#027. Diabra

Pokémon is © to Nintendo and Game Freak

Diabra is © to me.

Bloodthirst FakemonMonster, Field70% Male / 30% Female(Lv. 25)Caves and abandoned minesHematophageCritically Endangered (CR)Known for their extremely violent and vicious behavior, these Fakemon are rarely seen by human eyes. They usually hunt at night, leaving trails of mutilated Fakemon corpses as the only evidence of their activity. Though they rely on blood for sustenance, their vicious temperament drives them to rip their prey apart during the kill, with most of the prey's blood being lost until Diabra are actually able to consume it. This drives them to kill an excessive number of Fakemon in order to satisfy their hunger.Over 500 years ago, mass slayings of livestock (primarily Coddlamb) terrified the residents of Acuma, driving them to band together and search for the culprit. This event led to the overhunting of Cernine, a misunderstanding which drove them to near extinction. After groups of farmers successfully trapped individual Diabra, a previously unknown species at the time, the true culprit was finally identified. While Cernine became a symbol of restoration and conservation, Diabra were demonized and declared a "true monster which must be eradicated".Throughout the last centuries Diabra were often killed on sight, with residents receiving bounties for each executed individual. Due to the persecution, remaining Diabra populations quickly retreated to caves and abandoned mines, secluded from human contact. A lack of food sources drove these Fakemon to behave antagonistic towards other members of their species, often resorting to cannibalism in order to survive. This, combined with the low survivability of pregnant females, is contributing to the rapid fall of Diabra population sizes. Though there is no official data on Diabra populations, this species is considered critically endangered and it is estimated to become extinct in the next 50-100 years. Any attempts to initiate conservation efforts for these Fakemon were met with outrage from the general public, while a lack of funding is preventing any future interest in this matter.Diabra are rarely found under the ownership of Fakemon trainers, as the prejudice against them discourages anyone from even trying to capture them. Rare trainers who own Diabra are stigmatized by the general public as being antisocial and are shunned from all mainstream Fakemon-related activities. The Acuma Fakemon League has put an official ban on the use of Diabra in their challenges."Diablo" + "Chupacabra"Pokemon Centres and healer NPCs will refuse to heal the player's Diabra. The player is not able to challenge Gym Leaders, the Elite Four or participate in any Fakemon tournaments or contests while they have a Diabra in their party. Many NPCs will give negative comments to the player if a Diabra is leading their party, while random trainers will not initiate Trainer Battles with the player.I went all-in with this. I made a Fakemon which is the evil, unwanted, monstrous villain of my region. Everybody hates it, if you use it yourself everybody will treat you differently, and if you actually decide to train it you will have to go through a lot of trouble in order to fight for your personal views relating to the matter.Like its predecessor, Diabra is based on the chupacabra and the tasmanian devil, with the lore aspects referencing cryptids, the tasmanian tiger, witch hunts and similar concepts. One huge inspiration for the lore is the Beast of Gevaudan, an unidentified wolf-like animal that terrorized a former French province in the 18th century. This case is an amazing read, so be sure to check it out if you are interested.So basically, Diabra is an elusive, cryptid-like carnivore that got officially discovered just because of the panic it created, and it was the true catalyst for all of Acuma's conservation efforts, while also being the posterchild of evil and actually being intentionally driven to extinction itself. This whole concept is really complex, and I just don't have the nerve to explain it fully in detail. I view this Fakemon as a moral ambiguity plotpoint for the player. At a certain point the player will be able to capture or raise a Diabra, and once they do their gameplay becomes a lot tougher. They will have to fight to prove that this species is worth saving, and that we shouldn't discriminate against any living being.The philosophical aspect I'm going for is should we destroy something which is truly a monster even though it cannot help itself? Even though killing and carnage are in its nature and the only means of its survival? Should we even be allowed to cherrypick the beings mother nature formed around us just because we see a certain living being as good or evil? Are we actually biased as to which species we should invest our resources in conserving? What good is the conservation effort if it is reliant on politics, financial investors and public opinion? How much can public opinion actually effect the scientific research of a certain subject? I hope you understand the idea and the loads of ways the game's plot could play with it.You can use or share my artwork however you see fit as long as you also credit me and/or supply a link to this page.