Entry commissioned by suscipepe

Downloading from the Alola Pokedex Online Appendix . . .

Aromatisse (Spritzee)
Foetidalis boursededam

Overview

There is a legend in Scandinavia of a wicked queen. She used her magic and feminine wiles to seduce the king and seize control for herself. Her tyrannical reign was ended when a hero managed to trick her into permanently taking the form of a bird. The perfumes of spritzee were seen as evil, a means for women to overpower the sound minds of men. The stench of aromatisse was said to be the evil of perfume made plain.

The species found a much warmer reception in Kalos. Originally they were imported to produce perfumes for the masks of plague doctors, which were in turn fashioned after spritzee's face. After the Black Death ended noble women began to carry spritzee around at high class parties as a form of perfume. Noble houses competed to raise the best smelling spritzee. The practice was not fully abandoned during the Revolution, although many spritzee were confiscated and used to make diluted perfumes for the masses. Revolutionary propaganda often contrasted the pleasant, noble spritzee with aromatisse. The latter supposedly represented the many problems of the country the nobles refused to address.

Now there are many ways to obtain perfume that do not involve raising temperamental birds. There is certainly no need to carry one around on one's person for the sake of fragrance. Nevertheless the success of period dramas has led to a small revival in spritzee ownership.

Trainers who want a spritzee for the fragrance should be warned that aromatisse have much stronger odors that can be extremely unpleasant.

Physiology

Both stages are classified as pure fairy-types. Some taxonomists believe that spritzee should have a secondary flying-type. They are birds but have limited flight and next to no aerokinetic ability. The Department of Agriculture is unlikely to review their prior ruling.

Spritzee are small owls with dense pink plumage. Their wings are small but are capable of sustaining flight for short distances. They have long hooked beaks that can be used to tear bark or flesh. They have sensitive sight and hearing. Spritzee's eyes are large and surrounded by long lashes to make them appear even larger. Despite their association with scents, spritzee do not have noses and have a very limited sense of smell.

Within their digestive system spritzee have a strange organ known as a scent pouch. The pouch combines various elements from the diet to create gasses with particular scents. In the wild they use their scent pouches to mimic the smell of nectar or decay to draw insects near. In captivity the diet can be manipulated to produce a scent desired by the trainer.

Aromatisse lose most of the functionality in their wings. Instead they have relatively long legs and a functional three-fingered hand at the end of the wings. Their ears are much larger than those of spritzee while their eyes remain proportionally large. The head and leg feathers are purple while the rest of the plumage remains pink. Their feathers are not designed for silent flight like other owls but instead provide warmth and warn predators not to attack.

Aromatisse have a much larger and more complex scent pouch. The simple pouch now contains multiple chambers that can produce and store up to four scents at once.

Aromatisse can grow to be three feet tall. They can weigh up to twenty pounds. Their wild lifespan is ten years. Captive specimens have lived for up to fifteen, but usually only live to five or six years of age.

Behavior

When threatened spritzee can empty their scent pouch in a spray of projectile vomit. The vomit is sticky and incredibly foul smelling. It can take weeks to wear off. Because of this spritzee and aromatisse have few natural predators. One of the predators they do have is snowl, a larger owl species. Like aromatisse, snowl have a very poor sense of smell and do not seem to notice anything unpleasant about their prey's defense mechanism.

Aromatisse and spritzee live in burrows. They are incapable of burrowing. When they can find an abandoned burrow they will move in to occupy it. If they cannot find one they will vomit into a rodent's burrow. Rodents usually have very sensitive noses and will abandon a burrow once it is filled with an unpleasant stench.

Both stages are most active at night. Spritzee will fly up to a perch to watch the world beneath them. When they see good prey, large insects or small mammals, they will fly down to catch and kill it. If this fails they can use their excellent sense of hearing to detect insects moving underneath a tree's bark. They can then pry away the bark and eat the insect.

Aromatisse often eat plants or decaying flesh to fill their scent pouch. They can waft out either smell to attract frugivorous insects or decomposers. Occasionally this backfires and attracts a carnivore interested in scavenging.

To further increase their odds of a successful hunt, spritzee and aromatisse collect manure and use it to line their burrows. They don't mind the scent and the manure attracts insects that can be hunted without leaving the burrow.

Both stages are comfortable around humans. They can be found living in airports, public parks, and golf courses. The owners of these areas are often at odds with the aromatisse living on the property. Thankfully they can be relocated with few repercussions.

Husbandry

Unlike most owls, aromatisse and spritzee can drink water. A pan of water should be available for them whenever possible.

Spritzee and aromatisse diets can be specialized to create specific scents. Consult specialist literature for more information. Many of these diets can be dangerous for the pokémon and should only be undertaken with veterinary supervision.

The core of the pokémon's diet at both stages should be insects. Large insects presented whole are ideal, but commercial blends are serviceable. Fruit and raw meat can make up 10 to 30% of the diet. More food should be provided in the fall as the pokémon instinctively bulks up for the winter.

Both stages are easily trained to use a litter pan or box. Trainers should be aware that aromatisse are prone to staking out teammate's litter boxes and pans in hopes of collecting dung. They will then move this into tight spaces where it can be difficult to find.

Spritzee are generally easily socialized. Most have a very high tolerance for being handled. Aromatisse are equally interested in humans but humans tend not to be as interested in them.

Aromatisse should have a burrow. This should be a tunnel, container, or hollow just big enough for the pokémon to fit into. It should also be easily accessible for cleaning as it is where the pokémon will take most collected dung.

The most difficult part of raising aromatisse is their scent. They have an overpowering odor that often reeks of rotting flesh. Many aromatisse trainers eventually lose all or part of their sense of smell. Teammates with sensitive noses will hate aromatisse. Inorganic species and those with weak sense of smell make the best teammates.

Aromatisse love enrichment objects they can shred with their talons. Many trainers think that novel scents will make for good enrichment but this is not the case. Their limited sense of smell and strong odors mean that aromatisse rarely pay much attention to other scents in their environment. Most aromatisse are irrationally afraid of wheels. Toys with wheels should not be provided.

Trainers who want a spritzee but not an aromatisse should reconsider obtaining a spritzee at all. Aromatisse cannot be released in Alola and few shelters will accept them. It is often illegal to own an aromatisse within city limits. Konikoni bans Aromatisse from being outside their ball within the city.

Illness

The most common ailment for the line in Alola is overheating. Aromatisse are originally from the sub-Arctic. Even the domesticated aromatisse have thick plumage designed to keep them warm. The ideal temperature range for a domesticated aromatisse is 32 to 80 degrees. Lowland areas routinely cause them to overheat. An overheating specimen will gape with its beak wide open and occasionally ruffle its feathers. Immediately withdraw the specimen or move it into a cooler area.

Salmonella is another occasional problem for aromatisse that usually occurs after contact with another infected bird. Signs of salmonella include bloodshot eyes and ruffled feathers. With immediate treatment the pokémon's life can be saved. Do not touch an infected bird as the bacteria can infect humans.

General signs of stress include dilated pupils, weak grip, and whines.

Evolution

Spritzee naturally evolve into aromatisse around five years of age. Battle can reduce this to three years. The species has been selectively bred to delay evolution as spritzee have weaker and more palatable scents. The formal demarcation line between the two stages is the development of a pseudo hand.

Battle

Aromatisse have not found a niche in competitive battling. Their main gimmick, overpowering scent, is less effective against very well trained pokémon. Without accounting for scent tactics the pokémon is generally inferior to clefable, sylveon, and the other most common fairies.

On the island challenge aromatisse can be quite useful. Few pokémon trained by amateurs will want to attack an aromatisse and risk being coated in vomit. They are also decently bulky and can be taught to use nasty plot and trick room to make themselves stronger and faster. Unfortunately, their scent is usually ineffective against poison and steel types.

Spritzee's bones are sturdier than most birds. Their plumage and bones make them reasonably durable for a small pokémon. Some specially bred spritzee can learn wish to keep themselves healthy. They are also reasonably powerful special attackers, especially after a nasty plot or calm mind boost. This makes them useful tanks in the early stages of the island challenge.

Acquisition

Spritzee can be purchased or adopted with a Class II license. Aromatisse can be purchased or adopted with a Class III license. There are not currently any wild populations of either in Alola. They can be purchased from some specialty breeders and importers, especially in Heahea and Malie.

Breeding

Wild males approach unpaired females and perform an elaborate mating dance. The female will evaluate the male's plumage, dancing, scent, and size. If she approves she will dance along and accompany him to his burrow. After evaluating it she will either reject the male and leave or move in as his mate. Some males have two females as mates.

Aromatisse lay one egg at a time in early March. She will continue to lay one egg every day until a clutch of nine is formed. Females and males alternate incubation and hunting duties. Once the eggs hatch the female spends most of her time watching over her offspring while the male gathers food and manure. After four weeks the spritzee begin to take short trips out of the burrow. They can fly around the eight week mark. After twelve weeks the parents kick them out of the nest.

Sometimes couples will separate after their spritzee leave the burrow. Usually they remain together throughout the year.

Captive breeding usually takes place in rural areas. Breeders tend to use small aviaries with artificial burrows for raising their aromatisse. Diets are carefully controlled to reduce odor. As long as enough food is provided the male will stay in the burrow with his mate and little extra space will be required.

After twelve weeks the spritzee are collected and evaluated. The ones that gain the best scent are retained for future breeding. The rest are sold.

Relatives

The domesticated aromatisse was created in 13th Century Kalos. It is generally smaller, less pungent, and more sociable than it's wild counterpart (F. gunnhild).

There are several breeds of the domesticated spritzee that focus on different diets for different scents. Some are capable of eating more fruit than other spritzee, making them smell like plants. One breed was crossbred to be able to eat large quantities of mint. There have been recent attempts to crossbreed aromatisse and decidueye to obtain a scent akin to pine needles. Early results are mixed. The health of these breeds tends to be worse than that of baseline domesticated specimens.