Barboach have been derisively referred to as mud kings, for although they dominate their mud habitat, it is home to very few pokemon of note. In this urbanized era, it is seldom appreciated how they gained this appellation, for most Barboach communities created the very mud pools they call home.
Barboach are beloved by farmers, for they turn vast fields of dried-out dirt into giant puddles of mud. These pokemon are often imported in areas of drought or damaged irrigation systems to moisten the soil and allow plants to thrive again. Yet despite being called kings, Barboach are not on top of the food chain; many grass pokemon such as Oddish will feed on the Barboach as well as the moistened soil they provide.
But there are others who despise the Barboach. Electric pokemon fear them, for mud robs their lightning of its power. They are the first to flee whenever the Barboach appear, and will travel great distances in order to escape the Barboach farms. And Barboach colonies often expand into nearby water, turning sediment to mud as well. Yet because Barboach are skilled burrowers and adept at defending territory, although next to useless in traditional one-on-one battles, they usually survive long enough to evolve into Whiscash and turn their puddle into a nest. Few ponds are completely turned to mud this way, for a single Barboach can only create so much mud and they are not without predators in the water. Nonetheless, Barboach are considered among the worst of invasive species for the disruption they wreak upon maritime ecosystems, impacting fishermen as well as rare pokemon.
For this reason, Barboach usage in agriculture has been a subject of fierce political debates since time immemorial, and many times has driven farmers and fishermen into open war.