Disclaimer: What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.
A/N: Entomic = from Greek for 'insect'
Common Name: Yanma, Yanyanma
Scientific Name: Meganeura claraptera
Description: Yanma is a flying entomic pokemon, measuring 4 feet long with an 8½ foot wingspan. They are bright red in color, with bulbous, green compound eyes and six black legs armed with spines. The four wings are transparent, except for a single orange band on each wing. Their abdomen has a swollen 'club' at the end, which is adorned with two stabilizing rods and a set of claspers. Yanma have two small antennae above the eyes, and a set of sharp mandibles.
Young Yanma, or nymphs, have the elongated body shape of the adults, but lack the wings and bright colors. They are beige in color, with yellow eyes.
Range: Yanma are found in central Johto, restricted to only a few mountain valleys and the highlands of Fortune Island. They once had had a much larger range, stretching throughout Johto and into Kanto, which could explain how they were blown over to the Sevii Islands.
Habitat: Yanma especially appreciate 'edge habitats' where there are mosaics of riparian, grassland, and wooded habitats.
Call: Though Yamna have no vocalization, the sound of their wings is distinctive. The extremely loud buzzing can be painful in volume, and has been compared to a jackhammer.
Diet: Yanma are aerial hunters, engaging in active pursuit of flying prey. Their main prey items are Spearow and Pidgey, which they easily outmatch in both speed and maneuverability. They snatch their prey out of the air with their legs, pluck it, and eat it, all while remaining airborne.
Life Cycle: During the spring, Yanma swarm in enormous groups over water, the males seeking females, joining claspers and flying in tandem before mating. The male then accompanies the female to a body of water, where she lays a clutch of dozens of eggs. The Yanma nymphs hatch, only a few inches long, and spread out in the water, eating insects and small fish. After a month, they move onto land, where they continue to hunt small creatures in the leaf litter. After two more months, they will have reached nearly adult size, and shed their skin to reveal wings and a bright crimson exoskeleton.
Yanma usually live 5 years.
Relationship with Humans: Humans have not been kind to Yanma. Due to their semi-aquatic lifestyle, these pokemon are very sensitive to water pollution. This blow is compounded by the battle trade, where Yanma's speed is prized. For these reasons, Yanma are considered endangered.
Naturalist's Notes: Yanma are known for their ability to vary the pitch of their wingbeats, which can shatter glass when they hit the right frequency. They can also induce ringing ears, headaches, and temporary deafness.
Yanma's bulbous eyes are capable of seeing movement in all directions, even keeping track of objects that are behind them.
Few predators are able to catch adult Yanma, but many pokemon prey on their young, including Croconaw, Politoad, and Furret.
Yanma nymphs, though they look quite different from the adults, are not separately classified from Yanma by the League, because they cannot be trained and learn no attacks. Thus, by League logic, they are not even pokemon!