A/N: Thanks once again to my brother Sai Kunai Blade for making the video and sending me the script and thanks to qazse for helping with reactions!
Sai was standing in Seliana, conversing with the Excitable A-Lister. "Oh man, Aiden. We've been through a lot together. That fight with Fatalis was crazy wasn't it? Sometimes I still can't believe we made it out of that one alive." Sai reminisced with his fellow hunter.
Upon hearing the infamous dragon mentioned once again, Yang groaned. "Ugh! More hearing about it without seeing it! Are we EVER gonna hear about it?" The blonde brawler complained.
"Patience, Yang. You'll learn about it eventually." Katana assured her.
"But trust me. Your gonna see why Fatalis earned the right to be called a god." Razara warned them.
"Or at least an older version of it." Tekko said with a shrug.
And Aiden clearly agreed with his sentiment. "I know, right? When I got caught in that supernova I pushed you out of the way of, I thought I was finished." He added to the shared memory.
Sai chuckled at this. "I know, man. You saved my life. I had my doubts sometimes if you really were an A-List hunter, because it seems like you always showed up after I already killed the monster, but no. No, you definitely earned a spot here. Not like the Fiver Bro." Sai praised his comrade while dissing the lazy glutton in Astera.
Aiden laughed at the jab as well, equally fed up with the bulky hunter's refusal to work. "Yeah, but that's why they call you the Sapphire Star. You always deal with the monsters before we get there. Sometimes I was afraid you'd put the rest of us out of work! You're gnarlycuga!" He admitted.
Sai groaned at the pun. "But, are you sure Fatalis didn't fry the humor part of your brain? Something must be really wrong if you're resorting to puns!" He jabbed at his friend's sense of humor.
Blake rolled her eyes at this. "Gnarlycuga? Seriously? He's butchering monster names." She said in annoyance.
"Oh, come on, Blake! That was pretty clever." Yang defended.
"Yeah. And that could be a way of making the monsters less scary, by making fun of their names." Neo added.
"Not the worst idea I've ever heard, I suppose." Ozpin admitted.
Aiden let out a gasp of mock offense at this. "My puns are awesome! They totally kick Lun-Ass-stra!" He defended his choice of humor, then sighed. "Still, when we were staring that thing down in Schrade, I almost thought I was gonna puke, eh?" He admitted.
Sai then began to ponder something at this. "Puke, eh? That sounds like Pukei-Pukei. That gives me an idea for my next lore video!" The so-called Sapphire Star declared.
The sound of crickets chirping could then be heard. "You know this has to be your weakest intro to a lore video so far, right?" Aiden asked, clearly unimpressed with Sai's forceful set up.
Sai looked down in defeat at this. "I'm well aware." He assured his fellow hunter.
Realizing that this whole conversation was to set up the video, the group couldn't help but sweatdrop. "Yeah, I gotta admit, even Rage's lamest setups still beat that one." Coco called out the intro.
"Well, to be fair, it's pretty hard to come up with a good set up for something with a name like that." Velvet tried to be lenient.
"True, but he could've at least try to make it so it's not so obviously forced." Ren criticized as well.
"At least he's willing to admit it and even make a joke out of it. Way too many people on the internet act like they're flawless." Adam said.
Sai was making his way through the ancient forest once again, trying to avoid attacks from a group of yellow lizards the size of a medium dog. "Evolution is truly a fascinating and unpredictable thing. Sometimes mutations that seem crazy, or even completely nonsensical, like those extra tusks on the barbirusa that can grow backwards and stab their own brains, or the appendix in human beings. And then sometimes you run into creatures whose existence almost cannot be rationalized by science, such as the ultimate anomaly of the Ancient Forest... The Pukei-Pukei." Sai declared as he, his handler and another hunter witnessed strange Bird Wyvern with both scales and feathers with a head like a chameleon and frog-like eyes walking through the forest, licking its face with an equally frog-like tongue.
"Oh, man. Not that creepy thing again!" Jaune complained, shuddering at the monster's initially off-putting appearance.
"Give it a chance, Jaune. You should know better than anyone not to judge a book by its cover." Pyrrha told him.
"Yeah. Besides, it's kind of cute in a weird way." Ruby said, admiring the strange creature.
Sai was then seen following closely behind the Pukei-Pukei while wearing a ghillie mantle. "To say that the Pukei-Pukei is a mixed bag would be the ultimate understatement. A Bird Wyvern first and foremost, not quite as adept in the air as most flying Wyvern's, but still more than capable of flying wherever it need to with powerful leathery wings, but also with feathers to help air pass through to aid in flight and of course, to attract mates, as besides being vibrant to begin with, the feathers also gain a red glow when the Pukei is excited or enraged. If it's feather's are brown and its eyes are partially closed, this indicates it's afraid, likely due to seeing a dangerous predator like an Anjanath." He said as he observed certain features of the Pukei-Pukei as her followed the strange beast.
"Well... I have to admit, the idea of feathers changing colors, especially into a lovely bright red, does sound interesting." Weiss admitted.
"It makes sense. It does seem to have chameleon-like traits. Color-changing was likely a given." Glynda said with a nod.
"And with that last fact in mind, they can be a good indicator of where more dangerous monsters may be. If you see one with brown feathers, it likely just came from an encounter with a threat, so you could plan around it, avoiding the area it just came from if you wish to avoid danger, or head off in that direction on the chance the threat may be the monster you're looking for." Penny pointed out.
"I have to admit, that could be quite a useful strategy. Good thinking, Penny. It's always nice to see how humans can benefit from these monsters." Ironwood praised.
Sai continued to carefully observe the beast. "Also very interesting to note, the Pukei-Pukei's feet are Zygodactyl in nature. In other words, it has two sets of toes, with two pointing forward and two pointing back. Zygodactyl feet are excellent for grabbing and gripping onto things like branches to perch on, so it was likely it lived much higher up in the forest before bigger, more dangerous monsters, such as Kushala Daora, or Rathalos and Rathian began appearing. Past that, it has the features of a frog and chameleon, much more like a chameleon in terms of initial outward appearance, but with the large eyes of the frog, giving them far greater peripheral vision and night vision, as well as the long, sticky, froggy tongue, which it often uses as a defensive whip. And it's tail... Let's not talk about it's tail right now. That comes later with how it functions." He explained, briefly focusing on the tail, before quickly moving back to the head.
"It is nice to see another chameleon monster. It always feels cool to see animals you share traits with." Ilia said.
However, some were confused at Sai ignoring the tail. "I don't get it. What's wrong with the tail?" Nora asked, tilting her head.
Some looked closely at the tail for a minute before understanding washed over most of them, with the immature ones laughing. "Oh. I think I get it." Qrow said, chuckling a bit.
Summer was trying hard not to blush with that image now in her head. "I guess I can see what he means if you look at it from the right angle." She said.
After a bit more looking, it finally dawned on Roman, who decided to announce his understanding. "Oh, I get it. It looks like a guy's di-" The former crime lord began, before his mouth was quickly covered by Cinder, Emerald and Neo.
However, the half-Maiden raised an eyebrow in curiosity at the mention of functions. "So they tail is that way for a reason? I can't imagine what function or purpose it could have." She said.
Sai continued to follow the creature through the forest, observing its many odd behaviors. "Usually found in the Ancient Forest, Puke-Pukei is a herbivore with a rather strange diet. It's choice of Scatternuts as its favorite food makes sense enough, but then we get weird, as it eats the Sporepuff plant, basically a mix of a dandelion and a smoke bomb, as well as straight up rocks. But the next item on its menu takes its diet from unorthodox into the realm of insanity. Pukei-Pukei can be regularly observed drinking out of Poisoncups, a type of plant that, perhaps to no one's surprise, is filled with a poisonous liquid capable of seriously poisoning a human being with toxins strong enough to dissolve insects and even small birds and mice, similar to the pitcher plant, only like- A HUNDRED times more deadly. Like Victreebel in real life." He explained as he observed the plant in question, before a similar-looking living plant creature attempted to swallow a man whole.
Everyone's jaws dropped when they saw it drinking from the poisonous plant. "It drinks poison!? How!? At least Gogmazios could sweat out the bad stuff it didn't need! This is just all bad stuff!" Yang cried out.
"It can't be! Penny, there must be more going on here, right?!" Weiss asked.
"Sorry, Weiss. But I promised myself I would stop questioning the seemingly impossible natures of these monsters after Dalamadur." Penny told her.
Then, they couldn't help but cringe as they saw the Pokémon attempting to eat the man. "I hope that guy was alright." Ilia said worriedly.
"Huh. That Pinchermon kind of reminds me of Winpitcher. Only it's yellow and green instead of green and purple." Neo said, noting the similarities between the creature on screen and the creature of their monster-collecting games.
"So, can the real versions of those plants REALLY digest birds and mice?" Coco asked.
"If it can fit inside of it, it's fair game." Katana confirmed. Many people shuddering at this.
He continued to follow the monster through the forest. "It is perhaps this diet that makes the Pukei-Pukei's personality so toxic, as it is know to be a terrible bully, picking on anything smaller than itself to bully them out of food or territory, but it's also quick to retreat if anything it's size or larger comes around. This is why, despite being a flying creature, it stays in the lower, denser part of the forest to avoid more fearsome predator's like Rathalos. However, older and stronger members of the species have also been spotted in the Wildspire Wastes. While a bit bolder and more standoffish than the younger ones of the Forest, they still hang back to the more forest-like areas of the desert, away from the dryer areas where Diablos tend to dwell." He informed as the Pukei-Pukei was seen coughing up purple globs to mark its territory or, much like Sai had established, drinking from the Poisoncups.
Many found their opinions of the creature going sour now. "Oh, great. Another monster that's a total jerk!" Ruby complained.
"The forest looks quite lush and plentiful. There should be more than enough food for everything living there." Pyrrha noted.
"Yeah! So there's no need for that kind of behavior!" Velvet agreed.
"I don't like it either, but it happens in nature. Some animals are simply more aggressive and territorial than other. Velvet's monster is a great example." Ren pointed out.
"At least Seregios is a meat eater, though." Coco defended the bladed beast.
"Not even herbivores are always innocent, Miss Adel. The hippopotamus is a herbivore and it is incredibly aggressive and regularly kills more humans per year than any predator, even more than most predators it lives with combined." Ozpin explained.
"Doesn't change the fact that it's a jerk." Jaune grumbled.
"Yeah. This thing has made my hate list and nothing is taking it off it." Blake agreed.
"I wonder if it would consider the Grimm something it could push around?" Hazel pondered.
"Probably the smaller ones, for sure. But I doubt it's gonna consider stepping up to a Deathstalker." Emerald said.
Sai was then seen fighting with a Pukei-Pukei. "But in the rare instances one of these monsters chooses to actually fight, they have a number of ways to do so. Much like most other Bird Wyverns, they have the standard attacks of jumping and kicking like an angry chicken, or turning and hitting you with their tails. And, of course, their long, sticky tongue is perfect to swing like a whip to smack or trip up their opponents. However, it's also perfect for allowing them to grab up the Scatternuts they love to eat so much. The clever little bird... frog... thing can also hold these hard and durable tree nuts in its mouth to spit out or hold in its tongue as it swings at hunters, the bearings of the tree being powerful enough to knock a hunter out could from a good hit to the head." He explained as he tried to evade the monsters attacks.
"Using an improvised weapon and the environment to its advantage. Pretty smart." Summer praised the creature.
"Yep. I definitely know the value of getting free hits in on a dazed opponent." Qrow agreed.
"Yeah! Smack 'em in the head and knock their lights out, Pukei!" Nora cheered.
"Nora, you're supposed to root for the hunters!" Weiss reminded her.
"I cheer for whoever I want!" Nora declared.
One such attack he appeared to be very keen to avoid was the monster spitting out purple globs at him. "And the only thing more toxic than their behavior is their abilities. Inside the beast's body lies a Poison Sac, likely developed to handle drinking from the Poisoncups, which it creates, stores and builds up a poison of similar toxicity to the Poisoncups themselves, being able to cough up balls of poison capable of seriously weakening a hunter, sapping their strength and eating away at their skin. It also has a wholly unique organ known as a Pukei-Pukei Sac. Shocker. And this specialized organ... also lets them generate poison, making some of their tongue attacks poisonous as well. Way to double down, I guess. But they can also expel a poisonous gas from their tail, serving to make a thick fog to disorient opponents and hide the Bird Wyvern from view, as well as damage the lungs and poison their aggressors once again, allowing them to get in a sneak attack, or just run as their enemy struggles to breathe." Sai warned grimly as he fought against the monster.
"Oh, great. More poison." Roman said, rolling his eyes.
"Considering its diet, it only makes sense. Still, two different organs to produce poison from seems excessive." Winter admitted.
"Well, clearly they serve two different purposes. One allows it to spit simple globs of liquid poison while the other lets it make the poison mist from its tail." Adam pointed out.
"It's methods are certainly versatile." Cinder said, impressed.
"I'll admit, I would've expected it to go the other way around, since it's tail looks more like a fire hose and its mouth could certainly open wide enough to release a large cloud of poison." Glynda stated.
"Making a mist for a quick getaway. I'm really starting to like this thing. It would've been great help on my stealth missions." Ilia admitted.
Now Sai was stealthily watching the monster from up in the trees. "Okay, so right now, Pukei-Pukei is not seeming like the most stand-up monster, especially when compared to best boy of the Ancient Forest, Tobi-Kadachi. But maybe they can make up for it. Maybe they're at least good parents?" He questioned as he kept up his observation of the frog-faced bird.
Suddenly, a man who appeared to be some kind of Deer Faunus was seen talking to a rather effeminate fellow with four arms, before he threw his head back with a quick laugh. "Ha! No." He quickly stated, leaning towards the spider-like individual.
"Wow. Nature really wanted us to hate this thing, didn't it?" Nora asked.
"If it did, it did a great job." Yang said angrily.
"We've seen many monsters that were questionable parents. At least Pukei-Pukei doesn't try to eat them like Astalos." Ren pointed out.
Sai was now fighting with the monster again. "Rather than care for its own young, it is believed that Pukei-Pukei uses Mernos to care for its babies. When a Mernos isn't in its nest, Pukei-Pukei will sneak into the nest and lay its own eggs, leaving its young in the care of the oblivious Mernos. Once the Pukei-Pukei's eggs hatch, the young will leave the Mernos' nest and care for themselves, spending most of their time learning how to fly and feeding on plants." He informed on the beast's breeding habits as he continued to do battle with the monster.
"So they're not only terrible parents, but terrible neighbors. Do they have any redeeming qualities?" Jaune questioned.
"Nope." Ruby declared.
"Wait for it." Tekko said in sing-song.
The hunter was now once again peacefully following the Bird Wyvern through the forest. "So by now, the Pukei-Pukei has probably left a pretty sour impression on you. But nevertheless, they are irreplaceable, as they play one of the most important roles in the ecosystem. You see, many of the plants in the Ancient Forest have a low germination rate due to them being covered by a shell. Don't ask me how or why this does or doesn't work, that's the Chief Botanist's job. But Pukei-Pukei increases the germination rate by feeding on them. Pukei-Pukei mainly eats these plants for food and defensive purposes, though leaves behind the seeds which makes more vegetation for its environment. From the Pukei-Pukei eating the plants, it allows for the Ancient Forest's habitat to further grow and spread." Sai explained with clear respect in his tone as he followed the creature.
"Well, looks like they are good for something." Hazel said approvingly.
"Everything has some kind of role in nature to fill. Nothing is truly useless." Ozpin said.
"I mean, with everything else it does, that's the least it could do." Weiss said.
Suddenly, a white-haired man approached a gravely injured Pukei-Pukei, trapped upside-down in thick, touch tree roots. "However, Pukei-Pukei are intelligent monsters and, despite being bullies, still have some sense of honor and know when there's a debt to be repaid." Sai explained as the white-haired man was seen talking to the Chief Botanist, who was trapped by similar roots as the Pukei-Pukei. "Shortly after the defeat of Xeno'Jiiva, many strange incidents occurred, one of them being the appearance of a man named Geralt of Rivia. He is a Witcher, basically a hunter, but he hunts actual magical creature. One such creature being a Leshen, an evil forest entity that, amongst other things, can control all form of plant life to make trees and roots viciously attack people, control animals and make them do the same thing and even create portals to other worlds, which is how they wound up in our world to begin with." Sai explained as Geralt was shown fighting the Leshen.
Despite many not liking the Bird Wyvern, they couldn't help but feel bad for it when they saw it in the vines. "The poor thing. No one deserves that." Pyrrha said.
Then they saw the Leshen. "I mean, it's abilities sound cool, but it looks super creepy. And anything that does something like that to poor monsters minding their own business isn't one I want to deal with." Ruby said.
Emerald found herself rather impressed by the supernatural being. "Whoa. That thing looks pretty badass. It's like something you'd see out of a supernatural or demonic horror movie." The former thief said.
"And they sound like they'd be perfect for the role." Blake said, clinging to Emerald a bit.
"Is there a chance they could show up on Remnant?" Ironwood asked.
"The chances are slim, but it's not impossible. We still encounter Leshens every so-often, so they're world-travelling isn't a one-off occurrence." Katana said.
He was then shown in front of the trapped Pukei-Pukei once again. "Well, like I said, Leshens are evil creatures, stated to live only to kill. And they are very territorial, trapping anyone they perceive as an intruder in roots most creatures cannot break out of. A Pukei-Pukei was one such unfortunate prisoner, but Geralt showed kindness to this poor creature and freed it by burning away the roots with his Igni fire magic." Sai told the events of the forest incident as Geralt burned the roots and freed the Bird Wyvern. "And during the climax of the fight with the Leshen, the very same Pukei-Pukei returned and fought alongside him. Unfortunate for the Leshen, whose two biggest weaknesses are Fire and Poison." Sai declared as the Pukei-Pukei was indeed fighting the Leshen alongside Geralt.
"Oh, goodie. Something that is actually, definitely evil." Neo said.
"Yeah, if it doesn't sit well with former criminals, you know it's a new level of messed up."
"Note to self: start milking any viper or scorpion Faunus for venom in the event of a Leshen appearing." Ironwood made a note for himself.
"Or, you know, get an Iodrome or something. There's gonna be options." Tekko pointed out.
"Considering the fact that they seem to be tree-like in appearance, coupled with the fact they control plant life, I doubt we'll have to worry about them in Atlas, sir." Penny added.
"Still, that's nice that Geralt saved it." Velvet said, smiling at the white-haired Witcher.
"And it's pretty cool the Pukei-Pukei came back to help him." Jaune added.
Then a young child was shown riding on the back of a Pukei-Pukei. "And as one more little side note, Pukei-Pukei that partnered with Riders are very protective of their partners, shielding them from the rain of acid they create during their Kinship attack." Sai stated as the Pukei-Pukei used its tongue like an umbrella to shield its Rider from the purple rain of poison cascading down around them.
The opinions of the Bird Wyvern began to slowly improve upon hearing it could be protective. "Aww, it does have a soft side! How sweet!" Summer said.
"Plus, that's a pretty clever way to use its tongue, kind of like an umbrella." Adam admitted.
"It's kind of cute like that, actually." Yang said.
"Certainly better than having poison rain down on you." Glynda agreed.
Sai was seen fighting with the Pukei-Pukei once again. "So, if you are fighting a Pukei-Pukei, your best bet is to use a weapon with the thunder element. Fire and Ice are also moderately effective, with Dragon being at least okay as well. The only real wrong choice to make is to use a water weapon, as they completely resist the Water element. As for statuses, they're all pretty solid across the board, with sleep and paralysis tied for most effective, but don't be afraid to give blast and stun a chance as well. Surprisingly, despite LITERALLY DRINKING from a poisonous plant, they aren't immune to being poisoned. In fact, if you spill a Poisoncup onto the ground and trick the Pukei to run through it, they will still be afflicted by the negative effects of the ailing substance. Nature officially makes no sense." Sai admitted as he did indeed cut a Poisoncup, which spilled its liquids and poisoned the Pukei-Pukei as it rushed into it.
That last fact really caught the group off-guard. "Wait, what?! How can it not be immune to poison?! It USES poison!" Ren asked incredulously.
"Not only that, it can be poisoned by the plant it literally drinks the poison from! If there is ONE SINGULAR poison on the entire planet it should be immune to, that should be the one!" Winter exclaimed.
"And it has two different sacs to make poison from! That should make it the most impossible thing to poison on the planet!" Neo said.
"I'm with Sai on this one. Nature makes NO SENSE." Qrow agreed.
Sai then followed Pukei-Pukei through the forest one last time. "So that is the Pukei-Pukei. At first, it may not seem like the most pleasant creature of the forest, but it has an important role that few others could effectively fill. So, while it is not the nicest monster to be around, it does far more good than bad and its positive influence may truly outweigh its negative actions." He said happily as he watched the creature go on its way.
"Everything has the potential for good and evil, but just because someone or thing does something wrong, does not mean they still cannot do good." Ozpin said.
"After all is said and done, it really is a charming creature." Pyrrha said.
"And from the sound of things, the Ancient Forest wouldn't be nearly as flourishing as it is without it." Cinder added, respecting the creature.
He was then seen walking then seen walking through the Coral Highlands, before a number of grey and red dog-sized lizards ran past him. "However, there is one more species to talk about. Like so many other monsters, a previously unknown subspecies was discovered after migrating to the Coral Highlands because of Shara Ishvalda's shenanigans... if Earthquakes and landslides could be called shenanigans. The terror of the torrent, the Coral Pukei-Pukei." Sai introduced the subspecies as a more brightly colored Pukei-Pukei drank from a giant lily pad as the lizards cried and hissed at it, before its tail aimed at them, before swelling and spraying high-pressured water at them like a firehose, sending the lizards flying away, Sai himself barely diving out of the way.
The group saw this new form of the creature and quickly fell in love with its new colors. "Okay, now those are some nice colors! Like, nothing wrong with the green version, but look at the reds and yellows! That just looks way better! It pops out way more! I would totally make some feather hats out of those." Coco said.
"I have to admit, it is quite vivid and striking. It almost makes you forget about its more... awkward appearance." Weiss admitted.
"I think that's as close as we're gonna get to Weiss saying it looks cool. And I have to agree." Blake said.
"So pretty!" Ruby said in awe. And that awe became amazement when she saw the creature spraying water from its tail. "Did you guys see that?! It shot water from its tail like a fire hose!" She cried excitedly.
"It sent those lizards flying. That must be one powerful tail." Adam noted.
Penny finally saw something she could actually analyze and looked into it. "The diameter of the opening of its tail and stream of water seem to be equal to that of a fire hose. And the water is being forced out at great speed and force, based on the fact it was able to send those lizard-like creatures flying. And based on how much the tail swelled, we can measure the volume of water its putting out. I'd estimate each swell in its tail was worth a minimum of two gallons. From what we saw, its tail swelled up at least ten times. So it had to be firing at least 20 gallons over a period of only 13 seconds! And that's without the time we see the lizards getting hit and Sai evading the water stream. Essentially, it must have a similar psi and flow rate as a 1.5 inch hose." She analyzed.
"And the fact it can control it makes it at least as strong as two or three men, since that's how many it takes to control a fire hose." Hazel said, impressed.
"So, in other words, getting hit by a full-on stream like that should pretty much destroy somebody without aura or really, REALLY good armor." Ilia summed up everything they said.
"And I was just about to say that'd be like taking a shower in a second." Nora said with a pout.
Sai then followed the new Pukei-Pukei through the Highlands, although this time, he openly walked beside it peacefully. "A welcome change of pace from the original, Coral Pukei-Pukei is beloved by a number of hunters for obvious reasons. First of all, it is far more peaceful than its original counterpart, remaining docile until it is attacked first. Second of all, it is no longer a poison monster, which is a big plus, you know? Not a lot of people enjoy getting poisoned. And finally, while there's nothing wrong with the forest-y green feathers and rainbow tail of the original, this one has a far more beautiful color to it's plumage, a lovely red, orange and salmon, which turn an even beeper red when it enrages, it is just an incredible sight to behold. And rather than plants and Poisoncups, they usually feast on the coral eggs that are often seen floating in the air." Sai stated as he continued to observe the subspecies of the Bird Wyvern.
And the news of the creature being peaceful made them love it even more. "Okay, I'm think this one is in my top ten favorite monsters. Maybe even top 5." Qrow said.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree. It's beautiful, intelligent, peaceful and effective in combat. There's nothing you can't love about it." Winter said, trying to resist the urge to gush over the monster like Ruby.
"Hm... I wonder if they can control how much pressure they fire their tail with. Maybe you could actually use it like a shower. It could be the Chertrocks!" Ilia said, thinking of the prehistoric cartoon. [1]
"They're version of the Flintstones?" Tekko asked, to which Katana gave a shrug as if to say "I guess".
"Yeah, that's probably not a good idea, Ilia. One thing goes wrong and the Pukei could blast someone with enough water to rip their skin off." Ren warned Ilia, the Chameleon Faunus going green with blue spots at her idea being shut down.
The Sapphire Star was then seen doing battle with the flying frog. "So, you may be wondering, 'if it doesn't use Poison, how does it defend itself'? Well, our brilliant bird has swapped out Poison for Water. Inside its body lies two organs, the Flood Sac and the Coral Pukei-Pukei Sac, which double down once again to allow it to store massive amounts of water in its body. And with these two separate organs, they can shoot out highly pressurized jets of water, almost on the level of Mizutsune, from two different places! The mouth and the tail! The tail is plain and simple, acting as a fire hose, but it can also take to the skies to blast the ground below it in three circles of direct, non-stop fire, aiming further out each time until it has basically hosed down the entire immediate area. This is VERY hard to dodge." Sai warned as he struggled to evade its attacks.
Yang, Ruby and Jaune, being gamers, found the attack very interesting. "It's got AOE attacks!" Ruby cheered.
"Oh, man! That would be great for crowd control!" Yang agreed.
"Yeah! Imagine if it used that on a pack of Beowulves of something. It could probably take them all out at once!" Jaune said eagerly.
"That would make our jobs easier, but also less fun." Coco said.
"However, the most interesting thing is when it shoots the water from its mouth. Much like it could with its poison globs, it can spit huge globs of water out of its mouth that hit anyone standing too close to where they land. And as stated before, Pukei-Pukei are clever cookies, so they figured out how to use their tongue in order to split the beam and send it in two different directions, making any form of frontal approach very dangerous. And, of course, it soaks your armor to weigh you down and tire you out with Waterblight. Fortunately, while the Flood and Coral Pukei Sacs let them store and shoot this water, they do not generate them, so while it can hold quite a large amount of water, it will eventually run out and have to flee and refuel itself, usually from the giant lily pad... thing in area 3." Sai told of the creatures abilities as it did indeed shoot streams of water at him from both its mouth and its tail.
"Impressive for a wild animal to have so many varied methods of attack. Some humans don't have that level of variety to their techniques. Splitting the beam with its tongue is ingenious." Ironwood praised.
"And assuming the beam is coming out at a similar level to the tail, its tongue must be quite powerful to withstand that pressure." Penny added.
"Well, if it needs a lot of water to refuel itself, you'd think it'd want to live in a place with more of it. I don't know about you, but the Highlands look PRETTY dry to me." Roman pointed out.
"Well, as we clearly saw in that introduction clip, as well as Sai JUST stating it right now, we know there seems to be a large amount of water in those strange lily pads." Winter explained.
"Not to mention, lily pads are usually on top of water, so maybe that lily pad thing is covering an underground lake or something." Emerald theorized.
The fight continued as Sai managed to mount the beast. "On top of that, it is ironically weak to Poison and all other status ailments aren't too bad, either. In addition, thunder is pretty good against it, with dragon and fire also being okay and water, for obvious reasons, being ineffective. And the most damaging element against it is ice... So, that was real smart of them, migrating to a place where the apex monster, Legiana, uses the ice element. Seriously, what's next? Monsters weak to fire moving to a volcano?" He criticized as he continued to fight the beast.
A bearded man playing video games on his couch was then shown. "I don't get it." He said in a strange whisper as he continued to play his game.
"When he puts it like that... yeah, that is pretty strange." Velvet admits.
"The Highlands are likely the place that can best support them. They're willing to put up with the risks of dealing with Legiana because this new habitat is more hospitable than the others they've visited so far and they've decided to stay rather than risk leaving and not finding a more fitting locale for them." Glynda explained.
"Eh. Makes sense." Neo agreed.
"Beggars can't be choosers, after all." Summer said.
Sai then walked alongside it again. "But other than that, compared to the forest-dwelling Pukei-Pukei, we don't know nearly as much about it. Essentially, we just have to assume they behave in a mostly similar fashion, just less violent, once again. But still, it is a lovely, fascinating monster trying to make the best of its new surroundings and live in peace. And in a way, it perfectly embodies the water element it now possesses: when a storm approaches, it is rough and deadly, but as long as it isn't disturbed, it remains calm and serene." He finished as, once again, he let the beast walk off into the distance to go about its life.
Ozpin smiled at the sendoff. "Well, that was quite poetic." Ozpin praised.
"Agreed. The storm metaphor was quite spot on." Cinder said.
"Vacuo and Menagerie could use a few of these guys. Maybe they could make the desert a bit more hospitable." Blake suggested.
"Maybe, but where would they refill their own water supplies?" Adam questioned.
"So, thoughts?" Katana asked the crew.
"The poison one was cool, but a total meanie. But the Coral one was SO, so cool!" Ruby said.
"Yeah, right? I'd love to have one of those back home around the summer time! It could spray us with its tail when its hot." Yang said.
Nora gasped. "That would be amazing!" She cried out.
"Yeah! I'd love that!" Ruby cheered.
"Me, too! That sounds like a lot of fun." Velvet agreed.
"Did you forget it could probably put a hole in you with its water pressure?" Weiss questioned.
"Eh. We're tough. We can take it!" Nora insisted.
"I'm sure it HAS to be able to control the pressure its tail puts out. It should be fine." Pyrrha said, secretly wanting to join in the water activities as well.
"Weiss, why do you feel the need to ruin everything that sounds fun?" Ruby asked with sad eyes.
"Because everything you people consider 'fun' when it comes to these monsters, always leads to some form of bodily harm. Or in some cases, death." The heiress explained.
"Still, the normal forest variant is still quite a sight to be hold. And they could be useful in the event Leshens show up on Remnant." Ironwood said.
"As well as for fertilizing our forests and jungles, don't forget." Ozpin added.
"Oh, great. More crazy plants. Just what the doctor ordered." Qrow complained, remembering several times he'd gotten caught in jungle foliage in his bird form.
"So, what's next?" Jaune asked.
"Well, I hope you guys haven't gotten sick of giant Elder Dragons yet! They're not quite as big as Dala or Gog, but you'll still have a WHALE of a time hearing about these desert dwellers." Katana told them, playing the next video.
[1] "Chert" is another name for opaque quarts, similar to "flint" or "jasper". The more you know.