Carbink
Overview
Carbink must compete with rockruff for the role of introductory rock-type. Carbink have much easier care requirements, but rockruff have more familiar ones. More trainers had a rockruff or growlithe pet growing up than those that had a sentient rock in the home. There is a perception that the mammalian rockruff are more social and affectionate than the silicon-based carbink. This is actually untrue. While lycanroc can be standoffish, carbink stay affectionate and social throughout their lives. They are also a good introduction to the fascinating world of inorganic mineral pokémon. Trainers who hope to someday wield a magnezone, golem, or gigalith are strongly encouraged to start with carbink.
Physiology
Carbink are classified as dual rock- and fairy-type pokémon. The typing is disputed. Carbink can levitate using electromagnetic repulsion or localized gravity manipulation, but they can also use telekinesis to lift themselves. Diancie have also been confirmed as telepathic. Many of carbink's utility moves are more aligned with psychic energies than fey ones. Yet, carbink's main defense in the wild is unleashing moonblasts. They are also nocturnal and prone to congregate outdoors in large groups during full moons. For the time being, the Department of Agriculture has settled on a secondary fairy-typing out of tradition. Further research by geologists and psychics, as well as revelations about diancie, may change the designation.
Carbink have conical and botryoidal bodies. The body's exterior is composed of basalt. Peridot crystals, silicon, and magnetite make up much of the core. Peridot occasionally grows out through the basalt, exposing the gemstones inside. Mental processing is done with a silicon-based nervous system. The peridot appears to generate, channel, and store energy, although the exact mechanisms for this are poorly understood.
A small "head" sits on top of the main body. Two specialized crystals rest here. While they resemble eyes, carbink are blind. One eye crystal senses radiation and the other is dedicated to picking up electromagnetic waves. Two soft "ears" on top of the head are used to sense movement and sounds through air currents.
A small white mane wraps around the head. This is not part of the carbink's body. It is actually a lichen. In exchange for a place to live, the lichen helps carbink socialize. The lichen is partially unwrapped with gentle telekinesis and then used to polish another carbink's protruding gemstones.
Beneath the mane is a small slit for ingesting finely ground rocks. Carbink rarely eat in captivity, only ingesting rocks once every one to two decades. Their digestive system moves equally slowly. As such laboratory studies must be long-term, limiting the amount of research available. In any case, carbink seem to get most of their energy from floating in strong magnetic fields and absorbing moonlight with their peridot crystals.
The largest carbink are around 33 centimeters in height and weigh around twenty-five kilograms.. Analysis of the peridot in carbink has determined that carbink can live for over two million years.
Behavior
Carbink live in social groups, or hardnesses, of thirty to fifty individuals. During the day the carbink retreat into the cooled lava tunnels of Melemele and Poni. On clear nights, especially during full moons, the entire hardness will emerge and bask in the moonlight. Sometimes they will interact with nearby pokémon. Carbink tend to see organic life as both curious and harmless. Some will even approach humans without fear and try to polish eyeglasses or phone screens as a sign of good will.
Telepathic conversations with diancie and continental carbink have hinted at a large underground kingdom filled with carbink and ruled by diancie. This may very well be true for corundum carbink. In Alola this seems not to be the case. Carbink are seldom found deep in the caves of Melemele and Poni. They seem to be entirely absent from the caves of Akala and Ula'Ula where the volcanoes are still active.
The species had very few natural predators before the introduction of sableye. Unfortunately for them, the sableye of Alola prefer to dine on carbink. As such all hardnesses have taken to keeping a few members on sentry duty when inside of caves. Individuals seldom wander away from the main group anymore. Spelunkers have seen carbink floating through the caves en masse, frequently casting dazzling gleams to drive out sableye. A blinding volley of moonblasts follows each successful reveal.
Husbandry
Carbink rarely need to eat. A small tray of gravel can be kept around but is not necessary. On the very rare occasions when it is hungry, a carbink will seek out small rocks to ingest. Carbink should be allowed to bask during full moons, and at least a few other moons a month. This keeps them energetic and allows them to put more energy into battle.
They are rather independent pokémon and, in areas away from sableye populations, can be granted a fair amount of freedom to wander. There is a tradition in Alola where retired people and young children help return lost carbink to their homes.
Sableye are terrible teammates for carbink. The arrangement will end with at least one of them dead. Carbink are naturally distrustful of other ghosts as well. Most lithovores are good teammates for carbink. This is unusual for rock-types and is a major boon for would-be specialists. Carbink simply float above most would-be predators, shrugging off weak attempts to strike them down to earth.
Most people do not realize that carbink are highly intelligent and social pokémon. They resent being stored in their pokéball and prefer to be exploring or floating around near their trainer at almost all times. Mechanical devices, from grandfather clocks to electronics, are fascinating toys to observe. Carbink are also quite good at not frying electronics, although a newly captured carbink will still occasionally break a device. Other pokémon can make for stimulation opportunities as well, and carbink are prone to floating just out of reach of available teammates.
The best way to show affection to a carbink is to gently dust off the stone portions of its body and to polish the exposed gemstones. Do not polish the eye stones.
Illness
It is difficult to seriously hurt a carbink. Carbink typically stop battling when they deplete their moonlight reserves or get bored. Conscientious steel-type trainers will focus on breaking down carbink's shields and exhausting them rather than going in for the kill. While this does help keep carbink alive, responsible trainers should simply withdraw their pokémon when faced with a potentially fatal matchup.
Carbink can regenerate surface level damage by bathing in moonlight and slowly fusing small stones to their body. Anything that strikes the core or seriously cracks the peridot is likely to be fatal. Surgeries on mineral pokémon are still largely experimental. Surgery is further complicated by carbink's nature as psychic or fey creatures: once one has been dead for a fairly short period of time, its peridot begins to crumble and the body falls apart. Only well-timed interventions by a small number of ghost, psychic, and fairy-types (sableye included) can prevent this.
Most "illnesses," such as an abrupt inability to stay floating, are really the result of exhaustion. A break from battling and plenty of time to rest in the moonlight should be enough to fix the problem. More serious cases may require the proximity of a moon stone or healing from a fairy-type such as clefable or comfey.
Evolution
Peridot diancie is currently just a myth. However, corundum diancie exist and it is widely believed they evolve from corundum diancie. As such it is possible that peridot carbink can evolve.
Battle
Carbink are incredibly durable utility pokémon. Most attacks, physical or elemental, simply do not phase them. In the meantime they can set up trick room, reflect, light screen, sunny day, sandstorm, hail, or stealth rock. Magic coat can be used to deter taunt users. The pokémon's intelligence lets them learn many tricks and use them as necessary.
On balance, carbink are incredibly passive. Even their strongest moonblasts and power gems aren't enough to put a real dent in anything that is not both weak to the attack and relatively frail. Even on the island challenge carbink struggle as offensive threats. This passivity allows other pokémon to freely set up against them or steadily whittle carbink down. Furthermore, carbink's role as the ultimate utility pokémon is compromised by their real limit: energy. Once a carbink becomes exhausted it will simply stop battling. This will occur long before it can set up screens, trick room, weather, and hazards. Trainers will need to prioritize the most important field advantage for a given battle.
Acquisition
During the day, carbink are often found just inside the caves under Ten Carat Hill and Vast Poni Canyon. They venture outside at night. Carbink were once common, but the introduction of sableye led to a dramatic decline in their numbers. Sableye themselves are almost entirely gone from Alola due to carbink hunts and DNR action, but the damage has been done. Carbink numbers are unlikely to fully recover before the islands are subsumed by the waves.
The easiest way to catch a carbink is to simply show up in the caldera of Ten Carat Hill or the bottom of Vast Poni Canyon night after night around the time of a full moon. Small gadgets should be gathered and laid out. Interesting but inoffensive pokémon will also help the process. A carbink may eventually take interest in a prospective trainer and agree to travel along for some time. Proving battles are unnecessary.
Breeding
No one has ever documented carbink reproduction. Even the chattiest of carbink do not wish to discuss the matter with psychics. Given the absurdly long lifespans involved, it is probable that no carbink has been born in Alola since the kingdom was founded over five hundred years ago. There are still theories. Early scientists speculated that carbink were formed by the pressures deep within the earth. No active participation by extant carbink was required.
Recent research in mineral pokémon has revealed that most are not formed ex nihilo in this way. Instead, extant members of the species carefully assemble their offspring, either within their own bodies or outside of them. Whether carbink do this, and what involvement diancie might have in the process, is currently a subject of scientific debate.
Subspecies
Carbink on mainland Europe, Africa, and Asia are mostly of the corundum subspecies. These are mostly identical to peridot carbink, except their gemstones are blue or red corundum. The one major biological difference is that these carbink live much longer lives as their homes are not slowly sinking into the waves. Some corundum carbink are over seven million years old.