Ampharos (Mareep, Flaaffy)
Faceremachina somnus electrovium
Overview
Ampharos was one of the first pokémon to be domesticated. Through the Bronze Age it was one of the most important domesticated pokémon in the Old World. As technology advanced and more species were domesticated, ampharos gradually became less important than gogoat, miltank, mudsdale, and arcanine.
This isn't to say that ampharos have gone away completely: they are still extremely popular as livestock in some parts of the world. Their usage has also pivoted. In the modern age ampharos are bred nearly as much for trainers as for their wool, hides, milk, and meat.
Mareep are docile and reasonably powerful pokémon. Their anxiety is a challenge to be worked around, but not a particularly difficult one. Mareep are naturally inclined to trust their trainer and aren't terrible averse to battle. Ampharos are powerful enough to hold their own at the highest levels of competitive play. Their biggest drawback, sheering, can still be profitable with the right contacts. All of this is enough to make mareep popular as an alternative starter.
Physiology
All stages are classified as pure electric types. The designations are contested. Mareep meet some of the criteria for normal-types and have often been interbred with normal-types like dubwool. A now extinct wild mareep species were also powerful dragons and the surviving ampharos can regain some of this power via mega evolution, making a case for a secondary dragon type. Ultimately ampharos do not show enough traits of either typing to convince a majority of scientists.
Mareep are quadrupedal mammals best known for their thick wool. Most of mareep's body is engulfed in coarse yellow wool. The exceptions are the tail, face, and ears. Mareep's stomach, face, and limbs are blue. Their back, tail, and ears have black stripes against yellow skin. The tail is tipped in a red bulb of flesh.
Mareep's wool holds and generates static charges. It can double in volume as static grows over time. As this happens the bulb on their tail, composed of a layer of flesh over a mass of liquids and metals, glows brighter and brighter. The static must be vented in spectacular discharges from time to time. Periodic sheering and occasional battle can reduce the potency and frequency of accidental discharges.
Mareep have long, sensitive ears and their eyes are positioned in such a way as to give them excellent peripheral vision. Mareep can hear and see what the others around them are doing and keep a close eye on the environment, even when it seems like they are distracted.
Because of their cellulose-rich diet, mareep have a four-chambered digestive system like tauros and miltank. Partially digested food is occasionally sent back to the mouth for more chewing. Mareep do not have upper front teeth. Instead, they have a pad of tough skin they grind their lower teeth again.
Flaaffy have much less wool than mareep. It tends to disappear first on the stomach and lower back, steadily working its way up the back towards the head. This is caused by static overloads over time. Too much electricity in the wool can cause burns that scar and prevent wool from growing back. These scars eventually heal, but for a time they are an ugly red color. The scar tissue is very resistant to electricity and flaaffy are much better at tanking electrical attacks than mareep are.
Flaaffy develop internal electricity generating organs as they grow. This means that, despite the loss of wool, they are nearly as powerful as mareep. Their bulb changes colors from red to blue as a more sophisticated electrical storage system develops in the tip of the tail. Flaaffy can stand upright but rarely do for more time than is needed to scout out their surroundings. When in a pinch flaaffy can shoot out clumps of charged fur to stun enemies.
Ampharos have lost all of their wool. Their scar tissue has been transformed into a rubbery yellow hide that provides almost perfect insulation from electrical attacks. It is also generally hard to cut or pierce, providing them with decent armor against anything that manages to get close. Ampharos are tall creatures with long necks. This provides them with an excellent ability to survey their surroundings but presents its own logistical difficulties. The length of the neck makes regurgitating partially digested food impractical. Instead ampharos's stomach uses strong electrical charges to break down food at the cellular level for absorption.
Ampharos produce a great deal of electricity internally. Their tail bulbs, once again red, can act as a powerful light source that can be seen from miles away. The light can be used to blind attackers, draw the attention of the flock, or signal distant ampharos. When this fails to deter predarors, ampharos can unleash some of the strongest thunderbolts of any organic pokémon.
Another unusual property that ampharos possess is their talent for healing. While not as adept as blissey or miltank, ampharos can heal minor ailments and wounds of those around them with special elemental bursts. This can even have some restorative effects on humans, healing cuts and bruises and alleviating minor illnesses. Some mentally ill trainers even report a lessening of symptoms when around their ampharos. Empirical evidence is mixed. Scientists currently attribute the reduction in symptoms to either the placebo effect or a natural uptick in mood from being around a large, soft pokémon that enjoys cuddling.
Ampharos can reach heights of six feet and weigh two hundred and fifty pounds. Heights of five and a half feet and weights of two hundred pounds are more typical. Ampharos can live for thirty years in captivity. Feral specimens have an average lifespan of eleven years.
Behavior
The ampharos in Alola are a domesticated species. The only wild populations that exist in the archipelago are feral. Most of this section will focus on their captive behaviors, as their feral counterparts are similar.
The species typically lives in flocks of up to a hundred mareep, ten or so flaaffy, and about five ampharos. Wild flocks are a little more skewed towards flaaffy and ampharos but are still dominated by mareep. Millennia of selective breeding have led to the threshold of evolution being very high when in large flocks.
Ampharos guide and protect their flocks. They decide when and where to move. Ampharos also make sure that the mareep are healthy. When predators are spotted ampharos lead the collective defense while the mareep try to get to safety. The flaaffy take over coordinating the evacuation in these times while the ampharos fight.
Female ampharos are all of equal rank. Males compete in contests of luminosity and physical strength to determine their hierarchy. The highest ranked male makes decisions when the females disagree. When the females are unanimous their decision holds.
There is a perception that mareep are unintelligent and easily fooled. This is not true. Ampharos are actually some of the smartest livestock pokémon. Even mareep are no dumber than the average miltank. They can learn to recognize several vocal commands, learn up to five attacks at once, and understand their trainer's emotional cues after a few weeks together. Mareep are not great planners and are quick to defer to ampharos, but they are capable of basic decisions. In captivity their deferential instincts are largely reoriented to their trainer.
All stages are vocal and communicate through bleats, grunts, baas, yelps, and whistles. They can recognize the voices of most mareep in their flock. In general mareep have high social and emotional intelligence. They are quick to comfort others in their flock and seem to have rich inner lives. Mareep and flaaffy form friends, rivals, and enemies within their flock and tend to separate into distinct cliques.
Ampharos try to place themselves as outsiders to the more mundane social disputes of the flock. They can still recognize and manipulate group dynamics to their advantage. Sometimes they will even subtly favor their old factions, although the other ampharos will often react poorly and mareep may even ignore ampharos that play too deeply into factional politics.
Husbandry
Mareep are a domesticated species that generally fares well in captivity. Their diet consists primarily of grasses, hay, and roughage. In some parts of the commonwealth they can freely graze. In others they cannot. Check local regulations before heading into the field. Some property owners will also gladly accept a mareep eating on their land as it cuts down the length of grass without removing it entirely.
Another major concern for grazing is the potential of poisons. Some pesticides and fertilizers are toxic to mareep. Before grazing on land check to see what chemicals, if any, have been applied to it. If all else fails there are markets for organic hay in most major cities. Even ampharos are not particularly good pack animals so their trainer may need to carry it themselves when safe grazing opportunities will be scarce.
Ampharos are highly allergic to copper. Too much in their system can make their blood too conductive and lead to internal burns. In general mineral supplements should be avoided for the line. Salt licks are the sole exception as they make for excellent treats and enrichment.
The line are generally happy to follow their trainer's orders. They should be allowed and encouraged to walk alongside their trainer on trails as they are capable of keeping up and will enjoy the bonding time and exercise. Mareep are reluctant battlers but will defend themselves once a match has begun. Flaaffy and ampharos are much more eager to deal with perceived enemies of their trainer. Ampharos will need training in toning down the voltage they unleash to non-lethal levels. When ampharos are attacked they instinctively go for an instantaneous kill. If more damage than necessary is inflicted the corpse will serve as a warning to other predators.
Ampharos are happiest with other hoofstock. They can tolerate canines and felines from millennia of being domesticated alongside each other. Other predators such as dragons and birds may receive a colder response, although ampharos can eventually become friendly with almost any pokémon. Steel-types can be on the same team as ampharos but care must be taken to keep the electric-type from eating any of their mineral supplements.
All stages of the line are very affectionate and prefer to spend a great deal of time next to their trainer. Ideally, they would like to sleep in the same bed. This can be a problem with mareep as the static in their fur can shock anyone who touches them. Ampharos, despite being far stronger, almost never accidentally shock humans. There are insulating gloves and suits that can be used but these are seldom comfortable to sleep in.
Mareep and flaaffy must be frequently shorn to prevent them from becoming uncomfortably hot. In Alola it is recommended to shear them every week, although the wool can be allowed to build up for two weeks before particularly serious fights. Shearing must be done with specialized equipment to avoid the electrical charges sparking off the metal and potentially injuring the trainer. Most agricultural stores in Alola sell mareep sheers. Electric-type specialty stores usually do as well. The intricacies of safely sheering a mareep are beyond the scope of this guide. It is best to learn from an experienced trainer or herder. The more experienced mareep handler may also be able to buy any shorn wool.
Illness
Ampharos have long been kept in large numbers in high density flocks. This has made disease inevitable. Several important ones can affect pet ampharos, even if they are far less common than in flocks. Contact with flocks should be avoided to prevent the spread of disease. New mareep added to the team should be quarantined for some time before being introduced to teammates who are vulnerable to the diseases they might carry.
Worms are the most common internal parasite while lice and fleas are common external parasites. The latter can be treated by some sprays and medications. Deworming is relatively easy and inexpensive once the problem is diagnosed. The most serious parasite ampharos can harbor are maggots. Mareep that lie down in fields where large numbers of livestock have defecated will inevitably get manure into their coat and skin. Flies will sometimes lay eggs in this manure. When the maggots hatch they can bury into the flesh and cause a condition known as flystrike. The best treatment for this condition is prevention: shear mareep's rump and make sure that it is clean. Several mareep trainers bring a portable bidet with them that can be hooked up to a campsite's faucet. Making sure that mareep and flaaffy's bedding is clean also helps. Unfortunately, they are a very difficult species to housebreak and all but the best trained ampharos and flaaffy will defecate and urinate wherever they please.
Foot rot is a bacterial infection of the hooves that results in bloating, oozing pus, and a breakage of the skin. It is easy to identify in an individual and can be cured with clinical foot baths if it does not advance too far. This is more of a problem in flocks where it is hard to frequently check on the health of every single individual.
A disease that is more common in pet mareep than livestock mareep is tetanus. Cuts from shearing equipment can result in a tetanus infection. Symptoms include a sudden loss of coordination, difficulty chewing, and muscle spasms. It is best to keep mareep and flaaffy vaccinated for tetanus once every six months, and potentially consider a booster if it has been more than three months since the last shot and a particularly serious cut occurs during shearing. Tetanus allowed to advance too far can have serious long-term consequences or death.
There are two zoonotic diseases carried by mareep that can easily spread to humans. The first is orf, a skin disease that causes lesions around the mouth. It can spread to humans by skin-to-skin contact but is easily treated with timely application of medicine. Less well understood is spontaneous ampharos abortion syndrome (SAAS). Ampharos will sometimes lose a pregnancy due to microorganisms living in their digestive tract. These can spread to humans who have contact with the pokémon's bodily fluids and can result in miscarriages or other fertility issues. Pregnant women may want to limit their exposure to ampharos out of an abundance of caution.
A sick prey animal will generally try to hide the symptoms. This is true for mareep in pain during battle as they will tend to go abruptly and completely silent after sustaining injury but display few other signs of distress. Thankfully, mareep are used to going up to an ampharos to seek humans. This instinct is usually transferred to the trainer. Mareep will attempt to communicate any health problems they may be having. For external problems this is typically obvious. If the mareep is quiet and trying to catch the trainer's attention but there is no clear malady, take the pokémon to a Center for treatment as soon as possible.
Evolution
Flaaffy and ampharos do not produce nearly as much wool as mareep. Their hides are valuable for making insulated clothing and their meat has its admirers, but they are still far less economically valuable for mareep. As a result they have been bred to have a much slower rate of evolution when in flocks. Some breeds have been specially bred for ease of care and evolution or to more easily tap into draconic power. These are usually best for trainers. Even standard mareep breeds still evolve relatively quickly when separated from a flock. Specialty breeds typically evolve into flaaffy around six months of age. More standard breeds evolve around five years of age in a flock or one year of age on their own. The formal demarcation line between mareep and flaaffy is the changing color of their tail orb.
The same factors govern the evolution from flaaffy into ampharos. For specialty breeds it usually occurs around one year of age. Standard breeds evolve around seven years in flocks or two years on their own. The formal demarcation line is the loss of all wool. After this point the neck will begin to grow as the pokémon quickly puts on weight, completing the evolution process within a few weeks.
Ampharos from some specialty breeds can mega evolve. The process results in white wool growing from their head and tail. Multiple red crystalline orbs appear throughout the wool to store and discharge the massive amounts of electricity being generated. For a short time mega ampharos can unleash extraordinarily powerful electrical and draconic attacks. Eventually the orbs will begin to shatter and the attacks will become painful and injurious to the pokémon. As with every other mega evolution the process should be done sparingly, be monitored closely, and is only legal with a Class V license.
Battle
Mega ampharos is generally popular in the circuits where it is legal. They are terrifyingly strong and are one of the best counters to birds and water-types. Mega ampharos can also brawl with dragons in a pinch, although they are rarely as skilled at utilizing dragon moves as actual dragon-types are. This can lead to them being knocked out by a particularly fast or skilled opponent. Ground-types are the best counter to mega ampharos as they can sponge most of the pokémon's most powerful attacks while whittling it down in turn. Anything that can take a thunderbolt and then get in close can put pressure on the pokémon and start breaking orbs. Very powerful ice-types can also create blizzards of ice shards that can break several orbs at once and target the manifested draconic energy. The problem is that most ice-types are not durable enough to take multiple thunderbolts or focus blasts in the meantime. Ampharos will eventually go down, but in the time it takes to accomplish that they may be able to take one or two key opponents with them.
Pairing mega ampharos with trick room support can negate one of their biggest weaknesses and make them truly terrifying to deal with. The only things keeping mega ampharos balanced on trick rooms are bulky ground-types and opportunity cost. Most bulky ground-types, such as golem, rhydon, and hippowdon, are slow. They benefit from trick room just as much as mega ampharos and can take the electric-type down surprisingly quickly. Using mega ampharos also means that another mega evolution cannot be used. Mega ampharos is extremely strong, but their relatively frailty introduces a weakness the base form does not have. There are mega evolutions that make the user strong and either durable or fast. Not all circuits allow mega evolutions either.
Normal ampharos still sees some use in competitive play. Their blindingly bright tails can stun attackers reliant on eyesight, especially if they lack eyelids. Ampharos are also surprisingly durable and can rely on rest to keep them healthy. The resulting drowsiness does little since ampharos are not usually dodging hits with their reflexes. Outside of their light ampharos have very powerful thunderbolts and can rely on volt switch to get them out of harm's way. Ampharos can also rely on supporting options such as heal bell, reflect, and light screen to keep the team safe.
Still, ampharos are somewhat limited compared to other electric-types. Electivire has excellent coverage, vikavolt is blazingly fast, and magnezone is durable and can float above seismic attacks. Ampharos are not bad, it's just that experienced trainers can usually obtain a better electric-type to use. Their main use on competitive circuits is among trainers too new or poor to have obtained a stronger replacement.
Mareep are pretty useful for the early parts of the island challenge. Their shocks are relatively strong for a young pokémon and anything that gets close is liable to be hurt by their static. They can also be taught a variety of excellent supporting moves at a time when most trainers are focused solely on offense. Mareep can use heal bell, reflect, light screen, or thunder wave to keep a frail ally in the fight or slow down and trip up a totem. They are also durable for their size and age and can take hits from threats on the first island. Defensively and offensively they will begin to trail off towards the end of the second island.
Flaaffy, unfortunately, have none of the strengths of their younger and older stages. Their lack of wool limits their static, power, and durability. Flaaffy also have not yet developed the internal organs that will make ampharos into powerhouses in their own right. They are best used as screen setters and clerics that enable other pokémon rather than dealing damage in their own right.
Ampharos are powerful enough to deal serious damage to anything that doesn't naturally resist electricity. They are also durable enough, especially with a screen, to tank several hits. Ground-types are extraordinarily rare in Alola. An ampharos may not contribute much against the traditional last kahuna. To avoid this, trainers may want to brave Poni third or even second so that ampharos does not need to be brought against the rare ground specialist.
Acquisition
Most mareep ranching in Alola occurs around Blush Mountain or Paniola Town. Breeders in these areas often keep a few battle breeds alongside the more traditional agricultural ones. Young mareep of these breeds usually cost around $1,200. Some particularly well-bred or abnormally powerful specimens can cost up to $3,000. This is far from the most expensive alternative starter, but they are still not cheap. Traditional agricultural breeds can sometimes be bought for half the price but will take much longer to evolve and will struggle to learn dragon-type attacks.
Feral mareep are most abundant on Akala. They can be found in the plains in the North-Central part of the island south of Mauna Wela and north of Heahea. Ampharos will sometimes defend the mareep in their flock from trainers but are usually tolerant of capture after a quick proving battle against the mareep. Sometimes ampharos will even use the opportunity to kick a particularly troublesome mareep out of the flock.
Flaaffy and ampharos removal risks the integrity of the flock and is currently banned. There have also been incidents in the past of trainers expecting a standard proving battle against an ampharos and being electrocuted on the spot as a threat to the flock. The DNR generally tolerates the presence of flocks on their lands as they love to eat invasive species such as kudzu. They would rather not see the flocks collapse.
Mareep and flaaffy can be purchased, captured, or adopted with a Class II license. Ampharos can be obtained with a Class I license as they are generally friendly and do not require shearing.
Breeding
Ampharos are polygamous. The dominant male mates with all females in the flock. Females are pregnant for roughly eleven weeks before giving birth to twins. They will begin mating again within two weeks of the mareep's birth. Ampharos will only nurse their own offspring but after they are weaned all ampharos and flaaffy will look after the mareep.
Ampharos can have fertile offspring with other caprinids. They can also crossbreed with most ungulates, although the resulting offspring are not always fertile and sometimes are plagued with health problems. Hybrids that inherit static-generating wool but not insulating skin will often die of self-inflicted injuries within a year. Cross breeding is easiest with rams that are not dominant in their flock. They will be desperate for any mating and will settle for much more distant relatives than females or dominant rams.
Mates do not have a closer social relationship with each other than with other ampharos. Females can spend most of their time with a non-dominant ram and have the closest bond with him but still consistently mate with the dominant male. On teams females will be drawn to the strongest teammate that is close enough related to them to settle for.
It should be noted here that homosexuality and intersex conditions are abnormally common among ampharos. One study estimated that one in twelve ampharos are homosexual. Female homosexuality rarely creates problems as other ewes can carry offspring or, if the dominant ram is physically stronger, she can be mounted and have children of her own. Homosexuality among non-dominant rams is never a problem as they would not reproduce anyway. When the dominant ram is homosexual there can be serious social fragmentation. Ewes and non-dominant rams can conspire together to kill, exile, or demote the dominant male. If at least one male is also homosexual they may align with the dominant male against his challengers. Sometimes these power struggles are subtle and social and last for months or years. Prudent ranchers remove dominant rams that display homosexual tendencies and either kill them or move them to a trainer or a flock of exclusively homosexual rams.
Relatives
Ampharos are most closely related to dubwool, a species descended from early captive ampharos. Their closest extant wild relative is gogoat.
There are no separate species or subspecies of ampharos. There are still many breeds. Battle and agriculture-oriented breeds have already been discussed. The largest breed, the Saharah shortwool, was specifically bred by a Kalosian scientist in order to awaken the latent draconic potential of the species. The breed is elementally adept but plagued with health issues from excessive inbreeding. Specimens are rare today, although many battle breeds occasionally interbreed with Saharan shortwools.
Agricultural breeds are extremely varid. Some have been bred to evolve quickly and are mostly used for coats and meat. The rise of plastics and lab meat have led to these breeds becoming disfavored. The main divide now is between coarse and fine wool ampharos. Coarse wool ampharos grow larger and produce more wool. Fine wool ampharos are smaller and weaker but have softer wool that makes for higher quality clothing.
Some breeds do better in cold weather than hot. Others can climb well, while most ampharos breeds struggle to move up steep hills. For a species domesticated thousands of years ago there are naturally a wide variety of breeds across time and space.
The original ancestor of modern ampharos has been lost to time. The proto-ampharos, F. colchis, was found in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Caucuses, and portions of Persia and the Hindu-Kush mountains. The proto-ampharos were much larger than modern ampharos. Contemporary records and myths describe them as being phenomenally powerful and having glowing gold wool. Their healing abilities were far beyond modern ampharos and they could allegedly cure any wound. Hunting for their fleece may have contributed to their extinction. Other theories include competition for food with their domesticated counterparts, viruses spread by domestic ampharos, climate change, and potential changes in the mineral composition of the topsoil following a series of dust storms in the Arabian Penninsula. In any case ampharos disappeared from almost all of their range simultaneously around 4,000 years ago. An isolated population may have continued to exist in the Hindu-Kush mountains until 500 CE, although no fossils have been found. The alleged proto-ampharos may have simply been drampa with an unusual coat color.