Tsareena (Bounsweet, Steenee)
Imperiosa mangosteen
Overview
Most pokémon try not to be eaten. To this end they have adopted defensive strategies ranging from camouflage and a foul taste to pyrokinesis and telepathy. One of the original appeals of the global competitive battling scene was to take pokémon from across the world and see how their adaptations matched up under an arbitrary ruleset. Skill and strategy were relative latecomers to the first circuits. in the first few years it was considered uncompetitive to coach a pokémon at all, much less give orders.
Bounsweet are specifically adapted to be eaten. Their scent is designed to lure in toucannon who will eat them and then scatter the seeds. It is only after evolution that the line develops meaningful survival instincts. This makes bounsweet an anomaly well worth studying. They force us to confront our ideas of what it means to live by taking the biological imperatives to their logical conclusion, tying reproduction and death together as the sole purpose of life. Bounsweet also have posed a problem for ethicists as they are apparently sentient beings that do not mind being eaten so long as humans agree to bring their seeds and spores to new places and look after their trees. If eating pokémon is unethical because it takes a life, what does it mean when the pokémon lives to be eaten?
Of course, the average reader skipping to this entry is not interested in the fascinating ethical and psychological questions raised by bounsweet. Tsareena are relatively famous pokémon for their associations to beauty and wellness and their adoption as a mascot by various subgroups on the fringes of society. Tsareena are competent battlers that go against most stereotypes of grass-types, relying more on speed and power over durability and utility. They also have a much different personality than other grass-types as they can be cruel and capricious to friend and foe alike.
Physiology
All three stages are classified as pure grass types. There is an ongoing debate as to whether steenee and tsareena should be classified as fighting-types. Both often incorporate fighting-type moves into their arsenals, rely on melee attacks, and are reasonably strong. They are still not quite as strong or devoted to training as the average fighting-type and show no real weakness to telepathy or fairy attacks. The Department of Agriculture is expected to make a final ruling by 2022.
Bounsweet are very similar to the fruit of the mangosteen tree that they develop from. Their body is coated in a purple rind with a green sepal on top. The sepal has four leaves and is relatively hard. The bottom half contains a small white rim of petals and two small stubs. The rind appears to have two eyes and a mouth on it. These are actually non-functional. The slits provide a way for direct oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange between the flesh and the atmosphere. They also help draw the attention of animals. Bounsweet's flesh is juicy and tastes almost like custard. It is considered a delicacy in Southeast Asia. Lack of availability means it can sell for upwards of $150 per pound in some American markets. Bounsweet secrete an extremely sweet and fragrant layer of sap. The smell can be overpouring for humans and the sap must be diluted to be palatable for consumption. Many birds and insects adore the smell and taste and will seek out any bounsweet in the area. They will then kill and consume the bounsweet before depositing the seeds elsewhere in their droppings. Pokémon researchers are divided as to whether eating bounsweet counts as hunting behavior.
Steenee's body splits into two main segments connected by a woody stem. The stem has two long prehensile petals attached that can act as arms. Two petals on the sepal have grown to about one third the total body length and hang on either side of the body when the pokémon is looking forward. The remaining petals and the rind are very hard and can withstand most pecks and bites. The faux-eyes have developed into proper eyespots that can detect light and movement. The mouth is still non-functional. The petals on the lower segment have grown to cover most of the rind. The exterior layer of the fruit is much thicker now as the interior has dried and begun the process of converting from a ripe fruiting body into the organs of a creature built to last. Steenee are capable of photosynthesizing most of their energy rather than being wholly dependent on digesting their own body like bounsweet. Their muscles have also developed enough to let them properly walk rather than simply controlling their rolling speed. Steenee's legs consist of a woody sheath and prehensile roots. The roots can coil so that they are entirely enclosed within the sheath. The roots can also move to allow for walking and can plant the organism in place while water and nutrients are absorbed from the soil. Steenee's scent is invigorating to mammals and can put nearby pokémon into a playful mood that causes them to lower their guard. This gives steenee a chance to attack or flee.
Tsareena's sepal now consists of three petals almost as long as the pokémon is tall. The larger petals are arranged so that the eyespots' view is unobstructed. The fourth, shorter petal is the one above the eyespots. The woody stem has expanded to encompass the mouth and extends right up to the base of the eyespots. The eyespots are now developed enough to sense shapes and even some details, although they still lack color vision. The petal arms still exist and are slightly stronger but are still too short to be particularly useful. This is made up for by tsareena's long, powerful legs. Their kicks are far more powerful than a human's and can easily break bones. Tsareena are sometimes said to laugh: this is only partially true. None of the three stages can vocalize. Tsareena can still rub their leaves together to create a sound that mimics laughter. They sometimes pantomime laughter, too, while beating downed opponents. Compared to their preevolutions, tsareena have a very mild scent. This fits better with their strategy of not being eaten.
Tsareena can grow to be four feet tall. They can weigh up to fifty pounds. Wild lifespans are estimated to be around fifteen years. Captive and semi-captive lifespans can be closer to thirty.
Behavior
It is difficult to discuss the line in any detail without also discussing the mangosteen tree. These trees are not pokémon. They are simply large trees that have coevolved with tsareena. A mature mangosteen tree can produce about 3,000 fruits per year. Without pokémon intervention these are just normal fruits. However, tsareena and steenee can inject the fruits with spores that cause them to develop into bounsweet. The bounsweet are mobile and sweet-smelling enough to be the preferred food of toucannon and other birds, who will then scatter the seeds across a wide area. Some of the bounsweet will fail to be eaten and live long enough to become steenee and even tsareena. In exchange, tsareena and steenee protect the tree and take a more active role in scattering seeds.
The majority of bounsweet's short life after falling from their tree is spent rolling on the ground and spreading a sweet scent in the hopes of catching a toucannon's attention. Their nervous system is extremely primitive and they seem utterly incapable of feeling fear or, perhaps, any emotions at all. Some scholars have argued that they count more as eggs or simple fruit than a traditional pokémon stage. They do seem to avoid other bounsweet and are drawn towards toucannon calls, even ones coming from a speaker. Over 95% of bounsweet succeed at being eaten within a week of falling.
Steenee are in a transitional phase between being walking dispersers of mangosteen seeds and sapient, self-preserving organisms in their own right. Very young steenee will move as far away from the tree as they can in hopes of either being eaten. If they make it far enough, they may root in place and deposit their seeds themselves. At this point they shift towards self-preservation and the propagation of their own species, not just the mangosteen tree. Steenee tend to stay near tsareena or other steenee during this time. A tsareena mentor will teach them how to use the sharper parts of their legs to climb up trees and fertilize fruits to turn them into bounsweet. The tsareena will also teach them how to fight, what threats to avoid, and what places have the best soil and sun.
After depositing their seeds, steenee's scent shifts from the overpowering sweetness of bounsweet to a mix of scents and pheromones designed to lower aggression and rational thinking and increase energy in nearby pokémon, effectively making them more playful. This allows steenee to bond with other pokémon and gain additional protection from the species still trying to eat it. The play behaviors also let them practice combat with other species.
Tsareena are defenders of mangosteen trees and of the ecosystem in general. They will become aggressive towards anything that threatens the trees, the steenee under their care, or the rainforest as a whole. They are generally docile unless given a reason to attack. When provoked they are known to take apparent glee in dispatching their opponent, killing them slowly and brutally while mimicking laughter. Tsareena display the same behaviors in captivity unless the battle takes place with no apparent witnesses. In these cases tsareena are efficient and use only the minimal amount of violence necessary to achieve their goals. They do not take any apparent pleasure in the task. Scientists have hypothesized that tsareena's apparent cruelty is simply a warning to other potential threats to the plants and pokémon under their care.
Husbandry
Bounsweet husbandry is fairly simple. They just need to be kept in a warm, humid environment where nothing will eat them and they cannot accidentally kill themselves. Enrichment and social interactions are unnecessary for healthy development.
Steenee and tsareena need at least six hours a day in natural sunlight or in a greenhouse or ball capable of replicating it. They also need frequent access to moist, nutrient-rich soils to root themselves into. Their physical needs are not particularly complicated, especially for trainers used to raising grass-types. The problems come in with the psychological needs, a field often neglected in the care of plant pokémon.
Every steenee is essentially coming into their own identity. Even the basic awareness of being an organism that has unique thoughts and desires to continue living is new to them. During this time they need mentorship. Tsareena will happily fill the role. Other grass-types with a decent amount of patience and intelligence can do so as well. Failing either of those, steenee will look towards their trainer. Raising an impressionable child into a well-adjusted adult is difficult. Doing so while being unable to understand their language would be nearly impossible. This is the situation most trainers trying to raise a steenee find themselves in. Steenee do not communicate verbally. Their language is that of scents, movements, and chemical cues. Humans are incapable of replicating most of these. With some effort humans can learn the meanings of subtle shifts in a steenee or tsareena's scent, but the more nuanced signals will still be lost. There can be respect and a basic level of trust between human and pokémon, but nuanced communication is essentially impossible. For these reasons it is highly recommended to have a suitable mentor already on the team if raising a steenee from a bounsweet.
Tsareena are guardians. In the wild they devote most of their life to protecting their tree. Captive tsareena may not even have a tree to watch over. Planting a mangosteen tree is a good way to earn a tsareena's trust, but this is not always possible for logistical reasons. It also results in the tsareena developing separation anxiety if removed from their tree for long periods of time.
Captive tsareena can have a more metaphorical tree. They will still desire to protect an actual mangosteen, but in time they can shift their focus towards caring for their trainer and teammates. Having steenee around appears to have significant psychological benefits for tsareena and may even make them closer to their trainer as well. Other young grass-types can also serve in this role. Tsareena may be nurturing towards juvenile pokémon from other types or even young humans, but this depends on the individual. Whatever a tsareena is loyal to, do not take them away without good cause and advanced explanation. Telepathic or aura translation may be necessary as tsareena can struggle to understand spoken language.
Humans can attempt to understand tsareena gestures and body language. Stomps are a sign of anxiety or a warning that they might attack. Gentler, more graceful movements indicates that they are calm. The soft ruffling of their leaves is designed to calm others. Quick, graceful steps without an apparent purpose are an invitation to play. Tsareena play through mock battles, dancing contests, obstacle courses, and interacting with environmental puzzles. Most conventional puzzles are difficult for tsareena due to their unique senses, but they can still feel their way around their environment and discover what happens when they manipulate it in various ways. Climbing structures, levers, soundboxes, sliding pieces, buttons, and odd textures are some of tsareena's favorite toys.
Tsareena can tolerate cooler temperatures if needed but still prefer high humidities and temperatures between 75 and 80 degrees Fahreheit. Alola's weather is generally pleasant for them and they will not require greenhouses. Fertilizers should be provided regularly, either in the form of grass-type soil supplements or manure. The latter is often readily available to pokémon trainers.
Steenee and tsareena appreciate having areas with live plants to retreat to. Brightness and quietness do not matter much to them for relaxation. Only the presence of healthy plants. When traveling it is a good idea to frequently take them to conservatories or botanical gardens. Wooded parks will also do in a pinch.
Illness
Tsareena suffer from three main types of illness: leaf blight, fruit rot, and parasitism. Leaf blight is usually caused by a fungal infection. The surface of the leaf will change color and texture before falling off, depriving the pokémon of its ability to photosynthesize. Severe infections may also result in much of a steenee's flesh rotting away. Tsareena are more resistant to this stage. Antifungal medicines that do not target the pokémon's cells are expensive, difficult to source, and often unreliable. If the infection begins at the leaf's tip it may be safe to amputate the leaf. Losing one leaf is still better than losing all of them. in the event that a tsareena does lose all of their leaves the disease may still be survivable. Frequent injections of sugars can tide the pokémon over while the leaves regrow. This is also acceptable treatment for leaves that are critically damaged in battle.
Fruit rot can be fungal or bacterial in nature. Bacterial infections can be treated more easily than fungal infections. Fungal fruit rot is usually fatal. These infections begin at the mouth slit or eyespots. The apparent eye and mouth color may change and sap can be seen dripping from them. In its advanced stages the disease can cause the pokémon's flesh and organs to rot away beneath the rind, eventually killing them. This is often accompanied by unusual discharges of fluid.
Parasitism is also more common in bounsweet and steenee than tsareena. There is a specific species of fruit fly that finds wounds or other openings on the pokémon and digs in deep enough to lay their eggs. The maggots will hatch a week later and consume the pokémon's flesh from the inside. Older steenee can potentially survive the infection. Bounsweet and younger steenee will not without aggressive action. There are several pesticide treatments that can kill most or all of the fly eggs or maggots before they become a problem. However, the problem must be detected early. The first symptoms are general lethargy and a lack of coordination. Because of fears around the Indo-Pacific fruit fly and its potential to infect other grass-types it is currently very difficult to import bounsweet and steenee to the American mainland. Some other countries have their own regulations.
There is some research on the use of steenee's perspiration as an antidepressant or stimulant. The proposed drugs have not yet been approved for testing. Other grass-type secretions, such as meganium sap, are generally more effective and easier to source. Bounsweet sap can still be used as an antiperspirant and deodorant when diluted and mixed with other ingredients.
Evolution
Bounsweet initially maintain their biological processes by consuming the sugars stored inside their body. When those begin to run low their leaves grow out to allow for photosynthesis in place. If more than two weeks pass without being eaten, the bounsweet will use its remaining energy as well as that accumulated through photosynthesis to flash evolve into steenee.
In the wild, steenee evolve when there is a mangosteen tree without a tsareena. This usually only happens when the guardian tsareena dies. Following this event the tsareena will either have a successor in place who evolves or a tournament of local steenee will begin. The strongest one will evolve.
Captive steenee evolution is somewhat more complicated. Showing a steenee an unclaimed tree will almost certainly trigger an evolution. It just is not particularly practical. There is some evidence that enough combat experience can trigger evolution on its own. Others claim that steenee are a friendship evolution. The truth may be somewhere in the middle: steenee evolve when they have something to defend and enough strength to do so.
Battle
Tsareena are the rare grass-type that functions as a rushdown melee attacker. Tsareena can learn ranged attacks and a few utility moves, most notably synthesis. They still prefer kicking attacks such as trop kick, high jump kick, and triple axel. Tsareena are rather strong attackers and they are reasonably fast. This is not enough to give them a serious place on the competitive circuits. Actual fighting-types are often stronger, faster, and more durable than tsareena. Tsareena's only advantages, grass-type coverage and synthesis, are not usually enough to warrant usage. Their only real usage comes from trainers using one for the sake of their brand or a personal fondness for the line, usually in the lower circuits, and grass specialists who want a physical attacker. They must compete for breloom for this niche. Breloom have far more utility and stronger attacks, but they are slow and must wait between punches. Tsareena are considerably faster and can keep a barrage of kicks going as long as they need to. Still, breloom's much greater utility makes them the more popular option.
Tsareena are solid pokémon that can take trainers through the end of the island challenge. They work best by being primed to use a move in advance and then using that continuously during a fight, mixed in with whatever the tsareena thinks will work. Tsareena struggle to interpret new commands mid-battle. Trainers have used everything from interpretive dance to small, breakable capsules of perfume to send signals to their pokémon. Tsareena can also sometimes have a problem detecting small foes that are not moving. This, unfortunately, cannot easily be bypassed with clever command techniques. Some pokémon can freely set up against tsareena as a result.
When playing against tsareena it is advisable to use a nimble airborne pokémon if at all possible. Tsareena are capable of jumping surprisingly high with reliable accuracy, but they can be outmaneuvered by attempts to dodge after an attack begins. Tsareena's jumps are meant to take them between tree branches, not up to a moving object. The fall afterwards presents an excellent opportunity to attack the tsareena while they are vulnerable. Attacks such as counter, bide, and metal burst can also punish tsareena's unrelenting offense and difficulty interpreting new commands mid-battle. Tsareena are excellent at tracking trajectories of moving objects and can avoid conventional projectiles easily enough. Area of effect attacks, especially ones without a physical projectile, can make it impossible to dodge. Blizzard, heat wave, and wind attacks are tsareena's biggest weakness.
Older steenee battle similarly to tsareena, just with less power, speed, and durability. They can be useful through the second island but will struggle on the third.
Bounsweet should not be battled with.
Acquisition
Bounsweet are widely available during the dry season in any forest with a mangosteen tree. Some breeders will also have them available for sale. There is no particular point in owning a bounsweet for reasons other than consumption, which is legal. They can be acquired with a Class I license.
Steenee can be found in the rainforests of Akala during the dry season and early rainy season. They can be caught before depositng their seeds but they may struggle to adapt to captivity at this stage. More alert and curious steenee are better for capture. At this stage they are often looking for a new mentor. Trainers can step in to fill the role. Some breeders will also sell steenee. It is rare to see a steenee available for adoption since they can usually be released into a wild tsareena's care with no issues.
Tsareena capture is prohibited to ensure their trees remain protected and wild steenee receive the necessary training. They are usually reluctant to be sold or adopted since it requires abandoning their previous charge. The only real way to sell a tsareena is to sell the land they reside on with them. Even then they are unlikely to accept the new property owner's authority and may attempt to evict them by force.
Bounsweet and steenee can be obtained with a Class I license. Tsareena can be purchased or adopted with a Class IV license.
Tsareena could once be found on Ula'Ula. That population has since gone extinct in the wild due to deforestation, overconsumption, and the changing climates as a result of clashes between ninetales, flygon, torkoal, politoed, and castform. During the period of maximum ninetales expansion there were a few winters in northeast Ula'Ula too severe for the mangosteen trees to survive. The trees in the northeast have all since been placed into human-maintained orchards or removed to allow for more settlement.
Breeding
Most organic species have both male and female members. Even most plants have both male and female sex organs and gametes, even if both exist in the same organism. Tsareena don't. They lack any male gametes. Daughters are a near-clone of their mother. Or, they would be if not for the biggest quirk of their reproduction. Tsareena effectively mate with their tree to produce offspring. This is done by injecting their own ovules and a species-specific virus into a mangosteen fruit. Over the coming days the fruit will grow and mutate into a bounsweet. Any differences from the mother will come from the physiology of the original fruit inherited from the tree. The tsareena virus appears to only be capable of infecting mangosteen fruits. It has no effect on the rest of the tree and has no known interactions with any other fruit. Every stage of the line carries the virus, although it can only spread through injection or sap entering into a fruit with a ruptured rind. The new bounsweet spread the mangosteen seeds. Those that survive to become steenee perpetuate the tsareena's line.
Captive breeding is both possible and common. Tsareena are more than willing to have some of their offspring taken for battling or consumption as long as the orchard they live in is defended and expanded over time. The larger fruits of bounsweet compared to an unaltered mangosteen also make this arrangement profitable for orchard owners.
Relatives
Tsareena are found throughout the range of the Mangosteen along the rim of the Indian Ocean. The tree and pokémon have also been introduced to some Pacific islands by birds or Lapras. They were well established on Akala and parts of Ula'Ula by the time the first humans arrived.
Shiftry are tsraeena's closest living relatives. They fit into the subfamily Arborum, pokémon with woody bodies that are dependent on trees and their fruit to survive. It is believed that there were once many species with a similar role to that of shiftry and tsareena, each for their own tree. Over time they were outcompeted by generalist grass-types that were not required to defend a single plant for decades. Now there are only ten species in the subfamily. Tsareena are the only living species in their genus. An extinct species, I. avatae, may have been bonded to a now-extinct relative of the mangosteen tree. This would have been tsareena's closest relative and the only other species in the genus.