Starmie (Staryu)
Quinquennium astrologus
Overview
There are many pokémon that are widely known to come to Earth from elsewhere, whether that be the moon, the rest of the solar system, the vast outer reaches of space, or another dimension entirely. For millennia, natural philosophers have argued that starmie must also be from another world. They glow in strange colors and patterns at night and rise to the surface. Their body shape is notably different from vertebrates or arthropods. Just standing near them while they glow can cause headaches or strange visions. When modern researchers discovered that starmie are broadcasting radio waves to the night sky these theories became all but confirmed.
Despite mythology, historical belief, and modern theories, no concrete evidence for an extraterrestrial origin has emerged. Starmie are apparently just particularly odd echinoderms that use radio waves to communicate with each other. The headaches and visions are the attempted psionic communication with a creature that is vastly different from them.
Both stages are fast, powerful, and surprisingly durable pokémon. A starmie can easily hold their own through the end of the island challenge. Their main drawbacks are husbandry requirements. Like many water-types, starmie must spend several hours a day submerged in seawater. They can leave the water, but get nervous if there is not a pool to retreat back to as needed. Starmie's attempts at communication can cause migraines. It has often been alleged that starmie cause brain cancer, but clinical studies have yet to show a conclusive link. They are not as accidentally damaging as alakazam but can still take a toll on anyone without at least some psi-sensitivity. Even psychic trainers can be frustrated with starmie as their messages are often difficult to comprehend without years of experience.
Staryu will begin to fall off towards the end of the island challenge but do not cause headaches and are generally more relaxed than starmie. Trainers who do not intend to become professional battlers after the end of the island challenge and do not need a starmie's power may be better off not evolving their pokémon.
Physiology
Staryu are classified as pure water-types. Starmie are classified as dual water- and psychic-types. While staryu can learn a few psychic-type moves and are capable of very crude telepathic signals, they primarily communicate by radio waves and do not appear to use telepathy with conspecifics. They are far more comfortable using water-type attacks or moves such as swift.
Staryu are echinoderms. This means that they have five-fold symmetry, rather than the lateral symmetry of arthropods and vertebrates. At their center is a gem, or core, made of a mix of silicon and calcium carbonate. The core acts as the pokémon's central nervous system and is the only irreplaceable part of their body. This makes starmie one of the only organic pokémon to have a silicon-based nervous system. There is some speculation that starmie are the result of a mineral pokémon parasitizing an echinoderm, eventually resulting in a single organism. Cores and even the preserved imprint of a creature that resembles a starmie have been found that are over 200 million years old.
The rest of staryu's body consists of five armored legs each with dozens of tube feet. Staryu's tube feet help them move and grab onto objects. Staryu are surprisingly strong and can easily pry open most bivalves. Their mouth is in the center of their body, on the opposite side as the core. Staryu typically feed externally by extruding their core through the mouth, coating prey in stomach acid and sticking them to the stomach lining, and then pulling the mouth back in. Sand absorbed in the process can be digested and used to repair or grow the core.
Starmie have two sets of five legs. The second set forms behind the first in the gaps between legs. The tube feet of the front set are front-facing while those on the back set are back-facing. This lets starmie climb even more surfaces than staryu and physically defend themselves from either direction. Starmie are also typically darker in coloration than staryu. Colors for both stages vary with many staryu being orange, brown, yellow, or red and starmie typically becoming a dark blue, green, purple, or black.
Both stages, but especially starmie, are known for their clever usage of hydrokinesis. They can lie on their back and form whirlpools that suck plankton towards their mouth and into their stomach. Vortexes of water can also be used to move themselves at high speeds by rapidly increasing their angular momentum and angling themselves like a propeller.
Starmie can grow to be four feet in diameter. They can weigh up to sixty pounds. Wild lifespans are poorly understood. Captive specimens typically live between thirty-five and fifty years. The oldest known starmie lived for seventy years.
Behavior
Staryu are generally nearshore benthic feeders. They root through the substrate for slow-moving prey like molluscs and bivalves. They will then rip them open and eat. Staryu are highly curious and have been known to use and even modify human tools to make simple traps for larger prey like fish. They will also often reside in shipwrecks, dock pillars, or other manmade structures. Sometimes staryu are trapped on land at high tide. They can still move outside of saltwater for several hours. This can allow them to hunt for terrestrial crabs and scavenge for garbage. Sometimes staryu make a nuisance of themselves on public beaches. They are usually quick to learn what behaviors will get them punished and avoid repeating them, or at least avoid being caught.
Starmie spend most of their time in the open ocean, using their whirlpools to suck in plankton to feed on. Sometimes they have been observed chasing down slower moving fish and killing them with an elemental attack. On one occasion a starmie used a fish corpse as bait to lure in a wingull and then kill it with a psionic attack, leaving it with two kills. During the day they tend to lurk further down beneath the surface in an apparent state of rest. They hunt in the morning and evening. At night they rest on the surface and emit radio waves for communications. They have been known to approach boats with a radio and attempt to communicate. Starmie are skilled at identifying what wavelength a radio is receiving but their own signals are nearly indistinguishable from background static.
Starmie flock to areas of abundant food. Predators and researchers that annoy or injure one starmie will quickly be avoided by all starmie within fifty miles. Despite their near-constant communication, starmie rarely physically interact with each other. Captive specimens are also not physically affectionate. Research into starmie broadcasts has identified common patterns that may be a vocabulary. At least one researcher has suggested that some of these patterns may be names that refer to specific individuals, although this theory has yet to gain widespread acceptance.
In many ways, from their intelligence to the use of their limbs, staryu and starmie are most comparable to cephalopods. They compete for many of the same niches. Staryu have an advantage in their willingness to cooperate with each other, but are generally less intelligent and maneuverable than cephalopods. Starmie even the scales on these fronts and even live longer to boot. However, starmie are relatively rare and generally prefer open waters rather than typical cephalopod habitats.
Husbandry
Starmie and staryu are hardy, reasonably low maintenance pokémon until they aren't. Captive specimens sometimes rapidly decline in health and die for seemingly minor reasons or even from things that haven't been a problem before. A great deal of care should be put into starmie husbandry and monitoring their health to avoid issues.
Both staryu and starmie primarily eat seafood. Staryu prefer worms, mollusks, crustaceans, and other echinoderms. Food should have some sand mixed in to ensure proper core health. Staryu are incredibly reluctant to eat on land and prefer to feed in tanks at least five feet deep. They should be fed at least twice a day. The use of live food or puzzles can make feeding an enrichment activity.
Starmie eat more fish in the wild. The most commonly recommended diet is 60% fresh or frozen fish and 40% invertebrates. Other forms of meat can be used as an occasional treat, but are best avoided in sensitive individuals.
The main drawback for starmie is their need of a reasonably deep tank. Starmie are fast swimmers that live in the middle of the water column, requiring a tank that is both deep and wide. Outside of public aquaria they are more suited for large pools or saltwater ponds than conventional tanks. Staryu can tolerate smaller, shallower pools. They need places to hide and explore to feel safe and satisfied.
While traveling, staryu and starmie can rest in the ocean or habitat balls. Pokémon Centers vary as to whether or not they can be in community tanks. Starmie rarely mind predator tanks as any damage taken can be quickly healed. Staryu can become stressed and rapidly decline when held with larger predators, even if they are physically unharmed. They will likely leave the pool and potentially experience dehydration as a result. While staryu and starmie can function on land, it is best for their trainers to pick a route that hugs the coastline, using vehicles or ride pokémon for inland trips whenever possible.
Because starmie can leave the water and are clever enough to open most barriers they are nearly impossible to contain. If they are well fed, provided with toys, and have a large enough tank they are unlikely to leave. Specimens with unmet needs will seek to meet those needs on their own, potentially hurting themselves or breaking things in the process.
Staryu and especially starmie have high enrichment needs. Puzzles can help. So can other toys, although they tend to go through them quickly. It is important to note the ways starmie perceive the world and what makes things interesting to them. Starmie can recognize objects in photographs through their core. This suggests some form of vision, although the exact mechanics of how and what they see are poorly understood. Starmie often change the color their core glows and sometimes do so in short, regular intervals. This may be a form of communication. They are adept at recognizing vibrations in the water but struggle to do so in the air. This can make them difficult to command in battle or give auditory orders to. Starmie do sense radio waves and can learn to recognize the meanings of certain patterns and repeat it back themselves. For example, if a signal is paired with feedings, starmie can repeat it back when hungry. They can also do this to an extent with sound waves underwater, but they are far more adept at radio mimicry than audio imitation. Starmie do have a sense of touch on their limbs but not their core. They become distressed and/or hostile if the core is touched. Finally, starmie are believed to run telepathic scans of their surroundings to learn the rough positions of other lifeforms and gauge basic information. Some psychic trainers or psychic-types have learned to trade messages with starmie, but it is rarely intuitive for them.
Starmie and staryu tolerate occasional nibbling and rarely eat tankmates if well fed, making them good fits for very large community tanks at public aquaria. In smaller tanks they are less likely to tolerate other pokémon. Both stages appreciate opportunities to broadcast and receive radio waves at night and will become fond of people or pokémon who accompany them while they do it.
Illness
Physical trauma is almost never a problem for the species. Stronger specimens can recover from the loss of up to 80% of their organic body. Even young, weak specimens can easily regrow a limb. Core damage is much harder to repair. The core is very hard and has no cleavage, making it difficult to break accidentally. Even professional battles are unlikely to kill a starmie barring an intentional hit to the core. Small cracks or the loss of 1-3% of its mass can be healed, but even this can result in behavioral shifts or cognitive problems. Anything more serious will be irreversible and likely fatal.
Starmie are still prone to illness. Sick specimens can have no symptoms at all and then be dead hours later. When symptoms do appear they usually take the form of white spots, depressions in the body, labored or unusual movements, lethargy, anorexia, or necrosis. Any sign of illness should be a cause for immediate concern. If treated quickly the illness may be reversible. Localized infections can be halted by amputation without permanent limb loss.
Evolution
Approaching evolution, staryu dive deeper and seek out a mineral pokémon to consume. Sources of both elemental energy and silicon will also work. After consuming their meal, staryu bury deep into the substrate and go dormant. Over the course of five days to two weeks, the core grows in size and complexity. When the staryu emerges they will be ravenous and eat as much as they can as their new legs grow in.
The immediate boost in power and the duration of dormancy are linked. The staryu that are strongest after evolution are those that have the most potent meals and stay dormant the longest. These specimens maintain an advantage over their peers years after evolution, although the size of the power gap shrinks considerably. High quality water stones are believed to produce the best results and are most commonly used in captivity. Evolution is optional, but many staryu will eventually take the initiative and become unusually aggressive towards mineral pokémon. If this occurs a water stone should be purchased as soon as possible.
Battle
Starmie are fast, versatile pokémon. They can function on quick stall teams as a hazard remover and status spreader that can regenerate minor injuries over the course of a battle and has little risk of permanent injury against stronger opponents. Starmie trained in defensive techniques like harden, reflect, and recover can make themselves very difficult to hurt while still being fast enough to dodge attacks and strong enough to overpower frailer offensive threats.
Offensive starmie are capable of unleashing powerful elemental attacks from their core while zipping over the arena at high speeds. They have a wide variety of moves they can learn, although their standard set is some combination of psychic, hydro pump, ice beam, thunder beam, and recover or rapid spin. Starmie are at their strongest when using beam moves that can be channeled in their core.
While starmie fill two niches well, they do have to choose one. As a result of specialized training and the four move limit, the strongest starmie are rarely the most durable. Trying to do both is likely to confuse the pokémon and split their focus, leaving them unable to be as durable as they need to be for a quickstall team or strong as they need to be for offense.
When countering offensive starmie it is best to focus on steadily wearing them down with area of effect or homing moves. Shock wave and discharge are particularly effective at this. Once the pokémon has taken a little damage they will be easier to approach and finish off. Do not give starmie time to get away and recover. The finishing blow must be struck in the same combo as the first one or it is unlikely to last.
Defensive starmie matchups usually turn into games of attrition. The starmie is usually too durable to take down in one flurry of blows like offensive starmie. They can also outheal minor injuries. The best way to deal with them is to simply exhaust them over time. Their healing abilities are best at physical wounds rather than more nebulous or generalized afflictions. Poisons, curses, burns, and other residual damage can wear them down. Enough blows will also tax their short-term regeneration abilities and leave them vulnerable in the end. Opponents just have to be careful to dodge or mitigate enough of the starmie's attacks in the meantime to avoid going down themselves. Finally, trainers can shut down active regeneration with taunt, disable, or other trickery.
On the island challenge starmie are best used as fast attackers that can overwhelm a particularly annoying foe early in a totem fight or clean up weakened opponents. They are solid pokémon through the end of the challenge.
Staryu are weaker and frailer than starmie, but still decently fast and with reliable regeneration. They can serve a similar role to starmie, just less effectively. Staryu are usually better sticking to water-type attacks like bubblebeam rather than elemental blasts. Staryu are formidable at the start of the challenge but start to fall off on the second or third island.
Acquisition
Staryu prefer relatively undisturbed warm-water beaches. In Alola this effectively bars them from Melemele and portions of Akala and Ula'Ula. Protected beaches away from urban areas, especially on Poni, are the best places to find one. They are easiest to spot at night when they surface.
Catching a staryu's interest and gaining their loyalty is tricky and somewhat random. Many staryu are fascinated by technology such as smartphones and will tag along to learn more. Others want to become stronger. Most will flee when a human approaches. In the past staryu and starmie were often hunted to make jewelry from their cores. The species are still wary of humans. Proving battles tend to scare them away, although a few will be interested in traveling with strong trainers.
Staryu can occasionally be found in shelters but most can be released. Aquarium supply stores often carry them, although they are not as common as other aquatic invertebrates that are easier to care for. Starmie are more common in shelters than staryu. Many trainers decide they are too high maintenance to keep when the island challenge is over. Formerly captive starmie do not behave like wild starmie and are usually unreleasable.
Wild starmie are typically only found out at sea. Their capture is prohibited in accordance with international treaties on marine pokémon conservation.
Staryu can be captured, adopted, or purchased with a Class II license. Starmie can be adopted or purchased with a Class III license.
Breeding
Wild starmie spawn in March. They congregate in nearshore waters, particularly around reefs, and broadcast spawn under a new moon. Starmie stay around the reef for another few weeks to defend eggs that settle on the coral and then leave when they begin to hatch. Baby staryu live on the corals and eat algae. As they grow they will eventually move away from the reef and its predators towards the beaches where they can hide in stand. Because staryu and starmie live in different places, a staryu's only contact with adults of its species may have been brief glimpses shortly after hatching.
Starmie are hermaphrodites and which gamete they emit in the wild is seemingly random. Spawning of a specific gamete can be induced in captivity with chemical injections, although this may be detrimental to the long-term health of the starmie. Post-spawning lifespans of starmie are poorly understood in the wild but it is possible that mortality is high. Starmie will watch the eggs until they hatch and will then take no further interest in their offspring, allowing for easy adoptions but requiring the breeder to pay especially close attention to the young staryu.
Starmie have cross-bred with other echinoderms in captivity. In the wild this is extremely rare due to differences in spawning times. The most common hybrid, with toxapex, are unusually durable staryu or lightweight, mobile mareanie. Hybrids generally fail to fully capitalize on the strengths of either parent, although one hybrid starmie with toxic spikes along its body has seen some success in the competitive circuits.
Relatives
There is probably only one extant starmie species. There are slight variations across the oceans, but the pelagic and mobile nature of starmie ensures gene mixing and prevents the formation of subspecies. There may be a second species (Q. fonsnili) in and around the White Nile and Lake Victoria. Freshwater starmie were smaller than oceanic starmie and had thinner legs. Their core was usually purple, although silver cores have also been documented. In local folklore starmie were children of the gods that observed humanity's deeds and reported them to the heavens at night. This did not save them from extensive poaching for their beautiful cores which could be sold for over ten times the average annual salary in the region. The introduction of sharpedo likely finished the species off. The last widely accepted sighting was in 1977, although it is possible that some remain in Lake Victoria's tributaries and the deeper portions of the lake.