Fanon Pokedex: Teddiursa
Morphs [Oak Catalogue #]
- Teddiursa [#216] – Ursus teddius
- Ursaring [#217] – U. maxus
Physical DescriptionTeddiursa and Ursaring are a pair of bipedal ursine Normal- type Pokémon. Teddiursa is a small cub standing at between 45 and 70 cm tall and weighing between 8 and 10 kg. Its entire body is covered in orange-brown fur, except for around its mouth which is covered in yellowish fur and a crescent moon shape on its forehead which is hairless and shows their tan coloured skin. Their front paws have three short claws each and the feet have two claws each. Due to their diet they almost constantly have one of their front paws in their mouth. Ursaring have almost doubled in size upon evolution now standing at between 1.65 and 2 m, around that of the average man, and weighing between 100 and 150kg. During evolution their fur has now become a dark brown colour and still covers their entire body except their yellowish muzzles. The crescent moon they had on their heads as a Teddiursa is now a thin circular patch on their stomachs which is hairless and shows their tan skin with the insides covered in the brown fur that covers the rest of their body. The fur on their shoulders is thick and shaggy with the females having longer shoulder fur than the males. During evolution Ursaring have gained two extra claws on each front paw and an extra one on each back paw, their claws are now also much longer. Both Teddiursa and Ursaring have small ball like tails.
Notable BiologyBoth Teddiursa and Ursaring have an incredibly powerful sense of smell that allows them to find food easily. Due to being Normal types they don’t have many notable features, lacking even an omnisac that most normal types possess however they do possess a small poison sac that allows them to learn the move Toxic with some effort. However they make up for this lack of an omnisac by having powerful muscular arms that allow them to use a wide range of Fighting, Rock and Ground type moves. They are also capable embewing their claws with darkness to use Ghost and Dark type moves. There are three distinct sub-groups of these Pokémon. The first possess what is termed the “Quick Feet” ability by trainers, a bizarre immune response to ailments such as burns or poisons that allows them to send more energy to their limbs so as to move faster, this means they also don’t experience the same drop in speed while paralysed that most Pokémon do. The second sub-group possess the “Pickup” ability as Teddiursa, these Teddiursa have a stronger sense of smell than normal that allows them to occasionally find hidden objects within their immediate surroundings even if they have been buried. As Ursaring these members have what is called the “Guts” ability, this is an immune response to ailments such as burns or poisons that releases large amounts of adrenaline to their limbs allowing them to deal more damage when they make contact with a foe. The third and rarest sub- group possess in the Teddiursa stage the “Honey Gather” ability. This means they possess far more honey scent receptors than normal allowing them to find honey or nectar any honey in their immediate area even while in unlikely places. Upon evolution to Ursaring these members gain the ability to stand their fur on end so as to appear bigger to intimidate their foes and preventing them from ingesting any berry they may possess, they also possess larger teeth and claws to assist the tactic. As with all Pokémon the Teddiursa line have members that exhibit are rare phenotype that alters their colouring. These members have apple green coloured fur as both a Teddiursa and an Ursaring.
HabitatBoth Teddiursa and Ursaring prefer to live in mountainous regions where they are less likely to encounter humans and make their homes in caves that they will fiercely defend. It is not unusual to find members of either species in forests as it is here that they are most likely to find their favourite food, honey. Mountains that have forests or large areas of woodlands tend to have a higher number of Teddiursa and Ursaring as they combine the safety of mountainous regions while having easy access to honey. Route 45 in Johto and Route 28 in Kanto are prime examples of this though populations of both Pokémon can be found in the Hoenn Safari Zone and around Lake Acuity in Sinnoh.
DietThe favourite food of both Teddiursa and Ursaring is honey and both are especially adept at finding it, they are both however omnivores and will happily eat berries, fruit, fish and even steaks, though these should be used as treats only. Teddiursa are also able to make their own honey out of fruit and pollen, they then share this honey with other Teddiursa and Ursaring in their area. Also the fur on Teddiursa’s paws is very thick which means that honey gets stuck in it easily, Teddiursa will then suck out the honey as they go looking for more food leading to the myth that a Teddiursa’s paws absorb and then ooze honey. Ursaring on the other hand will simply snap trees in half and collect any fruit, berries and even unlucky Pokémon that fall down. They are however perfectly capable of climbing trees to get what they want though they will only do so if a tree is especially thick and resistant to being snapped in half.
HazardsNEVER EVER approach a mother Ursaring and her cubs you will regret it… if you live. Mother Ursaring will fiercely defend her cubs from anything and is almost always successful. For this reason trainers should always make sure a mother Ursaring is not around when attempting to catch a Teddiursa because until the Teddiursa reaches around 2 years old she will be somewhere nearby watching her cubs closely. It is advised to travel in groups of about 6 when travelling in areas known to be home to Ursaring as this will lower the chances of being attacked. If this isn’t possible trainers should let their team out of their Pokéballs to make up the numbers, but make sure to have larger stronger Pokémon just to be safe.
Social StructureUrsaring will normally keep to themselves with the only groups being those of mother and cubs. Upon meeting another Ursaring if both are male a fight will usually ensue however females will likely ignore one another only attacking if cubs are threatened. Females will try to avoid males as they are likely to attack females especially if they have cubs the exception of this is of course during breeding season. Teddiursa will tend to stick together in groups and work together to find food. Stories have even been heard from trainers of Teddiursa using their cute appearance to suck in trainers while others steal their food, though this has also been told of lone Teddiursa.
CourtingWhile both Pokémon are capable of breeding in captivity only Ursaring will do so in the wild. Ursaring will mate from late May to early July with males being mostly monogamous and remaining with the same female for up to 3 weeks before going on its way. The female will then delay implantation until hibernation begins with the cubs being born 8 weeks after the beginning of hibernation with usually only one to four cubs being born though females will occasionally adopt stray cubs so larger numbers are not uncommon. Cubs will stay with their mother for around 2-4 years before going out on their own though Teddiursa do tend to form small groups with other similarly aged cubs. After the cubs leave the mother may not produce another litter for three or more years.
In Human SocietyTeddiursa and Ursaring have captured the imagination of humans since ancient times with both being present in a number of myths and each having a constellation based on them. Most depictions of them are reasonably positive with a fairy tale about two adult Ursaring and their Teddiursa cub with a taste for porridge being commonly told to small children as well as a popular cartoon in the eighties about a male Ursaring who likes to steal picnic baskets and his Teddiursa pal being very common. There is also the common toy based on a Teddiursa cub that a former Unovan President refused to shoot being almost a required item for young children.
Written by Shadow6666