Glaceon
Mutatiovulpes octoplumiter – 7
Overview
The northern reaches of Scandanavia are home to some of the most unforgiving habitats in Europe. Glaceon find a way to thrive. Not only can they survive Arctic winters, they find them to be preferable to the summers. Wild glaceon cannot truly thrive outside of the Arctic, Subarctic, glaciated mountains, and areas kept cold year-round by ice-types.
Glaceon can make for inquisitive, captivating, and powerful pets. They are also not well-suited for Alola. Dedicated ice-type specialists with multiple pokémon that can lower the ambient temperatures can successfully care for glaceon, but most other trainers will struggle. Alolan vulpix are less temperature sensitive and share many of the same traits, although they can be considerably more disagreeable than the generally calm glaceon.
Physiology
Glaceon are classified as pure ice-types.
Glaceon are small felines with a thin but dense layer of light blue fur. Dark blue patterns run along the back, the forehead, the tip of the tail, the inner ears, and the paws. Glaceon also possess a set of dark blue whiskers. These whiskers are often soaked in water and flash-frozen to provide a ready-made ice shard.
The species has several adaptations to survive in Arctic winters. They are poikilotherms, making them literally and figuratively cold-blooded. To survive their low body temperatures their tissues are designed in such a way that they have a much lower freezing point than the tissue of other mammals. Glaceon's blood has a freezing point considerably lower than antifreeze. These adaptations allow glaceon to survive cold winters without expending a great deal of energy heating themselves. Glaceon also possess large, broad paws that help them burrow and walk on snow.
Glaceon have a few major sensory adaptations. The first is very sensitive hearing courtesy of their long, pointed ears. Both ears can move independently to help pinpoint the location of sounds. Glaceon also have an extremely keen sense of smell and can track a beartic over thirty miles away. Thirdly, glaceon have a thermal sense that lets them detect warm bodies even through a meter of snow.
Glaceon can grow to be 32 inches tall at the withers. They can weigh up to twenty-one pounds. Most wild glaceon die within two years of evolution, but some have been recorded living for thirty years. Captive specimens seldom live for more than twenty.
Behavior
Most denizens of the tundra are only active in the summer. When winter comes they migrate away or dramatically lower their metabolism before retreating into a burrow. Glaceon do the opposite. They maintain extensive burrow networks with multiple chambers and exits. The most prominent exits are south-facing to ensure the maximum amount of heat enters the burrow. These burrows are passed down across generations and are very well-maintained. Warming climates have caused some of these burrows to collapse, leading to a decline in the wild population.
During the summer glaceon spend most of their time sleeping in their burrows. They will occasionally emerge to hunt, but for the most part they avoid the surface and the larger predators that are active in the summer. Glaceon located near the coast make one exception. When shorebirds lay eggs they will head to the coastal cliffs and eat as many eggs as they can. What they cannot eat they take back to their burrow and cache them for later. A glaceon may make several trips over the course of a week to cache the most eggs possible.
Glaceon emerge from their burrows shortly after the beartic begin to hibernate. Their thermal sense is used to locate smaller pokémon that have taken shelter beneath the snow. They will then dig down to find the pokémon. Glaceon can flash-freeze and harden their fur to provide a form of armor and make their own attacks more painful. This is seldom necessary during the winter as most of their prey is too subdued to properly defend themselves.
Cubchoo are one of glaceon's favorite food sources. Beartic mothers hibernate so deeply that they do not wake up when they give birth or when their offspring are nursing. Glaceon can safely dig into any beartic dens they find and attack the much weaker cubchoo. Their mother will almost never wake to defend them, even when she is only a foot or two away.
Husbandry
Glaceon are the most carnivorous of the eeveelutions. Canine food often contains too much plant material. A feline food mix with minimal filler is the best prepackaged food for glaceon. Poultry, eggs, and rodent meat are excellent supplements. Some trainers and zoos feed glaceon their food in a block of ice they must shatter or hide the food somewhere in a maze. Glaceon have also been known to attack small pokémon, especially when they are asleep. A glaceon should not be given access to the sleeping spots of smaller teammates.
Because their burrows have dedicated latrine areas glaceon are easily housebroken.
The biggest problem of caring for glaceon in Alola is temperature. Even subarctic summers can be uncomfortably warm for glaceon. Alola's high humidity and tropical heat are intolerable. Every glaceon trainer needs to have either a large walk-in freezer for their pet's main enclosure or other ice-types that are skilled at lowering ambient temperatures. Alolan vulpix and ninetales are the best at this, but more expensive options such as aurorus can also do the trick. Misters, fans, and air conditioning can help but will not entirely fix the problem. It is best to store glaceon in a glacier ball that mimics polar temperatures.
Glaceon have some ability to cool the air around them, but this is energy intensive. They will need to eat twice what they usually would and will still be sluggish. This is best suited for short periods of time, such as battles and veterinarian visits.
When they are comfortable glaceon are curious and social creatures. They will want to play with their trainer and teammates whenever possible. Toys designed for babies and toddlers make for excellent stimulation. Glaceon also enjoy cuddling with other ice-types or with chilled pillows. These pillows can be bought at some specialty pokémon supply stores.
Above all, glaceon love to dig. They will dig through anything that they can and attempt to form tunnel systems. Sandboxes are good toys, especially if food pellets are sometimes mixed in for the glaceon to find by digging. Piles of snow are even better. Large PVC pipes forming a tube system between different chambers also help put glaceon at ease. If the pipes are wider than the largest part of the pokémon's head they can find a way to squeeze through them. Make sure that every chamber and tunnel has air holes. Glaceon often think they can dig through fabric and furniture stuffing. They must be closely monitored when around soft furniture.
Illness
Glaceon's body temperature is too low for ordinary parasites to survive. Most viruses and bacteria also do not appreciate the very cold temperatures. As a result glaceon do not often become sick and are exempt from most vaccination requirements. In more temperate areas the arctic rabies vaccine may be required, but it is not an endemic disease in Alola.
The main health problem for glaceon is hyperthermia. Almost all of glaceon's body systems are designed for body temperatures below freezing. At higher temperatures the pokémon may not be able to digest food or replace dead cells. This results in an extreme case of sluggishness that ultimately ends in death. Sometimes restoring proper body temperatures will reverse the process. Sometimes it will not. Prevention is the best medicine. If the pokémon ever becomes exceedingly sluggish for long periods of time withdraw it and take it to a veterinarian.
Evolution
Glaceon evolve from eevee that are exposed to very cold temperatures or an abundance of ice-type elemental energy. This can be accomplished by locking an eevee in an industrial freezer for a prolonged period of time with water and food provided at regular intervals. Since most eevee in Alola keep short coats this may just result in hypothermia. It is safer to expose an eevee to an ice stone, to keep it alongside ice-type teammates, or to spend time with it in the enclosed buildings on Mt. Lanakila.
In the wild all eevee north of the Arctic Circle evolve into glaceon around their first birthday. Many children of glaceon also evolve into glaceon themselves due to the cold habitats their mother prefers.
Battle
Glaceon are some of the strongest ranged ice-type attackers available. Yet they are less popular in competitive battling than weaker ice-types such as ninetales, froslass, aurorus, and lapras. There are a few key weaknesses holding them back. The first is speed. Glaceon have good stamina but they are not fast runners. This leaves them unable to stay away from opponents while they launch their attacks. This would not be a problem if they had the durability to take hits, but they do not. Sharp fur is not a serious deterrent for pokémon battling on the world stage. Aurorus and lapras are better at taking hits and ninetales can at least boost their bulk with a fast aurora veil. Glaceon's movepool is also rather shallow, limited to ice-type attacks, shadow ball, and a few utility tricks. Finally, glaceon take longer to change the weather in an arena than ninetales or aurorus, making them less popular on aurora veil hyper offense teams.
On the island challenge glaceon fairs better. They hate battling in the heat and much prefer indoor fights over outdoor ones. Their speed and durability are relatively better and their offense is just as devastating. Ice is a phenomenal offensive type and most trainers in Alola do not prepare well for it. With some training in power glaceon can knock out most opponents in a few blows. They work best as a final pokémon in totem battles. Their teammates can slow down the totem and chip armor where applicable. This lets glaceon finish things quickly without too much risk.
Acquisition
Glaceon cannot be found in the wild in Alola. There are no mountains on Akala that are regularly snow-capped. Even if there were the summit of one mountain is not enough range for a glaceon to survive in. Trainers who wish to obtain a glaceon are best off evolving an eevee of their own. Sometimes a shelter will have one after a trainer realizes the full difficulty of raising a glaceon in Alola. Pokémon importers can also obtain one for sale. Glaceon can be adopted or purchased with a Class IV license.
Breeding
In the wild glaceon test out pair bonds throughout the winter. If two glaceon cross paths they may accompany each other on hunts for a time or begin to sleep in the other's den from time to time. If they are satisfied with the other they will form a pair bond and stay together. In very abundant areas the 'pair-bond' may be more complex and consist of a male and multiple females.
They will mate the next September. The female will give birth after a roughly forty-day pregnancy. The number of children born depends on prey abundance. In scarce times as little as one or two eevee can be born. In times of abundance a glaceon mother can give birth to up to twenty-five eevee.
Glaceon-born eevee are smaller than eevee born from most other eeveelutions. This facilitates the large litter sizes. They also hit life milestones more slowly. They do not open their eyes until they are two months old, although it will take another few months to actually see anything given the perpetual darkness of an Arctic winter. They do not leave the den until April or May If an eevee did leave the den for more than a minute or two during an Arctic winter they would be unlikely to survive. Staying underground and out of sight is necessary for survival.
Over the course of the spring the parents will take the eevee out on increasingly long trips. They will teach their offspring how to forage, which scents are dangerous, and the tricks of staying alive in very low temperatures. The father will continue to teach the eevee how to forage until the next year's litter is born.
In areas of abundance fathers will continue to share the den with their male children and their families. The brothers may continue to share the den with each other after their father's death. All glaceon will assist in raising the latest litters. In areas where resources are scare fathers are more inclined to kick out their evolved offspring and drive them away from the territory.
In captivity glaceon will also seek to form pair-bonds. These are not always romantic in nature. Glaceon can become very attached to other males, humans, and even stuffed animals and grow distressed when the target of bonding is removed for long. Pair-bonding is usually romantic, however. Glaceon show some of the greatest willingness to mate with pokémon of other species. However, the mate must be able to tolerate the glaceon's preferred temperatures. Stoutland is the easiest species to crossbreed. Both major ninetales species can be reluctant to mate with 'inferior' creatures, but they have been coaxed to mate with glaceon in the past. One breeder managed to mate a male beartic and female glaceon despite the species being enemies in the wild.
Glaceon are often willing to let their trainer assist in raising the eevee. Procedures that require removing the eevee from its mother's sight can still be stressful for all parties. When at all possible the mother should be allowed to accompany her offspring to veterinary examinations.
Relatives
Consult the Eevee entry for more information