Pokemon Ocano: Early Route Pokemon
After receiving your starter, it’s time to make your way out on your Pokemon journey. Like all Pokémon regions, Ocano has its fair share of early route Pokemon perfect for building up your team.
One of the first Pokémon you tend to encounter are the early route birds. I actually see Ocano as being connected to Unova (similar to Kanto and Johto in gen 2), and as such, one of the pokemon you can catch early on is Pidove. However, you can also catch the regional early bird of Ocano early on as well: Humbirb (from hummingbird and. “birb”). A normal/flying type, Humbirb resembles a small hummingbird (a ruby throated hummingbird specifically) with a pair of feathers sticking out of its head like antennae, almost resembling a moth (kind of an inversion of the hawk moth resembling a hummingbird). Despite its cutsie appearance, it’s actually rather aggressive, often seen attacking each other over flowers and even going so far as to attack certain grass types for their nectar (especially Roselia and Vileplume). It evolves into Humbile (from hummingbird, bile, and vile), a larger, more predatory looking hummingbird, now looking more wasp-like with tail feathers resembling a stinger and longer feather antennae (even rubbing its legs together the way some flies do). A poison/flying type, Humbile are actually rather docile compared to their previous form, though this is mostly because they’ve become incredibly toxic due to its diet of grass/poison type Pokemon nectar (its feathers brightly colored to showcase this).
Among the early route rodents you’ll encounter in Ocano, you’ll come across Skwovet, as well as Ocanoan Patrat (which I already talked about in my Regional variant journal entry). You’ll also encounter Snatchum (from snatch and possum), a small, gray normal type possum. Small and greedy, it often steals from other Pokemon nests, as well as from campsites. It usually steals food, though its nest often contains items stolen from trainers and travelers alike. It evolves into Larsupial (from larceny and marsupial), a larger, fatter possum with a black stripe across its eyes and black ears, resembling a simple burglar mask. Now a normal/dark type, they are considered the leaders of their groups, commanding their Snatchum underlings to raid other Pokemon nests. However, when their underlings are overpowered, Larsupial will enter the fray themselves, using their bulk to overpower the defense and using the pocket on their stomach to store their loot. For those of you who remember my first attempt at making a Pokemon region, you might recognize Snatchum and Larsupial from my previous attempt; the only real change here being that Snatchum was originally called Possnatch (you can probably see why I changed the name).
Capping things off with the Early Route Bugs, you’ll come across none other than Wurmple, Caterpie, Spinarak, and Krickitot. However, you’ll also come across the new Pokemon, Cornuggot (from corn, nugget, and maggot). A pure bug type, Cornuggot is a fat, yellow grub with a jagged mouth and a pointy little nose. Incredibly gluttonous, it spends its days chewing its way through berries. While it does spoil the berries, their spit can also decompose the leftovers into a highly prized fertilizer that’s excellent for gardening. It evolves into Huskoon (from husk and cocoon), a bug type cocoon that resembles an ear of corn, though with two, beady black eyes peering out from a pair of holes. Living off the stored fat it accumulated in its previous form, they’re often seen strung up by webbing between tree branches and the ground, resembling corn stalks. What appear to be corn kernels are actually beads of sweet jelly that form on its surface, which it flings at those who get too close. It finally evolves into Agreevil (from agriculture, aggravate, and weevil), a bug/ground type weevil with a plaid pattern on its back, though females are large, lumbering brutes with hoe-like claws and a plow-like nose, and males are smaller with needle-like noses and little limbs that end in a single claw each. In the wild, Agreevil often make little farms to grow berries, with the females tilling up the soil and planting seeds and the males pruning the bushes and picking the berries. They do, however, cross over onto human farmlands and end up destroying their crops while creating their own, making them a bit of a pest.
