Krookodile (Sandile, Krokorok)
Crocodilus minalsahra
Overview
The world is full of microclimates, small areas where the weather is strongly influenced by local pokémon. These climates can be far different from areas less than twenty miles away. In Alola the two most prominent microclimates are located right next to each other: the ninetales-maintained cold of Mauna Lanakila and the flygon-maintained loose sands of the Haina Valley. Flygon are one of the most prolific creators of microclimates worldwide between their ability to fly long distances and to create perpetual sandstorms. Flygon will establish themselves in construction sites, the aftermath of natural disasters, or other disturbed areas and begin their storm. A patch of sandy desert will be firmly established in a matter of months.
Krookodile are well adapted towards these unnatural environments. In fact, they are flygon's natural partners. It is now believed that when flygon stir up a storm to hunt, they are really just trying to drive prey into a blind panic. In their haste to escape they may fall into a krookodile's trap. Afterwards the krookodile and flygon will split the meal with minimal physical risk to the flygon. It was long believed that krookodile came to the flygon deserts as escaped pets from local cities. In 2018 a photographer captured a swarm of flygon carrying sandile with them as they moved to a new potential desert. This would make flygon one of three known species to intentionally spread an invasive species to new continents, after humans and lapras.
Krookodile themselves are vicious ambush predators in the wild. Captive specimens can be surprisingly docile. They are not the easiest crocodilian to care for, but they are also not exceedingly difficult. Trainers with some experience with reptiles, predators, or ground-types may be up to the challenge of adding this powerful pokémon to their team.
Physiology
All three stages are classified as dual ground- and dark-types. The ruling is not controversial.
Sandile are small quadrupedal crocodilians. Their abdomen scales are pink with dark brown stripes. The scales elsewhere on their body are tan or brown with black stripes. Sandile have large eyes surrounded by thick black stripes and raised bone ridges that make them appear even larger. Their eyes also have nictitating membranes to keep sand out and further enhance their vision. Sandile and its evolved forms have excellent vision up to 500 yards away in clear conditions. The evolved stages also develop pit organs that let them see infrared light and detect heat signatures. This helps compensate for the often poor visibility in their desert habitat.
The sandile line have poor thermoregulatory abilities. They need to stay in warm areas during the day and often burrow into the sand when they begin to cool. At night they burrow up to thirty feet beneath the surface to stay warm. Temperate flygon deserts are usually located around volcanoes with an abundance of fire-types that help keep the desert warm in the winter. This effectively confines krookodile to the reliably warm areas around the desert. In Alola the line can and do safely travel along Ula'Ula's southern coast without fear of hypothermia, although they usually retreat to the desert in the wet season.
Krokorok have broader hind feet and much stronger hind limbs than sandile. They also have a proportionally longer tail. These traits allow them to stand bipedally and hold their balance long enough to scan for nearby prey. Their jaws are also somewhat longer than sandile's and their jaw muscles are far more developed. A series of bony plates now extend from the back above the spinal cord.
Krookodile primarily differ from krokorok in coloration. The scales on their abdomen are now white or light grey and lack striping. The remainder of their scales are red, dark brown, or even purple with thick black stripes. Krookodile's snout is also longer and broader than that of a krokorok. Finally, krookodile are much more adept at sensing ambient ground elemental energy than krokorok. This lets them feel the movements of artificial sandstorms around them and develop a mental map of whatever the sand moves against. Their sand sense, excellent vision, and pit organ give krookodile a nearly-unmatched view of their surroundings.
Large male krookodile can grow up to twelve feet from their snout to the tip of the tail. When standing upright they can be six feet tall. Adults typically weight three to six hundred pounds, but exceptionally large specimens can weigh up to nine hundred pounds. Wild lifespans are poorly understood due to the difficulty of researching burrowing pokémon in flygon deserts. Captive specimens can live for eighty years.
Behavior
Krookodile live in gangs consisting of a dominant female krookodile, a few of her daughters or younger sisters, and several males. The gang do not hunt together. They will bask together on clear, sunny days and huddle together in their burrows to share heat. Kills will be shared with individuals too young, elderly, sick, or injured to hunt. All other members are expected to procure their own food.
Sandile and krokorok are almost exclusively ambush predators. They create small pits and wait for something to stumble in, usually during a sandstorm. Sandile are impatient and will usually lash out at anything that comes near their trap rather than waiting for it to be sprung. Their hunting success rate is exceedingly low as a result. Krokorok usually only attempt ambushes when they see injured prey wandering into the desert or when a sandstorm is raging. Otherwise, they either burrow or bask.
Krookodile will act as ambush predators during a sandstorm, but will chase down prey that comes close. Krookodile's broad tail and hind legs let them swim through the loose desert sand like water. Few large pokémon can outrun krookodile in the desert. Anything from outside the valley that has the misfortune of stumbling in can easily find themselves falling victim to the crocodilians.
Krookodile have been known to preserve uneaten food by mummifying it under the sands. The food can then be eaten at a later date or used as bait. Krookodile will stay hidden just beneath the surface with a piece of meat lying above them. When a scavenger approaches, krookodile will burst out of the water and snap up their prey. Krookodile have a bite force of 2,500 PSI. This lets them access bone marrow and obtain more nutrition from their kills.
Any kill made during a sandstorm is partially shared with local vibrava and flygon. In exchange the dragon-types rarely bother krookodile or vice-versa. Sometimes there are conflicts between trapinch and sandile. These rarely escalate to involve the adults.
Husbandry
Krookodile are large predators with all of the usual problems that entails. A fully grown male can require up to one hundred and fifty pounds of meat in a week. Krookodile instinctively save or mummify food they will not eat. In captivity they will stop eating and attempt to cache food when they are full. This will still result in slight overeating and trainers should give them slightly less than they would try to cache. Krookodile can get almost of the water they need from their food. Access to clean freshwater once a week is ideal, although there isn't any harm to providing a water dish at all times.
Like most crocodilians, krookodile need to swim and bask almost every day to be satisfied. Basking is easy enough: in Alola pretty much any rock on a sunny day will do. During the wet season a dedicated indoor basking area may be required. The Haina Valley and most flygon deserts experience far less rainfall than the areas surrounding them and the valley will only see about ten days of rain per year, almost all in the rainy season.
Krookodile can swim in water if they must but despise doing so. They much prefer to swim in sand. Trainers will either need an expensive habitat ball for their krookodile or frequent access to a swimming pool filled in with sand. Krookodile can be trained not to defecate or urinate in their pool. Other pokémon might do so, however, and the sand may need to be changed frequently if this is the case. Indoor pools need changed out less frequently than outdoor pools. Krookodile will need a warm, dry, and cramped area to spend the night if they dislike sleeping in their ball. Many krookodile enjoy sleeping next to their trainer or teammates. They are not particularly soft pokémon but are rarely dangerous towards those they favor.
Like many dark-types, krookodile are intelligent and easily bored. They will need frequent access to enrichment in the form of battles, toys, new sensory stimulation, or interactions with other pokémon. Other large reptiles or mid-size dragons make the best companions for krookodile. Most dark-types are nocturnal and are more likely to bother krookodile when they're trying to sleep than to provide welcome enrichment. Smaller prey species are poor choices of teammate for krokorok and krookodile unless they were first introduced to them as a sandile.
Krookodile seem to be very uncomfortable around trees and abundant greenery. This can extend to grass-types as well. They will usually want to be in their ball when traversing forests or prairies. Outdoor pools should not have any nearby trees as they will make sandile nervous and krookodile aggressive.
Illness
Krookodile are hardy pokémon. They still must be monitored for two health concerns.
In the wild krookodile only stand on their hindlegs to intimidate aggressors who come too close to their eggs or offspring. Captive krookodile do it considerably more, either to intimidate opponents in battle, to reach high objects in their environment, or to mimic the humans around them. This can put stress on their ankles. Obesity can compound the problem and lead to serious cases of gout. Do not let krookodile overeat on a consistent basis. They should ideally only finish their food about one out of every five meals.
Hyper and hypothermia are more common day-to-day problems, especially outside of Alola. In the wild krookodile rely on burrowing and basking to maintain an ideal temperature. These options are often unavailable in captivity. Krookodile prefer temperatures in the low-80s. Access to basking rocks cool sand should be provided whenever possible. Krookodile dislike being outside in the rain and should not be taken into it whenever possible. Outside of short battles krookodile should never be released into snow or freezing temperatures.
Evolution
Sandile gradually evolve into krookodile between twelve and eighteen months of age. The formal demarcation line is the first time standing bipedally for more than one second. In the wild this time is marked by increasing hunting responsibilities and assistance raising the next clutch of sandile.
The second evolution takes place between ten and fourteen months after the first. The scales gradually shift in color and the pokémon becomes more independent. This transition is accompanied by sexual maturity and courting mates. Newly evolved pokémon often leave their gang and either attempt to form their own or integrate into another one.
Battle
Krookodile are relatively durable, are quite fast in the sand, and have a monstrous bite force. This makes them a perfectly decent choice in competitive play. At present only one ranked trainer uses one with any regularity, and even then it's only used in about half of the tournaments she enters. They are more common among professional, unranked trainers. Simply put, krookodile suffer from competition with feraligatr and garchomp. Ranked trainers will almost always go for either a long-held feraligatr or a garchomp. Trainers who are wary of trying to train a large, aggressive dragon may find krookodile a more reasonable option. They still compete with feraligatr, which are much easier to obtain and raise, but krookodile can cover electric and psychic weaknesses that feraligatr can't.
The one niche krookodile have on the circuits is their role as a cleaner for sandstorm teams. At the end of a match, when the battlefield is coated in sand, krookodile can outspeed and outmaneuver many opponents while seeing through the storm with their pit organs. This lets them trap and eliminate their foes with ease. This requires some set-up: the sand must be deep and airborne pokémon must be weakened or eliminated. Outside of stone edge krookodile have few ways of hitting airborne enemies. Once these conditions are met krookodile can tear through the remaining opponents. They still compete with garchomp in this role and often compound the defensive weaknesses of sandstorm teams.
Outside of professional matches, krookodile are extremely formidable pokémon. They are large, strong enough to pierce many armored foes with one bite, and surprisingly nimble. Krookodile can also learn tricks such as taunt, torment, sand tomb, and stealth rock to sway the match in their favor. On top of that their armor makes them difficult to reliably take down without powerful ice- or fairy-attacks. Grass-types can intimidate the krookodile but may also provoke an angry outburst. Most pokémon are understandably wary of facing down a furious predator that can stand six feet tall.
Krokorok lack the raw size and physical power of krookodile but are still decently armored and can break bones with their jaws. They tend to be warier of an outright brawl than their evolved form and prefer to fight on their own terms. Sending them out against weakened pokémon or with some terrain manipulation in place will do wonders for their confidence. When fighting krokorok it is a good idea to intimidate them through displays of power and terrain manipulation. They are ambush predators in the wild that shy away from fights whenever possible.
Sandile are much slower than krokorok and krookodile and unable to stand up two legs to reach the weak points of taller enemies. Their bite is still formidable for a young pokémon. Sandile work best against melee attackers that must come to them to deal damage. Fighting-types in particular struggle against sandile as they tend to rely on punches. To land attacks they must get close enough that sandile can bite their legs and hold on with a single-minded persistence. Quadrupeds are also usually low enough to the ground that sandile can cause them problems. Conversely, sandile have no reliable way to deal with levitating or flying opponents, even if they're only a foot or two off the ground. Ranged attackers, especially fairy-, water-, and grass-types, can also cause them no end of trouble.
Acquisition
Krookodile are an introduced species, but they're contributions to the flygon desert microclimate have led them to the DNR making no efforts to remove them. Capture of krookodile is even prohibited to allow the population's breeding adults to continue to reproduce. The line are most often found basking along major footpaths in the valley or at the edge of the desert. These are the places that prey are most abundant. It is not safe to traverse the valley during a sandstorm. Thankfully, both stages can be frequently seen basking in sunny weather and are easy to find. A proving battle will be required to earn their trust. Very young sandile less than sixteen inches in length cannot be captured. Catching a sandile smaller than two feet in length is not recommended without the permission of a krookodile.
There are a few breeders who work with the line, but they are not commonly stocked in any major store. Contact a specialist dealer for more information on obtaining a captive-bred specimen. They are generally friendlier and more loyal than their wild-born counterparts. Some trainers enjoy having close bonds with their pokémon. Others prefer to deal with them at arms-length. Wild-born krookodile can give their trainer needed space and act independently. Captive-born specimens are often somewhat clingy and dislike being away from their trainer for hours at a time.
It is common for krokorok and krookodile to end up in shelters and dedicated rehabilitation facilities. Many trainers purchase sandile expecting them to stay relatively small and docile. Others grow frustrated by their need for pools of sand. It can be difficult to rehabilitate a wild-born crocodilian that disliked their previous caretaker. There are entire sanctuaries dedicated to the species on the mainland. Others are adopted by dedicated breeders, collectors, or flygon trainers. Krokorok or krookodile who end up in shelters are generally not suitable to be standard team members due to their hostility towards humans.
Sandile can be obtained with a Class III license. Krokorok can be captured or purchased with a Class III license or adopted with a Class IV. Krookodile can be purchased or adopted with a Class IV license.
Breeding
Krookodile live in loosely structured gangs of five to eleven individuals, depending on the availability of food and the space available. Krookodile pair off during December and January. Males compete by gathering the most food, digging the deepest burrows, and having the deepest vocalizations. Krookodile mating bellows are too low for the average human to hear them.
The pairs mate in February. In April or May the female will lay a clutch of ten to forty eggs in her burrow. Like most crocodilians, the sex ratio of the hatchlings is determined by the temperature of the burrow they are incubated in. The parents take turns guarding the eggs during the day. The eggs hatch in July at the height of the dry season. This is when the most food is available as desperate prey will wander into the valley in the hopes of eating the drought tolerant plants within.
Both parents share caretaking duties for the first year, at which point both the sandile are evicted from their parents' tunnel. The male may also leave if the female chooses a new mate for her next clutch. However, it is rare for a female to change mates between two breeding seasons. It is far more common for there to be a gap with no breeding before a new mate is selected. Krokorok also assist in watching all sandile in the gang. This helps them gain practice with childrearing and shows off their prowess to prospective mates.
Captive krookodile need a large secluded burrow to feel comfortable mating. During the months before and after the eggs hatch the pokémon will withdraw from their trainer and potentially even become hostile if they approach the burrow. Once the sandile are consistently leaving the burrow a trusted trainer will be allowed to interact with them.
Crossbreeding with other crocodilians is fairly commonplace, even if the differences in swimming habits can cause friction in the relationship. This is especially true when the krookodile is the mother as the father may attempt to teach the children to swim in water. The young will survive the experience but both they and their mother will be upset.
Krookodile are only distantly related to the other extant reptiles. The crocodilians are an ancient lineage more closely related to the dinosaurs and birds than to snakes, lizards, dragons, and turtles. The only successful crosses outside of crocodilians have been with dinosaurs. Even then these hybrids are usually not fertile and the different approaches to parenting can strain the relationship.
Relatives
Krookodile are in a monotypic genus. They branched off from other crocodilians over eight million years ago. There were once as many as seven sand crocodile species. Recent ice ages led to a decline in Earth's warm deserts and left krookodile as the only survivor.
Scientists debate whether krookodile should have two or more subspecies. The krookodile that live in flygon deserts are generally smaller and more social than their relatives in North Africa and the Middle East. However, many of these specimens are directly descended from the mainline krookodile population. For now no subspecies are recognized.
Mainline krookodile tend to live around oases, trade routes, cities, and desert edges. This is where prey is most abundant. They have long been known to prey upon pack animals and livestock that wander into the sands. Many nomadic groups still present krookodile with offerings as they pass by to avoid becoming prey themselves. Ancient civilizations in the area often regarded the krookodile as servants of a major god and offered them sacrifices, including human sacrifices, to appease them. In return the major urban areas were often spared from the incursions of even larger predators and sandstorm-summoning flygon. Natural disasters of all kinds were often seen as a sign of the krookodile's displeasure.