Hello! I'm Researcher Valerian!

Hi, I'm Researcher Valerian! Ex-ranger, studying to be a full-time Pokemon professor (focused on sleep studies). 33 years old (yes really), he/him. Working under Professor Neroli for now! [Pkmn rp/irl blog]

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Introduction!

Hello, I'm O.B. Valerian (he/him)! I'm a researcher from Galar studying up to be a Pokemon professor oh yeah and I'm an ex-ranger.

I'm really interested in the different ways that Pokemon sleep...each and every one of them is so cute when they snooze...aah...

I'm working under Professor Neroli for now, along with my partner Diana the Drowzee.

I also regularly employ the help of local Pokemon if I need to - but I don't capture them. Ranger habits die hard I guess. Nothing against capturing Pokemon in balls by the way, my Diana has a pokeball!

Of course nothing here is properly scientific, it's more of a note-taking place for sharing bits I've seen!

I don't know how often I'll post as I'm often on the go and can spend weeks watching and observing Pokemon sleeping.

I've done quite a lot already though and will be posting my notes in national Pokedex order (my Autism demands it even though it makes the work harder haha...).

Anyway go ahead and ask questions!

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0265/0266/0267/0268/0269 - Wurmple line

I find Wurmple's potentional for evolution to be quite interesting and was curious to see if the changes that create the lines split could be observed through sleep as well. i.e. could I tell what a Wurmple would become just by how it slept?

Wurmple has quite a few natural predators, as all such bug types do. It is also one of the most equipped to protect itself. To sleep, it will often go underneath a branch and stick itself tight with it's suction cups, on rare occasions if it's in dense foliage or fell asleep stripping bark it will curl up into a ball. If the branch shakes it raises it's tail threateningly or flattens itself as much as possible, both without waking up.

I found that in 87% of cases, those who raised their tails to defend themselves in sleep would become Cascoon and those who flattened would become Silcoon.

Silcoon rarely moves and will hole itself up anywhere it would be difficult for others to come and bother it. On rare occasions it will spit out more threads to obscure itself during rest, which it does most of the day, approxiamtely 23 hours a day is spent sleeping.

Cascoon is a bit more active in hiding itself, often finding gaps in trees and attaching dead leaves to itself as camo. This is perhaps because even people bother it to try and get it's silk. The amount of time spent asleep is around the same, but it gets a lot hotter around evolution time and sleeps unsettled because of it.

Hey by the way if Cascoon produces the better silk why isn't this one called Silcoon then?

Beautifuly is a lot more aggressive than it looks and will fight other bug types, especially Combee, away from flowers it wants. It gets so possessive it will sometimes cling to flowers it likes whilst it sleeps just so others can't get to it. When simply resting it can ride breezes - at first I thought that like Hoppip and it's evolutions this meant the Pokemon was just allowing fate to take it wherever, but evidence gathered suggested they were able to predict where they would end up and used this time to rest to conserve energy.

Dustox is the only one in this line which is nocturnal. It starts this cycle immidiately upon evolution, though it may initially sleep in the day if it happened to evolve at that time due to exhaustion from evolving. They spend much of their active times drawn to lines, so you might see a few in trees close to cities or even on the lights themselves. It may scatter scales in it's dreams (watch out!).

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0263/0264/0862 - Zigzagoon, Linoone and Obstagoon.

I love regional differences. I didn't know Zigzagoon and Linoone could be so...not aggressive? Wild Zigzagoon are practically tamed outside of Galar...I say practically of course because you should never underestimate the wild instincts of Pokemon who have not been actually tamed. I can't help but wonder how a non-Galarian Obstagoon would have behaved but I guess the evolution only needed to be because of the specific circumstances within Galar to begin with.

I found it hard to keep out of the way of this line, either because they wanted to investigate what I was up to or because they wanted to fight. I really should invest in getting a party member who isn't weak to Dark Type moves but Diana and I are so bonded it would feel strange with another Pokemon around...

Either way, the full of energy Zigzagoon and Linoone do eventually sleep. In Hoenn they follow a fairly simple diurnal way of sleeping, with parents keeping watch over offspring as the little ones need more sleep than their adult counterparts.

Linoone seem to do everything fast, sleeping in quick bursts rather than hours long, and always near or within a den of some kind. Occasionally I've witnessed movements as if they're about to run but brainwave patterns indicate they're still sleeping.

Zigzagoon who have left home still form small packs with others of their kind, and in colder times will pile together for warmth and safety.

In Galar, they rarely spend time with others like them, and will fight away anyone who gets too close to their dens or sleeping spot. As they evolve, their sleeping habits also change.

Galarian Zigzagoon are naturally vespertine (though interferences such as local human populations can alter this). Galarian Linoone are crepuscular and Obstagoon are nocturnal.

Based on what we know about this line, it seems they changed their diurnal patterns to compete less with other diurnal species who hunt what they hunt (more of which exist in Galar than Hoenn) and avoid daytime predators. This doesn't necessarily mean a change of prey, just that they would be getting to them when their prey was starting to become less active.

To thus compete with other nocturnal predators, or active nocturnal Pokemon like Pangoro, Obstagoon developed as an evolution. The fact that it largely sleeps in a defence upright or sitting position as if ready to Obstruct means if even slightly startled it's quickly ready to fight again.

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0261/0262 Yena line

This was another dangerous one. There is a reason they're known as the Bite Pokemon and if you think you can outsmart or outrun a pack of Yena you cannot. With Diana as my only Pokemon, I didn't want to even try and tackle one let alone all ten (the usual pack number). Thankfully, this line is smart enough to quickly receive friendship signals...even if I did still have a couple Poochyena chewing on my equipment...

The Yena line spend much of the day resting. To stay out of the heat of their savanna homes and preserve heat for a dusk or night time hunt. In grassland habitats they sleep a little less during the night and hunt a little more during the day especially Pokemon like Furret.

They will sleep anywhere they can find, such as under bushes and shade trees, or even shallow pools of water. The higher the rank within the pack, the better the spot one can claim. There's generally more Mightyena than Poochenyena in a pack and Poochyena are too timid to challenge their elders.

In places where there are a lot of Pokemon or people, the Yena pack will be more active, so you won't catch them sleeping quite as often.

It's more likely you'll catch them taking 20-30 minute naps, either laying on their bellies, sitting or half-sitting as they don't like to fully lay down unless comfortable. But a Yena laying on their side is very comfortable indeed and generally has probably just eaten.

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0258/0259/0260 - Mudkip, Marstomp, Swampert

This is another one of those lines where it's more common to see them in captivity than in the wild, but there are always those dedicated to keeping Pokemon in their natural habitat and thanks to them I was able to find the right swamps and wetlands to observe these sleeping cuties.

It's important that this line remains a little moist at all times, though they can survive without doing so a lot longer than other similar lines like the Wooper/Quagsire/Clodsire line.

However, they will try and find somewhere muddy and cool if they can. The swamps and wetlands that they like to inhabit can be surprisingly humid at night so staying cool is a must for a lot of Pokemon not just those with delicate skin.

Mudkip are feisty little things. They'll spend a lot of time training their strength and can sometimes fall asleep trying to crush a rock or two. They live in small groups and will cosy up in the mud together too. They are champion twitchers too and there's nothing cuter than a Mudkip with sleepy fins fluttering.

Marshstomp take a few more little naps around the day, often whilst standing, but they don't fully sleep without digging a fairly deep pit of mud to keep their skin wet. One can be sometimes seen with several Mudkip joining it's nest, mostly because they're thorough when it comes to making it wide and wet.

Swampert can also be found napping whilst standing but it has a lot more energy at this stage and doesn't nap quite as often. When it does, I observed that many will still move around, imitating swimming. It is so constant that I hazard to guess that it's a defence kind of sleepwalking designed to make it look awake.

It's also a champion pit-digger, though it tends to be a lot cleaner and more precise than Marshstomp, fitting the size and shape of it's body perfectly. The cutest thing I saw was that a few of them seem to cuddle rocks when they sleep not unlike how they did as Mudkip <3

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0255/0256/0257 'ken line

I always wondered we the scientific community called this the ken line when Torchic doesn't follow the naming convention. Theories state that Torchic was originally called Torchicken - based on the mythical 'chicken' - which is also where the ken part comes from in the rest of the line. Eventually it got shortened to Torchic.

So there ya go lol

Interesting fact! Studying this Pokemon is where I saw my second ever shiny. I wonder if the mother was confused that one of her chicks was yellow lol

Blaziken nests often contain up to 3-5 chicks at a time. Sometimes the offspring will mature at different times. Those who achieve evolution first will be prioritised for training by the parents so they can forge out on their own.

Nests are built in places with lots of natural light as Torchic have poor nightvision and become distressed in the dark. To combat this, small controlled fires as sometimes lit by Blaziken at night. They do not seek cover as Torchic's natural warmth supports the temperature of the nest.

A truly comfortable Torchic will flop right on it's back, but they will snuggle together in a variety of positions.

Combusken are loud aggressive Pokemon who calm significantly when asleep. They may still let out a cry, but at a volume which is much more tolerable. As well as sleep cries, they may also sleep kick. This is perhaps why the adult Blaziken seek to help them forge out and create their own nests fairly so as to not disturb it's hatchmates.

Blaziken also show fighting movements whilst asleep, which is why they do not sit on their nests. Instead they are most commonly found nearby either stretched out on their backs or with their knee up, depending on which parent is currently on watch.

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0252/0256/0257 Treecko/Grovyle/Sceptile

The curious and perhaps sad thing about Pokemon considered 'regional starters' is that many end up being bred in captivity or taken into it for that exact reason. It's one of those small thing people don't like to talk about or brand simply as 'Pokeactivist talk' but we really need to do better by these practices.

In some places they were introducing more and more of them into the wild and forbidding holding onto them for this purpose so that's good. I found this out as I was looking for Treecko and it's evolutions and found someone solely dedicated to helping maintain it's wild population.

Treecko and Grovyle are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dusk and dawn. During the rest of the day they can be found sleeping, to varying degrees of comfort. That doesn't mean they're easy to get to though!

Treecko are most often found sitting to sleep, either in or around their favourite tree, so long as they feel safe. They often rub their face to clean it during sleep too.

A truly comfortable Treecko may exhibit the 'sploot' position in which it lays on it's stomach with it's arms and legs out - some even display movement in sleep similar to that which they make climbing when awake.

Grovyle are much harder to see in the wild than I anticipated. This was another case of using technology to sense brain waves rather than relying on eyesight because even experts in Grovyle have a hard time spotting them when they're asleep.

This is because Grovyle do everything they can to disguise themselves. If they lay, they only do so surrounded in leaves. At other times they hold their bodies at specific angles to help with their camo, even subtle things like bending a knee or playing their head leaf a certain way can make them near invisible.

Sceptile is a little different in that it adores sunlight to help grow it's seeds. It needs in the sun, in fact, to regulate it's body temperature. If it can find a spot at the top of a tree where there is also plenty of sun it will take it, else it will venture into glades to sunbathe. When in deep sleep, seedlings can be seen growing around it at ten times the usual speed.

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I can't do a full study on Pokemon like Lugia and Ho-Oh so I'll be moving on in the 'dex past them but I do enjoy taking down notes from locals who suppose this, that and the other. Like yeah, it's logical that Lugia sleeps at the bottom of the sea deeper than humans can Dive but...I can't technically put it into a scientific paper as old as the knowledge is deemed to be. I'm already making a ton of sidenotes on how ancient records can't be cross-referenced but are included for preservations sake...

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0246/0247/0248 Itar line

Yeah I'll hold my hand up and say I was an adult before I learnt these Pokemon aren't bug types lol

Oh and for everyone going 'what about the paradox Pokemon?' do you think I have the clearance to go into Area Zero?! I'm still earning my degree! I haven't even properly published one thesis yet! Sheesh!

Larvitar spend as much time as possible eating the dirt they get nutrition from. Somewhat often I noted they would eat themselves into a stupor, sometimes even mid-bite.

This also means that despite making it's way to the surface once they hatch they will often be found sleeping deep underground after eating their way down, safely stretched out or sitting up scratching and yawning as they nap.

Pupitar are unique in that they do not like to be inactive if they can help it. Perhaps constant movement, falling and hitting and fighting, is what helps it stay so tough and gain the power to evolve. However, it does still sleep though rarely laying down. Sometimes gas would vent during sleep, but this doesn't seem to be controlled by the Pupitar.

So many Pokemon sleep in a guarded fashion that observing Tyranitar was really funny for me. They LOVE to spread out. Front, back, side, it doesn't matter. So confident in their power they are that it doesn't matter to them how or where they sleep. They simply find a spot and go for it. Lucky for me none of them say Diana as a worthy opponent and tried to attack us...the urge not to rub those big tummies and see how rough they were was intense though...

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0241 Miltank

Now, Miltank was a tricky one. Most of them are ranch Pokemon, which is still a type of domestication I wasn't interested in. Thankfully there are some herds roaming free on Johto's routes 38/39/47 and some other places like Alola's Poni Plains.

Miltank are lovely friendly Pokemon who often share the area their eating and sleeping in with other Pokemon.

Mostly these Pokemon do not bother the Milktank as they sleep and some may even defend them from predators. Such is the bond between Milktank and other Pokemon that they feed naturally along with their own young.

Ruminators, they can nap and chew cud at the same time, but similar to Stantler and other ruminators they can only do this when napping. If they want to get a full sleep they sit or lay down, often on their backs or sides rather than their front due to the sensitive udders.

Milktank only need around 4 hours of sleep total (3 hours NREM and 45 minutes to 1 hours of REM) to be perfectly healthy, so although night time is bed time for them you'll be likely to see them perky and awake for much of it.

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0235 Smeargle

I still have a lot of clothing stained by Smeargle paint and honestly it's an honour to be their canvas. It's not like I could stop it, a researchers job is to stay still and observe, as I've said before this can result in many curious Pokemon having a poke and prod at you. Can you believe that Smeargle fanatics keep asking me to sell them my clothes? Apparently they have 'rare marks' on them or something.

Smeargle are social Pokemon that don't form groups the way we might think. They gather to swap scents and colours during the day only but are very protective over the small areas of territory that they control. It's within this territory that they will sleep.

Smeargle tend to sleep in ways that protect their brush (tail). Standing to nap is common though they can't stand up long if they start entering deeper sleep so napping and sleeping sat up against something is also common.

Occasionally one will sleep on it's stomach, and 'paint' may make a mess when this happens. Sometimes they twitch in their sleep and seem to make purposeful marks.

It's actually pretty debated whether these marks should count amongst the official Smeargle marks and I personally want to weigh in that since every mark is much more random than when they are awake it really is just hypnic jerking. So if you wanna count that...why not?

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0234/0899 Stantler & Wyrdeer

More historical records to cross reference eee~ I like to do it, it's not as good as active research though and when I write this up properly I'll have to do a bunch of referencing but researching isn't all field work and I'm in for it!

Stantler move, live and sleep in herds. In ancient times, these herds would have been led by a Wyrdeer who would have slept the least of all - it's huge psychic power allowing it's mind to rest without entering full sleep.

Stantler are ruminants and can be found both sleeping and ruminating at the same time - just because it's chewing doesn't mean it's awake! Over the course of a day I found that Stantler spend around five hours in non-REM sleep, an hour in REM sleep and three hours ruminating. I managed to study them across seasons and this pattern did not change, though I thought it would when food was scarce.

Because of their psychic powers, they can afford to sleep all together because their antlers alert them ahead of time by picking up the vibrations of other minds.

I discovered these unique sleeping styles which although they don't mean much are adorable to think about;

Flat out sleep (sleeping on the side with legs stretched, seen a lot in young Stantler)

Pillow sleep (using something as a pillow including other Stantler)

Ball sleep (curled into a ball)

Nose down sleep (sleeping with the nose pressed against the floor)

Antler down sleep (sleeping with one antler on the floor)

The first and last were the most relaxed sleeps, shown by how off-guard they are. Records show that Wyrdeer showed similar styles.

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0231/0234 Phan line

You know, Drowzee are an awful loy Phanpy like...round, adorable little probocis, sleep like angels...I think Diana fit right in!

Phan' herds spend more time travelling than anything else. In fact, out of all mammalian Pokemon, they have the shortest daily sleep time - only two hours a day and usually in the very early morning hours. This beats by a small margin other Pokemon of similar kinds like Cufant and Copperajah who sleep just one extra hour on average.

Though they are found in rocky terrain, they only sleep where a river is in quick access. Their 'nests' are made by digging vertical pits and part of the morning routine is for the herd to shower themselves in the river. This can take just as long as their sleeping time does!

They sleep both standing and laying. Due to their short stature and the protectiveness of the herd pit, they can afford to lay down and sleep more often than the taller elephantidae Pokemon. When standing Donphan will often curl up as if about to roll away, showing great readiness for flight or fight. They will sometimes sleep on the edge of the pit rather than inside of it too, guarding even as they sleep.

When laying they are able to enter REM sleep and sleep deeper, though the shortest of sleep suggests they don't need a lot of deep sleep to function. Phanpy have been shown on occasion to suckle their own trunks as they sleep and either Phan' may suddenly kick dust - these could be involuntary movements rather than practical, which could explain why they wish to shower so thoroughly upon waking.

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0228/0229 Hound line

Sometimes Pokemon look like Puppy but are in fact not Puppy and should be respected very much also sometimes they hunt your provisions and you can't do anything about it

Houndour roam in packs led by a dominant Houndoom, usually a female. They are very vocal and a pack is never silent not even when sleeping.

I was able to analyse and record more than 20 distinct barks and howling patterns that only occured when these Pokemon were asleep. Approximately 5 of which were 'call and response' type vocalisations which occured between Houndour and the dominant Houndoom only (rather than between Houndour).

At least two were heard so minimally that they may have been nonsense calls made by deeply sleeping individuals.

Howling, since it's about territory, was the most common calls likely to maintain the authority of the pack over an area despite them being at rest.

At any time, a quarter of the pack will be awake and patrolling the sleeping area, responding to those sleep calls to make it sound like more are awake.

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0227 Skarmory

If you're looking for Skarmory you better have protective gear, not only do they nest in the most dense thorny bushes they can find, but they are super territorial even taking on Corviknight in Galar. Watching those two clash is both awesome and scary...but as always, I was more interested in this Pokemon at rest anyway.

Diana refused to join me crawling through the bushes to do this. I think she found plenty of time to do her own napping during this time but she was still ready to help me when I came bursting out chased by a very angry bird Pokemon with knives for feathers...

Now, most Pokemon stay away from thorny bushes unless they're very small and can dodge between them, but for Skarmory these kinds of nests as ideal.

Newly hatched Skarmory are much softer than their parents and need the scratching and pricking of the thorns to encourage their feathers to harden. It continues to work this way for the adults and sometimes they will even preen themselves by rubbing their feathers together or against the thorns - even when sleeping!

There's a myth that they rust if they stay in the rain too long and whilst this continues to be a myth, it is true that on rainy days Skarmory spend the entire time huddled within the dense foliage of their nests and sleeping, only venturing out once the rain has stopped though not necessarily when everything has dried.

Otherwise they have a fairly standard diurnal sleep pattern!

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0458/0226 Mant line

Did this one at the same time as I did Remoraid, so I spent twice as long swimming and diving than I usually did. Eventually you get used to it - I like to think I became less awkward in the water as my research went on lol

Mantyke and Mantine both rely on constant motion to breath and stay alive so they cannot afford to completely rest like humans and many other Pokemon might.

Instead they engage in unihemispheric slow-wave sleep, where half the brain takes a rest whilst the other half stays awake.

For Mantyke they often have the added benefit of a shoal of Remoraid looking after them so even though they can't slow down and engage in full sleep they are very well protected.

For Mantine the solution is to sleep for less time, even using their unique way of going about it.

To find this I really had to trail a lot of them and observe their brainwave changes. During this kind of sleep they very much act as if they're fully awake, including eating and using low effort Moves.

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0225 Delibird

This was one of those Pokemon it was hard to study without them trying to interact with you. Though they tend to ignore you if they're together with their flock, a Delibird out gathering food is highly likely to approach a human who they feel is in danger or needs food...for example, a researcher, who is trying to be very very still and non-threatening lol

I appreciated the presents and accepted them only insofar as to not cause it to attack. Well, almost all the presents, I don't think they understand that humans don't generally Ledyba...

Delibird live in flocks, and the one with the largest tail leads them. This means where they sleep is dependent on the leaders preference for that day. By constantly moving they broaden their access to food stuffs and sleeping places, reducing fights between flocks.

Generally they will sleep standing up and huddled together against the cold, though occasionally they sleep sitting in particularly if their tail is very full and heavy today.

At no point do they let go of the end of their tail, even in sleep, their instincts allow them to retain a constant grip. Any flock-mate trying to get into the treats because they haven't stocked theirs well will usually wake up the other and cause a fight. These fights don't usually last long though and are little more than a Peck or two until they settle back to sleep.

Occasionally, muscle memory seems to kick in and a Delibird will rummage in and even take out some of the treats within it's tail. This seems to happen more often if they are laying on their stomachs.