#pokemon evolution

i've seen some posts about these, and i think they're interesting- but ultimately they're not a good idea. it's not because of them being implanted, though. there are plenty of subdermal devices we use in pokemon care! microchips are inserted under the skin, as are certain types of contraceptive devices.

Timeskipped Sidon, the hydro himbo 🌊

These pokemon prefer to live in the isolated woodlands or foggy mountain areas in Galar, and near ponds on isolated cliffs in Paldea.

-> Hatenna, “The Calm Pokemon” (dex# 856)

(^ managed to take a picture of this wild Hatenna before she ran away )

The nightcap-like antenna on their heads acts as a psychic radar that constantly picks up on the emotions of the those around them. Still being relatively small, they still don’t have the brainpower to process these signals yet and become stressed. Constant exposure leaves them physically and emotionally exhausted. So finding an area cleared of other Pokemon is essential to them, and are most comfortable with calm, introspective personalities.

The moment Hatennas hatch from their eggs, they are completely on their own. Hatterene mothers do not build nests, preferring to hide their eggs. They are not a very social species (Hatennas are very independent) but for the first few days after hatching they will still seek out older Hattrems and Hatterenes. These mentors are not always their mothers, but the newborn Hatennas are still allowed within their domains for protection during the first few months of their lives.

(^ Hatenna eggs hidden in a tree)

At ~4 months old, Hatennas will leave their mentor’s domain and search for their own territory. This can take up to a full year as they are very picky about where they want to settle. By the time they chose a spot to settle, they’ve almost always evolve into a Hattrem and are able to defend their territory.

-> Hattrem, “The Serene Pokemon” (dex# 857)

These adorable little powerhouses are the most proactive of the Hatenna line. Hattrems are past their timid phase but still aren’t powerful enough to deter creatures through psychic power. These Pokemon rely on brute strength to get their points across. They guard their territories fiercely and chase off anything that breathes. The only beings they won’t scare off are Hatenna, Hatterenes, and (surprisingly) pokemon in the Impidimp line.

The Impidimp and Hatenna lines are very closely related, both literally and figuratively.

Figuratively, they share similarities as they are both rare pokemon only found in specific areas of Galar and Paldea, are single-sex species, have prehensile hair, and have inherent empath abilities.

Literally speaking, it’s very common for the two species to have eggs together as their genetic code makes all male eggs Impidimps and all female eggs Hatennas. When they finally settle down, Hattrems will sometimes get visited by their much more social Impidimp and Morgrem siblings, and even their Grimmsnarl fathers.

Hattrems also continue to develop their psychic abilities. Continuous input is still aggravating, but they are able to better process and understand the emotions they pick up. They are also able to sense thoughts instead of exclusively emotion and, while not very powerful, they can **telepathically convey their intents to others of their species.

** - “telepathy” as we imagine doesn’t really work in practice as sending your words into someone else’s head, thoughts aren’t quite built like that. If they concentrated very hard a psychic-type could project their internal dialogue into your brain, but this takes too much energy. Instead, telepathy looks more like sharing memories, emotions, and sensory information

At this stage, they have so much hair that they can’t balance themselves on their legs, so they use their prehensile hair to hop around instead. This makes them slower than Hatennas, but they don’t need to be fast when they can pummel you with 700 to 1,200 pounds of force (3,000 to 5,000 Newtons) using their pigtails.

-> Hatterene, “The Silent Pokemon” (dex# 858)

(^ I love this picture of Morgana)

Despite their terrifying reputations, Hatterenes do not truly desire to do harm, but they won’t not enjoy it if it means achieving peace and quiet. They do have a tendency to be apathetic towards other beings, but they rarely kill. More often than not, they will knock you unconscious and deposit you outside the borders of their territories; and before that you will usually already be deterred by headaches before you get close enough. As I’ve described it before, it’s the same satisfaction you get from chucking your alarm clock across the room.

A good way to avoid this, however, is to be extra polite. In the wild, it’s good manners to bow when meeting a Hatterene, and leaving an offering for her when entering and leaving her territory (berry, fruit, and vegetable seeds are favorites, as well as sweet treats like cake and chocolates). If she curtsies back to you, you have her permission to travel through her territory. If not, you need to turn around and leave the way you came.

A Hatterene will aggressively defend her territory from trespassers, and the range of her influence indicates how powerful she is.

It was thought that this takeover would disrupt local ecosystems, but we now know that this is not the case. Not only are these territories healthy, they’re flourishing! And everything is maintained by the Hatterene herself.

Every Hatterene acts as a stewardess of the land she inhabits and cares for it by clearing overabundant underbrush, spreading seeds, clearing diseased trees, and pruning flowers. Hatterenes also plant and maintain some of the largest fruit and vegetable gardens besides humans.

Despite being known for it, their hair isn’t the only amazing feature of this species. Hatterenes are one of only a few psychic type to possess more than one brain. Not only do they have a central nervous system, they have a a smaller satellite brain that operates their tentacle and claw hand. This decentralized system allows the limb to process local touch and movement independently, and it allows the central brain to focus on navigation and strategy while the limb multitasks autonomously.

Their physical bodies are very small and humanoid, but their heart, lungs, veins, and skin are nearly 50x more efficient at oxygenating and delivering blood to their brains than humans’. Nearly 5% of their total blood oxygen is absorbed through their skin (as opposed to humans’ 1%). Their hearts also have a **larger left ventricle that allows for more blood to be pumped with each beat, making their resting heart rate very low.

** - this can also be found in human athletes when the heart adapts to high-endurance training

Like other psychics, Hatterenes require an extremely high calorie intake to fuel their bodies (about 3,000+ calories a day, similar to a professional marathon runner). This is why Hatterenes maintain large and flourishing gardens to feed themselves. In addition to fruits and vegetables, their diet also includes insects like grasshoppers, beetles, and locusts (which is its own form of pest control for their gardens).

If you have additional questions, please submit them to the comments. If you would like to suggest/request another pokemon to write a guide on, submit it to my asks :):)

Yep! It took months of work (and months of waiting for Champions to give me the new menu sprites for the Mega Evolutions. And then it didn’t even do that.) I know others have done this before, but every single take I found had something I felt was disproved by canon or flat-out didn’t make sense, so I’ve been working on my own take!

Cyndaquil was my first starter Pokémon, many moons ago on Pokémon Crystal and will forever hold a special place in my heart. So of course I brought it to Orcaibh with me :)