Snorlax (Munchlax)

Ursacrassus occidentum minor

Overview

Most invasive species in Alola eventually settle into a niche and the ecosystem rebalances, albeit in a way less favorable to the native species. But the Melemele ecosystem has yet to adjust to snorlax. Alolan snorlax are the smallest in the world and they can still eat up to 550 pounds a day. Their sheer size and appetite have put them towards the top of the local food web since they can bully away every other predator species on Melemele sans salamence.

In 1987, the Hau’oli Zoo acquired a snorlax named Danielle and she became something of a celebrity in the Commonwealth. Petitions surged to allow the importation of munchlax through the less restrictive Category B3 Importation process. An initial review from the United States Department of Agriculture concluded that the Alolan islands simply were not big enough to be able to support a wild snorlax, making the threat of a resident population establishing itself quite minimal.

It would later become evident that the government overlooked two major factors. Alola has the highest plant growth per acre in the world, allowing it to support a far larger food web than would otherwise be possible. The sheer number of large carnivores on the islands attests to this. Second, snorlax that are limited by food will simply reach maturity without reaching their maximum possible size.

The disparity in licensing required to possess the friendly and easy to care for munchlax and the monstrous snorlax has led to many young snorlax being released, particularly in the Hau’oli area. Most of these releases have not resulted in a stable wild population, especially since the DNR has classified snorlax as their “Number One Species of Interest.” But even the initiative to remove wild snorlax has left a large number of the bears in government hands with no clear place to send them.

At present, the Melemele Kahuna and the DNR have negotiated an agreement to allow wild snorlax to live freely within Route 1 to see how much damage they will actually do to the environment. The results so far have been discouraging, but the experiment has not been ended due to the difficulty of capturing and rehoming every wild snorlax. In the interim the importation of additional munchlax has been banned in almost all circumstances. Several of Alola’s top trainers have also added a snorlax to their team to take one out of the wild or the government’s hands.

One outcome of all of this is that one of the most powerful pokémon in the world can be freely adopted, purchased or captured without seasons or quotas. However, trainers should be advised that snorlax require a Class V license to possess and their owner must be prepared to purchase over one ton of food a week.

Physiology

Both stages of the evolutionary line are classified as pure normal types. Neither ruling is contested.

Munchlax have a short, sparse coat of blue fur. The fur on the lower half of their head, back paws and part of their chest is usually cream-colored. Munchlax have five short claws on their forepaws and three long and sharp ones on their back paws. Their ears are quite long. Munchlax have rather sharp hearing, although they have a rather limited sense of smell. The relative strength of their hearing and smell slowly shift as they age; elderly snorlax are effectively deaf but can smell blood from miles away. Munchlax have two stomachs, each containing very powerful acid. They seldom chew their food and instead rely on their stomachs to digest it.

The vast majority of a snorlax’s bulk is in their large torso. Their limbs are relatively small and stubby, although they still end in sharp claws for traction, gripping food, and self-defense. While most of this mass is fat, snorlax are also quite muscular due to the need to support and move their own weight. Similarly, they have a very durable skeletal structure. The fur on their back is mostly blue, while the fur on their front and limbs is cream-colored.

Wild Alolan snorlax are smaller than their counterparts in mainland Eurasia, growing up to six feet in height and 800 pounds in mass. Captive-raised snorlax can reach heights of up to seven feet and masses of up to 1200 pounds. Both wild and captive snorlax tend to live for twenty-five to thirty years.

Behavior

Most bear pokémon are physical titans that chase and kill their prey through any obstacle. Pangoro is an example in Alola. Snorlax can only move up to four miles per hour in short bursts. The average wild snorlax will only run once or twice in its life. Instead snorlax are the ultimate scavengers. When another predator takes down prey, snorlax will wake up and steadily move towards the kill. There are very few predators, in Alola or otherwise, that can take down a snorlax. Most don’t even try to defend the carcass. When the original predator has run away snorlax scarfs down the remains and immediately goes back to sleep. If there is no food to be had for over a week, snorlax will stir and begin to topple trees and eat fruit until it is satiated or something falls from the tree and dies on impact.

Munchlax occupy an ecological role somewhere between a scavenger and a decomposer. They use their acute sense of smell to find food, ideally somewhat rotten food that faster or stronger scavengers wouldn’t bother with, and then they walk tirelessly towards their meal. They gulp it down as quickly as possible and stand motionless until their meal is digested. Once their food has passed through the first stomach, they seek out another meal. Larger munchlax begin to behave more like snorlax, sometimes trying to bully smaller pokémon away from fresh kills.

Snorlax are neither social nor territorial. If there is not enough food in an area for two snorlax, one will eventually just move someplace else. In both the wild and captivity a sleeping snorlax will seldom object to small creatures (such as human children) playing on them while they slumber. This may be because they don’t find such small and agile prey worth the effort to kill.

Outside of Alola snorlax often hibernate in the winter when most other predators are asleep and fresh kills are less plentiful. Sometimes they retreat into caves or mountain ranges. Other times a snorlax will simply fall asleep in a forest or field and wake up a few months later. In the archipelago where predator hibernation is uncommon snorlax typically remain (relatively) active throughout the year.

Husbandry

Munchlax and snorlax are almost always very tolerant of pokéballs.

Munchlax used to be popular pokémon because they are quite easy to care for and some munchlax, particularly those raised by humans form a very early age, can be quite social. Unless a trainer goes out of their way to engage with one, they will simply stand still, half-asleep, between feedings. They produce rather little waste but should still be provided a tray or small pool near their preferred standing spot to catch what they do emit.

In the wild munchlax will often eat as much as they can and then stuff the rest under their fur for later. Unfortunately, their sense of smell and memory are quite weak, meaning that they often forget they put the food their in the first place. If a captive munchlax attempts to put food into their fur they should be allowed to do so. It is extremely unwise to get between a munchlax or snorlax and their food. The munchlax’s fur should be combed and any food removed should be either thrown out or put in storage for later. Munchlax should be bathed frequently to keep them clean. They do not mind water. If they are not fed somewhat regularly munchlax will begin to throw tantrums.

The main challenge with caring for both munchlax and snorlax is the difficulty in feeding them. Both stages require, at minimum, 1.5 times their body weight in food every week, but they will happily eat up to 2.5 times their body weight. Munchlax will eat virtually anything. Snorlax prefer relatively fresh meat, which means that very few trainers can afford to care for one.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

There is a perception that snorlax are rather docile creatures. This is patently false, particularly for wild-caught snorlax. There is a case to be made that snorlax are the second most dangerous bear species on the planet. To start with, snorlax are strong enough to break spines with a half-hearted swing of their arms. A nearby adult human may be deemed large enough and close enough to kill and eat. They do not readily form bonds with humans as they are solitary in the wild. Their trust must be gained over months of associating their trainer with free and easy food. Only then can proper training of any sort begin.

Snorlax should be withdrawn when their paddock is being cleaned. This will allow their trainer to safely clean up any waste. Their enclosure should be well fortified, ideally with two sets of thick metal or concrete walls with a moat in between them. This prevents snorlax from walking off in pursuit of food when they get hungry or smell something in the area.

Despite appearances and reputations, snorlax do need and even want some measure of exercise. They should be forced to walk at least ten yards to access new food. Some snorlax are inquisitive or even playful. Most are not. If a snorlax regularly spends time awake when there is no food present they should be provided with toys or changes in their environment on a somewhat regular basis. They enjoy rubber balls that are large enough for them to maneuver and thick enough that they will not be immediately pierced.

Perhaps due to parental instincts or not bothering with small, living prey, snorlax are much more tolerant of children than adults and even wild snorlax will seldom kill a human child. There is some debate as to whether or not it is best to bond a wild-caught snorlax to a child before introducing them to their adult trainer. It is far more effective at acclimating the pokémon, but this method has led to at least four fatal errors.

Illness

Much like blissey, snorlax have highly effective digestive and immune systems that render poisons and infections all but irrelevant. They also have thick layers of fat and muscle around their organs. Snorlax heal well even by pokémon standards, although they will need larger, less frequent meals while they heal.

Munchlax are also resistant to infection and poison, but they can be injured by particularly strong attacks. It is recommended that munchlax trainers use normal precautions in matches (see Battle.)

Evolution

Munchlax grow fairly gradually and steadily into snorlax and there are few major anatomical differences between the two. As they age munchlax begin taking more interest in progressively fresher kills and have deeper resting periods. They generally cross the formal demarcation line between munchlax and snorlax (a weight of 450 pounds) around their fifth birthday. Snorlax grow progressively larger as they age. They will stop growing at the point where they can no longer consume enough to put on weight.

Trainers wishing to evolve their munchlax more quickly should feed them the maximum amount they will eat. Battles are counter-productive in encouraging growth as they lead to the pokémon expending energy.

Battle

In the 1970s snorlax was the single most dominant pokémon on the competitive battling scene. The 1950s and 1960s brought advancements in transportation and pokémon care that allowed more trainers to use durable pokémon such as corviknight, steelix, milotic, avalugg and blissey. Hard stall, also known as slow stall, became the most common playstyle at the top levels of the battling world. Snorlax both fit on these teams and had the ability to shred through them.

Two events made the rise of snorlax possible. In 1963 Dr. Judith Black published a comprehensive guide to snorlax care. The guide’s techniques made it possible for individuals without large, well-fortified estates to raise snorlax. In 1969 the first mass-produced ultra ball was put onto the market, giving far more trainers a tool to contain or capture a snorlax with.

Snorlax is not quite as bulky as blissey but is still covered in thick layers of fat that make it difficult for all but the most physically powerful of pokémon to harm. They are also very strong and have a surprisingly deep and versatile energy well. Snorlax are also effectively immune to all but the strongest of poisons. The result is a pokémon too tough for the average defensive pokémon to hurt and strong enough to wear down walls. Snorlax’s main disadvantage, low speed, is essentially irrelevant against the slow walls on hard stall teams. The moves curse and rest allow snorlax to slowly become more bulky and powerful and heal off any weak blows that they take from stall teams.

Quick stall fares little better against snorlax, as their versatile ranged attacks means that it can take out most fast-but-fragile pokémon in time and most common quick stall pokémon can’t hurt it back.

These days any serious trainer attempting a stall team in a league where snorlax is allowed keeps at least one counter on hand. The best answers to snorlax are very powerful fighting-types, most notably machamp. Otherwise most very tough and very strong physically attackers can take down a snorlax without taking too much damage. In Alola large dragons, fighting-types, tyranitar, metagross, and gyarados are the only pokémon that can reliably take on a snorlax and win.

A trainer using a snorlax on the island challenge can break through almost everything without serious difficulty. But the high license requirement and enormous logistical difficulties make it inadvisable for a young traveling trainer to own one.

Munchlax are somewhat more difficult to battle with. They are fairly durable, especially for their age and size, and they are also deceptively strong. But most adult pokémon are too durable or too strong for munchlax to take down. Their energy well is also substantially smaller than an adult snorlax’s, and they will not have the experience needed to use the variety of elemental techniques that a snorlax can. By the end of the second island munchlax will almost certainly be at a severe disadvantage against almost all opponents.

Acquisition

Munchlax can be bought, purchased or captured with a Class II license. They are most frequently found along the outskirts of Hau’oli City, especially in Route 1.

Snorlax require a Class V license to possess or acquire. A wild population exists on Route 1, but it is far easier to adopt one from the Alolan government. Contact the Hau’oli office of the DNR for more information.

Breeding

Snorlax mate in spring. If a female and male snorlax share the same range the female may approach the male. There is no formal courtship ritual, but sometimes the male does decline the chance to mate. This is usually expressed by the male lying down and falling asleep or not bothering to stand up to acknowledge the female.

Snorlax pregnancy lasts roughly seven months. In the late fall a pregnant female will begin eating with more frequency and even attacking any animal or pokémon that gets too close to them. It is difficult to tell a pregnant snorlax apart from a normal one (or a female apart from a male, for that matter) so extra caution is advised when traveling through snorlax territory in the fall. Trainers breeding snorlax should avoid any contact whatsoever after the first four months of pregnancy.

Snorlax typically hibernate for a few months after giving birth. The mother seldom wakes up for the duration of the winter while her babies are nursing. Do not approach a snorlax with cubs under any circumstances. In captivity a pregnant snorlax should be given a cool, enclosed space to use as a cubbing den. After emerging from hibernation, the mother will protect her cubs and share food with them for roughly two months. Then she will stop paying attention to her children and even scare them off if they try to take food from her.

Relatives

The Alolan snorlax is the smallest (and most recently formed) subspecies. They descend from the much larger European snorlax, U. occidentum.

European snorlax are native to the foothills, temperate forests and grasslands of Europe. This subspecies is endangered throughout most of their range and has been extirpated from Eastern Europe. Most of the remaining bears live in the Wild Area of Galar, the Royal Lands in Kalos, Pyrenees Transnational Park, and a handful of private reserves in Western Europe.

The European snorlax is closely related to the somewhat smaller eastern snorlax, native to eastern China, Korea and Japan. The eastern snorlax, U. orientum has a slightly thinner coat and hibernates more regularly than the European snorlax. They are capable of running somewhat faster than the European snorlax and they often kill their own prey. Eastern snorlax have the deepest and most versatile energy well of any variant. Unfortunately, they are also the most endangered due to their encroachments into the ever-growing human settlements in their range.

The Himalayan snorlax, U. orientum johnstonii, has a very thick coat and hibernates for up to eight months a year. Their claws and paws are larger than the lowland subspecies and their lungs are substantially more powerful. Himalayan snorlax are prone to using their bulk, strength, and energy well to trigger small earthquakes, causing avalanches nearby. They will then dig through the amassed snow to find prey. This behavior earned them fear and veneration; although they are not endangered, they are protected by strict conservation laws. There are only three known Himalayan snorlax in captivity, all within Nepal and Bhutan.

The Siberian snorlax, U. permapruinae, probably has the highest population of any species, although it is difficult to research them. They are the largest of any snorlax species. Siberian snorlax spend almost their entire life burrowing through the permafrost, moving between a central chamber they live and sleep in and side tunnels they dig through in the hopes of finding buried carcasses. Siberian snorlax simply eat chunks of ice when they get thirsty. They are seldom seen on the surface and relatively little is known about them. The bears fare poorly in captivity due to the difficulty in replicating their natural habitat and diet.