Furfrou

Canis noblesse

Overview

Furfrou has a reputation as perhaps the most regal and snobby of the world’s canines, and certainly of the world’s domestic canines. But the truth is that furfrou are, charitably, one the most energetic of the domestic canines. Less charitably, they are perhaps the least intelligent. So how did a high energy, low attention span dog that would rather be sloppily licking their trainer than sitting beside their throne become synonymous with poise and nobility?

The answer lies in the extensive and messy history behind the breed.

Furfrou, along with yamper, was one of only two canines to be domesticated in Western Europe. Furfrou was also one of the earliest domestic pokémon of any sort available in Europe. Between their long fur and potential for herding and protecting other livestock, they were quickly adopted by farmers across the continent. Foreign visitors during the early First Kalosian Empire viewed furfrou as synonymous with the European method of agriculture.

There was a slight problem with furfrou, though: they are not the patient herders that stoutland and arcanine are. Instead, they easily get distracted by birds, flowers, people, wild Pokémon, or the sun and stop watching the herd or walk away altogether before coming back at night with their tail between their legs. Farmers initially tried rectifying this by adopting a larger court of furfrou to watch both each other and the livestock, but they only distracted each other. As soon as arcanine, boltund, and stoutland were imported in the late stages of the First Kalosian Empire, furfrou were only retained as livestock for their fur or as protectors of children. The widespread domestication of lopunny slowly led to their decline in even those roles.

Enter Empress Apolline. Born a common farmer, she was conscripted into the Imperial Army during The Winter Legions’ Mutiny. Her tactical brilliance and skill with taming pokémon led to her rising quickly up the ranks. After the death of the emperor at the Battle of Cylage placed one of the rebels next in the line of succession, the Lumiose Guard raised her to the throne. She carried the war within the year and her compassion and cunning during the post-war era lead to peace in Kalos for another century. She also had fond memories of her family’s furfrou and brought several into the court in order to train senior military leaders and nobles in pokémon husbandry. The court, in turn, happily adopted furfrou as the Kalosian equivalent to the Galarian monarchy’s yamper and played up the nobility and beauty of the breed as a form of propaganda.

Over generations and dynasties, the furfrou stayed as a symbol of Kalos in general, and the monarchy in particular. The elaborate styling of furfrou’s coats was perfected during this period. Previously furfrou shaving had been a mundane semiannual task to obtain fur and improve the furfrou’s mobility; now it was (and mostly still is) a form of conspicuous consumption and class status.

It can be expensive to obtain a purebred furfrou in Alola (or almost anywhere else), but mutts are somewhat common in the wild and shelters as most trainers and families view them as too high maintenance and the wealthy would prefer a purebred. These furfrou make excellent pets for anyone who wants a high energy dog or a chance to practice advanced grooming techniques.

Physiology

Furfrou are classified as normal types by the Department of Agriculture, as they lack the criteria for any other typing.

Furfrou are rather typical, if lean, canine pokémon. Their only main distinctions are their long, shaggy white fur and their somewhat delicate facial structure. Most purebred furfrou have a very long and narrow snout compared to other canines. This is impractical and forces them to greatly slow down while eating. It is a product of selective breeding for purely aesthetic purposes.

Furfrou’s fur is not actually as thick as that of cincinno or lopunny. It is somewhat curly and grows very quickly. This leads to it fluffing out more than most other pokémon’s fur. They can grow a full coat of fur up to 16 inches long in six months and the fur can extend away from their body, leading to them looking more like a mareep than a ninetales.

Unusually for canines with long coats, they do not have summer and winter coats that they shed with the seasons change. Instead, furfrou fur reaches its terminal length and stays that long until it is groomed. Feral furfrou almost always have the maximum coat length. In their original range in Europe this was seldom a problem, but in Alola this can be a serious health concern as, like most canines, furfrou have no better means of heat release than simple panting.

Purebred furfrou grow up to thirty-two inches in height at the withers and can weigh between twenty and thirty pounds, depending upon how long their fur is at the time. Mutts are usually somewhat larger. Purebreds live around seven years in captivity; mutts usually live between ten and fifteen. Neither typically survives long in the wild, especially in Alola.

Behavior

As mentioned above, furfrou are very energetic and playful. They are also quite social and, when stressed, will seek out the nearest furfrou, other canine, fluffy pokémon, or human and stick very close to them. They frequently rub against fences or trees for reasons that are not well understood. In colder climes or when recently shorn, furfrou are known to run for several hours a day and spend the rest of their time sleeping.

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Feral furfrou mostly prefer to scavenge or beg around human settlements rather than go hunting. This is partially because they have one of the weakest senses of smell of all canine pokémon and their vision isn’t much better. Hunting in crowded urban areas by hearing alone is rather difficult for them and most aren’t well trained in tracking or battling.

When they must hunt, furfrou tend to be ambush predators staying motionless in one place until something they think they can kill crosses their path. Unfortunately for them, furfrou are both conspicuous and impatient. They frequently move around and blow their cover, jump at things that are not edible (or even living), play with their potential prey rather than eating it, or forget what they were doing and wander off.

Husbandry

Furfrou eat standard canine food mixes and are also capable of eating most common human foods. They are notorious beggers and their diet should be monitored. Thankfully they are also active enough that they seldom get particularly fat.

Speaking of their activity, furfrou require several walks a day. It is best to do these around sunrise and sunset, with a shorter walk in the late morning and early afternoon (or both). Even furfrou without much fur can overheat in the late afternoon sun.

Furfrou are incredibly social in captivity and will require either another dog to keep them company or lots of attention from their trainer. When awake they will demand scratches, walks, food or playtime. If these are denied they will attempt to cuddle their trainer with full body tackles, steal whatever is distracting their human or grab onto their trainer’s leg and start licking it continuously, sometimes for up to an hour.

Unless under strict veterinary observation, furfrou should have their fur trimmed once every three months. Most groomers are more than capable of giving them basic cuts. Advanced cut groomers are somewhat rare in Alola as eevee, stoutland, rockruff, growlithe and vulpix are more popular pets, but they can be found in Hau’oli and Malie. There is some debate as to whether elaborate styles are uncomfortable for furfrou. It appears to vary depending upon the style and dog. Furfrou should be monitored closely after they receive a new styled trim to gauge their comfort with it.

Illness

Purebred furfrou suffer from a number of health problems. Snout injuries and cancers are the most common, but almost any illness or injury a dog can suffer is a risk for a purebred. They should receive veterinary checkups once every six months, ideally after grooming sessions. Mutts tend to have fewer health problems.

One particular challenge for furfrou is that their habit of rubbing against anything and everything in their territory often leads to skin infections. These can be very difficult to spot given the coverage and bulk of their fur. Furfrou should be thoroughly petted often to check for skin wounds; the dog will not mind this.

Like all canines, furfrou can carry rabies and should be vaccinated. This is usually done shortly after birth.

Evolution

Not applicable.

Battle

Furfrou’s lack of size and elemental attacks, as well as their frankly middling speed, mean that they are almost never the dog of choice for competitive battlers. The one exception to this is in the Kalos league, where many trainers who have access to the private tutors, TMs, money to travel extensively, and training supplies that help them succeed also tend to have furfrou.

This does not mean that furfrou are unusable on the island challenge, although they do suffer severe competiton from the many other dog breeds in Alola (arcanine, eevee, vulpix, lycanroc, manectric, stoutland, riolu, houndoom, granbull). They are fast enough and their fur coat durable enough that they can dominate many early challenges and still get a hit or two off in the later ones. Other pokémon will need to pick up the slack towards the end, but furfrou users are playing an even longer game. Furfrou are high maintenance but energetic and lovable pets that can live for years after the island challenge is over.

In battle, it is best to keep things simple. While furfrou can learn several projectile attacks through TMs, they do not have the energy reserves to utilize them effectively. Instead, they should rely upon tackles and full-body melee attacks combined with a few basic tricks such as roar, protect and double team if the TMs can be afforded. They are countered by ghosts, steel, and rock types, powerful physical walls and most birds. Anything they can hit successfully (at least, when most opponents are using common juvenile pokémon) will likely take significant enough damage to make up for their long list of counters.

Purebred furfrou should be withdrawn after taking serious hits or multiple weak ones to avoid significant injury. A good rule of thumb is that if a purebred’s coat is in disarray, it’s time to end the round.

Acquisition

Furfrou can be adopted, captured or purchased with a Class I license. A few feral furfrou can be found around Hau’oli City, especially in the winter. It is far easier to simply adopt one from the shelters in the city. There are also furfrou breeders on Ula’Ula and Melemele.

Breeding

Furfrou courtship, mating, pregnancy and child rearing are all quite typical for canines. This makes them a good starter pokémon for getting into the breeding of more difficult dogs such as ninetales, eevee and granbull. Furfrou have been known to mate with every other canine species on Alola save zoroark, although some crossbreedings are more difficult than others. Most furfrou hybrids are reproductively viable.

Furfrou pregnancies last roughly two months and they have litters of four to six puppies.

Relatives

Furfrou’s closest living relatives are boltund and stoutland. Boltund are stronger and faster but do not produce wool. Before court-sponsored breeding initiatives there was less difference between the two species. The rivalry between Kalos and Galar prevented either nation’s most popular dog from ever becoming popular in the other. Both breeds share a wild ancestor with stoutland.

Stoutland have longer fur than furfrou and are well adapted to sub-Arctic environments in Scandanavia and Russia. Their low heat tolerance meant that they were always limited to the northern and mountainous areas of Europe before air conditioning and the pokeball.