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pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop · 4 months ago

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Mareep, Flaaffy, & Ampharos

Mareep (#179)

Oviselectram oviselectram oviselectram

General Information: Mareep the Sheep Pokémon, this Pokémon is a traditional farm animal to people the world over. Its ability to store electricity in its always-growing wool makes it valuable in textile and electric businesses alike.

Mareep average at about 2 feet (0.6 M) tall and weigh about 30 pounds (13.6 kg).

Habitat: Mareep originate from Europe in the Lesser Caucuses, the Zagros Mountains, and the western Alborz region, but have since spread across the globe due to humanity’s globalization efforts. They are a common sight on farmsteads the world over.

Life Cycles: Mareep are born as twins or triplets, though some breeds may be able to produce more. They are born year-round. The baby Mareeps are cared for by its mother until artificial weaning at around four months old, but those allowed to wean naturally stick with their moms until six or seven months old.

Behavior: Mareep are known for their gentle dispositions, making them truly excellent starter Pokémon for beginning trainers. They cannot be raised in isolation from other Pokémon, and in fact a trainer will not be given a Mareep starter unless there is proof of other Pokémon in the household (this is easily done by the parent simply presenting one of their own Pokémon). It is considered abuse to raise a Mareep in isolation of other Pokémon.

In the wild, Mareep live in large flocks with many members of their own kind, where they mutually look out for each other.

Mareep are considered rather dim-witted creatures, though they exhibit strong social intelligences.

Diet: Mareep eat grasses, legumes, and forbs (flowering plants that aren’t grasses). They are able to completely sustain themselves on pasture grass, making them self-sufficient livestock.

Conservation: Least Concern

Relationship with Humans: Mareep are a domesticated Pokémon that descend from wild ancestors in the Mesopotamian region of the world. Humans have been domesticating sheep for about 11,000-13,000 years. The domestication process led to several distinct lineages of sheep Pokémon being bred into existence, most notably Mareep and its nearest relative, Wooloo. Mareep and its evolutionary family are believed to bear the most resemblance to their wild ancestors. Based on the earliest records, the ancestral sheep Pokémon was a three-stage electric-type. Many refer to the Ancestral Sheep Pokémon as “Proto-Mareep,” but when trying to avoid certain biases, will simply call it the Ancestral Sheep Pokémon.

Because Mareep evolve at level 15 (and reproductive maturity occurs at level 15) this functionally means that most Mareep simply don’t reproduce, but this serves as a problem for farmers who don’t want their Mareep to evolve. It became standard practice for many Mareep farmers to adorn their Mareeps with shards of Everstones around their necks, usually in the form of collars or cute bows. While still a common practice today to keep Mareep fluffy and cute for whatever reasons the farmer may have, Mareep are often bred not for their wool but for their milk, meat, and lambs. Mareep are easier for farmers to handle than Flaaffys and Ampharoses.

It is heavily believed that modern Mareep had the shape of their pupils selectively bred against the standard rectangular pupils that the other Sheep Pokémon have. It was a mutation that made them “cuter,” but the Ancestral Sheep Pokémon almost certainly had rectangular pupils.

Classification: Mareep are the namesake species of their genus, with their full scientific name just a repeat of “Oviselectram” thrice, a name that means “electric sheep.”

Note to Players: When doing your Breeding Success rolls between Mareep and Wooloo, you should use the same-species rates.

Flaaffy (#180)

Oviselectram roseaderma

General Information: Flaaffy the Sheep Pokémon and the evolved form of Mareep. They produce so much electricity that their wool has started to fall off in huge patches of rubbery skin.

Flaaffy average at 2’7 feet (0.8 M) tall and weigh about 30 pounds (13.6 kg).

Habitat: Flaaffy originate from the Caspian region of Europe, but can be found the world over thanks to human activities and domestication.

Life Cycles: When allowed to evolve naturally, a Flaaffy will typically evolve from a Mareep around 9-12 months old. Flaaffy have two distinct mating types: truly wild Flaaffys, such as those found in the Caucus Mountains, have an annual mating season every fall, but domesticated Flaaffys have year-round mating cycles. When it is time to mate, the courtship process takes 6-8 weeks, where males of the flock will compete to see who will mate with the females of the flock. Flaaffys will retain the egg “inside” them for five months, then in the final week, the Flaaffy’s eggs will appear and it will guard its eggs vigorously until hatching. Because the wild counterparts are migratory, it is beneficial to wild Flaaffys to have their eggs around the same time, so that the herd at large may stay put for a few days and wait for the Mareep eggs to hatch. It is advantageous for wild Flaaffys to synchronized mating cycles, but in captivity, it doesn’t matter, for there is ample protection year-round for the eggs by caring farmers and the livestock guardians.

On a farm, the Flaaffys of the herd are typically the ones who do the breeding, and are rarely consumed prematurely. Generally speaking, Flaaffys are only killed when they are too old and weak to keep

Behavior: Flaaffy are amicable Pokémon who enjoy the company of others. They are mild-mannered and quite suitable to most households, though they are considered dim-witted Pokémon. Ones raised on farms are not encouraged to be bright thinkers, but raised as pets they can be taught and trained as well as most starter Pokémon.

Diet: Flaaffy eat grasses, legumes, and flowering plants. Their increased height gives them an opportunity to eat choicer leaves from taller bushes and small trees.

Conservation: Least Concern

Relationship with Humans: In hotter climates, it’s common for farmers to allow their Mareep to evolve into Flaaffy and then adorn them with Everstone bows. While their wool does have use, there are other textiles in use in these regions of the world. Flaaffy are used for milk, meat, and lamb production. Outside of agriculture, the greatest use that Flaaffy’s directly have, is that their wool is used for electrical fibers in wiring and electronics. It’s an incredibly powerful conductor of electricity and some engineers are even investigating uses into battery technology.

The rubbery skin of Flaaffys is highly valued in electrical engineering and in high-tech safety equipment. Naturally, there are Animal Rights Activists who feel it is unethical to be consuming the meat of Flaaffys or Mareeps, and it’s an increasingly contentious subject in the public eye.

Classification: The species epithet for Flaaffy, “roseaderma”, means “pink-skinned.”

Evolution: Flaaffy evolve from Mareep starting at level 15.

Ampharos (#181)

Oviselectram magnalux

General Information: Ampharos the Beacon Pokémon, it is the evolved form of Flaaffy and the final evolution of Mareep. They emit powerful beams of light that can be seen for miles around, making them the ideal Pokémon for powering lighthouses and watch towers.

They average at 4’7 feet (1.4 M) tall and weigh about 135.6 pounds (61.5 kg). Ampharos has a Mega Evolution with the same specs, but its mega is Electric/Dragon.

Habitat: Ampharos hail from parts of the Caspian region in Europe, but they can be found the world over in households, farms, factories, lighthouses, and much, much more.

Life Cycles: Ampharos are the guardians and studs of their flocks. Many farmers only have one Ampharos, making competition between males a relatively moot point. In the wild, herds will have several Ampharoses who will compete in competitions of electrical prowess.

Ampharoses will live for about 20-30 years in captivity.

Behavior: Ampharos are intelligent Pokémon with bright personalities. They lean toward mild-mannered, but they are powerful livestock guardians.

Diet: Ampharos eat legumes, leaves, forbs, fruit, and grasses. Their significant bodily difference from its pre-evolutions lends it toward foraging from plants that were once out of reach, granting them access to trees, vines, and tall grasses.

Conservation: Least Concern

Relationship with Humans: Ampharos make excellent livestock guardians. They’re a fully-evolved Pokémon that can pack a powerful punch of lightning to unsuspectating wanna-be predators. Farmers use them to protect their flocks against wolves and other dangerous foes.

Ampharos serve a second, incredibly vital function to human society: powering lighthouses. For thousands of years humans have relied on lighthouses to guide ships through dark and stormy nights, and it’s Ampharoses that have been the tall, sturdy, powerful electric-types who have been the beacons at the heart of these lighthouses. This is a long-standing tradition, where an individual Ampharos is purchased from a farmer and trained to use their light to save lives. This encouraged farmers to maintain lineages that still produced Ampharoses, and powerful ones. The Mega Evolved Ampharos became a legendary hero of Pokémon, a grand dragon with magnificent hair and the ability to light up even the darkest of nights.

The light of Ampharoses have also been used to send long-distance messages to others. In fact, it is the mascot and titular Pokémon for the company Ampharos Telephone & Telepgraph.

Once an individual becomes an Ampharos, it is considered a crime to kill it, for they are often revered as Bringers of Light. In olden times, murdering an Ampharos was a crime worthy of life-long imprisonment or even death in extreme cases. Should an Ampharos be harvested upon its natural death, the orbs on its body were highly prized, and its hide is one of the most resilient materials in the world against electricity.

Classification: The species epithet for Ampharos, “magnalux”, means “grand light.”

Evolution: Ampharos evolve from Flaaffy starting at level 30.

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