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063: Bittybat
Tiny Bat Pokémon
Type: Poison-Flying
Rumors of smaller-than-average Zubat colonies as aggressive as they are skittish have pervaded the various teams stationed here since the first time anyone set foot within a cave. It took night vision cameras and no small amount of feigned unconsciousness in order to discover that several of the tiny Zubat were not Zubat at all, but a much smaller species the team has tentatively dubbed ‘Bittybat.’
Given the strong resemblance in appearance as well as behavior, it is clear that Bittybat is related to the Zubat family. However, only Bittybat and Zubat have been sighted in this area so far.
Zubat is well known, even infamous to an extent, as one of the most widespread reasons for novice Pokémon Trainers to carry an extensive supply of repels. They are quite common within caves as well as outside them after the sun has set, and they frequently travel in large groups. Bittybat seems to employ similar behavior to its presumed evolution, if taken to an even greater extreme; it is rare to see a Zubat alone in the wild, but not unheard of. It is equally unlikely as it is likely to see a Golbat leading a flock of Zubat as it is to see such a Pokémon out on its own, and there is not enough documented information regarding Crobat in the wild to do anything save theorize regarding its social habits.
Bittybat, conversely, is so unlikely to be found on its own that if there is a single Bittybat visible at any point, there is almost certainly a second one nearby. Where there is a second, there may very well be a third or a fourth.
While Bittybat lives up to its name, what strength it lacks on its own it makes up for in sheer numbers. Caution is advised.
064: Coinpur
Kitten Pokémon
Type: Normal
Many of the Pokémon found upon this island bear no obvious resemblance or relation to the more well-documented Pokémon found elsewhere. Coinpur is not one of these Pokémon. It was theorized immediately that Coinpur was related to Kantonian Meowth and Kantonian Persian due to similarities in appearance, typing, and behavior—Coinpur, much like all regional variants of Meowth and its evolutions, was quite interested in our team of researchers. That said, our team of researchers was also quite interested in them, both due to what could be a never before documented baby Pokémon and the fact that, while any Pokémon is fully capable of doing well in any category of Pokémon Contests, Coinpur in particular would be very popular in the Cuteness division.
Coinpur shares a love of shiny objects with K. Meowth and K. Persian, and as such will frequently weaponize its cuteness in order to get what it wants. However, Coinpur also seems to be more loyal to those who give it what it wants than its presumed evolutions—perhaps because of its theorized status as a baby Pokémon?
Addendum: While our team of researchers did take great pains to avoid disturbing the wild populations upon this island as much as possible, several Coinpur grew quite attached to members of our team regardless. One such Coinpur has since evolved into what appears to be a perfectly normal K. Meowth, if one that is significantly less fickle than the species typically is. At the time of writing, the researcher responsible for this evolution is lobbying with limited success to be allowed to keep this Meowth, on the grounds that she document any and all particularly noteworthy happenings and that it would at this point likely be detrimental to the Meowth to separate them.
078: Hoppip
Cottonweed Pokémon
Type: Grass-Flying
The Hoppip discovered on this island bears the most significant of resemblances to its Johtonian equivalent, yet there are still tangible differences between the two varieties; most noteworthy are its difference in coloration, its size, and its lack of legs. This Hoppip has a completely green body as opposed to pink, the largest specimen sighted was less than half the size of J. Hoppip, and instead of walking when grounded it bounces about on its tail in a manner not dissimilar to that of Spoink. Much like J. Hoppip, however, it strongly prefers the air—or at least the shelter of large trees—and often gathers in clusters.
079: Skiploom
Cottonweed Pokémon
Type: Grass-Flying
Where J. Skiploom loses its pointed ears upon evolution, this variant of Skiploom retains them and Hoppip's long tail—in fact, Skiploom's prehensile tail lengthens further upon evolution. While Hoppip's tail appears to be capable of holding onto trees, items, and other Hoppip when necessary, Skiploom applies this capability far more often. This variant of Skiploom is more mobile both in the air and in the trees than its previous evolutionary stage, and as such is more skilled at avoiding predators.
080: Jumpluff
Cottonweed Pokémon
Type: Grass-Flying
Jumpluff bears the least resemblance to its Johtonian equivalent, as in lieu of three smaller cotton bolls this variant has a singular larger boll atop its head. However, given its overall size as compared to J. Jumpluff, that singular boll is comparable on average to one of J. Jumpluff's three. They are most commonly sighted in groups of two or three, spreading their cottony down throughout their lives and floating away from any Pokémon that might consider them a tasty snack. Oddly enough, Bellignan—a Pokémon that is normally quite aggressive towards any trespassers within its own territory—has not once been observed attacking a Pokémon of the Jumpluff line.
084: Aipom
Long Tail Pokémon
Type: Normal
Quite unlike Johtonian Aipom, an almost exclusively bipedal Pokémon, this recently discovered variant is almost exclusively quadrupedal when on the ground. Much like J. Aipom, however, it spends the vast majority of its time within the trees—and very much like J. Aipom, it relies primarily upon the handlike appendage on the end of its tail. However, where J. Aipom overuses its tail to the point where its hands in particular are almost vestigial, lacking in opposable thumbs, this variant of Aipom utilizes all five of its limbs to great effect, locomoting through the trees at speeds one would not think possible for such a Pokémon. The fastest recorded speed on average came out to nearly 30 miles or 48 kilometers per hour.
While, like the vast majority of Pokémon, these Aipom were friendly enough to our team of researchers after they grew used to our presence, upon our arrival they seemed quite wary of us. Whether they are wary of humans as a whole or simply wary of anything new and potentially dangerous in their environment is a matter of some uncertainty, but given the lack of recent human activity in this area our team has ample reason to suspect that it is the latter option of the two. Once our team made it clear that we were not a threat, we found that the local Aipom were competitive yet caring with each other, and certainly possess the cleverness that the Ambipom line is known for elsewhere.
It is unclear whether or not this Pokémon can evolve into Ambipom, or if it can evolve at all. No evolutions of this Aipom have been sighted—though J. Aipom's evolution is not a particularly common one in the wild due to the specific circumstances required, which could be a contributing factor.
118: Blissey
Caretaker Pokémon
Type: Normal
In terms of behavior, this newly discovered form of Blissey acts quite similarly to the well-documented Johtonian Blissey; it is an incredibly compassionate species of Pokémon that will often go out of its way to help injured Pokémon it comes across—or, on the rare occasion that an injured human is present, it will quite happily aid them as well. One particular researcher on our team, while grateful that a Blissey did come to his aid, was somewhat baffled that merely spraining his ankle was enough to summon one from the wilderness—until, upon returning home months later for a routine check-up, he discovered that his ankle had in fact been broken and that Blissey fixed it.
This insistence upon helping any and all injured Pokémon that it finds leaves Blissey unpopular among those Pokémon who hunt for their food; however, given that these same Blissey will come to their aid as well, should they stumble into trouble, actively interfering with its work appears to be strictly taboo. Should one go so far as to put a Blissey in danger, or appear to, they risk the swift wrath of every Pokémon that Blissey has aided before. Caution is advised in the event that one must battle one of these Pokémon.
While this form of Blissey is not dissimilar behaviorally to J. Blissey—in fact, it may be described as taking the defining behaviors J. Blissey is known for to an even further extreme—its physical appearance has changed to better reflect its self-assigned role as caretaker. Where J. Blissey typically only carries one egg with it, this Blissey can carry two. Additionally, Blissey possesses a hat-like shape atop its head resembling a heart, though it may be better described as hair-like seeing as Blissey has never been sighted removing this heart.
134: Warfurs
Mimicry Pokémon
Type: Ice
The true form of Warfurs has never been observed; it is unclear whether this Pokémon hatches with the pelt it wears, covering whatever lies underneath in a manner not dissimilar to that of Mimikyu, or if Warfurs sources its coverings from elsewhere. Considering how fast and slippery Warfurs are, coupled with the common Alolan myth that looking beneath a Mimikyu's disguise will hasten one's demise and the fact that attempting to convince a Warfurs to let us see for scientific purposes resulted in the sudden appearance of some very angry Wearlycan, our team of researchers has decided that it may be best to leave that matter be.
Warfurs has a certain affinity for Ice-type moves in particular, as well as for cold weather; we often witnessed groups of Warfurs sliding belly-first down snowy slopes in the colder areas of this island. Perhaps it is as simple as Warfurs needing its furs to endure the chill.
135: Wearlycan
Role Model Pokémon
Type: Ice
Where Warfurs is still growing into its fluffy pelt, Wearlycan's now fits it significantly better. Indeed, Wearlycan is much more settled into its second skin; where Warfurs is quite timid, Wearlycan finds confidence in combat and in life. Whatever the source of Wearlycan's pelt, the Pokémon has truly come into its own.
That said, the question of the pelt raises several others by its mere existence. If Warfurs did not hatch with its pelt, then where did it come from? There are no Pokémon present upon this island with a pelt exactly like that. If this is a situation similar to Mimikyu, then what is Warfurs and Wearlycan mimicking?
It is possible, however, that Warfurs is simply trying its best to mimic Wearlycan itself. This possibility was given little weight when it was originally suggested by a member of our team, but with the lack of other options, we can only speculate.
142: Gligar
Fly Scorpion Pokémon
Type: Ground-Flying
Our research team's initial hypothesis, upon sighting this new form of Gligar for the first time, was to assume that it was an as of yet unseen evolutionary stage of Johtonian Gligar, either found between J. Gligar and Gliscor or a final evolution never seen before. It was a reasonable enough assumption, given the information available at the time; it has also rather emphatically been disproven since, as it does not appear that this form of Gligar has the capability to evolve at all—or at least, not in any manner that our team is currently familiar with. Fascinatingly, this variant of Gligar combines traits of both J. Gligar and Gliscor, yet many of its attributes—such as its red coloration, starkly contrasting J. Gligar and Gliscor's differing shades of purple, and its seven limbs in lieu of the typical five—cannot be traced to either.
Typically, in the wild, bright coloration is a sign of danger—this is the primary reason why Shiny Pokémon drastically different from their normal coloration are so easily outcompeted. J. Gligar and Gliscor are colored as they are in order to better blend into the skies and to the caves and cliffs they call home. This Gligar fills a different niche; where its distant relatives are ambush predators, this Pokémon is a persistence predator. It allows its prey to see it quite deliberately, and relies upon its panicked reaction to chase it down.
Fellow researchers should be aware that this variant of Gligar is significantly more aggressive than even J. Gligar, already not the most friendly of Pokémon in the wild, when it comes to anything that this Pokémon perceives as a threat. Of particular note is anything that it is smaller than—which, considering that it is comparable in size to J. Gliscor, includes the vast majority of humans.
152: Tanukachi
Flame Tanuki Pokémon
Type: Normal-Fire
Though Tanukachi's typing should render it immune to Ghost-type moves, this Pokémon is in possession of a strange ability that, under typical circumstances, transforms its inherent immunities and resistances into weaknesses and its weaknesses into immunities. As such, Water-types and Fighting-types scarcely give it pause, yet Ghost-types and other Fire-types will cause this flighty Pokémon to immediately make itself scarce.
In a word, Tanukachi would best be described as contradictory, and this isn't limited to its abilities and demeanor. Despite its deep fear of fire, the flames upon its back flare up when it is in distress, which only stresses it out more. While this fire does seem to reflect its emotional state, it does not seem to affect Tanukachi negatively if it is put out; in fact, this Fire-type Pokémon will often make for the nearest body of water of its own volition when it is particularly afraid for its life. This is quite the drastic change from other similar-sized Fire-types such as Charmander, which can die if its tail flame goes out, or Chimchar, whose flame is strongest when it is at its healthiest.
While any connection is only speculation on our part, one of the Johtonian members of our team recalled an old folk tale upon witnessing Tanukachi for the first time. In the area that would one day become Ecruteak City, a particularly troublesome little Pokémon thought to play a mean prank on a human. Another Pokémon, who had befriended this human, thought to stop that Pokémon; it succeeded, but was hurt badly. Furious, the human—said to be attuned to the dead—called upon his ancestors to curse this troublesome little Pokémon to 'burn forevermore.'
Few old stories line up perfectly with reality; most assumed that the Pokémon to inspire this tale surely must have been Cyndaquil. Tanukachi's discovery, through this lens, is even more fascinating.
194: Rotom
Plasma Pokémon
Type: Electric-Ghost
Throughout our team's stay upon this island, nearly all of us found our technology to be behaving strangely and erratically. None of the usual hallmarks of a wild Rotom were present, however, and none of the Pokémon we brought with us were responsible for mischief of this extent. Various theories ranged from our technological mishaps being some inherent attribute of the island to something crucial having been damaged on the journey here, but no one considered the possibility of a regional variant of Rotom until approximately a week prior to our departure. It was then that a particular researcher, intending to observe and document the nocturnal behavior of Bittybat, spotted something bright blue flickering among a different team member's electronics.
This form of Rotom is different from Sinnohan Rotom in that, while it can manipulate all sorts of electronics, it cannot outright possess them in the way that S. Rotom is so well known for, and it cannot change its inherent typing. Whatever this Rotom does, it remains an Electric-type and a Ghost-type.
While we had one of the special motors on hand that could be possessed by S. Rotom and utilized to change its type, this Rotom seemed puzzled when it was presented with this electric fan and treated it as it had every other machine. It seems to sustain itself by feeding off of electricity; it is unclear how it sustains itself under normal circumstances, as there is no evidence of any recent human habitation, but we can hypothesize that this Rotom sources its sustenance either from lightning or from other Electric-types.
Much like S. Rotom, this form is quite the mischievous Pokémon—a fact that our team rediscovered all too well upon returning home, and discovering that the specimen we studied had stowed away inside a spare flashlight.
205: Celebi
Time Anchor Pokémon
Type: Psychic-Grass
While we consider ourselves to be people of science first and foremost, several of us hail from various places in the Johto region. As such, the unexpected sighting of first a Pokémon with a startling resemblance to Celebi, and then a shrine that this Celebi-like Pokémon led us to, was met with much interest. The shrine, pictured in our only clear picture of this Celebi-like Pokémon, bears even more of a resemblance to the shrine in the heart of Ilex Forest in Johto than this Celebi-like Pokémon bears to the being renowned as the Voice of the Forest.
If this is indeed a new form of Celebi, it—as well as the presence of this shrine—raises even more questions. Why is it here? How is it here? Could this Pokémon have a connection to the staggering biodiversity of this island?
From a scientific perspective, it is fascinating when even one new Pokémon or regional variant is discovered. Upon this island, our team and others have documented over two hundred Pokémon—many of which are similar to Pokémon known elsewhere, and many of which are very much not.
Celebi is revered in the Johto region as a deity of time, protecting the forest that it calls home and fixing temporal anomalies. Could some of the unique Pokémon found upon this island, then, be from the distant past?
Could others, perhaps, be from the distant future?
In the end, we can only speculate. Had it not been for the picture that a member of our team with particularly sharp reflexes managed to take before this possible Celebi vanished without a trace, it would have been easy to dismiss both the Pokémon and the shrine—which we were not able to locate again, despite our best efforts at doing so—as nothing more than a figment of our collective imagination.