Applin (Flapple, Appletun)

Divinimalum acutitesta

Overview

Myths of a source of knowledge and/or immortality guarded by flapple and appletun date back to at least 2500 BCE. In the earlier versions, gardens, mountains, or other domains of an ancient, powerful god were featured. Later on the garden morphed into a library. Several cultures made the myths into reality by building grand libraries and rearing applin in the courtyards. The most famous of these libraries were in Alexandria and Babylon, although others were built in Persepolis, Jerusalem, Rome, Nineveh, and Athens. In the medieval and modern eras few people seriously believed that an applin-guarded divine oracle or long-lost library was to be found. Still the lore around flapple and appletun as guardians of knowledge and health, respectively, ensured that they would remain common fixtures in universities and monasteries.

Upon being introduced to South and Central America, applin had to search for a new host fruit due to the initial lack of apples. They ultimately found one in the pinap berry. The descendants of the first applin introduced to the new world ultimately became the tropical flapple and appletun. While they were long banned from Alola due to their potential impact on the pinap plantations, the declining importance of the crop has led to a relaxation of the ban in recent years. Today a handful of defunct plantations have been turned into tourist attractions revolving around pinap-clad dragons.

Neither flapple nor appletun are particularly difficult to care for. While they are far from the most powerful of dragons, both are quite capable of keeping up through the end of the Island Challenge.

Physiology

All stages of the evolutionary line are classified as dual grass- and dragon-types. Applin’s grass typing is often disputed as their berries are merely homes and disguises, not a part of their body. Still, applin can release chemicals that manipulate the berry. Some scholars contend that appletun or flapple should have, respectively, a poison or psychic typing due to their venom and telekinesis. There are good cases to be made for these typings. Dragon-types are often capable of wielding many different types of elemental attacks, so there is a standing policy to keep the designated dragon typing when more than two typings are plausible. Grass remains the best secondary typing for flapple as they are physically fused with a plant. Appletun’s venom and poisons are plant derived.

Juvenile applin are small green lizards with short legs and a large pseudo head. Applin’s actual head is located below two large green stalks with eye spots. The eye spots are only capable of detecting light and movement; their actual mouth and eyes are located just below it. When predators strike for the head they are far more likely to hit the pseudo head than the actual one. Even by pokémon standards applin heal non-lethal wounds very quickly. Complete destruction of the tail or pseudo head can be healed within ten days.

Applin primarily live inside of their host pinap berry. Very large berries are created by appletun and flapple (see Breeding) for applin to live in. Shortly after birth applin will dig into a berry. Special chemicals secreted by applin prevent the fruit from rotting. Applin will fully consume up to five berries, steadily growing each time.

Flapple fuse with their final berry and use the chemically hardened peel as armor and a disguise. The pseudo-head stalks remain but are now primarily yellow with a small black dot in the center. This can make the stalks look like a seed. As with applin these stalks contain eye spots and are useful for detecting wind currents, but are not the true eyes. Those are small and located near the stalk’s base. A set of crown-like horns juts from flapple’s head. The tips can secrete mild bromelain-based venom that can cause chemical burns to organic material. Flapple’s feet each have hairs that allow them to grip onto trees and other substances. Each arm and leg is also attached to a broad but thin slice of the original fruit’s husk. The lizards use these segments to glide from tree to tree.

The segments are also good for exploiting one of flapple’s signature abilities: vertical telekinesis, or gravity control. Several pokémon have a unique sort of telekinesis that has the effect of increasing, decreasing, or even reversing gravity in a certain area. Whether this ability actually warps a fundamental law of the universe or merely exerts telekinetic pressure to mimic the effect is presently a subject of fierce debate. In any case the combination of lowered gravity effects and high vertical air resistance can let flapple glide for up to 700 feet.

Appletun are substantially bulkier and less agile than their counterpart and base form. Their heads are covered in a hard yellow dome that protects their brains, eyes, and ears. Only the strongest pokémon can pierce the dome outright, although some smarter pokémon realize that the bottom of appletun’s head is much less durable. The main section of appletun’s body is dominated by its massive swollen back. Much of the back is actually hardened armor. In stable environments some is usually left hollow. In areas with more variable conditions appletun will usually keep the otherwise empty spaces full of reserves of sugar and water.

Predators that can pierce or circumvent appletun’s armor must deal with their secondary line of defense: venom and poison. Both are bromelain based and extremely concentrated. Unless prepared in a specific way, appletun flesh can be lethally toxic to humans and most organic pokémon. Bromelain is a digestive enzyme that, combined with other chemicals in the acid, causes flesh to start breaking down on contact. Appletun can also spit this acid as venom and cause chemical burns or even decomposition.

Appletun are perhaps better known for a second substance they produce. Around the crown on top of their back appletun sometimes secrete sap. This sap is very sweet and, when diluted, is a common ingredient in high-end candies and baked goods. In higher concentrations it can also serve as a disinfectant. This, combined with appletun’s long lifespan, probably contributed to their mythical status as guardians of immortality.

Flapple typically grow up to five feet long and can weigh up to thirty pounds. Appletun grow up to five feet long and can weigh up to three hundred pounds when full. Flapple typically live eight to eleven years. It is difficult to gauge appletun’s lifespan because by the time one dies of natural causes the records of their birth have almost always been lost.

Behavior

Applin do very little. When one berry is almost exhausted, they will briefly leave their old home behind and find another. In the meantime, they digest the inside of the berry and produce chemicals to harden the outside, signal their presence to conspecifics, and prevent rot.

Flapple are arboreal year-round in the tropics. They rest in the high branches of trees at night and jump between them in the day to find food, escape prey, or play with other pokémon. Flapple are insectivores and use their keen sense of hearing to detect insect colonies inside of trees. The horn is then used to penetrate the bark before flapple lap up small bugs with their long tongue. Small bug-type pokémon can also fall prey, either by being physically overpowered or through a clever strategy. Flapple will often leap above potential prey while carrying a rock or hard seed or fruit. Their gravity manipulation powers are then used to launch the object beneath them and strike small or poorly armored animals or pokémon. The flapple will then descend to the ground, use their acids to start partially dissolving the meal, and then use their tongue and teeth to lap up the liquified parts and chew the remaining solid bits.

Once in a while a curious flapple will descend closer to the ground to observe humans or other species. Sometimes they play games with other flapple, pokémon, animals, or people. This curiosity and the ingenuity of their hunting method likely earned them their reputation for cleverness and knowledge.

Appletun live exclusively on the forest floor. Most of their time is spent grazing on grasses and shrubs. Despite being grass-types merged with a plant, appletun struggle to produce their own chlorophyll and prefer to steal chlorophyll or sucrose from other plants. When they are not seeking out food or water, appletun are typically sunning themselves or sleeping. At night appletun burrow a few inches into the ground to protect their underside from attack. In temperate climes appletun almost entirely submerge themselves in dirt during the winter. Once in a great while an appletun will engage with something curious in their environment. While they live in large social groups (especially when compared to the mostly solitary flapple), appletun almost never interact with nearby conspecifics.

Husbandry

Applin are best left undisturbed in a warm, moist area. They do not typically interact with their surroundings and are best left alone in the presence of another berry to move into as needed. Many trainers who own an applin leave them at a breeder until evolution as applin react poorly to pokéballs. The pokémon itself is not merged with the berry and every time it is withdrawn it is taken out of its food source and home. Flapple and appletun do not form any especially strong bonds with trainers who watched over them as an applin.

Flapple are very energetic pokémon with reasonable intelligence and high curiosity. This can make them resource and time intensive to care for. Still, they are highly unlikely to harm their trainer or cause extensive property damage. This qualifies them as one of the easier dragon-types to care for.

Stationary trainers should design at least one room to be flapple friendly. This space should have several hiding or climbing places off the ground at different heights. At least one fifteen-foot gliding alley should be established. A heat lamp will be needed. Natural or very good artificial sunlight exposure is necessary for regenerating their plant-based body parts. Ideally several toys will be provided and rotated out once the pokémon gets bored with them.

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Traveling trainers or those without resources to build a dedicated flapple enclosure can still keep the species so long as sufficient play opportunities are presented. Visits to forested parks, especially ones the flapple has not been to before, are good for entertainment. The bunk beds in most Pokémon Center rooms can also keep a flapple occupied for a while. Games involving vertical and horizontal space such as games of catch or frisbee in a forested area or near buildings can also work. Some flapple enjoy climbing on their trainers. They should be allowed to do this for bonding and enrichment.

Flapple are not easily housebroken but can be gradually taught to use a litter box or pan. A large pan placed on the floor of a flapple enclosure is usually the best way to do this: the pokémon can come to see it as a game to hit the pan while gliding above it. The early housebreaking process is often quite messy and a large tarp should be laid down over the pan. Litter boxes placed at elevation and designed to mimic a tree hollow are sometimes used. In any case it is easiest if another lizard teaches the flapple where to go.

Most commercial insect mixes are good for flapple, with whole bug-types provided as an occasional treat. They are greedy and will overeat if allowed to do so. Daily intake should be limited to 5% to 10% of body weight, depending upon how often injuries must be healed. Flapple are strongly averse to pokéball confinement.

Appletun are comparatively subdued. Enrichment can be limited to shell stroking and the occasional introduction of balls or other simple toys. Please note that sticky or sharp areas of the shell should not be petted. The underside of appletun’s head and neck are very good stroking spots for trusting appletun. Heat lamps and/or sun balls are highly recommended, although appletun are usually quite comfortable living outside in Alola. Fencing should extend beneath the ground as appletun enjoy digging and will sometimes accidentally escape from their home. Be aware that appletun will often attempt to dig burrows outside. Trainers concerned with pitfalls in their yard should fill any burrows with stone after they are discovered.

Most of appletun’s day in the wild is spent searching for food. Even in captivity appletun should be given a few hours a day to eat leafy greens or forage under the sun. At night pokéball use is perfectly acceptable, although some appletun prefer to cuddle with their trainers. Trainers wishing to do so should be advised that appletun will often try to burrow into the mattress at night. The pokémon are also prone to urinating or defecating whenever they want as walking all the way to a litter box and back can seem like an unnecessary hassle for a slow-moving species.

Appletun trainers will also need to consider where the pokémon shall live upon its trainer’s death. This alone can make them more of a hassle to care for than the energetic but short-lived flapple.

Illness

Most flapple illnesses result in daytime lethargy or a loss of appetite. If these symptoms manifest the environment should first be assessed. Has the flapple been unusually cold recently? Trips to the mountains or even excessive air conditioning can cause respiratory infections or other illnesses. Rectal tract blockage or pain from a recent injury can also result in a loss of appetite or apparent illness. If cool weather can be ruled out the flapple should be taken to a veterinarian at the first opportunity.

Most appletun problems stem from either respiratory infections or prolapsed organs. Respiratory infections often have visible symptoms such as discharges from the eye, nose, or mouth. Routine anorexia or lethargy can also be symptoms. Unfortunately, appletun respiratory infections can be difficult to treat and may not heal for several months even if caught early. In the worst cases they can be fatal.

Organ prolapse occurs when there is too much of a buildup of the species’ non-water-soluble uric acid. The hard mass of urea will accidentally press tissue or even entire organs out of the cloaca. These organs can wither or even rot outside of the body. Do not attempt to reinsert these tissues. Go to a veterinarian at the first possible opportunity. Keep the appletun in its pokéball as much as possible, even if they must be withdrawn for several days. In an emergency appletun can go for some time without eating.

Given applin’s general lack of visible behaviors it is extremely difficult to notice their illnesses. Even attempting to observe symptoms can cause undue stress. As such most applin illnesses become fatal before they are noticed at all.

Evolution

Once applin are sufficiently grown they enter their final berry. Rather than consuming it they begin to physically merge with the fruit. Over the course of several weeks the fusion will be completed before the new flapple or appletun emerge. New flapple appear when the husk begins cracking into distinct segments. The flapple will uncurl and rush off, the reptilian body now exposed. Appletun take longer to evolve. Their head and legs slowly begin to poke out through the newly hardened fruit. Even after they begin to move it can take months before the tail is fully developed and the shell reaches its final appearance.

Flapple grow for about eighteen months after evolution. It takes newly evolved appletun over three decades to reach their final size.

Battle

Applin should not be battled with. They find the experience jarring and are unlikely to do much of anything in their own defense.

Flapple are relatively fast attackers. When offensively pressured by an opponent they cannot avoid they will curl up so that their armor forms a complete berry-shaped shield. Unfortunately, flapple’s greatest advantage, gliding, is very limited in most arenas. Even between gravity control and dragon dance flapple can struggle to maneuver in the air. Clever tactics and a lucky set up can allow for sweeping amateur teams but at the professional level flapple struggles to find a niche against larger, fully flighted dragons.

Appletun is a solid grass-type wall. Their shell is remarkably resistant to even heat damage and very short cold shocks can be shrugged off. While opponents struggle to break through their shell, appletun can spew acidic spit to wear the opponent down or use recovery moves to repair minor damage. Despite their bulk, appletun suffer three major weaknesses. First, appletun spit can only go so far. All other offensive attacks are a little lacking. This makes appletun struggle in matchups against ranged attackers. Second, appletun are near helpless if something manages to knock them on their side. Third, appletun acid only works on organic pokémon. Ghosts and steel-types can present potentially insurmountable challenges to appletun. Still, against organic melee attackers appletun is a very solid wall that has seen some use on competitive circuits.

Acquisition

Wild applin, flapple, and appletun populations have yet to properly establish themselves. Currently the only members of the species in Alola are owned by game parks, universities and other schools, former plantations, and private trainers. Every institution has its own rules for capture. The Royal Trainer’s School allows students to capture a single applin for their own use. Game preserves often allow capture opportunities for a price. Plantations will usually sell them outright or offer them as prizes for paid competitions. For the average person routine adoption or purchase is the easiest way to get a member of the line.

Applin and Appletun require a Class I license to adopt or purchase. Flapple require a Class III license to possess.

Breeding

The evolutions of applin reproduce in two ways. The first is the creation of suitable berries. Appletun and flapple can chemically alter pinap berries with their saliva, causing them to grow far larger but more toxic. Appletun-nourished berries usually cause an applin who fuses with it to become an appletun. Flapple-nourished berries always produce more flapple. Flapple’s higher nourishment and reproduction rate ensures that where flapple are well-suited there will be a comparative abundance of them. A small population of the more durable appletun will always remain to potentially restart the species in the area if the flapple population dies off due to short term stress.

Flapple mate after elaborate gliding displays. The father immediately leaves. About six weeks later the mother will set down near pinap berries, dig a burrow, and deposit roughly a dozen eggs into the burrow before covering it back up. The new applin will emerge and seek out nourished berries to dig into.

Appletun mating is comparatively casual. The male will mount the female and insert his phallus into her cloaca. In roughly fifteen months three dozen eggs will be laid and buried. The male and female will take turns guarding the eggs until they hatch after another three months.

Flapple and appletun produced applin are nearly identical and can evolve into either, even if there is a much higher probability of evolution into their parent’s form.

Relatives

The temperate, Eurasian, or original applin (D. newtoni) are native to a stretch of land between Central Asia and Western Europe. The one notable exception is Kalos. During the Kalosian revolution flapple was placed on the state seal and were deliberately introduced to “People’s Orchards” around the region. When the counter-revolution came and the Enlightenment-loving revolutionary government was removed from power, the Archbishop of the Church of Life ordered the gathering of every apple, flapple, and appletun in the region to Lumiose. They were all held in one central pen and lit on fire in front of thousands of onlookers. The Church has stridently lobbied against any attempts to allow applin into the country again. In mainland Europe radical leftists still embrace applin as a symbol of their movement.

Temperate applin bond to apples over pinap berries. As a result they are slightly smaller and produce a cyanide-based acid instead of bromelain. They also only have a single spike on their crown. Temperate flapple dig underground and enter brumation in the winters. The appletun bury almost their entire body before hibernating. Temperate appletun are surprisingly cold resistant and can tolerate having the upper portions of their shell exposed through a Northern European or Central Asian winter.

Pinap applin, occasionally abbreviated as pinapplin, live in most of the tropical rainforests of the New World. They have also been introduced to India and Indonesia. Neither are so dominant in their new homes to present a serious ecological problem. The locals have even become fond of them as appletun’s sap is the cheapest available anesthetic in rural Indonesia and Malaysia. Their sap is also a beloved ingredient source in their original and introduced ranges.

There is a third species of applin (D. ladon) known as the Kitikama applin, the Japanese applin, or the sweet applin. The fruit preferred by these applin has a peculiar mutagenic property. The applin inside the fruit also have a tendency to split via asexual reproduction. The tail is severed inside of the fruit. The applin will then regrow a tail while the tail generates a head, organs, and the rest of a body. Dipplin, the first evolution of the Kitikama applin, is made up of two wyrms inside of a single fruit. The fruit is an enlarged version of a standard applin’s fruit but is extremely sweet and often coated in a sticky sap. Dipplin are borderline immobile and rely on the fruit drawing in prey who can be attacked as they try to take a bite. The sap can also trap insects to be picked off at the wyrm’s leisure.

When dipplin are routinely threatened by or hunt equal foes, they may evolve further into hydrapple. Hydrapple have seven syrpents inside of one very large fruit, roughly three feet tall. One syrpent, the original head, is theoretically in charge. They are often ignored. In concert the syrpents are extraordinarily powerful, but in practice their lack of cooperation leads them to be too middling for most professional dragon tamers to bother with. In the wild hydrapple can use their syrpents as prehensile limbs to move up and down trees by hauling themselves up or steadily lowering down. They are primarily arboreal and haul themselves higher in the tree when digesting food before heading closer to ground to lure in prey.

Hydrapple are volatile and tend to be defensive of their orchards. Their fruit is incredibly sweet but its symbiosis with a dragon means few horticulturalists have bothered to raise the species outside of its small native range.