Noctowl (Hoothoot)
Noctua tigris amazonia
Overview
Noctowl appears to have more in common with a baseline animal than a pokémon at first glance. Their many adaptations barely incorporate elemental energy. They are not exceedingly strong, durable, or intelligent. Noctowl prefer basic tactics and stealth to flashy attacks in combat. A majority of their prey are baseline animals.
Noctowl are also so dominant in their niche that most other predatory owls in their range have been driven to extinction. Even larger raptors up to and including braviary can be endangered by noctowl.
While noctowl are a fascinating example of how well purposed biological adaptations can compete outperform misapplied telepathy or pyrokinesis, this minimalism can also make them a bad choice for trainers. They rely more on stealth and strategy than their combat prowess in the wild. Most of their prey are baseline animals. The pokémon they do prey upon are rodents, insects, or nestlings. They actively avoid fights with anything near their own size. Noctowl are also more aggressive and unruly than dartrix. Most trainers will find rowlet to be the superior owl for their team and they are readily available for almost any trainer who wants one.
Physiology
Hoothoot and noctowl are both classified as dual normal- and flying-types. During the 19th and early 20th Centuries, academics were split as to whether they should be normal or psychic types. The research of Dr. Hubbard Stone showed that noctowl relied on their hearing rather than psychic abilities to find prey underneath snow. Noctowl have some telepathic and telekinetic talent, but not enough to justify a psychic typing.
Hoothoot are short, stout birds with large red eyes. They appear to only have one leg when standing. The other is tucked beneath them while standing, hidden by their feathers. When one leg gets tired they swap the leg they are standing on. The switch occurs in about a quarter of a second.
A common urban legend states that hoothoot do not have eyelids. This is false. They have three per eye. One, the nictitating membrane, cleans the eye. The second closes when hoothoot blinks. The third closes when hoothoot sleeps.
Noctowl are taller than hoothoot and about as broad. This makes them considerably slimmer. This is accentuated by noctowl's tendency to stand tall and thin while resting to better blend in with the forest around them. Noctowl have two rows of three inverted triangle patterns on their abdomen that break up their silhouette. Two "horns" of light feathers rise from the sides of noctowl's head. These are neither bony horns nor ears; noctowl's ears are located on the side of their head, hidden beneath feathers.
A series of adaptations make noctowl unrivaled killers of small prey. First, their ears are slightly asymmetrical on the head. One sits a few millimeters above the other. The difference is enough to allow noctowl to pinpoint where sounds are coming from, even underneath bark, earth, or snow. Their eyes are cylindrical rather than spherical to allow for maximal vision on even very dark nights. The trade off of cylindrical eyes is that they cannot rotate. Noctowl must physically move their head to shift their field of view. As a result they have evolved to be able to rotate their head 150 degrees in either direction. They can also lean over so that their head is upside-down and to the side of their body. This makes their silhouette almost circular, which has led to reports of giant hoothoot in parts of their range.
Noctowl's feathers are extremely soft. Their wings have serrated edges to break up the flow of wind. Noctowl's wings are relatively small in comparison to their weight and are better suited for gliding short distances than soaring. Their feet are quite broad for the pokemon's size to allow for better balance and a broader strike. Their talons are also used for climbing back up trees when there is no urgent need to use wind manipulation for a rapid ascent.
Noctowl can grow to be five feet tall and weigh up to twenty pounds. Females are slightly larger than males, but not so different as to allow for the reliable sexing of adults based on size alone. Wild specimens typically live for fifteen to twenty years. Captive lifespans of fifty years are common and some exceptional individuals have lived to seventy.
Behavior
Noctowl are the ultimate nocturnal stealth predators. Their silent flight, large talons, and excellent senses let them find prey moving in the dark and pick them off without being seen. Noctowl can grab spinarak off their webs with minimal risk of entanglement. They will raid the nests of other raptors while the parents are sleeping, making off with one chick a night. Even snakes and small dragons can fall prey to a talon in the dark.
However, noctowl feed almost exclusively on small mammals when they are able to do so. In Alola this means that they hunt rattata more often than not. Noctowl must regurgitate the portions of their food that they cannot digest. These pellets, often made up of bone, chitin, and hair, allow for valuable insights into wild noctowl's diet. Polar variants of noctowl can have up to 99% of their diet composed of a single lagomorph or rodent species. Tropical noctowl, such as the ones found in Alola, still prefer to hunt rodents but will happily eat anything they come across. The easiest prey to find are the prey most frequently consumed.
In general, noctowl only use elemental energy as a last resort. It is an option if needed but not one they prefer to rely upon. This reduces the caloric intake they require and allows them to subsist on smaller, less dangerous prey.
However, noctowl can be ambitious hunters that have been documented killing prey up to five times their own body weight if desperate or overconfident. In Alola's rainforests they have been known to prey upon juvenile oranguru, ariados, pinsir, zubat, dartrix, murkrow, and even stufful. Anything that moves at night is liable to end up in a noctowl's path. This does not always end well for the noctowl. Anything they cannot kill or stun in a single strike will try to fight back. Noctowl are not fast fliers and can struggle to run away. As a result they tend to land and attempt to finish their prey with talon slashes and the occasional elemental attack. This can end poorly for them as they are not the strongest pokémon in a one on one fight. They mostly rely on the damage from their initial strike and sheer audacity to carry them to victory.
Noctowl prefer to hunt in open terrain where rodents congregate and their lack of aerial maneuverability is less important. They still need to live near the forest's edge. Noctowl will often hunt by flying between perches, trying to see or hear prey and, if they fail, flying on to the next perch. They also need to roost during the day in a concealed location high in the canopy. Their habit of preying upon other birds makes them prone to being harassed and even killed by corvids or other raptors during the day. Nesting high in dense forest reduces the odds of being spotted.
Paired noctowl are territorial and will prevent other pairs from living nearby. Unpaired hoothoot and noctowl can live in their territory as long as they do not overstay their welcome.
Hoothoot are less aggressive than noctowl. They tend to hunt closer to the ground and feed more on invertebrates and small rodents. Sometimes they will stand very still and wait for something to pass by them. In Alola they are prone to using their keen hearing to find insects beneath tree bark before using their beak and talons to tear into the tree to get to their prey.
Hoothoot can be incredibly predictable in the wild and captivity. They are keenly aware of the passage of time and will perform the same activities at the same time every day. This makes them one of a handful of species, including humans, to base their schedules on a rigid 24-hour calendar rather than the variable amount of sunlight received throughout the year. This sense of time helps them maintain instinctual schedules while they are young. Noctowl retain the same sense of time but tend to improvise more based on their experiences.
Husbandry
Hoothoot and noctowl are generalists that adapt well to a variety of diets. Rodents should make up the core of the diet. Noctowl are also capable of hunting rodents on their own and, in most of Alola, hunting of rattata is legal and encouraged. Any sort of meat, including fish and invertebrates, can also supplement the diet. Some noctowl will eat commercial pellets. Others will refuse. There are even reports of noctowl that will only eat live prey. Any noctowl fed pellets or frozen food should have constant access to water. Specimens fed on live or fresh food can get enough water from their diet.
Any housebroken noctowl is only reluctantly and intermittently so. For best success, put litter boxes near their favorite perches so they can make it a game to defecate into them in midair. In addition to feces, noctowl also cough up pellets a few hours after a meal. Watch them afterwards if prey with bones, fur, or scales attached are fed. Noctowl, like most birds, fit best in homes with easily cleaned surfaces.
Hoothoot are creatures of habbit that grow distressed if their schedule is deviated from. They are also nocturnal. Their trainers should not expect to use them during the day. The hoothoot will either need to be watched at night or have another pokémon to interact with. Noctowl are more flexible but still primarily nocturnal. They also demand more attention and affection than most birds of prey. Having a mate reduces this need, although a territorial couple can attempt to drive teammates and even their trainer away from their home when nesting. Noctowl enjoy perching on their trainer. Their talons can be very sharp and up to six inches long. Make sure that proper falconry gear is used when perching and strongly discourage the pokémon from landing on humans without it.
Both stages are more intelligent than most birds of prey and will need frequent enrichment, especially if they are left alone at night. Puzzles meant to be solved should be durable enough that the pokémon cannot simply rip them apart in their talons. Noctowl can and will destroy toys and then become upset that they have nothing to do.
Noctowl's extremely varied diet can lead them to prey upon organic teammates that weigh less than three times the noctowl's own weight. Noctowl have even been documented attempting to prey upon incorporeal and inorganic teammates, albeit with little success. Captive-bred hoothoot are often better at tolerating other teammates but they can still be aggressive towards anything they can kill. They will also harass any teammates who are using perches or toys they want to play with. Ideal teammates should be willing and able to stand up for themselves without serious risk of physical or psychological harm to the noctowl. Wild-caught birds such as raptors, corvids, and parrots will often bully noctowl even if the owl does not begin the conflict. This can make them hard to fit onto the teams of bird specialists, further limiting their usage.
Illness
Hoothoot and noctowl are fairly hardy birds. The main health problem they suffer from is anemia. This can be caused by a number of parasites. Ensuring that noctowl have an iron-rich diet and receive a thorough medical examination every six months is usually sufficient to avoid the problem. They are more durable than most birds but they still have hollow bones that can be broken in battle. Great care should be taken in the aftermath of a wing injury to ensure that it settles correctly. Noctowl with long-term wing injuries will sometimes become obese due to inactivity, leading to further health problems.
Evolution
Hoothoot gradually evolve around two years of age in the wild. Captive specimens can evolve earlier, but one year appears to be the lower limit even with optimal nutrition and frequent battle. Over the course of three to six months they become taller. The formal demarcation line is sexual maturity in the wild and the transition of the eyes from red or amber to amber or yellow in captivity.
Battle
Noctowl are successful, highly adapted predators. They are also stealth hunters that usually pursue smaller or sleeping prey. Even their flight is limited compared to other birds of prey. This leaves noctowl in a bad position in competitive battling. They are versatile and can perform many roles, from support with tailwind, reflect, hypnosis, and defog to special sweeping with nasty plot and agility. Unfortunately, noctowl do neither well. Their ungainly flight leaves them unable to avoid many hits, and their frail bones mean that offensive pokémon can easily overwhelm them without a great deal of prior setup. Offensively their elemental well is not deep or wide enough to allow for easy sweeping or wall-breaking without boosting, which can be similarly difficult to pull off.
Even on the island challenge noctowl can struggle a great deal. They are best off fighting at range with moves such as air slash or psychic mixed with support options like tailwind and hypnosis. Noctowl are most valuable as sleep setters on the island challenge, making the totem drowsy before being knocked out themselves. Against early totems without supporting pokémon they can use the opportunity to set up or deal damage themselves. Even hoothoot with a lot of training in hypnosis can pull this off, although trainers may be better off immediately switching to a more offensively oriented opponent.
Sadly, not all pokémon are capable of pulling their weight to the end of the island challenge. Trainers interested in using a more combat capable owl should pick a rowlet as their starter.
Acquisition
The DNR has deemed noctowl an invasive species of high concern due to their tendency to prey upon already vulnerable bird populations. The risk of inbreeding with and predation on dartrix is particularly concerning. Their efforts have eliminated most of the population on the islands with the last holdouts being in the rainforests of northern Akala. They are most often found around clearings and forest edges, although they are typically found high in the canopy during the day. Trainers looking for a hoothoot or noctowl are best off wandering the forest at night and waiting to come across one eating from a larger carcass they can't drag up a tree with them. They will require a proving battle for capture.
DNR-captured noctowl and hoothoot sometimes end up in shelters on Akala. They are culled when no space is available. Importation of the species for breeding purposes has been prohibited since 1994 and the DNR is reluctant to give wild specimens to breeders. These limitations, combined with the difficulty of keeping the species with other birds of prey, has limited the availability of captive-bred noctowl. There are still a few collectors who breed the species, but they are often reluctant to sell their hoothoot.
Both stages can be captured, purchased, or adopted with a Class III license.
Breeding
Noctowl breed relatively early in the season in temperate regions, mating in November and laying eggs in December that hatch in February. This means that their nestlings are fledged by the time that other bird eggs are just hatching. This allows noctowl to prey upon the nestlings of raptors without fear of retaliation. Noctowl are also adept winter hunters that can feed on the few species that remain active, even at the edges of the Arctic circle.
Tropical noctowl still breed on the same schedule as their temperate and polar counterparts, even if it no longer carries the same advantages. Noctowl will choose mates in November. Males will bring females food and perform courtship dances and songs in an effort to win her favor. Noctowl are generally quiet, only marking their territory with the occasional call of hoots. They can also whistle, meow, and shriek. Their mating call is primarily made of whistles and shrieks that can scare those who hear them on a dark night. After the call catches a female's attention, the male will bend over and press his head as close to his torso as possible in an attempt to form a circular silhouette. Noctowl usually mate for life, although the pair spend less time together when they are not nesting. Every fall the male will go through some token effort to win his mate's favor back.
Noctowl will not construct their own nests. They will pillage the nest of an abandoned bird. If none is available they will nest in a tree cavity or manmade structure. In Canada, cabins abandoned for the winter will often have their furnishings torn apart and repurposed by nesting noctowl. It can be a challenge to chase them out in the summer.
In captivity noctowl must be given a wide space free of other birds for several months. This can be an aviary or a large open plot. Noctowl breeders prefer electrified or heavily reinforced aviaries to reduce the space each pair will claim. The female will lay two to four eggs a year. She will spend most of her time on the nest while the male hunts and defends the territory. After the eggs hatch they will live in or around the nest for roughly two months before being kicked out. They will still receive some supervision and support from their parents until the next mating season begins.
Noctowl are willing to crossbreed with other owls, and even other birds of prey. The problem usually comes from the prospective partner's reluctance to mate with noctowl. This is easier in captivity where an enforced lack of mating option and time to bond with a more docile specimen can tip the scales. They have been documented crossbreeding with iciquill and dartrix in the wild. The dartrix partners were usually social outcasts unable to find a mate of their own species.
Relatives
Noctowl have more than a dozen subspecies and are native to four continents. They span throughout temperate Eurasia and from the edge of the Arctic Circle to the middle of the Amazon rainforest in the Americas. Their closest relative, Iciquill, lives throughout the arctic and subarctic regions. The northernmost noctowl subspecies, N. t. borealis and N. t. khione live in their habitat year-round without hibernating or having a permanent burrow. They rely on their soft, fluffy, and thick plumage to keep themselves warm. These are also the only subspecies to warrant a proper psychic typing, not for using telepathy to detect prey but for using telekinesis to tear away the snow and ice they're hiding under.
The other noctowl species all have minor adaptations for their individual habitats. Noctowl avoid dense human settlements but can be found in a diverse array of habitats including woodland, scrubland, marshes, rainforests, beaches and small islands, savannahs, and mountain peaks.
The Alolan population is descended from an introduced population of Amazonian noctowl. These are the only subspecies to naturally be found in the tropics. They are better at making tight turns than the other subspecies to allow for life in denser forests. Amazonian noctowl are particularly fond of snatching up any primates or squirrels climbing in the understory or canopy and taking them up to a branch to eat. They have the thinnest coat of any subspecies.
Noctowl were introduced to Alola in 1974 when nineteen individuals escaped from an aviary during a heavy storm. They have since been joined by escaped pets and interbed with dartrix to increase their numbers.