Lurantis (Fomantis)
Fauxmantis floregregie
Overview
Lurantis are best known for their vivid colors and pleasant fragrance. They are also known for the sheer difficulty of getting them to be in a constant state of bloom with their full color range. Collectors have long prided themselves on their ability to care for the species and use crossbreeding and mutations to create new color patterns. Their graceful movements also lend to the appeal. As lilligant fell out of favor as the preferred grass-type of the wealthy, lurantis rose to take its place.
Aside from being beautiful, Lurantis are tremendously strong. Their energy beams can cut through steel, their petals are surprisingly sharp, and a quirk of their biology lets them recapture energy from attacks that would leave most pokémon drained. Like serperior, a lurantis can repeatedly use leaf storm and only get stronger for it.
It is nearly impossible to keep a lurantis in constant bloom on the trail, but mottled coloration and dropping flowers are perfectly normal for the species. That is simply what lurantis look like most of the time in the wild.
Trainers who want a strong grass type with relatively easy care requirements should consider adding a lurantis to their team.
Physiology
Both stages are classified as pure grass types. Despite their appearance, they are not insects and have a limited affinity for bug-type energies. Lurantis are fully photosynthetic plants that evolved to look like giant insects for reasons that are still not fully understood.
Fomantis are small plants that resemble mantises such as scyther. Their main body is a mottled green color, although some mutated and captive born specimens have a pink, red, silver, or gold exterior. The green coloration both helps them camouflage and makes them better resemble baby scyther. Most of their leaves and bulb are a darker green shade and used for photosynthesis. Fomantis's front petals are shaped like scythes and have a sharp, thin edge that can cut through a human's finger. Their bottom legs are very short and stocky, giving them limited mobility but a large surface area from which to extend roots during the day. Because they do not eat food, fomantis lack a mouth.
Fomantis have what appear to be red compound eyes. In truth, neither fomantis nor lurantis has particularly well-developed vision. Laboratory tests have discovered that lurantis can see movement and blurry shapes, but not color. They are believed to primarily sense the world through scents, sounds, and wind currents.
Lurantis appear superficially similar to a bipedal mantis. Wild specimens are almost always a light green color that resembles a scyther's exoskeleton. They have four unmovable 'wings,' which are actually stiff leaves that increase the pokémon's surface area while basking. Their head also contains four leaves extending from it horizontally and three shoots extending from the forehead. The leaves also increase surface area. The purpose of the shoots is still debated. Like fomantis, lurantis do not have mouths. Unlike fomantis, their scythes are made up of multiple sharp leaves forming a serrated blade instead of a single cutting edge.
Lurantis do not have a bony skeleton. Instead, theirs is made of a particularly dense wood. The wood itself stores water during the dryer months of the year. Small cavities in it can also stockpile sugars for consumption while the pokémon blooms. Most of lurantis's legs, back, and scythe are covered in a thick, leathery skin similar to that of a cacti. The skin guards against anything that does try to attack. The head does not actually contain any important organs beyond the eyes and is mostly a decoy to lure strikes towards it. The pokémon's nervous system is dispersed throughout the body with its core located beneath the convergence point of the wings.
Lurantis bloom twice a year in the wild, right as the seasons change. During blooming the pokémon's exterior becomes covered in white, pink, and red flowers. Even the wings and other non-flowering body parts turn red or pink. While blooming lurantis cannot photosynthesize and must rely on stored sugars. Within two weeks the flowers wilt away and normal coloration returns. In captivity blooming can theoretically be maintained indefinitely.
Lurantis grow to an average height of five feet and an average weight of ninety pounds. The largest recorded lurantis was seventy-five inches tall and weighed one hundred and thirty pounds. Wild lifespans are typically around five years. Captive specimens can live for up to eight years.
Behavior
Lurantis and fomantis are plants. Their main concerns are absorbing water, light, and nutrients. During the day lurantis go into a mostly inactive state to preserve energy. They find somewhere in the sun, lay down roots, and stand still.
At night the pokémon moves in search of water and a safe place to hide. Lurantis prefer hiding places in dense foliage or rock cover within fifty meters of a river. At least one has been known to seek shelter inside of caves, cut a furrow into the earth, and put their roots down near a subterranean river. Once they are done absorbing water they seek out a more secluded area to hide from potential predators.
Pokémon that are not fooled by the scyther disguise still have to contend with a pokémon with sharp scythes, devastating laser attacks, and escalating leaf storms. Their laser beams, known as solar blades, are admittedly near useless at night and take time to charge during the day. A lurantis's scythes alone are enough to scare most herbivores into looking for an alternative food source that cannot move, much less decapitate them. Fomantis are eaten by the occasional herbivore looking for prey with more stored sugars than the average leaf. Lurantis's main predator in their home range, crocust, does not live in Alola. Heracross will eat weaker lurantis they come across, but they have been successfully removed from Akala. At present the only predators lurantis have in their main habitat in Akala's rainforests are larvesta, volcarona, and particularly desperate pinsir.
Husbandry
Caring for lurantis is often believed to be extremely difficult. It is not. Keeping a lurantis in a visually striking perpetual bloom is difficult and requires keeping the pokémon in a very low stress environment with constant access to sugar water and the pheromones of a potential mate they will never actually encounter.
Raising a lurantis without regard for its blooming is quite easy. They need at least four hours of sunlight during the day and access to water at night. Weekly supplements of organic fertilizer can keep them healthy. In general, lurantis prefer resting on wood chips or sawdust to ordinary soil, but they will make do when they must. Battling lurantis should get at least six hours of sunlight a day.
Lurantis are fine following a trainer who takes care of them so long as they rarely get seriously hurt. They will also willingly battle, but they prefer to do so no more than once a week. Training sessions are typically fine so long as there is no sparring.
Fomantis require more shelter and attention than lurantis do. They appreciate being kept in their ball for at least ten hours a night, away from potential threats. When out of their ball at night they should be given some sort of hiding place. The space between a tent and the rain fly can do the trick. Care should be taken to guard the pokémon when large, powerful herbivores live in the area. Bug-type herbivores are particularly dangerous.
Lurantis typically do not need anything in the way of enrichment. They bask in th esun, they soak up water, they hide. This is a perfectly good life for a lurantis. A few captive individuals have picked up 'hobbies' such as wood carving or watching over orchid gardens. Sometimes a lurantis will find a comfort object such as a rock, plastic ball or, in one case, a metal folding chair. If the lurantis does select a comfort object it is not a good idea to separate them from it. Plant psychology is poorly understood and it is unknown why lurantis would show more interest in a chair than their own children. Whatever the reason, they seem to be quite serious about it.
Lurantis are generally tolerant of teammates, except for large insects. Other grass-types are preferred. Non-insect carnivores are also good partners. There can be tensions with herbivores but things usually stay peaceful and eventually reach a point of mutual toleration.
Illness
The most common ailments for lurantis are parasites. A variety of insects capable of burrowing through lurantis's skin will breed inside of it and eat them from the inside out. The most obvious symptoms of infestation is a hole in the flesh and attempted self-mutilation. Lurantis have surprisingly few defenses to small insects. They are slightly toxic, but several parasites have ways to bypass this.
Lurantis can be safely treated with insecticides. Some trainers do not realize this and refrain from using the most effective medication.
Fungal infections typically result in patches of abnormal coloration. This can also be a prelude to blooming in lurantis. Make sure the pokémon is seen by a botanist or veterinarian within forty-eight hours of abnormal colors appearing.
Scythe petals falling off without a replacement within two days is almost always a sign of distress and poor health. The exact cause of distress can vary. Dehydration, light deprivation, and temperature shock are all common causes. So long as lurantis is given moist soil every night and twenty-four of sunlight every week, illness is unlikely. Temperature shock is caused by prolonged exposure to temperatures below sixty degrees or above one hundred degrees. Keep the pokémon withdrawn or partially shaded on very hot days. Keep it in its ball when scaling Mt. Hokulani or Mr. Lanakila.
Evolution
Fomantis steadily grow into lurantis over the course of ten months. The formal demarcation line between the two is the development of a serrated scythe. Some biologists propose the time of first bloom as the real demarcation. The time of evolution is not substantially increased by frequent battle.
Battle
Lurantis have a lot going for them. They hit hard up close with leaf blade or super power and from afar with leaf storm. Their coverage is limited but they have what they need. Lurantis are also surprisingly durable and can quickly recover from injuries with synthesis. Their wood is also more durable than the skeletons of most grass-types. Lurantis can also be taught defog, letting them push hazards to one side of the field.
There are four drawbacks lurantis face in the competitive circuits. First, serperior exists and is generally a stronger and more reliable user of repeated leaf storms. Second, even if they are graceful, they are still slow. Even their most powerful melee attack, solar blade, takes time to charge. This is not ideal in close quarters combat. Third, lurantis has relatively few ways to hurt flying pokémon without a great deal of time to set up leaf storm chains. During this time most offensive birds can usually take out lurantis.
The fourth problem isn't a drawback in battle but in the public eye: most lurantis trainers are believed to be abusive by the general public. A battling lurantis simply does not look the same as the perpetually blooming prized pet of a wealthy collector. Their ordinary red or mottled green hide is seen as sickly. As a result, lurantis trainers can struggle with building a positive public image.
Only the difficulty dealing with birds really matters on the island challenge. Amateur trainers don't need to worry about their reputation advertising deals. Serperior are still relatively uncommon in Alola and are harder to care for. Lurantis are still plenty strong enough to hold their own throughout the island challenge. Their speed doesn't matter as much when neutral leaf storms deal lots of damage. Even an unboosted slash from their scythes can cut most pokémon. Using solar blade Is usually overkill.
Fomantis struggle a bit more, even at the start of the island challenge. They are more durable than they are strong. Ideally, they would be used as defensive tanks and utility pokémon. Fomantis's bag of tricks is simply much shallower than other grass-types. Defog also isn't very useful on the island challenge when few opponents will be using arena control strategies. Getting in close and cutting is also a decent strategy.
The best way to deal with opposing lurantis is to stay airborne. Ranged fire or ice attacks also work well. Do not give them unlimited time to set up. Do not get into melee range during the day. Finish the fight as quickly as possible from a distance.
Acquisition
Alola's lurantis population was devastated in the 1940s and 50s as lurantis husbandry became an increasingly large industry. Today the relict populations in the interior of Melemele and northwestern Ula'Ula are protected from capture. They have been entirely eliminated from all of Poni Island. A small, protected population exists on Exeggutor Island.
The tropical forests of Akala are the only place a fomantis can be legally caught. Lurantis capture is illegal to ensure continued reproduction. Route 5 and adjoining public parks are the legal capture sites. They are most common in Alolan Rainforests National Preserve. They can also be found in Brooklet Hill State Park and the inland areas of the Baruch Conservancy. Vagrants can occasionally be found around Route 5 itself. It is easiest to find a fomantis during the day. Simply walk through the forest's clearings with a discerning eye. The pokémon will be basking in the sunlight. Fomantis are solitary and capturing one will not risk the wrath of their parents. Fomantis are often skeptical of new trainers before coming around when they realize that food, water, and shelter are still readily available.
Lurantis and fomantis can be purchased from breeders for a hefty price. These lurantis often have crossbred traits that make them visually appealing but can limit their utility in battle. For example, one common breed has fanlike scythes instead of sharp ones. Most captive bred populations also have denser bones to start more sugar during perpetual blooms. This makes them more durable, but also much slower. Trainers intending to use their lurantis in battle are much better off capturing one on Akala.
Fomantis can be obtained with a Class I license. Lurantis can be purchased or adopted with a Class II license.
Breeding
Both Charles Darwin and Princess Lydia Aholo extensively studied the pollination and mating practices of Alola's lurantis. Before the species became popular with botanists they were most well known for their contributions to the study of evolution. Lurantis have very distinct sweet scents when in bloom. The exact scent varies by subspecies, and even by habitat. The lurantis of the Brooklet Hill area have a different scent than those of Alolan Rainforests National Preserves. Their petals also subtly vary.
These petals and scents are designed to specifically target a pollinator species. It changes depending on what they must attract. Usually small, non-pokémon pollinators are preferred to ribombee and butterfree. Lurantis will even sometimes lash out at any butterfree that approach. The labellum of the flowers are intended to draw in pollinators by superficially resembling female insects. They can also violently expel a cloud of pollen when a pollinator lands on the labellum, instantly coating them in a layer of it. Lurantis have a number of small, subdermal pouches that can store pollen. As a result lurantis can immediately resupply a flower with any pollen it loses this way. Like most plants, all lurantis are intersex. If they have not encountered a mate in some time they can pollinate themselves.
Lurantis seeds can only germinate in the presence of specific fungi. The seeds are parasitic and begin to steal nutrients from the fungi as the roots extend and are hijacked into the new organism. The fomantis will slowly begin to sprout from the root network before eventually fully developing and walking away.
Recent research has found a new, more reliable way to grow fomantis. A pollinated seed can be inserted into a gel filled with carbohydrates. Over time the seed will begin to develop its own root system outside of the gel. This process takes longer than it does with fungi but is far easier to control in a captive breeding setting.
Lurantis ordinarily bloom for one week in the spring and another in the autumn. Captive breeders have found ways to keep up a perpetual bloom via aquaponics. Lurantis cannot photosynthesize effectively while they are blooming. This limits the amount of time they can bloom in the wild. Even if they have not yet attracted enough pollinators and can still smell another lurantis nearby, they will cut their losses by self-pollinating and shedding the flowers. In captivity lurantis can be given sugar water to absorb with their roots, letting them maintain their food reserves while continuing to bloom. So long as they can still detect the chemical signals of another lurantis and a pollinator species – while never actually encountering either – they will keep blooming in the hopes of reproducing. This perpetual bloom may gradually result in a loss of scythe petals, slower reaction times, and thicker, shorter roots. If done improperly it could result in the pokémon's death.
Collectors enjoy crossbreeding different species to create new scent and color combinations. The most popular at present in the Monarch Lurantis, a breed known for its gold and silver 'veins' running along the pokémon's bright green skin. When blooming their flowers are mostly pink except for silver and gold scythe petals. They smell like leppa berries.
Lurantis play no part in raising their offspring. They will usually ignore nearby conspecifics.
Relatives
Lurantis species can be found throughout Southeast Asia, Queensland, and the islands of the Pacific. How they crossed the sea to volcanic islands remains unclear. Alolan folklore that the trumbeak carried their seeds in their bills. It seems unlikely that the birds would keep the same seed in their beak for the entirety of a trans-oceanic flight, but there are few better theories at present.
The lurantis of Southeast Asia tend to be smaller and more vibrantly colored than their Alolan counterparts. Their lifespans are also shorter, typically only eighteen months, due to crocust predation. Many of these lurantis use their scythes to help them climb up trees to the canopy where they can bask in the sunlight. There is little to be found on the forest floor in the dense rainforests they call home.