Hawlucha

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  Overview

  For centuries Europeans were fascinated (and frequently defeated) by the hawlucha of the Nahua Triple Alliance and its successor states, including modern Anahuac. Despite the best efforts of American and European scientists no hawlucha ever survived for more than a month outside of Mesoamerica until 1987.

  At the end of the Third Thanksgiving War, the United States conditioned peace on the surrender of one thousand hawlucha and information on how to care for them. Tlatoani Necalli IV agreed. He was subsequently executed for treason by the captain of the eagle warriors. Twenty-two years of civil war followed.

  The hawlucha north of the border survived but never bred. In order to avoid American intervention in the Anahuac Civil War, the captain of the eagle warriors made a public trip to Washington where he gave more information on husbandry and breeding. The captain proceeded to execute himself for treason during a press conference on the White House lawn.

  Alola is fortunate enough to host one of the hawlucha wards established and overseen by the United States military. While they can only be captured after the island challenge is completed, they make invaluable partners for any trainers planning to challenge the Elite Four or otherwise go pro.

  Physiology

  Hawlucha are classified as dual fighting- and flying-types. While barely capable of proper flight, hawlucha are skilled at channeling flying elemental energy to perform moves such as sky attack. The secondary typing, while controversial, was recently reaffirmed by the Department of Agriculture.

  Many bird pokémon are carnivorous or insectivorous. The rest mostly eat nuts, fruit, or nectar. Despite their reputation as fierce warriors, hawlucha are one of very few birds that primarily eat leaves. Most hawlucha live in the forests and mountains of southern Anahuac. The species is uniquely adapted to their habitat and diet.

  Hawlucha’s crop, a pouch near their esophagus, is much larger than other birds. The enlarged crop combined with resident bacteria allow hawlucha to digest leaves. As a side effect of the bacteria and rumination process, hawlucha almost always smell like cow manure. The size of the crop means that the wing muscles must be relatively small. The species compensates for their somewhat awkward flight with powerful leg muscles and claws at the end of their wings. They move through dense forests by climbing up and jumping between trees, with the occasional glide used to avoid a predator or cross a river. Hawlucha’s movements as closer to those of passimian than trumbeak.

  The birds’ coloration has long confused scientists. Their flesh tastes unpleasant but is not outright toxic. Bright colors—white on the stomach and legs, blood red on the back of the wings, light green on the head, orange on the crest—may help signal this. Other features do not fit this theory. Hawlucha have false faces that make them look larger than they are. A pink circle resembling an open mouth is located beneath the beak and their actual, small eyes are surrounded by rings of feathers designed to look much larger. These may be useful for scaring off rivals in territorial fights.

  Hawlucha can reach weights of eleven pounds and heights of twenty-six inches. Little is known about their wild lifespan at this time. Anahuac’s records placed their captive lifespan around seven years in an environment of frequent battle. Hawlucha not used in warfare may live longer. However, captive hawlucha outside of Anahuac often die well before seven years of age.

  Behavior

  Wild hawlucha spend about half their day foraging for the specific mix of leaves and flowers they feed upon. Another third is spent sleeping. The remaining few hours are spent exploring the area, socializing with younger hawlucha, or engaging in intraspecies or interspecies showfights. Although they primarily live in the dense forests of inland Melemele, hawlucha often enter Route 3 to challenge braviary and rufflet to practice matches. In the interior forests territorial and mating conflicts are resolved by battle. Neither fights with braviary nor other hawlucha tend to result in permanent injury. Hawlucha are known for their very precise movements and strikes that let them scar opponents with their claws yet do little more than superficial damage.

  Beyond moving between trees hawlucha can also use their claws and jumps to navigate areas with many rocky outcroppings. The Bittern Peak area of Route 3 is practically a playground to them.

  Hawlucha are very vocal birds. They are likely to be heard—and smelled—well before they are seen. Along with their physical fights with rufflet and braviary, hawlucha sometimes engage in singing contests with trumbeak. At least one hawlucha has been observed interacting with a brionne choir. Another was sighted in Melemele Meadow mimicking oricorio dances.

  Hawlucha that have just eaten are temporarily much heavier and have difficulty moving, much less flying. They will perch in the tree they just ate from and sleep for several hours before either looking for more food, returning to their nest, or seeking out opportunities to play.

  Husbandry

  The main problem with hawlucha care is their diet. The birds will only eat the leaves of a handful of plants native to Mesoamerica. The slow growth rate of the trees means that most leaves still have to be imported. Hawlucha eat about one quarter of their body weight every day. Their trainer needs to have a steady supply of expensive and somewhat bulky plants.

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  Leaves make up 90% of a hawlucha’s diet. Another 9% is made up of flowers, which hawlucha are much less picky about. The last 1% should be fruit. Fruit preferences vary from individual to individual. Water should be offered at least once a day even if the bird does not always accept it.

  Hawlucha need time to rest after meals. They hate pokéballs so this will need to happen outside of the ball. On the trail they are perfectly content to nap on their trainer’s shoulder for a few hours, although having a bird that smells like manure perched inches away from your nose can be unpleasant.

  Hawlucha require a great deal of enrichment The best partners for hawlucha are willing to spar and fight without risk of serious injury. Disciplined fighting-types such as the machop and makuhita lines make good partners as hawlucha learn to hit relatively hard and avoid hits in return and their opponent learns how to strike a very fast target. Song or dance focused pokémon can also make for good partners. Lilligant, oricorio, trumbeak, and primarina are good at providing this type of enrichment. Finally, pokémon able to keep up with hawlucha in parkour chases can be useful partners. Passimian are a good choice but mankey can sometimes get too aggressive. Persian enjoy the game but hate having the scent around them, making them better at being occasional playmates than full-time partners. Pokémon with keen senses of smell tend not to like hawlucha much. Snorlax is a notable exception and hawlucha sometimes enjoy using the bear’s stomach as a trampoline for acrobatics practice.

  Hawlucha cannot be housebroken. They tend to defecate right before or after leaving their perch.

  Illness

  As carriers of avian influenza, hawlucha will need to be routinely vaccinated. Malnourished hawlucha will at first become rather sluggish before eventually becoming extremely aggressive. Care should be taken to maintain the proper diet at all times.

  Evolution

  N/A

  Battle

  The eagle warriors of Anahuac have a rather unique fighting style that incorporates hawlucha. The pokémon jump off the large shields carried by the humans and make a strategic swipe at an enemy to break their wrist or ankle. The bird will then either jump on to another opponent or back to their trainer’s shield to get another assisted launch. The eagle warrior will practically run through the battlefield behind the hawlucha to finish wounding and tagging the humans left behind. The rapid pace of combat does leave the warriors at a disadvantage against extremely bulky pokémon. These were uncommon companions in the early colonial era due to the logistics of transporting large rock- and steel-types on ships, but the mass produced pokéball and broader international trade networks allowed the empire’s enemies to make sure they had an adequate supply. Anahuac has suffered several military defeats since 1876 and declined in influence in large part because hawlucha became less effective on the battlefield.

  In competitive tournaments hawlucha are still very effective. They strike hard enough to break bones and sever tendons in all but the bulkiest of pokémon. Hawlucha are also incredibly agile and in arenas that are not entirely flat they can make good use of vertical space. Even on a flat battlefield hitting a hawlucha with anything but an area of effect or homing attack can be difficult. Eventually hawlucha’s hits add up. They may even find opportunities to use bulk up or swords dance. Even rock- and steel-type walls can be worn down by repeated super effective attacks.

  Unfortunately, hawlucha are saddled with two glaring weaknesses. The first is that hawlucha are rather frail. One or two good hits from a professional trainer’s pokémon can usually take them out of a fight. The second is that hawlucha rarely strike to kill in either wild showfights or on the field of battle. In Anahuac most soldiers are captured alive rather than killed to accommodate this. Human sacrifice may have developed as a way of dealing with surplus prisoners who were often too injured to work.

  When they start to gain an advantage in battle, hawlucha instinctively switch to trying to taunt and scare their opponent into surrender. This loss of momentum and momentary distraction can sometimes allow their opponent to get in a knockout blow.

  Hawlucha excel in acrobatic and melee attacks. Supporting moves are generally not advised as hawlucha need to constantly be dodging or attacking and will seldom find a moment to pull them off. Protect is an exception as a way to block the rare hit that can’t be dodged. Boosting moves are also useful if hawlucha faces off with something weak or slow enough that there is no imminent danger of being knocked out.

  Acquisition

  Hawlucha can only be captured on Route 3 with a Class V license and all four island stamps. Adoption and purchase also requires a Class V license. They adjust well to capture so long as a proper battle was performed beforehand.

  While international laws are seldom worth mentioning, trainers with a desire to travel should know that owning a hawlucha without proper authorization is considered treason in Anahuac. The only punishment prescribed for treason in the country is death. Hawlucha trainers near the border often go missing. The government of Anahuac uniformly issues press statements denying responsibility but asserting that the victim had it coming.

  Breeding

  Wild hawlucha live in mated pairs. They do not usually mate for life, but most pairings last at least two breeding seasons. Wild hawlucha are known to engage in elaborate performative copulation to mark their territory. Proper mating with the intent to breed is much more restrained and takes place in November. Hawlucha eggs hatch after a six-week incubation period. Children are abandoned shortly after fledging around six weeks of age.

  Captive breeding of hawlucha is extremely difficult and requires a near-perfect replica of their natural habitat. The Imperial Palace and Tenochtitlan’s Temple of Xōchipilli contain large greenhouses devoted to hawlucha care. Before the modern era the greenhouses were large indoor chambers with proper temperatures and humidity maintained by resident fire- and water- type pokémon. These two facilities, along with a similar one in the Nimbasa Zoo, are the only places hawlucha have ever bred in captivity. Trainers interested in breeding their hawlucha should contact the Nimbasa Zoo.

  Relatives

  Hawlucha are the only living members of their order. The last known relative died out over three million years ago. Hawlucha can be naturally found from the Zapotec Autonomous Province and Yucatan Penninsula down to the isthmus of Panama. Small introduced populations can also be found in portions of Anahuac, the United States, Kalos, Galar, and other NATO nations.