Flareon
Mutatiovulpes octoplumiter – 3
Overview
Flareon have among the highest average body temperatures of any mammal as well as the highest recorded body temperature. Their flames are hot enough to melt iron, although they cannot project them very far or maintain them for long. They are best suited for fire-type specialists who know how to handle high-temperature pokémon.
Still, flareon have a low enough skin and fur temperature that it is safe to pet a relaxed flareon. Trainers well-versed in the care of similar species can safely handle one with a small investment in protective equipment. In Alola they compete for a team slot with torracat, houndoom and arcanine, similar pokémon with much less risk of burning their trainer on accident. Flareon has the highest care difficulty of any eeveelution, but some trainers find them cute and personable enough to make the experience more than worth it.
Physiology
Flareon are classified as pure fire-types.
By far the most interesting feature of flareon is their incredibly high body temperatures. Their resting internal temperature is approximately 280° F, above the boiling point of water. Flareon blood has dissolved compounds that raise the boiling point to above this threshold. When agitated or threatened their body temperature can spike to well over 1000° for short periods of time. That temperature is more than enough to boil even flareon blood. To survive these temperatures flareon must keep their body highly pressurized. Wounds are instantly cauterized to prevent pressure from being released. Breathing and waste release are done by highly specialized organs designed to retain internal temperatures and pressures.
Flareon's skin and fur are secondary lines of defense. Flareon have black skin hidden by their thick red and orange fur. Their fur is an extremely effective fire retardant. It is also very thick with up to 50,000 hair follicles per square inch. The fur is thickest and has the lightest coloration around the neck. The density and length of the fur makes it a powerful insulator that keeps body heat trapped within, reducing the amount of energy needed to maintain high body temperatures. The skin is very thick and contains no blood vessels near the surface. As mentioned above any wounds deep enough to bleed are instantly cauterized. This is done through a process similar to the move flare blitz, where very hot fire covers the exterior of the body. The process is automatic and near instantaneous. It may happen before the pokémon even realizes it has been wounded.
Flareon look like fairly typical feline or vulpine Pokémon, aside from their very fluffy mane, tail, and upper head. Their ears are long and pointed like most of the eeveelutions, granting them a keen sense of hearing. Very little blood flows through the external ear to minimize the surface area where hot blood is near relatively cool air. The cells of the ear are designed to efficiently pass water between them, rather than relying on blood vessels to deliver it.
A final difference from most canines or felines is that flareon's face is quite flat. Their eyes are large and expressive, with rounded pupils rather than the slitted ones of the other eeveelutions. The rounded pupils and flat face make them among the most expressive of pokémon, with several memes based on pictures of flareon.
Flareon can live for up to ten years in the wild or twenty years in captivity. They weigh an average of twenty pounds. Adult flareon are typically forty inches long including the tail or thirty inches long without it. They typically stand twelve to fourteen inches tall at the shoulder. Males are slightly larger than females.
Behavior
Flareon are typically found in deserts or in areas with volcanic activity. High temperatures do not bother them at all and their insulating fur can keep them warm on cold desert nights. Some flareon will stray away from active volcanoes and enter into the surrounding mountains to find food. They do not need warm air temperatures to survive, but they do appreciate them. A feral population in Yellowstone National Park can often be found basking in hot springs with temperatures near the boiling point. In Mauna Wela National Park flareon can often be found venturing into the caves that lead deep into the active volcano or even playing in or around lava flows.
While flareon will congregate in places of volcanic activity, they are generally solitary creatures outside of mating. Even sightings of mothers with their children are rare as the eevee are ordinarily abandoned shortly after birth (see Breeding).
Flareon are crepuscular hunters. They spend most of their day basking on a rock and their night resting in a burrow, usually stolen from one of their prey. Flareon are ambush hunters that wait near rattata or yungoos burrows near dusk or dawn as the pokémon leave or return. They will then use a quick burst of high temperature flames to kill, wound, or at least stun their prey. If it is still alive the flareon will finish the hunt with a powerful bite. They are surprisingly strong for their size and could overpower a raticate or gumshoos if they had to. Absurdly hot flames are usually enough of a deterrent that their hunts are not interfered with, even when surrounded by their prey's relatives. They will take the prey to their resting spot and then roast it again until well done, at which point it will be eaten. The second cooking is to boil out most moisture, burn any hair, and make it easier to digest. Flareon's stomach is rather weak due to the limited amount of acid stored inside. They cannot digest bone. As such flareon are precise eaters that are careful to separate flesh from bone to the best of their abilities.
Most of flareon's diet is made up of berries, which are also charred before consumption. Berries with a low water content are preferred, although they will occasionally eat a juicier berry raw to obtain water. Flareon will only drink water if it is near the boiling point.
Males will often patrol the edges of their territory to scent mark. Females also patrol their territory but do not scent mark. Male and female ranges sometimes overlap, but the two will ignore each other outside of mating.
Husbandry
Flareon do pose some danger to their trainer. Burn risks during petting can be averted with proper protective equipment and providing an agitated specimen its personal space. Unfortunately, flareon are somewhat cuddly. It is not practical to wear a full heatproof suit and sit on something non-flammable until the pokémon has had enough affection. It is strongly recommended that flareon trainers have another pokémon that can withstand prolonged contact with flareon.
The greater danger from flareon is that to their surroundings. A flareon's normal surface temperature is not enough to seriously harm anything but liquids, sensitive pharmaceuticals, and electronics. When agitated their surface temperature can exceed 500° F. This will cause any paper they are lying on to spontaneously combust. Flareon's flames can melt iron. They are pets best kept outside in an enclosure of dirt and rock. Only very well-trained flareon can be trusted indoors or around dry vegetation. Thankfully, flareon are perfectly happy with substrate of dirt, sand, or stone as long as there are places to hide or climb in.
A flareon's diet should consist of two-thirds berries, one-third meat. Some flareon will accept dry frugivore, feline, or canine food pellets. Others will not. If presented with raw food the pokémon will burn it. Make sure that feeding occurs in an area where the flames will not begin an uncontrolled fire or damage anything important.
Flareon often enjoy fruity teas. A few captive specimens are even regular coffee drinkers. Make sure to serve beverages piping hot. Cool liquids will either be rejected or doused in flames to warm them.
Wild flareon thrive in dry areas. They will need to be provided shelter or withdrawn into their pokémon when it rains. Any indoor spaces flareon frequent should be dehumidified. The standard temperatures and humidity of Alola are tolerable for them outside of rainstorms. They are not bothered by cold and can be taken into caves or Mauna Lanakila.
Some flareon enjoy hot tubs or other heated water features. Temperatures must be very high to be enjoyable. A few fire-type specialty stores carry custom hot tubs, but these are often very expensive. Filling a bathtub with water heated to the boiling point is a cheaper alternative. Be aware that flareon sometimes shake scalding hot water off of themselves when they want to dry off.
Illness
Flareon's absurdly high body temperature kills almost all pathogens that would cause illness. As a result flareon do not need to be vaccinated. In fact, vaccination is quite difficult due to high body temperatures and the instant cauterization of puncture wounds. Most standard needles will melt between the blood temperature and the fire trying to seal the injection site. Treating flareon injuries in general requires sedation, usually by hypnosis. An awake and hurt flareon will be running very high body temperatures and might lash out at anything that gets close.
Friction wounds and compound fractures are the most serious injuries for flareon. Severe friction burns can cause large areas of skin to be damaged. The cauterization is best at closing small wounds. If the area is too large then the remaining skin may be weakened to such a degree that it eventually ruptures and causes a rapid depressurization, killing the flareon. Compound fractures require surgery to fix. It is extremely difficult to operate on a flareon without risking serious burns. The automatic cauterization also makes incisions difficult. Most veterinarians refuse to operate on flareon and will recommend the pokémon be put down if a compound fracture would severely reduce its quality of life.
Evolution
Flareon evolve when exposed to a great deal of fire elemental energy. This sometimes occurs during forest fires. It is far more common in areas of volcanic activity. Outside of these natural triggers, evolution requires a fire stone. Fire stones are most commonly found around volcanoes, but they can also sometimes be found in places of intense heat and low humidity or in the aftermath of a major fire. Fire stones are one of the least expensive elemental stones in Alola as they are often produced by Mauna Wela or found in mines around the archipelago. Trainers who want to evolve their eevee into a flareon are encouraged to buy a small fire stone and see if it is enough to trigger evolution upon consumption. If this fails the eevee is probably close to evolution, but not quite over the threshold. Renting a larger fire stone and keeping it near the eevee but out of reach should trigger evolution without depleting the stone.
Battle
Flareon are very difficult to safely make contact with. They have a solid resistance to elemental energies and very hot flames. Despite these strengths, flareon are almost never used in high level battling.
Every one of flareon's strengths has a corresponding weakness. Their flames are hot, but most flareon cannot maintain them for more than five seconds at a time. They also have trouble projecting the flames more than two meters. Long flamethrowers are usually less intense than short range overheats or flame bursts. Flareon's jaws and muscles are powerful enough to finish off anything that gets close, but they are too slow to really close the distance with opponents.
Flareon are resistant to elemental energy attacks and if taught wish as an eevee they can heal themselves up as they take damage. They can also instantly heal small scrapes and puncture wounds. But their bones are not particularly durable and their fur and skin are meant for insulation, not defense. Rock- and ground-type attacks can easily overwhelm them from a distance. Water-types, some of the most common ranged attackers, can also comfortably handle flareon. It still retains a small niche as a counter to common fairies like clefable, sylveon, gardevoir, florges, and mega mawile, but otherwise flareon is solidly outclassed by arcanine and the Eurasian ninetales.
On the island challenge flareon do a little better. If they can get close they can often deal seirous damage in a few seconds, and most of the totems are tanks or walls. Speedster totems are rare. Unfortunately, the current lineup of kahunas boasts rock and ground type specialists, two of flareon's most serious weaknesses.
Acquisition
Europe does not have many active volcanoes, so flareon are uncommon in the region. A few have been sighted in Italy or Greece, but almost none have been seen in northern Europe. Alola is one of the few places on earth with enough volcanic activity to make natural flareon evolutions a common occurrence. Capture is currently prohibited on Akala so researchers at Wela National Park can study the population. The main purpose of the study is to figure out if flareon are still solitary when there are several others in the area. Most flareon live in remote areas where flareon can spread out and food is rare. When both flareon and food are common how will social dynamics change?
Flareon can be purchased or adopted with a Class IV license. Flareon is the most common eeveelution in shelters as trainers whose eevee unexpectedly evolves are often incapable of or unwilling to care for the fire-type. Some importers and pokémon dealers also sell flareon.
At present trainers do not need a higher license to keep a flareon that evolves from an eevee they legally owned. This is to reduce the burden on Alola's shelters. Trainers who cannot pass the Class III exam should seriously consider whether they have the expertise, resources, and commitment to care for a flareon.
Breeding
Flareon in the wild and captivity are shy about mating. Relatively little is known about their mating rituals as a result. Most flareon pairings observed, even in the wild, tend to be with non-flareon mammalian fire-types. Whether this is because of an aversion to their own species or a lack of conspecifics in the area is unclear. If the flareon is the sire the mother may give birth to a few eevee. Flareon mothers tend to give birth to more of the sire's species than their own. They also show a preference for raising babies that are born as fire-types. Eevee, with their low heat tolerance, are sent out on their own as soon as they are born. Flareon have very long pregnancies compared to the other eeveelutions to let the fetuses develop enough that nursing will be unnecessary.
Captive breeding of flareon is difficult, even with two flareon that tolerate each other. Pregnancies are long, over eight months, and stress at any point during the pregnancy can result in body temperatures high enough to kill the fetus. If a flareon chooses a mate on its own there is no reason to stop it from breeding. Even the most experienced of breeders rarely attempt to breed a female flareon. Male flareon are occasionally used as a sire for growlithe, litleo, litten, fenniken, or vulpix if elevated body temperatures are desired in the offspring.
Relatives
Consult the Eevee entry for more information.