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Feraligatr (Totodile, Crocodile)
Rostraserrantia thomsoni

Overview

The first records of something akin to an island challenge or gym quest come from the Persian Empire. Children who showed great promise were sent to the various satraps of the empire to learn from different political, religious, and military leaders and learn about the local culture. Those who gained the approval of six mentors were recognized by the emperor and placed into positions of influence. Hellenistic generals and traders would spread the concept west to Europe and the Imperium and east to India and later China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

The Han dynasty would further codify their journey into one of eight steps – those of the warrior, sailor, merchant, scholar, priest, bureaucrat, mason, farmer, and miner. Those who proved themselves under a mentor in all eight fields would gain a noble title and seat in the imperial court. Many were allowed to marry into the imperial family. To even the gap between nobles and commoners everyone who wished to embark upon the quest and gained the approval of a local priest or judge was given a choice of five pokémon, one corresponding to each of the core elements. Journeyers could only use this pokémon and any befriended along their travels.

Totodile was the water starter. By some accounts it was the most popular due to its mix of ferocity in battle and tranquility outside of it. Totodile are a good introduction to learning to care for reptiles, carnivores, and water-types. They are also quite friendly and can form close bonds with their trainer.

When Chinese immigrants came to Alola they brought totodile with them. The Alolan and United States government have had a contentious relationship with the pokémon, sometimes banning it out of fear of revolt from the often poorly treated immigrant population and sometimes to protect the ecosystem of the islands. Banning its possession often led to captive specimens being released into the waters of the island. Hunting the wild population led to specimens retreating into caves during the day. This eventually led to the Alolan feraligatr becoming a separate species with far more tolerance of cold and darkness than its Chinese counterpart. In the 1980s a DNR survey showed that the Alolan feraligatr and croconaw preyed primarily upon rattata and yungoos. Feraligatr were subsequently listed as a low-threat invasive and ownership was legalized.

Today totodile is a popular alternative starter, especially in Chinese and Japanese communities. Trainers who do not get one as a starter can still capture one from Alola's rivers and ponds.

Physiology

All three stages are traditionally classified as pure water-types. There is some dispute as to whether feraligatr and/or its preevolutions should be classified as ice or fire types. All three stages have much greater cold tolerance than is typical than a reptile. They also have a strong affinity for ice attacks, although this is common for water-types in general. Alolan feraligatr are particularly adept at using scald, heat wave, and other methods of warming the air and water around them. This is part of what allows them to hunt or sleep in Alola's caves.

Totodile are often depicted as bipedal crocodilians. While they can stand on their hind legs, they rarely do so on land except for intimidation. Totodile have dark blue dorsal scales. Brown or dark red bony plates extend from the pokémon's back. Their ventral scales are pale blue. A yellow stripe runs along the entire pokémon to break up sight lines when on land. Totodile's long tail lets them propel themselves through the water. Abdominal muscles near the lungs let them shift their center of buoyancy to rise, sink, or stay in place in the water column. Out of the water totodile's legs let them keep their stomach off the ground at all times while walking.

Totodile have a narrow snout full of needle-like teeth. Their evolutions gain progressively broader snouts with broader serrated teeth. This reflects a shift in diet. Totodile often hunt bug-types and fish. Needle-like teeth are useful for piercing armor and holding small prey in place. Wider snouts and teeth are useful for grabbing onto larger prey and ripping out chunks of flesh. No stage has teeth that let them masticate their food. Totodile swallow prey whole. Croconaw and feraligatr swallow individual bites without chewing. Their food is masticated in the gizzard instead of the mouth.

Croconaw are larger than totodile and have broader snouts. Their yellow markings have expanded to cover much of their body. This helps them camouflage themselves on land by breaking up sight lines. The remaining blue scales are darker than they were as a totodile to help them blend in on land. The bony scales on the back are also proportionally larger.

Feraligatr are broader than croconaw. Their protruding plates are much larger. Additionally there are several bony ridges across their back and joints to provide protection. Feraligatr have black dorsal scales and pale yellow ventral scales.

The bite force of feraligatr is some of the strongest of any pokémon. They can bite with nearly 5,000 pounds of force. However, the muscles for opening their jaws are rather weak. Feraligatr can easily have their jaws taped shut by duct tape. This will annoy the pokémon but is necessary for some invasive medical procedures with a high risk of lashing out.

Some crocodilians have buccal salt glands that let them swim in saltwater for long periods of time. Feraligatr do not. They are limited to large rivers, lakes, and ponds. On occasion they will venture into estuarine habitats such as Brooklet Hill, but for the most part they live further inland.

Feraligatr can swim at speeds of up to twenty miles an hour in short bursts. They can sprint on land at speeds of up to thirty miles per hour. But feraligatr's most formidable trick can only be performed in the water. The crocodilian death roll begins with the pokémon clamping down on the limb of a larger opponent. They then roll over in the water, never letting go of their target. This results in the limb being ripped off, often taking large portions of the surrounding musculature with it. The brutality is very effective for killing larger prey that crosses the rivers they live in but has resulted in the technique being banned in almost every competitive circuit.

Feraligatr continue to grow throughout their lives. The largest feraligatr are the oldest males. Females are slightly smaller. Males usually grow to be fourteen feet from the snout to the end of the tail. They weigh 700 pounds on average. The largest recorded specimen was eighteen feet long and weighed 2,000 pounds.

Behavior

During the period of DNR bounties feraligatr often retreated to the cave systems of Alola using surface level or underwater entrances. They would spend their days passively heating the cave's water as they rested in it. At dawn and dusk they would come out to bask in the sunlight before hunting at night.

Wild feraligatr noticed that the DNR bounties had ended within a year of their revocation. Today they rarely enter to the caves except to hunt. Feraligatr spend most of their day sprawled out in the sunlight as they bask. They are cold-blooded and heat themselves by soaking in sunlight or resting in hot water. In Alola feraligatr are not particularly territorial. During the day they can be found in congregations of up to fifteen adults and many croconaw and totodile, even those that are children of different feraligatr. The juveniles prefer to bask near feraligatr for protection and the adults don't mind crowded basking places.

All stages hunt at night. Totodile are primarily aquatic hunters that lie still on the bottom of the water for as long as they can, only surfacing for air. They can go up to forty minutes between breaths. Totodile wait for a fish or invertebrate to come near them. Then they pounce. They use their back legs to push off from the river bottom. Their jaws grab the prey. It is eaten whole.

Croconaw's diet primarily consists of rattata. At night they lower themselves into bushes or other visually barriers to hide. When a rattata walks by the croconaw will lunge. Even if the initial lunge does not catch the rattata they can probably chase down their prey. Croconaw prefer to use their front claws to kill the rattata before eating it to avoid a bite to the throat. If there are no rattata croconaw can also hunt on land or in the water.

Feraligatr can eat almost anything in their range. They have been documented killing sharpedo, lapras, araquanid, stoutland, houndoom, torterra, rhyhorn, bewear, and even braviary, drampa, and milotic. If it lives in the water or comes to the water to cross or drink then a big enough feraligatr can probably kill it with some luck. These are not the core of their diet. Feraligatr hunt some basculin, magikarp, and feebas that get too close to them in the water. They prefer to hunt small to mid-size mammals. Gumshoos and raticate seem to be their favorite foods.

Feraligatr will sometimes hunt yungoos during the day through similar methods croconaw use for rattata. It is more common that they will band together with two other feraligatr to seek out a gumshoos squadron's burrow at night. One will use hydro pump to begin flooding the burrow and drive the residents out. Another will sit behind the burrow and kill the gumshoos that emerge with powerful bites and slashes. The third will guard the first and kill any that get past the second feraligatr. Even some of the most tenacious pokémon in Alola can be killed by multiple massive predators working together while the gumshoos would rather be asleep.

Raticate are much easier prey. When threatened rattata tend to go back towards their nest. The feraligatr will intimidate one and follow it to the nearest raticate. Some will use this opportunity to slowly set up with a dragon dance. The rattata that remain in the nest at night can easily be scared away with a roar or bellow. Raticate, while formidable, are no match for a feraligatr.

Alternatively, feraligatr may hunt with ambush tactics by hiding in brush and waiting for something to pass by. They can also rest underwater near the river's edge and wait for something to come to drink. Then they will lunge out propelled by their backlegs and massive tail to grab their prey, bring it back into the water, and kill it by a death roll, drowning, or a bite to the neck. Feraligatr have also been documented grabbing sticks and holding them in their mouths. They lower themselves down beneath the surface and hold the stick above the water. When a bird comes to take it for their nest the feraligatr lunges out and eats the bird. This tactic has made feraligatr revered as gods of trickery and mischief in parts of their range. It has also given rise to the term "feraligatr gifts," which means something seemingly free that turns out to cause a lot of trouble.

Husbandry

The feraligatr line are social, but not excessively so. This makes them good partners as they actively seek affection and companionship from their trainer but do not need constant attention or the presence of conspecifics to be satisfied. All stages, but especially the younger ones, enjoy cuddling. This meets social needs and provides body heat. Even feraligatr don't mind sprawling out on blanket in the sun with their trainer next to them.

Totodile are easily trained, both in battle and in smaller quality-of-life habits such as walking on a leash. A leashed totodile can safely walk the neighborhood. Croconaw can be leashed but could easily pull away from their trainer if they wanted to. Feraligatr will tolerate the leash, but this does not mean any real physical control exists. All control must come from training and mutual trust. This makes it difficult to rehome feraligatr or acclimate wild-caught specimens to captivity.

All stages will need an opportunity to bask during the day, especially during the dry season. Basking is not necessary on rainy days, but the pokémon will be more sluggish if it has not had recent basking opportunities. Even an hour around dusk and dawn is better than nothing. They will also need occasional access to a place to swim. Pokémon Centers rarely allow feraligatr or even totodile in their community pools. Instead feraligatr trainers should seek out streams and ponds. Traveling along the ocean, while good for many water-types, does nothing to help meet this line's desire to swim. Trainers should instead look for paths that stay near freshwater rivers and ponds.

The main problems with feraligatr are three-fold: they are carnivores, they grow to be quite large, and they are nocturnal.

Carnivores are almost always more expensive to feed than herbivores. This is especially true for larger species. A totodile can be fed pre-prepared insect mixes and canned tuna on the trail while receiving fresher fish when in the city. Croconaw and feraligatr diets become harder to meet. They can hunt for wild rattata, but this is not a particularly reliable way of feeding them. It also requires the trainer to stay up all night to supervise and make sure that no protected species is targeted instead. Croconaw generally need to eat at least a third of their weight in food every week. Feraligatr need a quarter. They can tolerate less, but it will dramatically slow down their metabolism. Many trainers rely on pack pokémon to carry salted meat or other preserved protein with them. Impatient feraligatr may attempt to eat it early. Finally, all stages will accept fruit. Some seem to enjoy it as a reward. It should not form a core part of their diet, but it makes for a good snack on occasion.

Despite being large carnivores, feraligatr and croconaw are rarely a danger to humans. Even wild specimens almost never attack unprovoked. Captive-born specimens can tolerate a lot of abuse before killing their trainer. Even a starving feraligatr would prefer to eat a pokémon over a human. Totodile, on the other hand, will often bite their trainer. This is not done out of malice but misunderstanding – a mother feraligatr can easily take a totodile's play bites and evaluate the strength of her child's jaws. A human may be hospitalized by a bite to the wrong area. It's best to discourage biting humans from birth or, failing that, at least from the time of capture or acquisition. Protective armor may not stop bites entirely, but it can help in training. Having another pokémon stay vigilant and ward off bites can also help.

Feraligatr's size makes it somewhat difficult to build a permanent enclosure for them once the island challenge ends. They are not easily rehomed and wild release is currently heavily restricted. Their outdoor enclosure should be at least five hundred feet. A third should be water, including water deep enough to swim in, and two-thirds should be land. The land section will require a basking rock and some form of shelter from the elements. Feraligatr will often dig burrows in their enclosure. They will seldom make an attempt to escape as long as they remain satisfied with their trainer. Some local governments will still require electrified and/or reinforced fencing.

Totodile can be housebroken. Standard litter boxes will not work for feraligatr but litter mats can. Even feraligatr can be invited into the house if well-trained. They may even prefer to be inside as long as the air conditioning is not set below sixty-five degrees. Temperatures below sixty-five will cause sluggishness. Water features should be heated to at least seventy degrees.

All three stages are nocturnal. They may become active during the day to swim or investigate their surroundings, but for the most part they will find a place to bask and sleep. This makes it somewhat difficult for trainers to be active when their pokémon is. For feraligatr this can be a major problem: leaving a feraligatr unsupervised for hours can end badly. They will tolerate pokéballs for a few hours at a time during the day and night, but there is a point where they will start to become unruly.

Nocturnal teammates can help alleviate the problem. Captive-born todotile can learn not to attack the rest of their trainer's team. This allows them to peacefully coexist with everything but the raticate and gumshoos lines, which are simply too tasty not to eat. They relate better to predators than prey, but any sufficiently intelligent and playful nocturnal pokémon can make a good companion. Feraligatr in particular get along very well with dragons. Some dragon specialists have even added one to their teams, either in reserve or as a core battler (see Battling).

The two best enrichment items for feraligatr are balls and fountains. Balls should be large enough that they cannot be swallowed and durable enough that they cannot be easily popped or shredded. The pokémon will love wrestling with the ball, especially in the water. Spray fountains in the water or on land are also appreciated. Cool mist fountains can also help the pokémon regulate temperature if on land.

Illness

Feraligatr are fairly hardy pokémon. So long as their environment is sanitary, temperatures are maintained at a proper level, and enough food of the right kind is given there should not be major health problems. They are also quick to heal from most injuries.

There are a few diseases they can suffer from. Thankfully the most dangerous, West Nile Virus, has yet to be introduced to Alola. It can be fatal to even adult feraligatr within three days of the onset of symptoms. Check for more information before taking your pokémon out of the Commonwealth. As a known carrier of the virus all totodile, croconaw, and feraligatr brought back into Alola are subject to a mandatory one-week quarantine.

Croc pox and hepatitis can cause sores to appear on the pokémon's skin, especially in and around the mouth. These should be brought to a veterinarian's attention as soon as possible. Neither will cause long-term health problems if quickly treated, but when left untreated they can cause serious weight loss or blindness.

Mycobacteria are very small cells that can cause infections in feraligatr. These can take two forms. The most common is a type of pneumonia. The first symptoms are usually lethargy and anorexia. This can escalate into discharge of light-yellow fluid from the mouth or noise and/or labored breathing. Some specimens have instead developed a form of arthritis that makes it difficult to move. Treatment of both variants is difficult, especially in younger pokémon. Prevention is far easier. Diluted bleach mixtures can disinfect the places the pokémon spends the most time without risk to its health.

Evolution

Wild totodile evolve between their first and third birthday, depending on their success in hunting. Captive evolutions typically occur closer to the first birthday than the third. The formal demarcation line is the spread of yellow markings to the hind legs.

Only the strongest croconaw evolve into feraligatr. This usually occurs around the fifth to seventh birthday in the wild. Captive specimens can evolve much early, potentially as soon as six months after evolving if they are very successful in battle. This will require a massive food intake during the growth period and the resulting feraligatr will still be rather small for the first few years after evolution. The formal demarcation line between croconaw and feraligatr is the development of armored ridges on the back and joints.

Battle

Feraligatr are not the absolute strongest of pokémon. Many dragons are stronger and feraligatr's hydrokinesis is far weaker than other water-types. They still have an enduring popularity on the competitive battling circuits that allow them, even up to the highest levels.

When deciding to add a pokémon to their team, professionals must consider its ease of care along with its power and synergy with the rest of the roster. Feraligatr are fairly easy to care for as far as large reptiles go and they typically see humans as potential friends rather than as a nuisance or prey. Even the top trainers with hired assistants don't want teams consisting entirely of pokémon that require constant attention to keep happy, healthy, and obedient. Several top tier trainers, including at least three ranked ones, are known to be close with their feraligatr. Two ranked trainers keep it on their main roster.

Feraligatr, while lagging behind the likes of salamence and gyarados, are still not weak. They can lift up to five hundred pounds, bite through steel plating, run up to thirty miles an hour on land, and take one or two strong attacks or many weak ones before going down. Their power and speed can further be boosted by swords dance or dragon dance. Even if they are unable to close the distance with an opponent they can unleash reasonably powerful surfs or ice beams to strike speedsters or fliers, respectively.

As water elemental users feraligatr are weak to grass and electric charged moves. Their best counters are vikavolt and magnezone as they can stay out of range of physical attacks and strike back with powerful thunderbolts. Very strong or durable grass types can also go toe to toe with feraligatr.

Aside from airborne electric-types, feraligatr struggle with three of the most common threats on the competitive circuits: ghosts, psychics, and dragons. Ghosts usually don't care much about physical damage. An elementally charged crunch might be a problem, but they're often able to outspeed feraligatr or float above an attack. In turn they can inflict burns, confusion, and other afflictions to steadily wear down their opponent. Feraligatr have no special resistance to telepathic attacks and alakazam can simply teleport away from their charges and set up protective barriers to deal with surfs and hydro pumps. Dragons can usually overpower feraligatr, even if they have to be somewhat wary of an ice fang. Alolan feraligatr have not yet been used by a ranked trainer but they're more powerful ice attacks might make them better against dragons than the slightly larger Chinese feraligatr.

On the island challenge feraligatr are fast and strong enough to keep up with even the final trials. Knowing a few coverage moves can help tip the scales, but a feraligatr can succeed on the island challenge without them.

Croconaw are ambush predators without the sheer durability or speed that their evolved form has. This makes them substantially weaker. They're often best hanging back and waiting for opponents to come to them. Ranged attackers can give them a great deal of trouble if they have not been specially trained in ranged attacks of their own.

Totodile are quite strong for their age. Their piercing teeth make them able to do serious damage to weaker pokémon, especially bugs. Many babies are reluctant battlers until they've learned the ropes, but totodile will be willing to run into fights right from the start. Their enthusiasm, jaws, and teeth alone can help them persevere through the first island. If they do not evolve they will start to run into problems on the second.

Acquisition

Feraligatr can be found around inland ponds and streams, especially those near caves. A sizable population also lives around Brooklet Hill and its estuary. They can often be found basking on the side of the water during the day.

Because feraligatr and croconaw are major predators of rattata and yungoos their capture is currently prohibited. Only totodile may be captured from the wild. This is difficult as mother feraligatr watch over their offspring until they evolve (see Breeding). They are protective enough mothers that trying to steal one of their babies is likely to end badly for everyone involved except the feraligatr.

Wild capture is still possible. Doing so involves appearing the trainer appearing before the mother and making it clear that they are a trainer asking for the chance to take one of her totodile with them. She may indulge them with a practice battle, either with herself or one of her children. If the battle is against the mother she will almost never fight at full strength. It's simply an opportunity for her and her children to evaluate the strength and tactics of the trainer. If the battle is with the totodile then be gentle and try to rely more on tactics than brute force. At the end of the battle a totodile may decide to go with the trainer, whether they won or lost. The mother will accept this and let her child leave.

In any case, it is easier to simply buy a totodile from a licensed breeder. There are at least two on Akala and one on Ula'Ula. A well-trained totodile is not cheap, but some families find it to be worth the investment as a starter pokémon. Croconaw and feraligatr can occasionally be purchased from a breeder. Specimens are sometimes available for adoption in Hau'oli and Malie, but they are usually turned over to a breeder, released to the wild, or euthanized before long due to the space required to hold them at a shelter.

Totodile require a Class III license to capture or a Class I to adopt or purchase. This is because most totodile up for adoption have been trained not to bite. Croconaw require a Class I license to purchase or adopt; feraligatr require a Class III.

Breeding

Mating begins with the female swimming into the water and making an infrasonic bellow. Humans cannot hear feraligatr's mating calls, but they can sometimes feel the vibrations if they are close enough. One or more males may respond to the male's call. On occasion a female may show up as well to observe.

The males will engage in elaborate swimming techniques known as "water dances." The female may join in as well. If she selects a mate the dance will end with both crawling onto land to engage in a session of snout and neck rubbing. The purpose of the rubbing is unknown. Some scholars have speculated it is done entirely for pleasure. The theory is bolstered by rare sightings of females engaging in the same behavior. Captive specimens also enjoy having their back and net petted. Only brave or trusting trainers pet the snout.

Twelve days after copulation the female will lay a clutch of twenty-five to fifty eggs. She will then cover them in vegetation such as leaves and grasses. The vegetation will release heat as it decays, keeping the eggs warm. Higher temperatures will produce all males. Low temperatures will produce all females. Incubation temperatures in the middle will produce a mix of both sexes.

The male is not allowed to have any part in supervising incubation or raising the young. After her nest is built the female will spend most of her time near it, only leaving to hunt. The eggs hatch after roughly thirty days. The hatchlings make high pitched-squeaking sounds to alert their mother. She will then carefully dig them out. Wild feraligatr look after their totodile until they evolve, at which point she will steadily become more aggressive towards them until they leave. Until this point they are doting mothers that will allow their children to crawl all over them.

Captive mating is easy enough. A female that spends a lot of time in the water producing mating calls wants to mate. Mating calls, while not ordinarily audible, can be detected by special monitors. If a male is introduced the mating rituals and act will continue as they would in the wild. Specimens held in mixed sex holding pens can take care of mating, from the call to copulation, themselves.

The most difficult part is actually telling the sex of the feraligatr in advance. Unless the specimen is particularly large there is no way to reliably tell if it is male or female from the exterior. The cloaca must be held open and the reproductive organs examined to be sure. Feraligatr, understandably, do not like this. Newly hatched totodile do not, either, but have only a minimal ability to resist it. As long as the examiner is trained and the mother is nowhere near the procedure it will be safe for everyone involved.

There is some debate over whether feraligatr should be allowed to incubate their own eggs. The mother is much happier when she is allowed to, but the natural hatch rate of eggs is only around 70%. Lab incubation can lead to 90% of the eggs hatching. For better or worse, the mother may reject hatchlings given to her after being incubated in a lab. This allows for the pokémon to be raised by humans from birth but does limit the amount of training it can receive from its mother.

Breeding facilities typically withdraw the mother and take most of her eggs for incubation. These pokémon will eventually be given to trainers. The totodile that are raised by their mother are used as future breeding stock.

Relatives

The Alolan feraligatr is a feral population descended from the Chinese feraligatr (R. lánsèlínpiàn) sometimes also known as the blue feraligatr or simply as feraligatr. The Chinese feraligatr lives on the border of the tropical and temperate portions of China. Their population can be found from river deltas to mountain streams. Populations that live in areas that occasionally freeze enter brumation where their metabolism drops and they stick their snout above the surface of the water. They can survive under a frozen lake for months like this.

China's influence on neighboring regions led to feraligatr being adopted as a common starter or companion in these areas, too. Some portions of Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines still use totodile as a default starter. It is a popular alternative starter in much of Eastern and Southeastern Asia, as well as anywhere with a substantial population of Chinese descent. Most of these areas have breeders whose populations have steadily drifted from the Chinese feraligatr. The most notable of these are the Philippine's feraligatr (R. l. gigas) which are the largest in the world.