract even as they continue to take in air through their auricular tracheae, leading to intense air compression - which drastically increases the volume of their next shout. However, like their pre-evolution, whilst Loudred are entirely immune to the physical deleterious effects of loud sound, the mental effects are still unpleasant. The species has developed an adaptation to this, being that in the moments before, during and after a shout, a Loudred can close its ears, rendering itself temporarily and entirely deaf.
Exploud are extremely rare. It is uncommon for a wild Whismur to evolve into a Loudred, and even less common for that Loudred to become an Exploud - and those statistics hold in Hoenn. In non-native regions, wild Exploud are nearly entirely unheard of. Not helping is the fact that for creatures capable of such cacophonous noise - the loudest recorded Exploud could be heard for six miles - they are surprisingly stealthy. It is entirely possible that populations of Exploud do exist under our collective noses, and we simply have not been able to find them. Exploud, like their youngest kin, are instinctively shy creatures. Not much has been confirmed about the habits of wild Exploud, but it can be speculated that, like their pre-evolution, they are crepuscular, carnivorous hunters - possibly ambush predators, considering their skill at stealth - and it is known that they share their pre-evolution's colour-blindness.
Exploud have their own, instinctive language, entirely separate from the common poké-vernacular. It consists of whistles emitted from the forest of long, bony air tubes that grow from their body; these are similar in bone structure to coral, strangely enough, and will continue to grow slowly throughout an Exploud's lifetime. Most common Exploud possess fifteen tubes, each of which contains a trachea wrapped in a protective calcite sheath. These tubes can be used to emit their whistling language, or to intake air for their powerful sonic attack. The number of tubes is enough such that they do not have to perform the foot-stomping of their pre-evolution to achieve peak air compression, as they can intake enough air fast enough to establish equal or greater pressure without lowering lung capacity as is required by their previous selves. Like Whismur, they can use these supplementary intakes to continue shouting without stopping for as long as is required - and they are completely unaffected by loud noise in any way, overcoming the weakness of their pre-evolutions.
God you are my favorite person right now. I cannot stress how much this is kind of my peak ideal for Pokemon fiction, and it is absolutely enthralling the way you've written this to feel so genuine. This is exactly what I am looking for, and now, I'm going to incorporate as much of this into how Whismur functions as I can.
Ahem. Anyway, putting on my QM hat again...
Congrats! You are the first person to submit a canon Omake and as it's a scientific paper based on a Pokemon, you are rewarded with the bank-shattering, unimaginable 10 EXP. You will be given the prompt to use this at your discretion after a mission ends, and you can spend it absolutely however you like.
Thank you so much for this, once again. Writing this was absolutely not a mistake.
Fun fact: Exploud can learn Surf so we and our starter can share a love of the sea.
Is it weird that I kind of want to collect mons that look like they should not be able to use Surf but can do so anyway. Looking it up, some examples are Tyranitar, Snorlax, Aggron, Tauros Gogoat what. The list of Surf capable Pokémon is kind of wild.
