Smeargle

Caudartifex pereo

Overview

Neanderthal settlements in Southwestern Europe tend to have smeargle bones or objects stained in smeargle ink nearby. In many areas early cave paintings are right next to ancient smeargle marks. Kingdoms the world over prized smeargle for their dyes, which are vibrant, easily produced, and capable of lasting for millennia under the right conditions.

Kamehameha the Great imported smeargle to the islands to paint the new capitol city of Hau’oli when Ihā Palace was deemed too traditional for the new era. Many of those smeargles’ descendants now live on Melemele. The DNR allows them to stay as a tourist attraction and force for peace among wild pokémon. Captures by trainers with an artistic bent keeps the population in check.

Smeargle are not useful in a fight unless very well trained. Still, they are creative and affectionate companions for trainers concerned with their future after the island challenge ends.

Physiology

Smeargle is classified as a pure normal-type. They are capable of wielding every wavelength of the elemental spectrum in a way that only eevee, ditto, and the recently created silvally can begin to match.

Smeargle are actually feliforms, not caniforms as many believe. Gumshoos is their closest relative in Alola. Smeargle have long, lithe bodies and large paws, eyes, and ears. Their tongue is rather long and is often left hanging out of their mouth. This also helps them regulate their internal temperature. A floppy cap of skin and fur adorns their head. There is not a scientific consensus on what purpose, if any, the cap serves. Their fur is short and white except for brown patches on the ears and around the eyes. Smeargle also have brown bands above their paws. The exact number and width of these bands varies by individual.

The species is most famous for their ink secretions. Smeargle have long prehensile tails with a tuft of fur and an ink gland on the end. The color of the ink varies by the individual and the shade varies with diet, mood, exhaustion, and the solar and lunar cycles. This ink is resistant to almost everything except for smeargle’s saliva. Sanding the surface, extreme high and low temperatures, and some corrosive attacks will also work in a pinch.

Smeargle can reach heights of forty inches and can weigh up to twenty-five pounds. They live for up to seven years in the wild and ten in captivity.

Behavior

Smeargle ink has mild psychoactive effects until it dries. Prolonged exposure can cause hallucinations, hunger, decreased aggression, and bursts of inspiration that are quickly forgotten. The species is not entirely immune to the effects of their own ink; smeargle with amputated or dried tails (see Illness) display far fewer typical signs of smeargle ink exposure.

Smeargle palettes have a distinctive territory map. There will be a center area where socialization freely occurs, disputes are resolved, and collaborative art projects are undertaken. Radiating out from this hub are various wedge-shaped territories that grow wider the farther they are from the center. Each wedge is occupied by a single smeargle or a female and her young offspring (see Breeding). The edges of each territory are full of elaborate markings. Every smeargle uses thirty to one hundred individual marking patterns. Over 12,000 unique patterns have been identified worldwide. No two smeargle have been found with the same set. Smeargle are aggressive towards other conspecifics entering their territory but are friendly with their neighbors in the center.

Smeargle’s circadian rhythm changes over the lunar cycle. They are fully diurnal on new moons and fully nocturnal on the nights of full moons. Individuals get about twelve hours of sleep in every 24-hour period regardless of when they get it. All the smeargle in a gallery will convene in the hub on the days of new moons and the nights of full moons to collaborate on elaborate art projects, socialize, court potential mates, and trade objects and art tips. Smeargle with a very close bond (platonic or otherwise) will often ask their friend to place an ink-coated foot on their back as a permanent sign of their bond. They very carefully avoid removing these paw markings while grooming themselves.

Smeargle’s ability to track energy patterns combined with their perpetually altered mental state makes them excellent at seeing through all kinds of lies, illusions, and supernatural activity.

In the wild smeargle tend to be accidental peacekeepers. Their bodies are toxic enough that few predators will bother to eat them. Most moderately intelligent pokémon appreciate the complex markings they leave across their territory. In turn smeargle eat only plants and the occasional scavenged carcass and they don’t eat enough or breed quickly enough to be a nuisance to other pokémon. Smeargle territories, especially territory edges and the central hub, tend to be home to unusually high amounts of wild pokémon. Predator and prey typically have a truce period during the new and full moon conventions. Several interspecies summits have been seen during these times and violent organized interspecies conflicts are almost non-existent in the places where smeargle are common. Many pokémon will take advantage of the opportunity to trade items with other pokémon and human onlookers as well as to evaluate potential friends, trainers, rivals, and mates.

Husbandry

Smeargle are reasonably intelligent pokémon and should always be treated with a certain amount of dignity. Many have aversions to pet names, strict schedules, or insults. Anything that suggests the pokémon is not viewed as a relative equal can set them off. These triggers can include lies, making important decisions without their input or consent, forcing them to use a more degrading place for urination and defecation than their trainer uses, excessive amounts of time spent in a pokéball, ignoring their feelings, or routinely being given food that their trainer would never settle for. In short, the relationship between a trainer and smeargle is best handled like a relationship between two human friends.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Smeargle make poor partners for dark, fairy, and ghost types because of the tendency of those species to pull pranks and create illusions. While smeargle may have personality clashes with ditto, ditto are excellent for teaching smeargle new moves. Lucario make for very good partners. Most smeargle will tolerate other conspecifics on the team so long as they each have a personal space to retreat to that they can freely mark up,

The bulk of smeargle’s diet should be made up of berries and vegetables. They will also happily eat meat, but this should only be an occasional treat. Almost all smeargle prefer their meat to be cooked rather than raw. Kibble will be taken as an insult either immediately or when the smeargle realizes that their trainer doesn’t and won’t eat it.

The species requires relatively little in the way of exercise unless being used as serious battlers. Instead, they need time to socialize and practice painting. They prefer artistic trainers who can offer them meaningful advice on their craft but will tolerate any trainer willing to give them reasonable respect, independence, and praise. Trainers should be mindful of the pokémon’s rotating circadian rhythm. They should also accept that if easels and canvas are not provided smeargle will mark up walls.

Illness

Smeargle can share diseases with gumshoos and several other mammals. They should receive a full round of vaccinations within one month of capture or within six months of birth. It helps to explain to the pokémon what is going to happen in advance as randomly suffering a series of seemingly unprovoked attacks can make smeargle distrust their trainer and medical professionals.

Inkwell problems are a set of maladies that are unique to smeargle. These can range from amputated tails to frequent muscle spasms or seizures to heavy or very low ink flow. All of these problems have different causes and treatments. Some will result in a permanent loss or impairment of painting ability. These pokémon will require substantial emotional support and assistance in learning how to paint with brushes meant for humans. Smeargle unable to create anything at all will quickly become depressed and stop eating.

Evolution

N/A

Battle

Smeargle can use nearly every pokémon technique, even those that rely on unique anatomical structures, by copying the elemental patterns. The species is also intelligent enough to learn about one new attack every month. Some older smeargle can use over 100 moves, one of the largest effective movepools of any pokémon.

Just because smeargle can use an attack does not mean they can use it well. They are incredibly frail, have less physical strength than a yungoos, and their elemental wells are equally unimpressive. The species is reasonably agile but even their speed is below average in competitive circuits.

In the past smeargle was almost always a lead that used a technique to incapacitate an opponent for a long period of time and then used a series of powerful boosting moves while the opponent was down. When the switch clock ran smeargle would then baton pass the boosts to either another member of a baton pass chain or to a sweeper capable of using them well.

After the Global Battle Federation banned baton pass chains and several other leagues followed, smeargle’s typical strategy changed. Now they are mostly used to incapacitate the opposing lead, set up a full suite of arena hazards and effects, and eventually surrender or get knocked out. Smeargle teams can effectively start with the terrain in their favor at the cost of fighting with five pokémon.

No ranked trainer currently uses a smeargle. Even in their one good role some pokémon manage to prevent smeargle from setting up. A handful can not only block smeargle but use them as set up bait. Even though smeargle can unleash hydro cannons, frenzy plants, and blast burns, the species’ limited elemental well means that they hit about as hard as a water gun, leafage, and ember from any other competitive pokémon.

Smeargle fare worse on the island challenge than in competitive circuits. The average trainer will be able to teach their pokémon twelve moves during the full course of the challenge. Other common utility pokémon such as forretress, blissey, toxapex, and gengar are able to learn a decent number of utility moves while also being powerful or bulky. Early on smeargle can use a myriad of super effective attacks and their not-yet-outclassed offensive stats to win battles. By the middle of the second island smeargle will be near deadweight.

Acquisition

Smeargle can be adopted, captured, or purchased with a Class I license.

There are annual capture limits to preserve their role as a calming influence on a traditional early journey route. Any wild smeargle must come willingly with a trainer. A Pokémon Center nurse will need to verify that the capture was consensual within thirty days or the capture will automatically be classified as illegal. There is a healthy captive breeding program of smeargle and importation is legal. Adoption is usually the better option. Wild specimens can be most easily convinced to follow by showing them your own art. Other smeargle simply want an opportunity to see new sights and learn new moves and will actively seek out trainers. Smeargle not only don’t require a battle to test their prospective trainer but get angry when a potential friend chooses to beat them up as an apparent show of superiority and a threat against future misbehavior.

Capture of all wild pokémon is forbidden during smeargle conventions and in the three hours before and after them.

Breeding

In the wild courtship can go on for several years or only a few minutes before any mating occurs. Sometimes both parents help raise the child and sometimes the male leaves immediately after conception. Relationships can last anywhere from a few days to the full adult life of both partners. Smeargle are about as likely to form homosexual bonds as heterosexual ones, although only heterosexual unions produce offspring. Most wild smeargle will engage in both types of partnerships in their lives.

Smeargle pregnancies last two to four months and result in a single child. The child undergoes a rite of passage at their thirteenth convention at which point they leave their mother and take their own territory.

Because smeargle are free spirits with often brief, passionate relationships and specific preferences, it is difficult to breed smeargle in captivity unless a full palette is held in a large territory that mimics natural conditions. Their popularity as a pet means that many such farms exist around the world. There is no current farm in Alola due to the established wild population and high cost of land.

Relatives

The biggest variations between smeargle populations are in ink coloration and preferred markings. Anatomical changes across populations are small. Smeargle were originally native to the river valleys of Mesopotamia but have since been introduced to many countries around the world. Small populations often pop up around artist collectives, although only a few of these are introduced in large enough numbers in a place with the right environment for a self-sustaining population.