Pokémon Biology: Mimicry

SPL Week 2 Recap »

Introduction

Pokémon biology is, to be sure, a multifaceted field. Too often, however, we discuss the more... pleasant aspects of Pokémon biology—such as the parental habits of different species and the fabulous ways in which the creatures have adapted to their environments. Therefore, this issue of Pokémon Biology will focus on a more sinister, from a certain perspective, facet of Pokémon biology—mimicry.

Now, mimicry is a biological phenomenon where an organism resembles another but is not closely related, taxonomically speaking, to that organism. The purpose of such deception varies from species to species, and in some cases, the deception seems to be a relatively benign phenomenon. In other cases, however, often among some of our most well-beloved Pokémon species—such as the immediately charming Cutiefly and Ribombee—the deception is of a less savory nature. Without further ado, however, let's take a look at some of the more intriguing examples of mimetic species in the Pokémon world.

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Crawdaunt and Sharpedo

Let's begin with a classic example of mimicry—and a relatively benign one, as well. The superficial resemblance of Crawdaunt to Sharpedo was first observed by a Hoennian Professor working at the famous Weather Institute nearby Fortree City—Professor Harold Waldo Baites. As such, we call the particular form of mimicry demonstrated by the two aforementioned species "Baitesian mimicry." This particular type of mimicry has to do with more fragile organisms resembling dangerous ones for the purpose of avoiding predation. In the case of Crawdaunt and Sharpedo, Crawdaunt is the helpless organism. In fact, it was hypothesized by Baites that Crawdaunt is an adaptation of Corphish in response living in their new nonnative home of Hoenn—where Sharpedo is common in most bodies of water—after being introduced to the region many years ago. Sharpedo is the paradigmatic apex predator and, indeed, few Pokémon in the Hoenn region can stand to tussle with the shark. This fearsome reputation affords the Sharpedo look-a-like Crawdaunt protection against many of the species that might otherwise make its existence more difficult.

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Lurantis and Leavanny

Examples of the brand of mimicry described above are readily apparent in the Pokémon world—take Butterfree and Dustox, for instance. However, one of the more fascinating examples has only recently been discovered—Lurantis and Leavanny. Despite their appearance, Lurantis and its pre-evolution Fomantis are not at all closely related to Leavanny—or any other Bug-type Pokémon, for that matter. In actuality, it is closely related to Cherrim and Lilligant and has few evolutionary ties to its less pink doppelganger. The purpose of this deception seems to lie in Lurantis's and Fomantis's inability to move quickly and need for long periods of solar exposure for photosynthesis. As it is necessary for members of the species to be vulnerable for long periods of time, it seems that Lurantis and Fomantis have come to resemble the quick and vicious predator, Leavanny—a Pokémon known for preying on smaller Bug-type Pokémon, which coincidentally happen to be the type of Pokémon that are most likely to disturb Lurantis and prey on Fomantis.

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Mimikyu and Pikachu

The general public has somehow been lead to believe that Mimikyu is a lonely Pokémon seeking love and attention, and as such, it emulates the very well-loved Pikachu by disguising itself in a Pikachu-shaped cloth. The truth is much less poetic. In reality, Mimikyu is a carnivorous creature that mimics Pikachu—a gentle, placid, species—in order to lull its prey into a false sense of security. Once its prey—typically a small mammalian Pokémon, such as Ratatta—has dropped its guard, Mimikyu strikes from underneath its Disguise with sharp claws, quickly disemboweling its prey before drawing it under its Disguise. A prime example of a species using "Aggressive Mimicry," this Pokémon truly embodies the saying "wolf in sheep's clothing."

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Pikachu and Literally Every Pikaclone in Existence

Pikachu, due to its endearing appearance and docile nature, has had unparalleled popularity as a mascot and as a companion. Furthermore, it has few predators in its natural habitat, is afflicted with few health problems in its life cycle, has an unusually long lifespan, reacts and transforms favorably in response to a certain mineral often dubbed "Thunderstonium," and is adaptable to most climates and environments. In fact, the only reason nearly every region isn't overrun with Pichu, Pikachu, and Raichu is their extremely low reproductive rate. Only about 5% of Pikachu and Raichu ever reproduce—yet this seems to be their only "flaw." Coincidentally, we find several instances of species seemingly mimicking Pikachu, despite having few taxonomical and geographical ties to the aforementioned rodent. It's almost as if someone tried to recreate the success of Pikachu repeatedly, and to no avail. For instance, Plusle and Minun, common in the Hoenn region, superficially resemble Pikachu, but in reality they are frail creatures, easily picked off by the native Manectric. Similarly, Pachirisu in the Sinnoh region and Emolga in the Unova region bear a very superficial resemblance to Pikachu, but are short lived. The Dedenne of the Kalosian Peninsula and the Togedemaru of the Alolan Archipelago come the closest, but they still miss the mark—as both are specifically adapted to their native regions and cannot survive outside them. C'est la vie, as they say. Perhaps some enterprising new researcher will discover the perfect Pikachu mimic eventually!

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Ribombee, Cutiefly, and Beedrill

Deceptively charming, the average Alolan would never guess that their iconic, charming, insectoid fey is parasitic in nature. The pheromones they secrete fool hives of Beedrill (though not Combee; Vespiquen seem to be particularly adept at detecting and eradicating infiltrators) into thinking that they are of a like species. After Ribombee infiltrate a Beedrill hive, they typically do one of two things—steal honey or lay eggs. If the latter is the case, Beedrill raise the young Cutiefly larvae and provide them with honey, only to be stabbed in the back by the parasites once they reach maturity. The young Cutiefly typically devour the Beedrill hive's own larvae—Weedle—before escaping almost virtually unnoticed due to the aforementioned secretions. As the species is so popular and prevalent in the Alola region, they became popular with breeders, leading to an excessively large poulation of Cutiefly and Ribombee on Akala and Ula'ula islands many years ago, which quickly led to Beedrill becoming nearly extinct. If not for the efforts of the Aether Foundation, it's likely they would be. Even now, the balance of Cutiefly and Beedrill populations hang in a precarious balance.

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Ditto

It seems fitting to conclude this issue of Pokémon Biology with perhaps the most curious case of mimicry—Ditto. Unlike the above cases of Baitesian mimicry, or aggressive, or "Wolf-in-Sheep's-Clothing," mimicry, Ditto's cells are so malleable that it can copy the genetic structure of any Pokémon it lays eyes on. Scientists are still trying to understand the purpose of Ditto's unique brand of mimicry and, indeed, experts on the topic argue every day about it. Many of their issues stem from so many contradictory reports and sightings of Ditto. Some claim that Ditto transform in order to breed with other Pokémon species, others claim it transforms to catch prey and provide nourishment and sustenance. Still, others suggest its transformations are a defense mechanism used to evade predators. Just recently, a researcher stationed north of Snowpoint City even claimed a Ditto impersonated her missing colleagues. While not much stock can be put in such claims, it does raise some questions to what exactly the purpose of Ditto's transformative capabilities is. We may never know...

SPL Week 2 Recap »

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Introduction

The Smogon Premier League (SPL) is Smogon's most prestigious team tournament, assembling a plethora of squads filled with distinguished Pokémon battlers competing in a multitude of Smogon tiers, ranging from the minuscule threats in Little Cup to the behemoths dwelling in Ubers. In the eighth installment of one of the most highly anticipated tournaments in Smogon's yearly cycle, the ten squads will contend for the elusive Smogon Premier League trophy. This series seeks to address the weekly incidents in said tournament and provide a general overview of what exactly is going on in SPL, as well as featuring highlight matches in the aforementioned tiers. We've asked a few knowledgeable players coming from a multitude of different tiers to chime in and contribute to the weekly editions in order to obtain an unbiased and proficient outlook on the tournament. In this specific instalment, we will be covering everything related to the second week of SPL. For all SPL aficionados as well as casual Smogon readers, the coverage of the 8th Edition of the Smogon Premier League is a weekly must-read.

The Week in Review

Alpha Ruiners x Ever Grande BIGS

Following a convincing Week 1 ruining of the Classiest (8-4), the Alpha Ruiners came into Week 2 in an attempt to maintain their flawless record against a hungry BIGS squad; their opponents, on the other hand, came off an intense week that culminated in an impressive comeback by their opponents, the Stark Sharks, resulting in a tied series (6-6). Manager Luigi seemed extremely satisfied with his squad's performance in the first week, especially with that of his OU players, who absolutely seized the opening week and posted an impressive collective 6-3 record. On the other hand, Funkasaurus's team set a solid performance during the same time period, led by his old generations OU battlers, most notably Finchinator (one of the BIGS' retentions). Both squads seemed pretty evenly matched coming into the second week, laying down the foundation for an enticing matchup and a plethora of attractive matches.

The Ever Grande BIGS ended up clinching the series with a slight 7-5 edge over the Ruiners. Once again, the old generations OU core was quite impressive and heavily tipped the result in the BIGS' favor. Nonetheless, it was still an exceptional showing from the Ruiners, particularly for Rodriblutar and blunder in OU. Both players were able to prepare exceptionally well for their opponents and convincingly devoured their opposition. The series was undeniably intriguing and displayed some of the leading players in a myriad of tiers and generations.

Circus Maximus Tigers x Firebot Falcons

Both squads came into Week 2 looking to bounce back after losing their first series. The Circus Maximus Tigers seemed somewhat outmatched throughout the initial week of the tournament and became prey to an impeccable Raiders team, with possibly some nerves coming into play in their 9-3 loss. Meanwhile, the Firebot Falcons suffered from a similar fate, as they dropped their Week 1 matchup to a strong Indie Scooters team (7-5). Despite the mediocre performance in the opening week, the Circus Maximus Tigers did enjoy some success, most notably coming from their retained Doubles starlet MajorBowman. Despite suffering a loss as well, soulgazer's squad seemed far more consistent during the first week when compared to tennisace's, tallying five victories and definitely providing entertaining performances. Sweepage (and his ingenious Volcarona squad) and zf both achieved remarkable wins in SM OU and LC and undeniably showcased some of the potential still untapped by this Falcons team. Nonetheless, both squads seemed to be reasonably evenly matched coming into the week, with a slight edge to the Falcons, engendering an unpredictable yet alluring series.

Following an impressive series run, the Circus Maximus Tigers achieved their first win of the season, and quite convincingly so (8-4). The squad's SM battlers (ranging from OU to Doubles) posted a collective record of 5-1 (despite Eternal Spirit's match being ultimately decided by luck) and definitely impressed during what was quite the contested series. The Falcons' old generations still achieved wins of their own and were able to slightly patch up the final result with a few solid showings. An incredibly entertaining series, as MajorBowman and zf continued their strong SPL runs with their second straight win of the young season and both teams displayed exactly why we shouldn't count them out despite a subpar first week.

Cryonicles x Congregation of the Classiest

The Cryonicles came into Week 2 looking to maintain their impressive form after a convincing Week 1 display against the Wi-Fi Wolfpack, resulting in an 8-4 victory, whilst their opponents, the Congregation of the Classiest, looked to achieve their first win of the season following a 8-4 Week 1 defeat at the hands of the Ruiners. Prominent names once again featured for the Cryonicles, with Poek97 and njnp returning after solid Week 1 wins as well as mencemeat and Ice Tea (both still hadn't obtained a victory) showing up to play for Week 2. The stacked Cryonicles lineup faced an exotic Classiest squad that suffered a sharp revolution compared to last season's accomplished roster. The "reigning" SPL runners-up suffered from a few key player losses; nevertheless, managers -Tsunami- and Omfuga trusted their new pieces to come together eventually and provide some more consistent results. The stage was set for an exhilarating series, with both teams absolutely capable of conquering the other by the end of the week.

Following another convincing showing, the Cryonicles were able to squeeze out a 7-5 victory over the Classiest. Both teams boasted exceptional play all across their respective lineups, with psychicmewtwo remaining undefeated in Ubers for the Cryonicles, despite some criticizing his playing abilities in the tier, and Poek97 and njnp also securing their second wins of the young season. On the other side of the field, Lysergic was able to pull off a rather improbable win over mencemeat for the Classiest (an excellent match ultimately decided by luck). Likewise, Lusch and Braverius also won their matches, solidifying their undefeated records and impressive performances so far. Despite seeming like a superior team during Week 2 (when compared to their Week 1 performance), the Classiest weren't able to halt the Cryonicles' scorching form and ultimately fell short in a highly competitive bout.

Stark Sharks x Indie Scooters

After an inconsistent week that fortunately ended in an incredible comeback to tie their series with the Bigs (6-6), the SPL 7 champs looked to build upon that favorable momentum coming into their Week 2 series against a Scooters team fresh off a solid display and win against their Week 1 foes, the Firebot Falcons (7-5). The Stark Sharks currently sport a highly skilled squad, with several renowned players in their respective tiers and generations, such as reiku in SM OU and Trosko in ORAS OU. Their Week 1 comeback also displayed the mental fortitude of this squad, which could be extremely valuable in the later stages of such a grueling competition. Meanwhile, the Indie Scooters came into the second week with lots of momentum, since most of their players put on strong performances in their season debuts. Players such as Mr. 378, Axel10, and Gunner Rohan highlighted the Scoots' Week 1 proceedings with entertaining and impressive displays. Two pretty evenly matched teams going head to head for a whole week in numerous tiers and generations sounds like a delicious recipe for entertainment, which is exactly what these two teams gave us.

Following an extremely hard fought series, the Stark Sharks were able to secure their first win of the season. This is especially noteworthy because Scooters manager bro fist had his sights set on beating the Sharks for the first time in five seasons on what has been an ongoing rivalry (and ultimately failed to do so). The team appears to be poised and ready to contend for another title, showcased by the impressive Week 2 results, with players like dice and Lord Outrage bouncing back from Week 1 defeats. The Indie Scooters also wrapped up a week of good performances despite the overall loss, with Mr. 378 achieving his second win in two weeks (initially the #10 rated GSC OU prospect) and Axel10 once more showing his credentials, this time in ORAS OU. The Sharks and the Scoots definitely gave us all something to talk about following the heavily contested week.

Wi-Fi Wolfpack x Team Raiders

Despite a Week 1 loss against the Cryonicles (8-4), the Wi-Fi Wolfpack looked to build upon a decent week against a Raiders team on a momentum roll after an impressive display in their Week 1 matchup against the Tigers, where they clinched their first victory of the season (9-3). Managers Pearl and Sam seemed satisfied with their teams' performances, regardless of the disparity in results. Wolfpack retain and YouTube sensation aim dropped his Week 1 match, and so did a few other high profile Wolfpack battlers (PROBLEMS and Astamatitos), meaning the team will definitely be looking to improve upon the somewhat slow start going into Week 2. As for the Raiders, impressive performances from pretty much their entire lineup give them a sizeable edge coming into Week 2. The squad looks incredibly confident and should be able to maintain the positive momentum.

With their SM OU core struggling mightily (showcased by aim dropping his second game and FlamingVictini and ChillShadow losing as well), the Wi-Fi Wolfpack were once again unable to come out on top. The Raiders ran away with another week in what has been an exquisite season so far. Hack in Ubers, KratosMana in SM OU, and BKC in GSC OU were just a few of the best performers for the Raiders in their Week 2 conquest of the Wolfpack. Despite the one-sided conclusion, the Wolfpack seem to remain confident going into Week 3 of SPL, where they will be facing the Alpha Ruiners. As for the Raiders, they hope to continue the positive streak against a strong BIGS team.

Around The League

In this week's edition of Around The League, we will be interviewing Luigi, esteemed Smogon figure and also manager of the Alpha Ruiners (currently 1-1), as well as Gunner Rohan, the Indie Scooters' Ubers player. This segment will hopefully showcase what's going on in SPL from an insider's perspective as well as accentuate focal points and disclose what we should be keeping an eye out for during the remainder of the hectic season. Following the initial weeks of the Smogon Premier League's cycle, we decided to approach Luigi and Gunner Rohan with a handful of riveting questions pertaining to their team's performance in general as well as their own roles within the team.

Battles of the Week

In this week's edition of Battles of the Week, we will be taking a closer look at the most intriguing games that have taken place during the second week of SPL. Lets us delve straight into the action, shall we?

Highlight Match

BW OU - Tokyo Tom v Jayde - written by BKC and Finchinator

At first glance, the team advantage Tokyo Tom had wasn't insurmountable by any means, but it definitely was there. He brought some form of old-school stall; one of the strengths of these teams, besides not losing to the popular threats of the time, was dissecting balanced teams using Skarmory thanks to Forretress's easy spins and Heatran's ability to pressure everything with the dreaded Toxic + Protect backed up by its insane special bulk, phenomenal typing, and STAB Fire moves to threaten Steels, which is important when two of BW's biggest ones are the Spikers that run the meta. BKC built the team Jayde was using; it takes into account Tokyo Tom's love for sun teams. It also enables Mienshao and Landorus-T's U-turns with Rotom-W's Volt Switch and can help against Tornadus or Starmie rain, which is usually extremely threatening. Specially defensive Heatran also seemed threatening, meaning Jayde would need to wear down the Heatran with Spikes to realistically beat it in the long run, but to do that, he first needed to wear down Forretress, which would otherwise spin on his Skarmory for years.

Already in the beginning of the contest, Tokyo Tom dodged a Hydro Pump while landing Toxic, which was crucial for him to start chipping away at Jayde's team. The lack of damage Heatran took would be a huge factor later in the game. Tokyo Tom proceeded to click Protect and set up his Stealth Rock while Jayde's Rotom-W preserved its health by clicking Volt Switch into Landorus-T. Jayde didn't want Forretress to instantly spin, which would prove crucial later on in the match. Keeping Landorus-T's health high would be essential in keeping it around to safely chase out the Heatran, and not using Stealth Rock early on could be seen as a misplay, because it didn't really gain Jayde anything while he lost 12% of its health. Jayde ended up with his Skarmory in on Tangrowth, and on turn 7, Skarmory revealed Taunt, which was incredibly valuable against a stall team like Tokyo Tom's; it also prevented him from using Sleep Powder on that turn, which would've made the game even harder. Jayde continued to make a series of aggressive reads that resulted in Stealth Rock going up. Stealth Rock was especially important for wearing down Forretress, whose removal would let Jayde set up the Spikes he needed to take down Heatran.

Jayde then focused on firing off a safe Earthquake to chip away at the Forretress; this was the optimal play because Tom's Landorus-T counters were much easier for Jayde's team to play against and he couldn't allow it to spin. Another crucial moment in the match was when Tokyo Tom retreated to Tyranitar in an attempt to trap the Latios while Jayde made a great play in doubling out to Mienshao, which gave him momentum and put him right back in the driver's seat. In another key series of plays, Jayde doubled into his Rotom-W and then wisely Pain Split into the incoming Gastrodon, leaving them both around 75% health. Tokyo Tom knew he was getting outplayed by Jayde and that Rotom-W would want to status his Gastrodon, so he doubled back into Heatran on the Will-O-Wisp, which worked out, as he got a Flash Fire boost and Rotom-W took another turn of poison damage.

Knowing Tokyo Tom would want to Rapid Spin away the Stealth Rock and Spikes as soon as possible, Jayde went to his Rocky Helmet Landorus-T, leaving the Forretress at about 1/3 health and putting himself in a position to remove the Forretress and guarantee hazards staying up for the remainder of the game, which could prove to be the decisive factor. With this in mind, Jayde set up Stealth Rock again as Tokyo Tom went to Tangrowth and then decided to U-turn out to a Lum Tyranitar, fearing Tokyo Tom's attempt to catch the Mienshao switch with Giga Drain, and easily took the weak Hidden Power Ice for a mere 11%. On turn 30, Jayde revealed an interesting move in Dragon Tail, which could prove crucial at wearing the 'mon down throughout the game so that Latios could clean. Jayde continued to stack his hazards by laying up Spikes, knowing that they could essentially seal hazards being up for the remainder, as the combined chip damage put Forretress in Rocky Helmet range, even after Leftovers recovery.

With Forretress dead, Jayde could finally Spike freely, and he took advantage of this by setting up a second and third layer as a weakened Heatran came in for what might be the last time due to all of the hazards being up. Skarmory then showed its Special Defense investment as it finally stayed in on the Heatran, tanked a Lava Plume, and phazed it for the hazard KO. For the remainder of the match, Skarmory stayed in and cycled through Whirlwinding, Taunting, and Roosting when appropriate, and Tokyo Tom had nothing to deal with this, as his Forretress was dead and Heatran was going to die to hazards upon switching back in. Moreover, Jayde's Skarmory took out the majority of Tokyo Tom's remaining team with hazard damage, and then the combination of Hidden Power Ice on Landorus-T for beating Gliscor and weakening Tangrowth and Dragon Pulse on Latios to finish Tangrowth cleaned the game out for Jayde, giving him a 4-0 victory and a 2-0 record to start the season. Taunt + Whirlwind Skarmory and Dragon Tail Tyranitar found themselves playing significant roles when it came to weakening Tokyo Tom's team in conjunction with Stealth Rock and Spikes. While Tokyo Tom had the ability to remove the hazards, set his own, and wall pretty much anything Jayde had to throw at him offensively, that still left him vulnerable to aggressive hazard setup and phazing, which turned out to lead to his demise in the long haul. Ultimately, Jayde was rewarded for his outstanding play from start to finish despite having to play an uphill battle due to Tokyo Tom's advantageous team matchup.

Featured Replays

SM Doubles - Stax v SamVGC - written by miltankmilk

One of the best matches of the week as a whole and undoubtedly the best Doubles match of the week was between Stax and SamVGC, representing the Raiders and Wolfpack, respectively. While both of these players were 0-1 coming into the week, they were generally regarded as two of the most consistent players in the DOU Circuit as well as other smaller tours such as the DOU Ladder Tournament and Doubles Premier League. At Team Preview, neither player possessed a clear advantage; Stax brought an interesting bulky rain team featuring Ludicolo and Celesteela, while SamVGC opted for a very unique semi-Trick Room team with Snorlax and Thundurus-T. Subsequent to substantial scrutiny into some key moments, we observed a few turns that really shifted the battle around. The first of these came as early as turn 2, when Stax revealed a very slow Politoed with Encore that reset SamVGC’s Trick Room and kept him from losing momentum early. After trading KOs regarding crucial members of both teams, SamVGC and Stax were locked up 4-4 with the rain still up. Ultimately, Stax obtained a definite edge in the battle on turn 10, when he pulled off an impressive read by Faking Out Mega Salamence and hard switching to his Landorus-T in place of his Celesteela, stalling out SamVGC’s Tailwind and stopping the Thundurus-T in its tracks. Stax continued his aggressive play and was able to seal it when SamVGC (accidentally perhaps) used Eruption over Heat Wave, which left Ludicolo at enough HP to handle the Thundurus-T and keep SamVGC from having a shot at winning the game with Mega Salamence. Closing off at a very close 1-0 victory, Stax was able to notch his first victory of the season in what has so far been the highlight match of SPL Doubles.

SM LC - OP v zf - written by Kingler12345

OP and zf both brought fairly standard balanced builds featuring Foongus, with OP taking the route of a "Dark spam" core of sorts. OP's Abra seemingly had no switch-in on zf's team, meaning it was pivotal that zf didn't allow it to enter the field unscathed. In addition, OP's Foongus was a sizeable issue for zf's side, as it could beat most of zf's team one-on-one and could potentially pivot in on Snivy and non-offensive Staryu easily. On the other hand, zf's Timburr would likely be able to punch through OP's team, especially if it packed Ice Punch. OP made a slight error of judgment on turn 1, allowing an otherwise fairly useless Onix to absorb sleep instead of hitting it with a Sludge Bomb and keeping the threat of Spore at bay. zf played around the threats on OP's team extremely well, though a turn 5 critical hit on zf's Staryu threw a bit of a wrench in his plans. Turn 22 was another momentous instance in the match, since even though the potential series of predictions and mind games was ultimately in Snivy's favor in the matchup, predicting correctly that turn would put it in a comfortable winning position. OP made a nice series of moves that would've eventually required him to get favorable Sleep Talk rolls on Mudbray and a long sleep duration on Magnemite, but this failed, allowing zf to finally secure the victory after a formidable contest.

Conclusion

I hope you've all enjoyed this week's edition of Smogon Premier League Week Overview. It was undoubtedly a dynamic follow-up to the already lively first week, and that should only rise to higher levels as we approach the later rounds of the competition. For any further information that may pertain to Smogon Premier League, make sure to check out the following resources:

• The Smogon Premier League Hub
• The Official Smogon Premier League Week 2 Thread
• The Official Smogon Premier League Replays Thread

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