Massive Revamp of the Park

Would you prefer we move the Heatmor to the Gardens?

 

Anything to save my blessed little ants.

 

I meant move the Durant back to the Gardens and then the Heatmor can follow them =P

 

The Heatmor managed to live for this long without forcing Durant into extinction. I think they can manage.

 

Not strictly true. It's been shown that the Heatmor were in a steady decline, having gone from approximately four thousand within the borders of Mount Deckbi to just under eight hundred. We investigated the cause and found it to be a lack of prey. Besides, the Durant were more than willing to move to Mount Deckbi - they'd been making do with nests inside fallen trees and underground burrows but they infinitely prefer their mountain cave networks.

 

You just made that up -.-

If this had been true, the Heatmors would have changed categories long ago. They did no such thing until Durant was introduced into the area. If anything, there new classification bump up means they are becoming more scarce and the new proximity they share is negative for both species.

Not to mention, Durants are more commonly found in habitats on mountains, not volcanoes. For them to tunnel effectively, they can't be near any source of resounding heat or else their truant nature activates. If that were to happen, their would be no hope for the species in being able to catch any prey at all, and they would lose any hopes of escaping from all of the many fire-type predators. As well, due to their ability to share their abilities with other creatures, the entirety of Deckbi would become filled with lazy and sleepy pokemon. This is not only a problem for the Durants, we are talking about the entirety of Deckbi being put at risk.

And don't look down on Durant's willingness to adapt to a forested environment. Albeit not being the perfect climate for it to live in, the argentine ant (to which Durant is a close cousin) prefers locations with a Mediterranean climate. This means that it needs a nice and cool winter period, filled with plenty of rain and precipitation. Deckbi is known for catering to the fire, ground, and rock-type pokemon who live on it; this means that there is very little in the ways of rain, because it could potentially bring in a water-type species that could potentially tip the entire ecosystem. In a case like this, one pokemon should not be forced to suffer just because it would have to adapt to a climate similar to the one it prefers.

In conclusion, volcanoes and fire = bad for Durant; forests and correct climate = good for Durant.

 

Ahh, but you assume that Mount Deckbi is one big mountain. I've always thought of it more as a mountain range of such, a collection of peaks, with just the largest one being called "Mount Deckbi". Taking this into mind, not all of the mountains or off-shoot parts would be volcano-laced, and so there are plenty of places for the Durant to burrow away from heat. The only other mountain in the Park (with the destruction of the Outer Heavens) is Mount Oktori, and I would argue that Oktori would be worse for the Durant then Deckbi.

Besides, in order for Durant to have survived as a species, they must have some anti-Heatmor defenses in place. If you remove them from the Heatmor and those defenses get un-used and are lost through the process of Darwinian evolution, you're essentially performing a genocide of the Durant, albeit one that takes place in the future.

 

I don't assume. I'm following the description given by the National Park information desk. "A towering active volcano that sports many cave systems. The volcano is a dark red-brown color and has a wide trail that spirals up it. The area around the volcano is bare of plant life and covered with gray boulders and rocks. The air is usually thick with dark gray ash once you get about halfway up." I'm not saying there aren't any other mountains nearby, but on this particular path where trainers are shepherded through, it is pretty clear that it is just one particularly large volcano with flat land sorrounding it. The volcano is basically the only area where the Durant would be able to live. The flat land is void of any plant life and really provides nothing in the way of nourishment for the Durant.

The Durant's common means of defending against Heatmor is its ability to move quickly, and tunnel at the same speed. They stand no chance at defeating even a single group of Heatmor without first getting in a surprise attack, and even then there is no telling if there are others nearby. Durant's speed and tunneling would still be useful even in a forest setting. Creating underground nests would prove extremely useful, not only giving them a new safer place to live, but also in giving the Durant an easy way to defend against in intruder; in fact, it is their favorite way to beat an intruder, in a massive group.

As well, your point works counter intuitively; you just released a swarm of Durant who are used to a peaceful environment filled with resources, and no predators who actively seek them out, into an area filled with predators who will quickly take advantage of their current naivity.

 

> implementing this isn't a virtual Pokémon world and adheres to our laws of natural selection. Not to mention the fact that its fairly irrelavent where it lives since they won't really be eaten

 

*waves* I was asked to do this.

 

Durant should be at Deckbi. It should learn to man up and fend for itself!



Failure to comply shall result in feminism!



Which leads to...!



MINUS THE MANLY IRONESS!



BUT SLIGHTLY MORE FETCH!



Until Regina George comes along and is so totally like stop trying to make fetch happen omg >_>!



SO YEAH



Duran(t) Duran ain't happy but oh well!

 

Imma go ahead an let chu finish, but KlingKlang is the best steel type of all time. Of all time.

 

@ Neon: As big as Mount Deckbi is, there's enough space for Durant to make its tunnels and nests and avoid the hotter interior of the stone of the volcano.

Who says the other Fire Pokemon are going to give two shits about Durant? No other Dex entry lists Durant as being the prey of other Pokemon, so as long as they don't attack other Pokemon for whatever reason, your argument about the other Fire Type Pokemon unleashing literal Hell on them is invalid.

This may be a counter to my previous statement, but who says Durant is a peaceful vegetarian? If they live in a mountain, there's not going to be much vegetation for them to eat without heading to the exterior all the time to collect vegetable matter. As big as they are and considering their massive Speed and Attack stats, it seems to me they'd be more predatory. That being the case, even against a Fire Pokemon (except Heatmor given the fact that they've evolved to prey on Durant), they'd probably easily be able to take it down before it could do much damage. In most cases I'd assume they'd adapt to hunting Fire Pokemon; just tunnel up from under them, grab a leg or bite into the belly, and retreat into the hole you came out of while others come up and grab other parts of it. Or just make a large hole and chase the victim into it to cripple or kill them. You shouldn't underestimate a Pokemon just because it's weak to a majority of the Pokemon it shares its habitat with.

You're also not taking into account the damage it could cause by introducing Durant into an ecosystem where it never existed before. Ever heard of invasive species? What if Durant took to the Gardens a little TOO well and started doing such damage that other Pokemon literally couldn't live there anymore? Be it habitat destruction from the Durants' tunneling to Durant preying on species with no natural way to escape it to there being no natural predators of it, you might be wrecking another location and doing more harm than good.

I also want to make a bigger emphasis on one of the points mentioned above. Heatmor evolved to prey on Durant, but no other Pokemon has done so. Take Durant from its natural (and pretty much only) predator, and the species risks exploding out of control thanks to lack of population control. You couldn't bring enough Trainers in to catch them all; what's one or two Durant taken out a day compared to a queen hatching hundreds every few weeks? That ties in with them overpopulating and destroying another area they might get put in.

Oh, you mentioned something about a Durant swarm being unable to fight off a group of Heatmor, but then again, there's no indication that Heatmor are social and therefore live in groups. In real life anteaters are very solitary creatures, which means there's a good chance Heatmor are as well. Obviously it might not be the case, but either way, you're underestimating Durant's amazing ability to tunnel through solid rock; if any saw a Heatmor or a group of them, they would probably waste little time in burrowing away.

Your lack of faith in Durant's ability to survive makes Durant sad.

Also lol @ how this discussion was turned to Durant being moved.

 

But, bringing a new species to Deckbi means that Durant is going to have to take land from another species to find its own new home. This means turf wars. If GTA: San Andreas has taught me anything, it is that turf wars are violent and dangerous. GROVE STREET!

Who says the other fire-types won't care? Nowhere in any dex entry does it say that they can't eat Durant or won't. The only thing it says, is that they eat pokemon food which is a broad category for berries, plants, other pokemon, etc. If I were a fire-type, I would see Durant as easy prey and take advantage of the situation.

I'm not saying Durant are entirely peaceful and entirely herbivorous. I have no fear that they won't be able to adapt and take on other pokemon, but are ground and rock-types really going to satisfy them? The whole point of eating something is to get nutrition out of it, not rock and dirt. I suggest not bringing up them preying on fire-types. Let me put it this way: if you are allergic to pollen, you probably won't go around eating pollen. I'm just saying you are forcing a complete change in their diet by switching them from one region to another. That kind of shock to any living creature's regular routine is enough to cause confusion and sickness among the entire species.

This argument about moving it is exactly what I am against. Moving it out of an environment where it was controlled and sustainable and moving it into a new enviroent filled with new threats and predators. This is what you guys have done. I'm not talking about putting it into a new environment, but returning it into a location that it has already been successful in.

This is assuming Durants follow the same basic code as actual ants. However, there has been no queen or anything along those lines that has shown itself. There are many basic differences between ant and Durant culture; I could name a few, but those are trivial details. I suppose the largest evidence to support my argument is Durant's regular breeding pattern. This has been monitored and can be confirmed.

Durant are extremely powerful in a swarm, just like most ant species, but alone they have little that can overcome their weaknesses. Like I said, their best defensive abilities are there speed and burrowing abilities. I have no doubt that they could use these to escape from a head on battle, and potentially use these to set up ambushes, but this is all situational. Some experienced Durant may be able to pull something like this off, but all pokemon can do the same if experienced. There really is no side with too much advantage, because eventually Durant will create defensive strategies, and their predators will find ways around these. The only thing x factor in the scenario is Durant's weakness to fire, and that is a rather large factor.

Durant is an extremely capable pokemon, but it can only do so much against a disadvantage.

Anyways, nothing I say will make a difference anyways. You have all already made up your minds, and one person won't make a difference in the fight for Steel equality. I will forever speak up for my fake little pokemon

For my closing statement, I'd just like to say:



Durant hates the Heat.

 

xDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

implying Steel isn't already one of the best types

 

this thread

 

You made a convincing argument Neon, if the Gardens had actually been it's original habitat. It was just put in the wrong one to begin with. If it had just been stuck in Deckbi in the first place, would you have even thought to bring it up? =P

 

Dude, u crzy

Yo, don't hate. I make Steel look good

Good point. If it had always been on Deckbi, I probably wouldn't have said anything.

 

Neon is a nut,
He has a rubber butt
Every time he turns around
it goes 'put put'