Cinderace (Scorbunny, Raboot)
Lepis vulcanorum medioagri
Overview
Wild cinderace are native to a handful of volcanoes around Tenochtitlan, the historic capitol of the Aztec Empire and the modern state of Anahuac. The wild specimens are smaller and far more timid than their captive descendants. They are notable for their skill at climbing cliffs and their very warm fur. Wild cinderace also have flame glands on their feet to make kicks particularly effective at deterring anything that would attack them from behind. The glands are used in a strange dominance ritual between males where a pebble is kicked back and forth between them until it explodes, grows too hot for one to handle safely, or one cannot catch the pebble and send it back.
Cinderace were first domesticated by the Nahua for their fur and potentially for delivering supplies up cliffs or into precarious construction sites. They quickly became far more popular for their skill at sports. Domestic cinderace are competitive and want to prove themselves in any game that even remotely resembles their pebble dominance displays. In pre-contact Mesoamerica, wars between states and tribes were fought on the battlefield. Contests between different nobles within a city were decided on the ballcourt, either in games between humans or in a contest of cinderace. The former could generate sacrifices in a time of scarcity. The latter could provide a more dramatic spectacle given the hares' superior athletic abilities and usage of fire. Spectacle was useful for proving a noble's power and keeping the masses distracted from the savageries of the Aztecs.
Over time cinderace were traded across the new world and came to be used in a variety of settings across the continents, from the Algonquin ball courts by the great lakes to the racetracks of the Inca high in the Andes. One Paldean priest commented that while the standard ball games of the Aztecs were seen as practice for war, the cinderace games were framed as a form of sun worship. This was the duality of Huitzilopochtli, god of war and sun.
Cinderace's fire made them less convenient than lopunny for creating fur. They never caught on with European peasants the same way that lopunny did. The European nobility, and later the commoners, would still delight in the cinderace's increasingly elaborate imitations of human games.
Cinderace's competitive spirit, relative ease of care, and general friendliness has made them the standard fire starter in Galar and a popular alternative starter in much of their range. Trainers able to get their hands on one may find them to be an excellent alternative, or addition, to the more common litten.
Physiology
All three stages are classified as pure fire-types. There are common arguments made that they should have a dual normal- or fighting-typing added on. Cinderace are remarkably adept at using other forms of elemental energy. Some of the strongest specimens have even learned to use it defensively, cloaking themselves in a shield of darkness to block psychic attacks or a layer of poison to deter physical attackers from coming closer. A normal typing is common for both pokémon that excel at using a wide spectrum of elemental energies and domesticated pokémon. Fighting would fit with cinderace's strength and competitive spirit.
Scorbunny are hares with thick white fur that is resistant to both cold and flame. The tips of their feet and ears are colored red. Scorbunny's most interesting features are their internal flame sac and their three flame glands. The flame sac is usually only smoldering and must be fed by increased oxygen. Thee line need some time to build up their flames through increased physical activity and deeper breaths. One gland is located on the nose with the other two on the hind legs. The gland on the nose cannot be used for long without burning all of the oxygen the pokémon tries to inhale. Scorbunny's hind legs are also structured in such a way that they can make impressive horizontal and vertical jumps or walk bipedally for a short time. In the wild this primarily helps them survey the environment by looking above the grass and make abrupt leaps for cover or higher elevations when in danger. Domesticated scorbunny have proportionally less jumping range and an increased ability to stand bipedally.
Raboot have a more varied color scheme than scorbunny. Their lower half is coated in black fur, aside from the toes which are red. The fur from the middle of the abdomen to the lower jaw is red. The toes on the forelegs and the fur above the lower jaw are coated in grey fur. Raboot's first flame sac has moved from the nose to the forehead. They cannot see while this is active but can continue to breathe for approximately thirty seconds. Domesticated raboot are much more capable of standing on two legs than their wild counterparts or domesticated scorbunny. Both wild and domesticated forms have an elongated and elastic Achilles tendon to allow for energy to be conserved between jumps. Wild raboot typically use this to make a few increasingly powerful leaps in quick succession. Raboot can stand bipedally and hop around the area in a series of fluid leaps.
Domesticated cinderace are primarily bipedal, only going down to all fours to rest. The fur on their upper body has lightened back to white with black patches on the shoulders and a red tuft on the forehead. The thighs on the hind legs are coated in red or yellow fur. Cinderace's ears are much longer than their predecessors and are partially used for venting body heat. Finally, the first flame gland has expanded to cover most of the forehead with three narrow prongs.
Cinderace have a wild lifespan of four years and a captive lifespan of ten. They can grow to be fifty-five inches tall, excluding the ears, and weigh up to eighty pounds.
Behavior
Wild and feral cinderace tend to live in teams of five adults and any scorbunny they are caring for. Each team consists of two males and three females. One male and two females are dominant and are allowed to breed. The others are non-dominant and do not breed. They only grow to about three-quarters the size of their breeding counterparts. Dominant males and females often bully the subordinate members of the team, sometimes with deadly results. When one of the dominant pokémon dies or otherwise leaves the team the non-dominant member of the same sex will experience a shift in hormones that allows them to grow to full size and compels them to begin mating.
Cinderace use their powerful hindlegs to dig dens in loose soils. In rocky areas with high cliffs they may instead elect to simply rest in a small enclave that is difficult to reach from the ground. One female will stay behind to guard for the nest and nurse any young living there while the others go out during the day to forage. During the night all team members typically huddle together in the nest. In Alola the feral cinderace are less physically affectionate with each other than they are on the high-elevation volcanoes they inhabit in Anahuac.
Territorial disputes between teams are decided by contests between the dominant males. They will kick a pebble back and forth until it explodes or one party backs down. The exact ruleset of the wild game is poorly understood. Feral populations play different games, often involving the entire team, inspired by the games they witnessed in human civilizations.
Raboot tend to live in their own teams apart from the cinderace and scorbunny. When they evolve they will either attempt to form their own team with other newly evolved cinderace or replace a departed adult in an existing team. Raboot spend a great deal of their time practicing the games that are popular among the local cinderace.
Cinderace are grazers that feed on tall grasses. They prefer to live in open forests that break the line of sight for large raptors. Foraging typically occurs at the edge of the forest. In the dry season cinderace will eat shrubs and small trees to ensure they are getting enough nutrients and water in their diet. Wild cinderace almost never drink water.
Husbandry
Cinderace are relatively low maintenance, especially when compared to other fire-types. They do not have constant open flames. In fact, cinderace almost never cause accidental fires either. Their physically affectionate and social nature means they are likely to spend a great deal of time around their trainer. The hares' competitive spirit makes them eager battlers.
Commercial rabbit pellets can make up the core of a cinderace's diet. Carrots and alfalfa can round out the diet and constitute at least 20% of it by weight. Theoretically up to 90% of a cinderace's diet could be alfalfa so long as Vitamin D and Calcium supplements were added. Captive cinderace should be offered a water bowl to drink from at least twice a day. Commercial pellets are drier than the foods they eat in the wild and battling is more energy-intensive than their territorial games. Like all lagomorphs, cinderace will also need to have something available to gnaw on.
One of the few problems with cinderace care is that they are natural bullies. They will seldom cause problems for teammates of the opposite sex but can relentlessly bully mammals of the same sex. This either ends up greatly straining team dynamics or with the tables being turned on the hare, putting them into a position where they may not be able to grow to their full size. The easiest way to handle this is to have cinderace be the only male mammal on a team or to have no more than one other female mammal with a female specimen. This prevents bullying. Cinderace can actually be caring teammates so long as their bullying instincts are not triggered.
Raboot will go stir crazy if they go a few days without a competition. They may drag teammates into a battle whether or not they are willing. Organized sparring matches with teammates can alleviate this problem. However, the best way to handle the matter is simply to give them real battles whenever possible.
Illness
The most common health problem in older specimens is pneumonia. The symptoms generally manifest as wheezing and a sudden lack of energy. If an older cinderace is inexplicably inactive they should be checked by a veterinarian as soon as possible. Early cases can often be treated by antibiotics.
Coccidia is another major health problem, especially for scorbunny and raboot, and one that can be difficult to deal with. Coccidia is an intestinal disease caused by eating the feces of an infected pokémon. Cinderace, like most lagomorphs, coprophagic. That is, they eat their own feces as a matter of course. Once a specimen is infected they will need to be carefully monitored to ensure that they do not eat their feces and reinfect themselves. Common symptoms include diarrhea and loss of appetite. Stool should regularly be checked to ensure that there are no signs of infection. Pharmaceutical treatments are rarely used for coccidia cases. The pokémon should be kept comfortable and well-fed while being closely monitored to ensure they do not eat their own feces. They may need to be hydrated via syringe if they refuse to eat or drink. If the illness progresses to this state the pokémon will probably require inpatient medical care.
Evolution
Scorbunny evolve into raboot around five months of age in both the wild and captivity. The process is gradual. In the wild it is marked by the pokémon being kicked out of their mother's team. In captivity it is usually determined by the growth of darker fur and an increased amount of time walking bipedally. Evolution into cinderace typically occurs around ten months of age in the wild or eight months of age in captivity. It is marked by a shift back towards lighter colored fur.
Battle
Cinderace are relatively popular pokémon due to their competitive spirit, strategic thinking, and versatility. Their offensive stats are only okay the higher echelons of competitive play – they can move at speeds up to thirty miles per hour and hit with approximately 300 PSI in their kicks. Cinderace are less frail than other lagomorphs but can still have their bones broken or shattered by stronger attacks.
Even at the highest levels cinderace still have a niche. They are melee attackers that can use pyro ball to turn small pebbles or clumps of dirt into devastating projectiles that can inflict second degree burns on impact. Cinderace also have great situational awareness and try to keep themselves in the optimal position before, during, and after attacks. They are known for using strategic taunts and kicks to knock enemies onto their own hazards. Cinderace's versatility can also let them infuse attacks with additional elemental energy or temporarily use it as a cloak to shield themselves. Opponents relying exclusively on one type of elemental attack can find themselves outmaneuvered by cinderace. Versatile attackers, especially those with overwhelming power, can still hit cinderace hard enough that this does not matter.
At high levels cinderace should always be on the offense. Different situations can call for different types of offense, like pyro ball shots at a range or powerful kicks up close, but if cinderace is not attacking the opponent can find an opening and demolish them.
Galarian trainers can infuse their cinderace with dynamax energy to unlock a special gigantamax form. This state allows the cinderace to create fireballs over ninety feet tall but does not substantially alter the cinderace. This makes them extremely frail for a dynamaxed pokémon but monstrously powerful, capable of burning up even dynamaxed opponents in one or two hits.
In amateur battles cinderace's frailty is less pronounced. They can afford to play defensively for a time, gauging an opponent while occasionally landing a strategic blow. An amateur's cinderace is also less likely to be able to use other forms of elemental energy defensively. They are still solid choices for the island challenge that can carry their weight until the end. Just be wary of Grand Trials – some cinderace become distracted by audiences and spend more time showboating than fighting.
Raboot are relatively fast attackers that do not yet have the ability to use pyro balls to their fullest. This makes them best as rushdown melee attackers that use their speed and leaping abilities to get in close and land a flurry of kicks. They can then jump away when the opponent gets their bearings. This may not work on particularly well armored foes and their frailty catches up to them by the end of the island challenge.
Scorbunny are still relatively inexperienced. They like to fight, but only against opponents of equivalent size and strength. Their blazing kicks give them an edge on other melee attackers but can only be used to their fullest when the pokémon is facing away from their opponent. This is not always an optimal position. Thankfully scorbunny are quick to evolve into raboot.
Acquisition
Feral cinderace have established themselves in Mauna Wela National Park. Historically, lagomorphs have not been good for the environment following their introduction. Cinderace have been fine. They help fill the niche of a relatively vulnerable grazer that the many predators of the area can prey upon. It is legal to capture cinderace with a Class II license, even within park boundaries. There is a temporary moratorium on scorbunny and raboot capture to ensure the threatened or endangered predators within the park have a reliable food source. All three stages can be purchased from specialty breeders or adopted from shelters with a Class I license. Many trainers go to a breeder to obtain a scorbunny starter. The best breeders are generally clustered in northern Akala, especially in the area between Paniola Town and the various rainforest preserves in the north.
Breeding
Cinderace readily mate in the wild and captivity. If placed on the same team or in the same enclosure mating can occur in as little as ten days. After a thirty-nine to forty-one day pregnancy the female will give birth to one to three scorbunny. The scorbunny will stay in the den for the first two months of their life and then begin to venture outside under a cinderace's supervision.
Cinderace are known to cannibalize their offspring in the wild and captivity. This can occur when there is not enough protein in their diet, there are environmental stressors such as predators, or when the scorbunny have birth defects. Make sure to provide the mother plenty of alfalfa during pregnancy and while the scorbunny are in the den. Premature offspring should be immediately removed to be hand raised. All efforts should be taken to reduce stressors during this critical period.
After three months captive-born cinderace will typically allow their offspring to be given to a trainer.
Cinderace have been crossbred with most other lagomorphs and a handful of rodents. If there are no available cinderace of the opposite sex they will readily agree to mate with anything resembling one. Homosexual mating has also been observed in the wild and captivity if no suitable mate has been provided for several months.
Relatives
The domesticated cinderace are a subspecies of the wild cinderace of Anahuac. They are larger, more aggressive, and stronger than their wild counterparts. Wild cinderace are critically endangered due to climate change limiting the amount of the mountains they can use, habitat loss from the expanding Tenochtitlan metropolitan area, and interbreeding with feral domesticated cinderace.
There is a second domesticated subspecies, the northern cinderace. L. v. americana were popular with the various Algonquin tribes of the Great Lakes region. Due to the nature of the games played in the region these cinderace have comparatively underdeveloped hindlegs and particularly strong limbs and thick skulls. They can leap into each other at high speeds while suffering only light brain damage. These cinderace have a variant of pyro ball, however theirs involves juggling and throwing a pebble rather than kicking it. Northern cinderace are regarded as aberrations by other domesticated cinderace. However, the subspecies consider themselves to be the only real cinderace. The others are mere pretenders. Despite their willingness to mate with almost every lagomorph the two subspecies will not crossbreed unless they are truly desperate.