Noivern (Noibat)
Anticaeli oceanum lu’u
Overview
Dragons have always loomed large in the human imagination. They are on average the strongest pokémon type. Most are large enough to prey upon humans. Some were powerful enough to fight the armies of ancient empires and win. Even in an age where most species have been trained, dragons are still among the hardest pokémon to handle.
Noivern is as good a start to dragon-type training as any. They aren’t particularly aggressive towards humans, are easily conditioned to obey commands, are rather affectionate, and they are big enough to win battles without being so big that logistics become troublesome. Even then, they are still large and powerful carnivores with long lifespans and high intellects. Trainers should think twice before putting any dragon on their team, noivern included.
Physiology
Noivern are classified as dual flying- and dragon-types. The dragon typing is disputed as noivern probably evolved apart from the “true dragons” descended from serpents. They are actually descendants of the pterosaurs such as aerodactyl. Scientists are unsure when and how the dragon-type evolved, or if it may have independently evolved several times. Noivern are reptilian and are very competent at wielding draconic energy. There is fierce debate over whether pokémon other than true dragons should be allowed the dragon typing and, if so, whether ancient, extraterrestrial, or inorganic pokémon such as tyrantrum, guzzlord, and zygarde should be an exception. If noivern’s dragon typing is ever revoked, water, psychic, or normal are the most likely replacements.
Noibat have dark grey scales with thick tufts of black pycnofibers around their midsection. These hair-like fibers help keep them warm in relatively cool caves. Noibat also warm themselves in caves through huddling with zubat (see Behavior) and their very high metabolisms.
Like most dragons, both noivern stages are warm blooded. The extinct and revived pterosaurs were and are also warm blooded. Because their large membranes lose a great deal of body heat, noivern must bask in sunlight to keep up high internal temperatures.
Noibat have long, thin legs tipped with four white claws. Their two wings have light blue membranes. Another set of claws are located in the middle of their wings. Their wings are supported by three long fingers. Other fingers form small claws on each wing. Noibat have large faces, but the size is exaggerated by the very thick pycnofibers on their head and their proportionally large eyes with yellow pycnofiber markings that make them appear even larger. Their nose is coated in purple scales.
The line’s most notable features are their giant ears. These ears can be moved independently and each are about the size of the rest of the head. Concentric circles line the interior and bright blue scales cover the back. Massive vibrations can be created from these ears. Contrary to popular belief, wild noivern are not very loud at all. Their wingbeats are virtually silent and almost all of a wild noivern’s vocalizations are above or below the range of human hearing. Instead, humans are likely to feel very intense but silent vibrations. Captive noivern tend to learn the range their trainer can hear in. This makes them very, very loud.
Noivern vibrations can shatter glass for half a mile around them or kill small animals within a few feet. Alternatively, the frequency of these waves can be adjusted to disrupt thoughts or transfer crude psychic messages. Their hearing is among the most sensitive of any pokémon and noivern can use echolocation to see the world for miles around them. Noivern have good but unexceptional senses of sight and smell.
Noivern are generally lankier than their pre-evolutions. Their main body is long and largely devoid of pycnofibers. Alolan noivern continue with the dark gray and black color scheme of their preevolution, although wild noivern that have interbred with other subspecies can have green stripes or even bright red pycnofibers. Noivern retain grey scales on their face, aside from green inner ears and a purple crest over their eyes. Compared to noibat, noivern have rather long legs complete with knees and webbed feet big enough to walk on for short distances. Their tail has grown to be long and sturdy. It contains a thagomizer at the end for spearing anything that gets behind them.
Noivern can grow up to eight feet in length and weigh up to fifty-five pounds. In the wild, noivern usually live for about twelve years. In captivity they have been recorded living for upwards of six decades.
Behavior
Noibat typically share caves with zubat. The adult noivern provide protection to the golbat colonies and the golbat and crobat in turn provide socialization and basic care for the noibat. Noivern themselves rarely sleep in caves and prefer to rest on nearby beaches or rocky cliffs.
Noibat primarily hunt non-pokémon insects. Powerful vibrations are used to stun or kill the bugs around them. The pterosaur then cleans up, finds another swarm of insects, and then kills and eats them. They prefer not leave the cave to hunt. As they grow older, they venture outside and start searching for berry groves. Adult noivern, even those not related to the noibat, may take the younger pokémon on flights over the ocean.
Noivern primarily hunt fish. Wishiwashi and luvdisc are some of their favorites. The hunting strategy they use is rather similar to that noibat use on insects. Noivern fly low above the surface of the water and use echolocation to scout for schools of fish. When they find one, they fold their wings and dive into the center of the school before letting out a massive vibration that kills or stuns all the fish around them. Their powerful lungs and tail let the noivern swim back to shore after eating one-third of their body weight. Noivern are vulnerable to predation from gyarados and sharpedo while returning to shore.
Once it reaches dry land, the noivern hauls itself onto the beach and spreads its wings. This serves the dual purposes of drying off the membrane and warming the pokémon. When they are not hunting or sunning themselves noivern graze on land or in the sea. The species is fond of eating algae off of rocks and corals in relatively shallow waters. They also seek out orchards and use echolocation to identify the best berries to eat. Noivern are not particularly social, but they do tend to spend the night in bands of six to eight, if only for mutual protection from even larger predators.
Noivern rarely mind humans approaching them while they are sunning. They sometimes even pose for pictures. They have been known to approach humans and rummage through their things with or without the owner’s consent. Close contact with noivern is discouraged and feeding them is illegal. Once a noivern has tasted human food they tend to spend more of their time begging on the streets of coastal cities than hunting or foraging in the adjacent waters.
Husbandry
Noibat can be fed most insect mixes and supplemental water. The core of noivern’s diet should be made up of fish with algae and seaweed occasionally added. Noivern should almost always be able to access a water dish due to their difficulties regulating their internal salinity (see Illness). Fresh fruit is an excellent motivator and reward but not a necessary component of their diet.
Some noibat and noivern are very accepting of pokéballs. Others will almost never enter them voluntarily. Be mindful of your pokémon’s preferences. Noibat need a perch to hang from at night if they do not tolerate pokéballs. Noivern prefer to sleep near their trainer.
Content noivern purr in long, drawn out rumbles. When upset they rely on short but intense ultrasonic vibrations or high-pitched screeches. Tears are not a sign of sadness; they are simply a way of ridding the body of excess salt after dives in the ocean.
Young noibat can only really be “housebroken” by putting a tray under their preferred perch. As they get older, they are rather easily trained.
Noivern will need daily opportunities to fly and at least weekly opportunities to swim. They are capable of swimming in either salt or fresh water, although they seem to prefer fresh water in captivity. Noibat do not require much space to fly in. While they are not as intelligent as many other dragons, noivern still need frequent stimulation in the form of grooming sessions, exploration of new places, games, or exposure to new music or other vibrations. As a note on the last point, noivern prefer their music to be played very, very loudly and are prone to humming their favorite tunes at deafening volumes. Some enterprising trainers have ‘fed’ their noivern live concerts and used them, occasionally alongside a zoroark, to replicate the experience of a live show. In any case, living with one requires either having no neighbors, paying them off, or accepting that fines for disturbance of the peace will be a recurring expense to budget for.
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Most noivern tend to have distant relationships to their trainers, seeking food, attention, and occasional cuddles while maintaining a high degree of independence. Others are far more social and have been nicknamed “lap dragons.” All noivern have distinct personalities their trainer will need to account for.
Illness
In the wild oil spill-related illnesses have killed up to two-thirds of the population of other marine noivern subspecies. These illnesses most commonly kill by making it nearly impossible to fly on oil-coated wings or through poisoning when consuming tainted fish or algae. The blackspot disease that led to the collapse in global mountain noivern populations (see Relatives) has been documented in marine noivern, but it is rare and the marine species seem to have a higher resistance to it than the terrestrial ones.
Noivern’s very large wing area and the thinness of the membrane makes them very vulnerable to water loss while in the sea. They developed the ability to shed incredibly salty tears to rid themselves of salt and help maintain homeostasis. Tear duct injuries can be fatal. If a noivern stops crying or starts needing much more water than normal without a proportional increase in time spent in saltwater, keep the pokémon in their pokéball as much as possible and keep them away from salt water. Then consult a veterinarian at the earliest opportunity. Most problems can be fixed with relatively minor surgery if acted upon quickly enough.
Respiratory problems are common in marine noivern. Breathy hisses often indicate pneumonia. Lots of panting or vigorous wing flapping on the ground can be signs of hypo or hyperthermia. In the wild noivern can retreat into caves or the water if they become too hot, or sun themselves if hypothermia starts to set in. Captivity often deprives noivern of these options. While they are technically warm-blooded, noivern’s homeostatic systems are rather weak compared to most mammals and require some behavioral compensation. Their body temperature is about 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
Evolution
Noibat evolve into noivern around their third birthday. Evolution is rather distinct from growth, which occurs gradually and happens for years before and after evolution. In the wild evolution is marked by the near-total cessation of insect hunting and the start of fish hunting. In captivity it is better measured by the shift from a nocturnal sleep schedule to a diurnal one. If a diurnal sleep schedule was enforced on the noibat before evolution, an uptick in daytime energy is the best signal that evolution has occurred.
Battle
The European bluewing noivern is the main species used in competitive battling. The remaining mountain noivern also see some use. Marine noivern are only used by trainers who cannot get their hands on one of the larger and louder species.
All species of noivern are moderately bulky, especially with the aid of roost or moonlight, and they are fast enough to avoid many hits. They are also devastatingly powerful; the bluewing noivern can pulverize granite boulders from a distance of fifteen feet. While the marine noivern is nowhere near as powerful, they are equally fast and far nimbler. Bluewing or mountain noivern are used by several high-profile dragon specialists and a handful of quickstall users. Their main drawback compared to other large dragons is a lack of versatility in offensive options and lack of any especially powerful set-up moves. However, noivern are one of the easiest dragons to train and they are fast and powerful enough to single-handedly defeat teams that are unprepared for them.
Marine noivern are not quite so fearsome. Still, their boombursts are powerful enough to defeat many opponents in a single hit and their draco meteor and hurricane attacks are also very difficult to tank. As somewhat large dragons they can also shrug off weaker attacks. In the air noivern are fast enough to outpace most opponents and wait for a good opportunity to strike. Unfortunately, noivern are very vulnerable to slashing attacks powerful enough to tear their wing membranes as well as spread ice- and fairy-type attacks. Noivern also have somewhat shallow offensive movepools and, while their utility movepools are rather good, they are not quite bulky enough to successfully serve in a supporting role.
Noibat are best used as quick harassers that wear down their opponents through supersonic while firing off the occasional weak ranged attack. Powerful but undirected ultrasonic attacks can be used but have the downside of hurting both trainers as much as the opposing pokémon.
Acquisition
Noibat can usually be found around the entrances of large cave systems at night. They are easily scared and may retreat back into the cave where their nimble flight and echolocation will make them very difficult to keep up with. Their capture is currently prohibited on Akala and Ula’Ula to allow for population maintenance and growth. On Melemele they are most abundant in Verdant Cavern and on Poni they are most often seen around the entrance of Resolution Cave.
Noivern are usually found in warm, shallow waters, on rocky shores, and along cliffs. It is illegal to disturb a noivern while it suns itself, even for the purposes of capture. Fruit groves that noivern are known to frequent are the best places to find and battle one. As with noivern, capture is currently prohibited on Akala and Ula’Ula.
Noibat may be purchased, captured, or adopted with a Class II license. Noivern may be purchased, captured, or adopted with a Class III license.
For both evolutionary stages, fruit and exposure to music are the best ways to gain the respect of the newly captured dragon.
Breeding
Male noivern claim territory in the resting spots of their bands. During the breeding season (September to October), males will release very powerful mating calls and perform elaborate dances to attract the attention of females. If one is interested, they will mate and stay close together for the next four to eight weeks. Then the female will go to a golbat colony and enter negotiations. She will offer some measure of protection in exchange for raising and protecting her young. Noivern give birth to their young rather than laying eggs. Newborn noibat are only four to six inches long. Three to four are born in a single litter. The mother will stay to watch over her young for a few weeks and then head back to her band’s sleeping area.
Noivern breeding is extremely difficult in captivity and essentially requires large plots of rural land. Thankfully noivern mating cries are almost entirely ultrasonic. The vibrations are still among the most powerful noivern ever produce and can be felt for up to a mile away. Every city in Alola has an ordinance against keeping male noivern within city limits and out of their pokéball for more than one hour at a time or three hours a day during the months of September and October.
Baby noibat are rather self-sufficient. Unlike zubat, they do not require milk. The babies should still be provided with an enclosed dark space with several good perches and many small insects for their first few weeks of life. Crickets are preferred as they cannot climb up to bother the noibat if they are not immediately eaten and their songs provide entertainment to the baby dragons.
Relatives
There are three living noivern species. The smallest are marine noivern, of which the Alolan noivern is a subspecies. These subspecies are distributed across the tropical and subtropical Pacific. While their anatomy and behaviors are similar, their color schemes vary from pitch black in Alola to bright red in the Caroline Islands to green stripes in the Galapagos Islands to patches of blue skin in the Solomons. Mixed-breed marine noivern can have combinations of their parents’ color schemes or even new patterns altogether. This has made them rather popular in captivity, although most zoos are starting to avoid mixing subspecies to better facilitate release to the wild.
The bluewing noivern (A. regina) spend their summers on the plains of Western Europe and travel to the Sahel in winter. They are giants with wingspans of up to forty feet and lengths of up to twenty feet. While far from the heaviest dragon by mass they are still one of the largest by size. They have the largest wingspan of any living pokémon.
Unfortunately, the bluewing noivern’s size makes them dependent upon the availability of large grazing ungulates, their preferred prey. The decline in wild populations in Europe was a substantial blow to them. The replacement of the old grasslands with pastures stocked with well-defended gogoat led to the bluewing noivern becoming critically endangered. Only the installation of strict conservation laws and large preserves such as the Galarian wild area has kept the species alive. These efforts have been bolstered by captive breeding on large ranches in the United States and Australia.
The mountain noivern (A. monsvespertillio) used to live in the Alps, Atlas Mountains, Caucuses, southern Urals, portions of the Hindu-kush, and a handful of mountains in Japan. They are smaller than the bluewing noivern and primarily hunt small mammals. Some rarely leave their caves at all and simply find prey inside of the caverns. Unfortunately, in the early 2000s most mountain noivern subspecies began displaying blackspot disease. The illness causes vomiting, high fevers, rapid cognitive decline, the formation of black sores, diarrhea, and ultimately death. There was originally no vaccine or even a proven method of managing the symptoms, especially the cognitive impairments. While this would have been bad enough for mountain noivern populations, the disease was communicable with humans. Amid mass hysteria and a public health crisis, several military forces and private hunters went into the mountains to kill as many noivern as they could. In the end a vaccine was developed and the disease was found to originate from rattata who carried the disease with no symptoms. A handful of mountain noivern remain in the Hindu-kush and a reintroduction attempt is being made in the Alps. There are approximately 300 in captivity worldwide.
The Caspain noivern (A. rex) had wingspans of up to forty-five feet. They are believed to have preyed upon large desert species, similar to the behaviors exhibited by bluewing noivern in their seasonal migrations over the Sahara. Traditionally their extinction was believed to have occurred around 150,000 BCE, along with their main prey, bactrigyn and armorawessum. A cave painting with what appears to be a noivern was recently discovered in the Gobi Desert, far away from any living noivern species’ range. The painting was dated to 15,000 BCE. Scientists and anthropologists are still divided over whether the painting is evidence of Caspian noivern, a vagrant bluewing or mountain noivern, or a highly nomadic culture in the area.