Goodra - The Gentle Giants
{Another chapter by Snowyfoxxo ,this time on everyones favorite slug dragon. Yet again they blow me out of the water with chapter length and we love it.}
Overview-
The gentle giants of the Kalos region, Goodra is a common starter Pokemon for the aspiring Dragon-type trainer. From hatchling to fully-grown and fully evolved, Goodra is a friendly, playful Pokemon, often craving affection and attention from their trainers or mates. Though, many aspiring dragon trainers are reminded to be patient with them, as dragon types generally evolve much later than other Pokemon. This is no exception for Goomy, who only evolves from Sliggoo into Goodra in rainfall, and often only after years of aggressive, rigorous training. However, trainers willing to stick with their Goodras are treated to one of the most loyal, affectionate partner Pokemon available. Goodras are often known to jump in front of their trainers if in danger, and thanks to their bulkiness are often able to shake off a blow before attempting to retaliate or scare off the aggressor. Despite their nickname of 'Gentle giants,' a Goodra is not a creature to be underestimated; They possess great physical strength, able to carry heavy objects for miles without growing tired as quickly as other Pokemon. Their ability to harness elemental energy is as strong as a Dragonites, and their physical strength is on the level of strong fighting types such as Hitmonchan or Pangoro. Combined with their immense defensive capabilities, Goodra is often a great general Pokemon for those who aren't sure if they prefer more sturdy Pokemon or more offensive Pokemon, being able to bridge the gap between the two styles fairly effectively.
Over the last few decades the prevalence of Goomy, Sliggoo, and Goodra outside of the Kalos region has steadily increased, the goopy dragon Pokemon often being favored as a pet for young children, or by trainers searching for a Pokemon that has both good offense and defense. Many families and trainers often aren't prepared for the slug dragon's monstrous hunger. As a Goomy it eats nearly twice its body mass in fruits, berries, or leaves every few days, with nearly all of its intake used to fuel its growth. The goo covering their skin is also present in their stomach, containing enzymes designed to break down these types of food for nutrients. These enzymes are safe on human skin, a grateful quirk as Goodras often love to hug and cuddle their trainers. A Goomy's ravenous eating habits only increases as it grows and evolves, healthy Goodras eating close to their monstrous ~331lbs. of weight every week. Many trainers, or people looking for a pet, tend to underestimate this aspect of a Goomy's upkeep, as well as frequently having to clean up goo being tracked around the house, and often release them to the wild when they prove to be too difficult to raise and train. As a consequence, this has made the slug dragon Pokemon relatively easy to find in most regions. Also due to their immense life spans and protective nature, they are a frequent choice for guardians of significant places, as long as someone remains to help take care of the dragon and give it the attention it requires.
Life Cycle-
Goodras have tremendous life spans both in the wild and in captivity, often becoming a generational Pokemon in families that keep them. In humid habitats with plentiful food, wild Goodras can live up to 350 years. In captivity, Goodras that have been taken care of properly with plenty of food and soaking time, as well as visits from doctors, have been known to live as long as 450 years. It's incredibly rare for a Goomy, Sliggoo, or Goodra to die of disease or poisoning, their body incredibly capable of flushing out toxins with plenty of access to water. The only recorded cases have been in regions with little to no rainfall, where their body doesn't get the fluids it needs to maintain its healthy moisture. Alola is an excellent region for observing the Goodra line, particularly Exeggutor Island and near Po Town, as they have heavy rainfall almost year-round, and such members of the species tend to flock to these areas.
When first hatched, Goomies tend to be in shallow water, or in the shade near some source of moisture, including any nearby Goodras. For most of its life until it evolves, Goomy is usually timid and meek, hiding behind the Sliggoos and Goodras of their packs, called cornucopias, for protection. Goomies can't eat most foods, their slime taking too long to dissolve it themselves. In the wild, Goodra cornucopias will pile together food and sleep around it, dissolving the mass of food to make it easier for the Goomies to eat. Sliggoos and Goodras can either eat the dissolved mass, or individual pieces and letting them dissolve in their stomachs. Due to their weak, fragile nature, wild Goodras are extremely protective of the Goomies of their packs. Most reported wild Goodra attacks have occurred after the injured party admitted to getting close to the dragons' nests. For trainers, many dragon specialty shops carry special foods specifically for Goomies, though foods like applesauce can also work in a pinch.
After evolving, Sliggoos become blind. They instead learn to rely on the sensors from their horns that develops further from Goomy's, as well as their sense of smell. One sense they develop is a moisture sense, being able to track anything within 30 feet of it that has its slime on it. They can also detect the humidity of the areas around them, Goomies following the rest of their cornucopia as they move to find places with higher humidity. As a defense mechanism, Sliggoo slime has a toxic, corrosive bacteria in it that's highly deadly to anything that goes untreated once coming into contact with it. After touching their slime, consult a doctor within twelve hours to be administered an anti-toxin, as well as monitored for the following twenty four hours for complications. They still have the friendliness of Goomy and Goodra, so trainers are advised to use thick rubber gloves to pet and play with their Sliggoos. Despite what you would expect, a Sliggoo's brain and other organs are actually stored in the spiral of their shell, a common defense tactic of Sliggoos together to pile around each other with their shells together, using their breath attacks to harm anything that gets too close.
After fully evolving into the large Goodra, the dragon once more regains the use of its eyes, as well as now fully mastering the ability to change the acidity of its skin slime at will. Goodras typically keep the acidity very low, in order to not harm any people or Pokemon that they end up hugging, however when threatened are able to turn up the acidity of it to levels even beyond that of when it was a Sliggoo. They've also learned how to crystallize their slime in order to harden it, bolstering their defenses further. After evolving, like its previous forms, Goodras tend to seek out places with high humidity, rainfall, and access to water. Unlike the true slug, saltwater doesn't seem to have as much of an effect on Sliggoos and Goodras, though they still dry them out faster than fresh water will, and hence they have a clear preference in the two. Goomies however cannot handle the acidity of the salt, and will melt and die. Common places to find Goodra cornucopias are along seashores, in swamps, rainforests, and near rivers and lakes. Interestingly enough Goodras are incredibly powerful swimmers, able to breathe underwater, and are known to socialize with aquatic Pokemon as quickly as landbound Pokemon. Their ability to swim so well as well as breathe underwater causes many professors to believe that the draconic ancestry in Goodras comes from some form of sea serpent, also further explaining its deep affinity for water. Goodra's moisture sense has also developed much further from Sliggoo's, Goodras able to track anything with their species' distinctive goo on it in a radius of nearly half a mile away from them. Goodra cornucopias are notorious for coming to the aid of other nearby cornucopias that are under attack.
Reproduction-
Goodras aren't a frequent breeder, between their massive life spans and high food consumption rate, a large population of Goomy, Sliggoo, and Goodras would compete very frequently for food, and with Goodras requiring the most would make them the most aggressive. Instead, wild Goodras generally only breed about once every 25-30 years, laying litters of roughly 2-5 eggs. It's not unheard of for Goodras to go as long as up to 150 years without breeding, if they just particularly lack an interest in it. Goodras are also strictly regulated in their regions for how much they can be bred in captivity by trainers and breeders. It usually requires a high-level certification in Pokemon breeding, as well as specific timeframes for when they can be bred. Most regions have it stated that Goodras can only be bred once every 10-25 years, and no more than 3 clutches of eggs per breeding seasons. Goodra breeders tend to become a generational profession, often with Goodras that have been in their family for generations or descended from familial Goodras.
Goomies don't reach sexual maturity until they've at least evolved into Sliggoo, remaining infertile until they evolve. Once evolved into a Sliggoo, the goo that covers their body can carry a flavor potent enough to mimic the food of its environment. The courting ritual of Sliggoos and Goodras seem to involve adapting their goo to match a scent and flavor that its ideal mate prefers, adapting its diet in order to attract its mate. Being sociable Pokemon, Goodras often learn these simply by spending time around their preferred mate, becoming familiar with their preferred scents and flavors over time. This has led to the phenomenon where Goodras are one of the Pokemon that have the closest relationship structures to humans, having to spend time courting their mates in order to attract them. Another interesting quirk is that polyamory seems to be a common trait among Goodras, many members rarely ever caring about other Goodras or Sliggoos courting or breeding their mates. It's noted that Goodra colonies often function as large families, with all the adults parenting the hatchlings indiscriminately, whether it's their own or not.
Misc.-
Due to their massive appetites, the Goodra line are a persistent menace to every Kalosian gardener. The slimy dragon will gorge themselves and leave the plants barren. Captive grass types do not escape unscathed either, the dragon gnawing off as much leaves or fruit from the pokemon as they can. Cherubi in particular are a favorite target of the dragon. In Kalos gardeners have long welcomed Flabebe to their gardens, but since the introduction of Goodra it became a necessity. While Flabebe cannot muster the strength to drive them off, their older sisters Floette can. And should the garden in question be a noble's it is a near certainty they have procured a Shiny Stone and have the gratitude of a Florges.
It is noted that in the first Pokedex, recorded in the ancient region of Hisui, - What we now know to be Sinnoh - there were records of Sliggoos and Goodras with large, metallic shells, that are notably missing from the modern age specimens. We have yet to discover the cause of this, however professors currently believe that at some point, possibly after the majority of Goodra cornucopias migrating to the Kalos region, whatever reason they needed the shell in the first place had changed and/or vanished, and the species adapted to lose the excess weight of the heavy, metallic shell. It's noted ice, rock, and dragon types were more common in the Hisui region, so perhaps when these typings became less prevalent in their environment, the extra weight of the shell outweighed the benefit of the defense it provided. Knowledgeable readers will note that the Kalos region is famous for its abundance of fairy Pokemon, of which steel types are one of the only direct counters, and one of the common counters to dragon Pokemon. This makes professors suggest that there might have been a time in Kalos's history where fairy types weren't nearly in such high abundance.
Cities and villages that were built near Goodra cornucopias have been quick to observe the phenomenon of nearby cornucopias coming to the defense of another if it came under attack, and for a long time wondered if there were perhaps a way to use this tactic to their own advantage. The first few attempts started with simply obtaining a sample of Goodra slime and splashing it onto attackers when they came to assault the village, however they still ended up having to fight back the invaders personally. They attempted this a few times before ditching the idea as a futile effort. However, after one village had obtained a few members of the Goodra line, specifically a Sliggoo and two Goomies, it was noted that the next time the village came under attack, the nearby cornucopias had then come to their defense, without even having to throw any slime on the attackers. This causes researchers to believe that the way cornucopias detect when a nearby settlement is under attack is from a mixture of their moisture sense, as well as a kind of distress signal sent out by members of their species. Regardless of the exact cause, this understanding has caused villages built near Goodra cornucopias to typically allow a few members of the species to live in their boundaries, with precautions in place to limit the amount of damage they can do, specifically Sliggoos. The citizens rarely seem to mind, most noting that the presence of the dragons seems to raise their home's morale, as well.
Another interesting quirk of Goodras has to do with the goo that covers their body, the dragon has the ability to control the acidity of their goo, as well as adapt its flavor and color depending on what's most prevalent in their diet. Typically Goodra slime has an inherent leafy, grassy taste, due to a large portion of their diet being foliage, however it's not unheard of for wild Goodras to have slime that tastes of strawberries, banana, or even coconut, due to those kinds of foods being the most abundant in their area. Despite many concerns, Goodra slime is actually perfectly safe to eat, assuming it's harvested while a Goodra is relaxed and has no need to amp up the acidity of their slime. Goodra slime is actually a highly common artificial flavoring ingredient due to its natural, ethical source, as well as the accuracy of the flavor. It's highly likely that if you've eaten food with artificial flavoring, especially while in the Kalos region, you've almost certainly eaten and enjoyed Goodra slime before. It's noted that Goodras also tend to enjoy the flavor of their slimes, as the courting rituals of Goodras and Sliggoos involves one partner adjusting their diet to a flavor that the other finds appealing. Likewise it's not unusual for Goodras in a cornucopia to swipe a bit of slime from another member to give it a taste.