Disclaimer: What? Pokemon belongs to Nintendo? Oh darn.
A/N: I realized that this wasn't really a field guide so much as it was a natural history text. So, I changed the title. What do you think? Change it back? Keep it? Lobster?
Common Name: Elekid
Scientific Name: Hylobates fenestella
Description: Elekid are medium-sized electrogenic primates, standing two feet tall on two legs, with the ears adding another 10 inches. They are mostly medium yellow in color, with two black bands on the arms, two on the body, and black legs with yellow feet, as well as a zig-zag black marking on the underbelly. A mane of fur around their heads and their tendency to hunch their necks makes their heads appear to blend seamlessly into their bodies. Elekid have blunt muzzles with projecting canines in the males, and extremely large, perked ears. The ears are notable for their 'window,' a round, natural hole in the ears near the tips. These are believed to serve a role in communication and warning, as the ears are highly mobile and expressive.
Elekid have three clawed fingers on the end of their long arms. Their lower arms have a wide fringe of stiff fur, making the arms appear even larger than they are. Elekid also have three toes, though the toes are often hidden due to fur on the feet. They have no tail.
Range: Elekid are native to southern Johto, and have an extremely fractured range. They are now found only in a select few reserves near Azalea Town.
Habitat: Elekid are found in dense forest, the more vines and tangled growth the better!
Call: Elekid have varied calls, spiting, grunting, whining, and buzzing to communicate.
Diet: Elekid are omnivores, eating a variety of fruits, leaves, flowers, nuts, eggs, and insects. They will often memorize the layout and season of fruit bearing trees in their forest, and migrate accordingly.
Life Cycle: Elekid live in small family groups, led by a dominant male and female and including their adolescent young and occasionally siblings. Elekid have no mating season, and the female lays only one egg at a time, in a woven leaf nest cradled in branches.
Elekid young are carefully cared for by their parents, clinging to their mother's underside or riding on her back as she moves. They will often stay within their family group for up to 7 years, and can live to be up to 42 years old.
Relationship with Humans: Elekid are completely dependant on their forests for protection, and the felling of most old-growth forests has decimated the species, along with a surprisingly strong arena demand. As few as 400 wild Elekid may remain. They are also hunted, both historically and currently, for their thick, colorful pelts. This is currently illegal, but there is still a black-marked demand.
Naturalist's Notes: Elekid can spend their whole lives in the trees, brachiating from branch to branch and never coming down. When they are forced to the ground, they are clumsy, holding their long arms in the air and running awkwardly on two legs.
Elekid are very territorial, and when meeting another Elekid group will engage in an 'arm-spinning' display, a dramatic advertisement of balancing ability that makes good use of the Elekid's long, showy arms and flexible shoulders.
If this threat doesn't work, Elekid employ a more offensive tactic, that of electrogeneration. Elekid are electrogenic, that is, able to produce an electrical field from organs located under their ears. They are able to channel this electricity to their ear tips and their hands. Elekid are not as strongly electrogenic as some of their cousins, but can still deliver a painful shock.
Elekid are picked off at night by Golbat and Crobat. However, Elekid are not easy prey, and will band together to fight off their predators.