The final Crashmoth commission. Will be moving onto Akala next week.
Swampert (Mudkip, Marshtomp)
Amansluto regenspalus
Overview
There is a narrow ecosystem between the vast oceans and the sprawling riversheds. Where fresh and saltwater meet they can form salt marsh estuaries, fields of specialized grasses and trees living around the mixed waters. These ecosystems can be dry at low tide and submerged at high tide. They are always in flux as the land and sea advance and retreat.
The waters of salt marshes are usually too saline for freshwater fish and most reptiles to bother with. They are too shallow for the marine apex predators. In this narrow gap swampert emerge as the kings of the marsh. They are also the protectors of the marsh, building impromptu flood walls and dams to reduce the harm from hurricanes and droughts.
Mudkip hunt the smaller fish and insects that are attracted to estuaries for the lack of large predators. Marshtomp will hunt slightly larger species but supplement their diet with plants. Swampert, despite being the largest and strongest creatures in the ecosystem, are almost entirely herbivorous. They are generally good-natured creatures that are tolerant of both salt and freshwater after a brief period of acclimation.
All of this made swampert a common starter pokémon in eastern, southeastern, and southern Asia. Many trainers made a point of training a team of six, one aligned with each of the elements – air, water, earth, wood, metal, and fire. This tradition is what led to the modern party limit in most of the world. Most water-types were strictly aquatic and not useful for travelers. Water-types that were powerful, amphibious, and easily tamed became very popular.
Mudkip was introduced to Alola in the 1800s when Asian laborers were brought en masse to the islands to work the new spider silk and pinap berry plantations. Modern conservationists generally do not see swampert as a major threat – they eat seagrasses, including an endemic species, but they are protective of their vulnerable ecosystems. Politicians love swampert for helping shore up the coast before major storms, reducing the damage done. For now they are quasi-protected.
In Alola swampert have the added bonus of being ground-types. There aren't many ground-types on the archipelago and most are concentrated in a single valley that is notoriously difficult to explore. Swampert are great teammates, either as an alternative starter or when caught as a marshtomp.
Physiology
Mudkip is classified as a pure water-type. Marshtomp and swampert are classified as dual water- and ground-types. While there is a general policy of keeping pokémon the same typing throughout the evolutionary line, wild mudkip seldom use any ground-type moves. Trainers wishing to teach their pokémon one must rely on a very good breeder or a TM.
Mudkip are small salamanders. In areas with clearer waters, they are usually a dark brown or very dark blue. In areas with murky waters, they develop a lighter coloration. Specimens bred as a starter usually have a light blue color morph instead of a darker or brown one. There are also cross-bred specimens with axlawful that are light red or pink.
Mudkip have prominent gills that are sometimes a different color morph than the rest of their body. They do not have lungs, but can breathe on land via their slime. The slime itself is a bubble with mucous on the outside and water underneath. As long as the wet slime is connected to air it can absorb oxygen and move it towards the gills. Their eyesight is quite weak. Instead, they rely on their extremely sensitive head fin to sense the world around them. They can detect minute differences in water currents or moderate differences in air currents to tell where potential prey and predators are. Their large, tall tail allows them to move in the water without much effort.
Mudkip have three rows of teeth but do not chew. These teeth are designed to keep fish, amphibians, and invertebrates from escaping while they are being eaten. They rely on suction to pull the prey into the throat and towards the stomach. Outside of simply biting prey they can also kill them with blunt force. Mudkip can push things up to four times heavier than them.
Marshtomp are in a somewhat awkward middle stage between the carnivorous mudkip and the herbivorous swampert. This is best seen in their teeth: they have three sets. One is sharp and angled to keep prey in. The other two are only along one side of the mouth each. These are blunt teeth for chewing seagrass and other plants. In this strange way marshtomp teeth resemble humans.
Marshtomp's tail all but disappears as it ages. Each of the hind legs has a fin grow out of it. These fins are useful for movement but primarily used for sensory purposes. The head fin grows even larger and more sensitive.
Swampert are built for power. Their muscles are much stronger and they gain several pads and braces to help them exert their strength without injury. Like most amphibians swampert are also fairly quick to heal. They have two head fins instead of one, dramatically boosting their sensory abilities. Swampert can detect even distant storms and tsunamis. Their tailfin regrows, this time much larger than before. Between their tail and muscles swampert can swim up to fifty miles per hour. They can also lift objects weighing up to one ton. Their baseline senses are still rather weak, but the atmospheric and hydrospheric radar senses more than make up for it. Swampert's teeth are all very blunt. Their stomach is also more similar to a cow's than to mudkip's. This allows them to eat seagrasses, which are often very high in silica content and difficult to digest.
Swampert can grow to be five feet long and weigh up to two hundred pounds. Wild lifespans are around thirty years, but captive specimens can live to be fifty.
Behavior
Mudkip are carnivores. They prefer to bury themselves in the benthos and then lunge out when something swims or crawls by. They will eat anything they can fit in their mouth and attempt to eat several things that they can't. Mudkip send almost all of their time in the water, only going onto land under a swampert's supervision. They mostly stay near their parents until they evolve.
Marshtomp are relatively independent. The local swampert will keep an eye on them and occasionally step in to offer guidance, but they are mostly on their own. Marshtomp do not hold territory themselves. Instead, they wander through the territories of various swampert. Marshtomp spend some time basking on land to increase their body temperature or to dig out their burrows. These burrows go beneath the water table so that they are partially flooded. Sometimes small animals and pokémon will seek refuge in abandoned burrows, especially during high tides. Marshtomp will often engage in contests of strength with other marshtomp, although these are for entertainment and training rather than territorial disputes. Neither holds territory so there is nothing to dispute.
Younger marshtomp primarily act as ambush predators like mudkip. When times are hard they will resort to eating grasses, shrubs, and fruit in the water and on land. Older marshtomp increasingly transition their diet towards plants and only rarely hunt, usually when the local swampert believe the area is being overgrazed and begin to defend it.
Swampert are the benevolent rulers of their territory. They are almost exclusively herbivorous and prefer to eat seagrasses. During the day they can sometimes be seen basking on land. Swampert first alter their environment by building large tunnel and shallow pond systems that provide places for them to bask in shallow water. The tunnels are often deep enough to extend under the seagrass and connect many different parts of their territory. The submerged tunnels are often a haven for smaller fish and pokémon. Swampert will usually ignore them but attack larger pokémon that try to intrude.
Swampert will also act against anything they believe is a threat to the local ecosystem. Pokémon that knock over trees may be swiftly punished. If the seagrasses are becoming overgrazed, they will take to eating on land or hunting in the water. They will lash out at anything that tries to eat the seagrasses during this time, including marshtomp.
Finally, swampert can sense incoming natural disasters. When they approach swampert will begin to stack boulders and build earthen walls to protect their territory from harm. Sometimes they will even build walls around local towns if they have the time. During droughts they will build earthen dams to keep water in the area.
Aside from their own mate they will not allow other swampert into their territory. They do not compete for dominance via physical competition as their physical strength will react. Instead they have a rather more peculiar display. Swampert can push their eyes slightly out of the socket so they bulge out. they can also make barking and screaming sounds. Territorial contests involve both swamperts extending their eyes and making loud noises while occasionally pounding the ground. It is unclear how a victor is determined, but eventually one will turn around and run away. They sometimes attempt this display in trainer battles to the confusion of everyone else involved.
Husbandry
The species is generally easy to care for, diet aside. They can tolerate being on land for hours at a time and can swim in a wide range of salinities. The relative docility of swampert and the small size of mudkip means that most Pokémon Centers allow them to use the community pools. Marshtomp are sometimes banned.
Mudkip need to be misted regularly when on land. This can be done with a spray bottle filled with dechlorinated water. They will gorge themselves if offered too much food so trainers should make sure to feed them no more than fifteen (and no less than eight) percent of their weight every day. Crustaceans are mudkip's favorite food, but they will also eat fish, worms, small amphibians, and some commercial insect mixes. Pokémon Supply Stores, especially in Malie, sometimes sell a mix specially designed for mudkip and marshtomp.
Mudkip must be given access to dechlorinated water at least once for every twelve hours they are outside their pokéball. Misting and high humidity can increase this, but never to more than sixteen hours. Rain can provide hydration needs, although mudkip still prefer to swim. Because salinity does not matter to them this can be met by both freshwater streams or ponds and the ocean. Trainers in Alola are rarely very far from either. Most routes run through nature reserves or leased private land held for conservation or sport purposes. These are often clustered around rivers, ponds, or the coast as these are the areas where pokémon congregate. While mudkip can be safely touched if recently hydrated, the pokémon usually dislike it. Their slimy skin can also make the experience unpleasant for the trainer.
Marshtomp and swampert can go for up to twenty-four hours outside their ball without hydration. On balance, their dietary needs are somewhat more difficult to satisfy. Marshtomp will need to be slowly weened off of crustaceans and meat-based mixes and onto seaweed such as kelp. Swampert's diet should primarily be made up of seaweeds with other plant matter used as a treat or filler for no more than 30% of their food intake. Thankfully, kelp and seaweed are common in Alolan cuisine and can often be purchased from grocery stores.
All stages are generally intelligent and curious pokémon. They can be easily housebroken and trained in battle and quality-of-life commands. Some swampert even develop an apparent understanding of their trainer's language. Toys are appreciated. Large rubber balls are generally the best as mudkip enjoy knocking them around and marshtomp and swampert will often try to wrestle them. While they may not be physically affectionate, they enjoy spending time around their trainer and team. Trainers should try to play with the pokémon. Games of catch, chase, and occasionally wrestling or tug-of-war are good. The swampert (and even mudkip) will win the strength-based games, but they will usually restrain themselves enough that their trainer seemingly has a chance. At the very least they will try to ensure their trainer does not get hurt. Fighting types make for good teammates. Strangely enough, they prefer being around carnivores over herbivores. Swampert can get a little testy with other seaweed eaters.
Some trainers also make good use of their pokémon's storm sense to seek shelter when the weather is about to get bad.
While swampert are generally nocturnal, they can easily shift their sleep schedule to be more active in the day. Instead, their most annoying habit is their desire to dig. Swampert ordinarily build deep and long tunnel systems across their entire habitat. At the very least they will want to build burrows around the camp site. Burrows are allowed on land with no grass cover so long as the pokémon fills it back in when they are done. Ground-type engineers such as swampert have no trouble filling in the holes they make. Some trainers will leave their swampert alone for a full day and discover that their pokémon has made a ten-foot-high pile of dirt to put back in the ground.
Illness
Most amphibians suffer some health problems when their skin dries up. The swampert line literally cannot breathe on land when dehydrated. Frequent exposure to rain or water bodies will help alleviate the problem. Any habitat pokéballs used should have a water feature. Dehydration symptoms are thankfully visible almost immediately. The first symptom is slightly clouded slime. Ordinarily the slime is transparent. If this is not the case the pokémon should be withdrawn immediately until such time as hydration is possible.
Outside of dehydration most injuries are fairly easily healed with time and the occasional potion or berry. After intense battles the pokémon should still be submitted to professional care, but for the most part they are quite hardy.
Evolution
Mudkip steadily grow until their second birthday, when they begin a fairly rapid growth spurt upon evolution. The formal demarcation line between mudkip and marshtomp is the growth of fins on the legs. Marshtomp continue to grow quickly over the course of six months before evolving again into swampert. The formal demarcation line between marshtomp and swampert is the growth of the second headfin. This rapid growth is part of the reason that mudkip is a popular starter: they can be given to a trainer shortly before evolution and that trainer will have a swampert of their own by the end of the challenge.
Battle
Swampert are very durable and power. They can strike from afar with water, ice, and seismic moves. Swampert can also support their team with moves such as stealth rock, yawn, and, in double battles, wide guard. All of these traits make them consistently popular picks among competitive trainers, especially those from Asia. Water specialists generally like swampert because of their ability to no-sell most electric moves and retaliate with earthquake or bulldoze.
Swampert's main problem is that they lack reliable recovery or setup moves, limiting their utility as a tank. Other popular tanks such as corviknight, slowking, avalugg, and tangrowth can rapidly heal themselves. Swampert more or less cannot outside of rest, which has its own drawbacks. Wish support can help but is often difficult to time. Still, swampert are often used as a hard backstop rather than a wall. The lack of setup moves outside of work up and curse, combined with their low speed on land, means that they will not be able to use their bulk to set up for a sweep.
Swampert might not be able to wall or sweep an entire team, but they are very good at taking out one or two particularly troublesome pokémon. Put them against the biggest threat to the team and they will often be able to outlast it and knock it out themselves. Even if they themselves go down afterwards their main purpose has still been fulfilled.
On the island challenge swampert's main kit should include a water move, an ice attack for coverage (if possible), at least one ground attack, and stealth rocks. This lets them control the battlefield and overpower almost all opponents. Earthquake, ice beam, and hydro pump let swampert strike from a distance. Up close their own massive power can overpower almost everything. They can easily hold their own throughout the challenge, although they may be dead weight against grass specialists and totems.
Marhstomp can capitalize upon their durability to act as utility pokémon with moves such as yawn and stealth rock. Their decent bulk lets them go on the offensive once their utility role is fulfilled. A marhtomp alone is a good pick for the first two islands, around which point it will probably be close to evolution.
While mudkip are relatively durable, their main strength is in offense. Most young pokémon struggle to pack a punch. Mudkip has no such problem. If taught physical attacks such as rock smash and rock throw they can quickly establish themselves as a physical powerhouse. Mudkip has a slight problem in that they do not easily learn physical water-type attacks such as waterfall or dive. Trainers may need to shell out cash for a TM in order to teach these moves. Still, mudkip are powerful for their age and most starter mudkip are close to evolution.
Acquisition
Alola's largest salt marsh by far is the brooklet watershed's estuary in Brooklet Hill Commonwealth Park. The estuary is a mix of native seagrasses and introduced Spartina alterniflora, which almost nothing in Alola but swampert can digest. Swampert have established themselves throughout the ecosystem. The most powerful tend to have territories closer to the ocean. Swampert can also be found in the marshes of western and northeastern Ula'Ula, portions of southeastern Melemele, and along the eastern coast of Poni island.
Swampert are protective of their mudkip. To avoid any problems in the area mudkip capture is prohibited. Marshtomp and swampert capture is allowed. Both will generally go with a trainer they show interest in who can beat them in a proving battle. Be warned that winning a proving battle against a swampert can be very difficult and they usually consider grass-types to be cheating. If they consider their capture illegitimate, they will probably be uncooperative until their trainer proves themselves some other way.
Marshtomp and swampert can be purchased, captured, or adopted with a Class II license. Mudkip can be purchased or adopted with a Class I license.
Breeding
Swampert do not have formalized mating rituals. Instead they may simply come to respect a swampert in an adjoining territory and agree to partner together, merging their territories and getting ready to raise children. Mating usually occurs in March as the rainy season comes to a close. The female will then store the male's gametes in a pouch near her uterus. As the dry season winds down she will introduce the sperm to her eggs to fertilize them. She will lay up to fifty eggs in a specialized chamber in her tunnel network. At least one of the swampert will guard the eggs at all times until they hatch. The eggs hatch after a six-week incubation period. The swampert will continue to guard their mudkip until they evolve.
Captive breeding is much the same. Swampert are periodically introduced to each other until they agree to mate. Then they are released onto a fairly large property to dig their tunnel systems. On smaller properties they will usually burrow across the property line, even if concrete is extended into the ground. This means that there are very few breeders with multiple swampert. It is more likely that they also breed other species on the property their swampert occupy.
When the mudkip get close to evolution the swampert may allow the breeder to distribute them to other trainers, especially if the swampert are given the chance to evaluate the trainer beforehand.
Relatives
Swampert's closest relative is axlawful, an endangered and heavily protected species from Anahuac. They can also cross breed with most other amphibians and some aquatic reptiles. Swampert can crossbreed with dragapult despite being separated in time by hundreds of millions of years.