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Toxicroak (Croagunk)
Letelrana ramasaltadore

Overview

Toxicroak are known in equal parts for their lethality and healing. The lethality is undeniably true: less than one tenth of a gram of toxicroak' most potent venom could kill the average adult man. While they seldom attack humans unprovoked, there are reports of one killing a naturalist who surprised him with short-range flash photography.

Healing is a little more complicated. Healing Touch Inc. was a startup company that promised a painkiller derived from toxicroak venom. The product they created was over one hundred times stronger than morphine and non-addictive to boot. The company attracted a great deal of venture capital and eventually gained FDA approval for their painkiller. Toxicroak storage facilities were opened near major markets in the United States, Japan and Europe and a breeding center was created in tropical Alola.

There were questions about the drug from the start: the painkiller dose and the lethal dose are very close in humans, and it was believed that even an experienced anesthesiologist could struggle to get the dosage right. The miracle cure Healing Touch promised would not revolutionize the industry. Physicians and hospitals were often reluctant to prescribe it due to gastrointestinal side effects and the narrow margin of error. It still has its uses, especially for those with chronic pain who can build up a tolerance over time and increase the margin of error. It is also more effective on pokémon as they are more durable overall and often larger than humans. Ivana Chirlov, one of the world's most famous dragon tamers, swears by it as a means to sedate injured dragons and prevent rampages. Healing Touch also experimented with toxicroak venom as an epilepsy medication or hunger suppressant.

In the end the niche uses were not enough to save Healing Touch from bankruptcy when the capital flow dried up. After a lengthy bankruptcy process the company closed its breeding facility on Melemele. there was a dispute between pokémon rights activists and Healing Touch over what to do with the toxicroak, with the company refusing to pay to transport them off of Alola and the activists furious over leaked plans to euthanize the amphibians. Shortly after the government stepped in to prohibit mass euthanasia an 'accident' occurred in the breeding facility that resulted in the escape of nearly all the pokémon held there.

While captures are ordinarily prohibited in Central Melemele, the DNR has made an exception for the capture of croagunk and toxicroak. Trainers interested in a vibrant, deadly, but surprisingly clever and affectionate team member should go frog hunting while they have the chance.

Physiology

Croagunk and toxicroak are classified as dual poison- and fighting-types.

Both stages have a variety of color morphs. Typically they have a base color and a 'pattern' one over the cheeks and along the upper back. Black and white lines wrap around the midsection. Purple is the most common base with yellow as the pattern color, but blue, gold, and black base colors have been observed. Color morphs vary even more widely from red, blue, and green to pink, orange, and turquoise. The most consistent coloration is found on the eyes and middle claw, which are both always red.

Croagunk are capable of standing bipedally but are usually found on all fours. Each toe but the middle claw is tipped with a cling pad that lets them stick to trees and broad leaves. Their tongue is fairly long and can snag small bugs out of midair. The hind legs are longer and much stronger than the forelegs. This lets them jump between trees, ambush prey, and close distances in battle. Their forearms are still fairly strong and can deliver solid punches, even without factoring in their venom.

The species stores the majority of its venom in a small pouch located within the neck for croagunk and under the throat in toxicroak. They can naturally produce this venom. It acts as a moderately powerful paralytic. It can be delivered by spitting or by an injection from their middle claws. This venom is used for warning opponents, territorial disputes, and stunning mid-size prey until they can be finished off with a bite or punch. Their cheeks contain a much deadlier substance. This venom is derived from a species of durant they feed upon deep in the Amazonian rainforests. The frogs accumulate and alter the bugs' poison into something much more formidable. Their lethal venom can kill even the largest of their prey with a scratch. Upon death valves release and flood their entire body with the venom, making it impossible for anything organic to eat them. The flesh of a living specimen is not toxic as long as the mouth, venom patches, claws, and the vessels connecting the venom pouches and claws are avoided. There are anecdotal reports that the hind legs of toxicroak were a delicacy among the Amazonians and warriors who found a way to cut them off a living toxicroak and survive were heralded as heroes.

Toxicroak are somewhat larger than croagunk. They have even larger limbs and cling pads than their preevolution. Their prominent throat poach allows them to mix and store more venom than croagunk. Their muscles are also more developed to allow for more powerful jumps and punches. Development of the hind legs lets them stand upright more easily. This is the default stance they use to intimidate opponents.

Captive specimens rarely grow to be as large as wild ones. The reason for this was poorly understood until quite recently, when a study from Healing Touch concluded that filtering water and then adding in a blend of minerals helped reduce health problems and let the pokémon grow to larger sizes.

Toxicroak can grow to be four feet tall when standing upright. They can weigh up to ninety-five pounds. Wild specimens can live for up to thirty years. Because they do not have to worry much about predation in the wild their captive lifespan is actually shorter due to the difficulties inherent in the captive care of a species whose wild behavior is still largely undocumented.

Behavior

Croagunk are primarily arboreal. They live in rainforest canopies where branches are thick enough to support their weight. Croagunk can use their extended claw to tap on tree trunks to see if they are partially hollow. This lets them sense insects burrowed within. They can then use their claw and strength to pierce a hole to the insects. Their tongue can then fold up and fit within the hole to eat the bugs within. Alternatively, they can use their jumps and venom to hunt bug pokémon they come across. Some croagunk have even learned to create crude traps for their prey.

At night croagunk congregate on large branches. There can be up to twenty frogs in the army. On cooler nights they will move down closer to the ground to find thicker branches. This allows them to pile on top of each other to share warmth. Armies usually consist of the offspring of two to five pairs of toxicroak. The toxicroak will take turns climbing into the canopy at night to watch over the croagunk. On their night they will use their powerful muscles to haul durant up to the canopy so that the croagunk can build up their venom supply.

Toxicroak live on or near the forest floor. They have been observed knocking down fruit to the ground near durant nests. They will wait for a durant to come to investigate and then leap down to attack. They use their powerful punches to strike at the ant's relatively unprotected neck joint to score an instant kill. Toxicroak are heavily resistant to the durant's venom and are agile enough to dance around the bites of a scouting party until they have died or retreated. By the time more durant have showed up to investigate the toxicroak will have retreated up towards the treetops. They will break off branches and throw them down at any durant that try to climb after them.

There are not durant in Alola. The interior of Melemele also has a dearth of trees rivaling those of the Western Amazon. The croagunk and toxicroak are still finding ways to survive. Most have migrated to the forests outside of Melemele Meadow. There the croagunk live in the trees and feed on caterpie and small non-pokémon insects. The toxicroak frequently venture into the meadow. The yellow ones will often crouch down in the flowers and rely on their coloration to hide them. They will then jump up and eat any cutiefly or ribombee that passes by. Other toxicroak must wait in the trees and jump down to ambush a ribombee or butterfree that stops to feed on a nearby flower. Their new diet results in a buildup of mildly toxic paralytics in their body instead of incredibly lethal venom. Most birds have still learned to avoid them due to the foul taste they acquire.

Husbandry

In temperate climates raising a toxicroak can require a greenhouse with lots of vertical space. Alola does not due to its tropical environment. Stationary trainers with toxicroak can create a netted off area with a large (twenty-foot plus) climbing structure in the middle. Some high-end playground equipment companies can set up the structure while other contractors can be found for the netting. Toxicroak can easily get through most netting. As such it will require either a system specially designed to tangle them up if they try to escape or a weak electric current. The latter can be dangerous given Alola's frequent heavy rainstorms. It may simply be best to keep an eye on toxicroak personally or via another pokémon so that they can be withdrawn if they attempt to escape. In the dry season the area will need to have sprinklers, fountains, or mist machines installed. Toxicroak can swim but neither stage is likely to use a pool on a regular basis. Hiding places such as large boxes, artificial caves, or even just large plants or piles of leaves should be placed at multiple elevations in the enclosure.

Toxicroak are not particularly territorial as long as all individuals are fed separately and have their own place to hide. Large enclosures at zoos or dedicated breeding facilities have held up to twenty croagunk or ten toxicroak in one exhibit. Toxicroak will also socialize with croagunk, even those that are not their own children.

Traveling trainers will need to make sure their pokémon has plenty of (supervised) time to climb and investigate its environment. They are mischievous and will make frequent attempts to break away. As such it is not recommended to let them travel alongside their trainer on hikes. A particular team member, ideally a bird, should be tasked with keeping an eye on the pokémon.

Croagunk or toxicroak held simply for display or breeding purposes should be fed a diet of relatively non-toxic insects and bug pokémon. Caterpie are cheap and will make the frog only mildly venomous. Kricketot importation is currently restricted due to the probability of an invasive population establishing itself, but trainers willing to put in the time, money, and effort to get an importation permit may wish to do so.

Trainers who do want to battle with their toxicroak will need to find a diet that facilitates venom production. Professionals are sometimes willing to import military durant from Tawantinsuyo, Colombia, or the Amazonian Federation. Most rely on a less venomous insect such as weedle or venipede. Durant of any species can still make for excellent treats. In Alola weedle and venipede importation is also restricted. Ariados are probably the best venom source for the average trainer. There are no capture limits on ariados as a non-native non-keystone species, but there is also not much of a market for them. Trainers should contact a herptile or insect specialty store to set up regular shipments of one venomous bug-type or another.

Toxicroak eat their food live. They will only eat a dead insect if desperate. It is far more likely that they will make an attempt to run away and hunt on their own before they accept dead prey. Croagunk are used to accepting food from their parents and will eat recently killed bug-types. They prefer to eat non-pokémon insects live. Water should be offered at least twice a day.

Neither stage can be housebroken. In fact, they seem to take great joy in climbing up to a high perch above a well-trafficked area and defecating on anyone who passes beneath them. Thankfully their waste is only mildly toxic if accidentally ingested.

Toxicroak in particular are quite vocal. They will often make low ribbiting noises throughout the day in an effort to communicate with others in the area. Specimens may continue doing this after long periods without a response. Some neighbors may consider the frogs a nuisance.

Both stages are generally averse to pokéballs, although stasis balls will usually be tolerated.

Toxicroak will need enrichment in addition to climbing structures and live feedings. Battles and training will satisfy this for some specimens that are eager for combat. Others will require something less violent such as fountains, multicolored balls, or hidden speakers playing rainforest noises. Planting their enclosure with species native to either Alola or the Western Amazon can also provide a form of enrichment.

Illness

The lethal venom of a wild toxicroak can kill all but the most venom-resistant of organic species. It forces the sodium channels of nerves to stay open, causing paralysis and then a coma and death. Until 2001 there was no antivenom. Most general antivenoms do nothing for wild toxicoak venom and trainers will need to carry their own dosage if they feed their pokémon a natural diet. Toxicroak fed a less potent diet can usually have their attacks treated by a standard antivenom or antiparalytic.

The most serious disease affecting croagunk is spindly leg syndrome. Some captive born croagunk have thin legs and are unable to move under their own power after they exit the tadpole stage (see Evolution). This inevitably results in death. Healing Touch conducted their own research on the phenomenon and concluded it was due to an inadequate blend of minerals in captive tadpole diets. They patented their own secret blend that was very effective in preventing the disease. Just before Healing Touch went under the patent was bought by a venture capital firm that has refused to license the production of the blend until the conclusion of a lawsuit with one of Healing Touch's creditors. Hobbyists have attempted to reverse engineer it with minimal success.

Other toxicroak diseases can be split into two categories: internal and external. Internal diseases are usually some form of parasite. The most common symptoms are weight loss combined with active eating and an abrupt change in behavior, usually including an aversion to violence and a desire to hide. There are anti-parasite drugs available from herptile specialist stores.

External wounds come in a few different variants. Lumps on the skin tend to be the result of bacterial infection. A white growth is usually a fungus. Patches with slight discoloration tend to be improperly treated wounds. Fungal and bacterial infections can be treated with special medications, ideally under veterinary care. Improperly healed wounds should result in immediate consultation with a specialtist veterinarian.

Sometimes the skin will appear dry or even tear. This is the result of dehydration. Mild cases can be treated with an increase in ambient humidity and access to a large water feature. More severe cases may require veterinary care.

Evolution

Croagunk are born as tadpoles. These tadpoles show little to no affinity for elemental energies and metamorphosize into froglets within a week. Within two more weeks the new croagunk will have lost all signs of its old tail and developed functional legs. The short period of time spent as a tadpole has led scientists to treat it as a pre-pokémon juvenile stage rather than a separate evolutionary stage. This designation is usually used for microscopic planktonic stages of marine invertebrate pokémon, so its application to an amphibian is somewhat controversial.

Croagunk evolve into toxicroak around their third birthday in the wild. Captive specimens can evolve in as little as eighteen months through increased exposure to combat without permanent injury.

Battle

Toxicroak have seen occasional use on the major competitive circuits. The former champion of the Amazonian Federation, Cipero Biswana, used a wild-born toxicroak as his ace. There were intermittent calls to ban the pokémon even though it never actually killed an opponent.

Most toxicroak are not so well trained. They struggle to understand the concept of 'fairness' and will consistently use whatever tactics they feel will end the match without too much regard for what is illegal under the rules. This makes them similar to many dark types. Unlike most dark types, toxicroak can pack a venom capable of killing a salamence. They will use their lethal venom instead of the paralytic against things stronger than them that they cannot escape.

Properly training a toxicroak is easiest if it does not have a particularly effective lethal venom. It is best done through sitting on the sidelines of friendly matches to get a sense of the rules. Witnessing the immediate healing of the pokémon involved can also help. The pokémon should be rewarded when they fight within the rules, even if they lose.

A well-trained toxicroak has three avenues of attack. The first is their paralytic venom that can disorient and slow down an opponent over the course of a match. The second is their fists and raw strength. Toxicroak can dance around attacks and launch blows strong and precise enough to take down many heavily armored opponents. The third is their projectile arsenal. Toxicroak learn a variety of projectile attacks such as sludge bomb, mud bomb, and vacuum wave. One popular tactic is to launch a sludge bomb or mud bomb into the air and then rupture it midflight with a quick vacuum wave, spraying poison or mud across the arena. They can also learn nasty plot to deepen their elemental well.

Toxicroak have their weaknesses, though. Without their lethal venom none of their three attack avenues are particularly effective on the international stage. Even the most well-trained specimens will often disobey orders in the heat of a fight. This can make them unpredictable as trainers react to the oral order and ignore what the pokémon is actually doing, but it also makes them hard to properly command. Their dry, folded skin makes them able to shrug off all but the most torrential of water attacks, but fire attacks and intense sunlight with low moisture can cause serious damage. And as channelers of poison and fighting elemental energies, telepathic assault hits them incredibly hard.

For all of the foregoing reasons no ranked trainer has used a toxicroak since Biswana's retirement in 2011. These strategies are still quite effective against casual opponents, such as the vast majority of fights on the island challenge. Toxicroak can remain effective until the end of the fourth island.

Croagunk tend to place more emphasis on zoning and occasional venom jabs than toxicroak's acrobatics and powerful punches. Wild croagunk will often rely on misdirection, traps, and luck when confronted by something they can't escape or simply kill with their venom. Toxicroak prefer to use physical force in these scenarios.

Both stages are rather loud battlers. Croagunk make an eerie moan to intimidate foes. Toxicroak rely on low-pitched croaks to help churn their venom. Toxicroak are also prone to very loud croaking displays after they down an enemy.

Acquisition

Toxicroak can currently be found in and around Melemele Meadow State Park off of Route 3. Croagunk have remained in the interior of the island near the original breeding facility. There are currently no limits on the capture of either stage except for the licensing requirements. Both require a Class IV license to own. Some specialty breeders and importers sell croagunk as well. The licensing requirement is the same for adopting or purchasing specimens.

Breeding

Males of many species of frog engage in wrestling displays to prove their fitness to females. Toxicroak do not. Instead, they croak at each other until the loudest is determined. Females will then pick their mates after hearing the males of the forest. They will associate with one another until their children evolve.

The female will climb high into the treetops until she finds a standing pool of water on a leaf at least fifty feet above the surface. She will carefully maneuver herself so that she can deposit six fertilized eggs into the pool without touching the leaf. Over the next few days the male and female will take turns watching the eggs until they hatch. The male will then watch over the tadpoles while the female hunts and occasionally brings back insects to drop into the pool to feed her offspring with.

After the tadpoles become proper croagunk the parents will work with nearby pairs to form armies to raise their children in. The parents will take turns instructing and watching over the children until they are old enough to have kids of their own. At this point the pairs may mate again or may select different mates.

Captive breeding is somewhat difficult due to the need to have a stagnant pool off the ground. Some toxicroak will accept pools as little as ten feet from the surface, but twenty is a more common number. Amateurs can make sure a small plastic pool is firmly attached near the top of the climbing structure. Professional institutions often have dedicated breeding chambers with multistory indoor enclosures. Some of the higher levels will have permanent pools built into the floor.

Indoor setups can induce mating through a gradual decrease in temperature over a period of weeks followed by a gradual rise. Toxicroak that primarily live outdoors will mate during the early wet season.

Toxicroak are doting parents, even in captivity. Most of the parenting can be left to them, although specialized mineral supplements may still need to be inserted into the tank from time to time. The parents should be withdrawn during this process to avoid potential aggression.

Croagunk do not become venomous until they are about four months old. During this time the parents will still keep a very close eye on their offspring. They will be reluctant to entirely part with their children until they evolve. It is easiest to raise croagunk for sale by taking one or two of the tadpoles from the pond and raising them separately. Be advised that the toxicroak may react poorly if they discover the deception.

Relatives

Toxicroak are close relatives of the larger seismitoad. Seismitoad's thick skin makes them well suited for life outside the dense rainforest. Toxicroak, with their thin, folded skin, are limited to very humid areas. Their agility and cling pads in particular make them well suited for rainforests. They are further limited to the range of the military durant in the foothills of the northern Andes. There are still a few species of toxicroak that live outside this range.

The most prominent is the golden toxicroak (L. aurum) of Central America. Instead of eating ants to absorb biological poisons, the golden toxicroak use their specially developed front legs to prospect for gold near areas of high natural concentrations. They will then absorb this gold into their body in such high concentrations that many species will suffer from heavy metal poisoning after ingesting them. The gold, in turn, forms a crude layer of armor and helps reinforce the bones. The Spanish used the frogs as a way to find gold deposits in the area. Over time extensive mining reduced the amount of gold available and led to a precipitous decline in the species numbers. They were believed to be extinct until a population was rediscovered in Costa Rica in 1971. Captive breeding and reintroduction have since been valuable tools for conserving the species. The golden toxicroak were also released into the Congo in 1997 by the British company Royal Solutions as a means of finding gold deposits.

The final species is the Cascadian toxicroak, native to the Pacific Northwest and portions of California. These species are smaller, less venomous, and have thicker skin than their tropical counterparts. Instead of kapoks these frogs prefer redwoods. Their venom comes primarily from hunting rattlesnakes and ingesting poisonous flowers and mushrooms. This leads to a split in venom types: their lethal venom is fairly lethal, but not to the same extent as the Amazonian toxicroak. The non-lethal venom is psychoactive and leads to increasing lethargy and disorientation with only a small chance of death. This can be used to stun prey and bring them to croagunk for a practice hunt. The decline of old growth forests in the region has limited the number of trees that make for suitable habitat. Today the Cascadian toxicroak is confined to a handful of state, provincial, and national parks in the United States and Canada.

The Amazonian toxicroak comes in a variety of color morphs. Generally the brightness of their colors is correlated to their venom content. However, the most venomous toxicroak have duller colors than those with less potent venom. There is only a limited amount of poison in their diet and they direct more of it to lethality than coloration. Treat every toxicroak as if it could be dangerous.

Mining, deforestation, and wildfires could eventually threaten the Amazonian toxicroak. In the meantime their habitat is so remote that they are in no real danger in most of their range. The rather strict conservation laws of the Amazonian Federation have led to better conservation outcomes there than in Colombia or even Tawantinsuyo.