Today, Salandit are rarely recognized as dangerous, except by those whose lives depend on doing so; even Alolans who live outside its habitat rarely bother with warnings. But encounters with these tiny pokemon have often proved fatal, and not only in the wild. For although they are easily concealed, Salandit combine in themselves two of humanity's oldest and most dangerous weapons.

Salandit's fire does not burn particularly hot, but it destroys stone nearly as easily as wood. Their venom is fatal if not treated quickly – for instance, because one does not realize Salandit venom was slipped into their drink, or because one's residence is burning down around them. And unlike Mudsdale, Snorlax, and other mainstays of human armies, which can require the revenues of whole provinces to supply their food, Salandit are small and (like most poison types) highly omnivorous scavengers.

This has made the Salandit an excellent choice for anyone on the run, or at odds with the law. Sometimes, these pokemon have been romanticized as natural revolutionaries, but revolution is only one reason people have trained Salandit; royal pretenders and overthrown kings have taken to them just as eagerly, and many Salandit trainers have been motivated by nothing more than personal greed. But it is true that, while there may be no point in robbing the poor or assassinating the powerless, Salandit have long stalked the nightmares of those with the most to lose. Edicts banning Salandit ownership were as frequent throughout history as they were impossible to enforce against a pokemon two feet tall, easily camouflaged, and highly capable of finding food without assistance from its trainers.

The ubiquitous reliefs of Salandit carved in the last years of the Bronze Age offer a tantalizing if oft-debated clue to the collapse of the civilizations which carved them.