Ludicolo Report

Ludicolo (the Carefree Pokémon) is a relatively rare Water/Grass-type Pokémon found near freshwater ponds and lakes within the Hoenn, Kalos, Galar and Kitakami regions as well as the Sinnoh and Unova regions on rare occasions. Inherently upbeat and carefree to the extreme, Ludicolo are energetic creatures that absolutely love to dance more than any other activity in their lives and can make even the gloomiest of people smile for at least a few minutes. If you are a serious trainer looking to maintain a calm and steady disposition throughout all of your days, avoid these strange creatures at all cost; after all, it doesn't take much more than a whistled tune to send these aquatic oddballs into a dizzying jig!

There is often much discrepancy in regards to what sort of creatures Ludicolo actually are, and for good reason: Most of their anatomical traits share similarities with completely unrelated types of organisms (namely their duck-like mouths, a trait shared with Lombre, and webbed forelimbs). Unfortunately for most, the truth is much stranger and difficult to comprehend than most would like, as Ludicolo are still nothing more than odd-looking amphibians. Like many animals, Lombre have inactive genes within their DNA that have the potential to cause some serious anatomical changes if activated; it just so happens that some of the more important inactive genes related to body development are found in aquatic birds, though the exact reasoning for their existence at all is still an unsolved mystery. When exposed to the radiant energy of a Water Stone, however, a sudden mutation activates these otherwise inactive genes, triggering a radical evolution within the species and producing Ludicolo as the end result (and strangely granting them access to the Mega Drain attack once more). Surprisingly, though, these abnormal features seem to fit Ludicolo just fine, as the addition of flippers increases their swimming speed and a more prominent bill (even though it is somewhat soft and has little internal structure) allows them to effectively crop off moss growing on river rocks. This all points to the possibility of Lombre once being able to evolve into Ludicolo naturally or perhaps into a completely different species long ago, meaning that the deactivation of the genes responsible for their evolution may have simply resulted from a mutation brought on by abnormal forces.

What makes Ludicolo truly unique, however, is that they respond to music to an exceptionally abnormal degree. As bizarre as it may seem, the cells of Ludicolo actually function as tiny sources of motion-driven power, converting kinetic energy experienced within their cell walls into bioelectric energy that serves to strengthen and stimulate neighboring cells. In simpler terms, Ludicolo can generate internal energy and power themselves up simply by moving around rapidly. Most likely due to exposure to human society, Ludicolo have found out that dancing proves to be the most efficient way of generating this energy, as the presence of a steady beat provides both an extra tiny boost with each beat in addition to an internal rhythm that prevents their cells from overexerting themselves. While Ludicolo certainly do not need this power to survive, they seem to enjoy it immensely and will immediately break out in a jig the moment they hear any sort of tune from any source whatsoever. This has sometimes led to unfortunate encounters where Ludicolo hear the sound of children singing as they hike up a mountain, only to suddenly appear in front of the children and practically scare them to death; thankfully, the silly appearance of these creatures is usually enough to pacify frightened children. Ludicolo seem to take the point of dance straight to heart and mind, as they are almost literally carefree; whether they are faced with an exceptionally powerful opponent in battle or are present at a funeral, these odd creatures just don't seem to see any reason to ever be sad, angry, scared...basically anything else other than happy. While this has made them extremely popular among a growing community of dance enthusiasts and happy-go-lucky people, this personality quirk also makes them somewhat difficult for some trainers to battle with, as they cannot always use a visual shift in mood to tell whether or not their Pokémon is doing alright in battle.

Despite their lack of exceptional battle prowess, Ludicolo are vibrant creatures that gladly take being happy and carefree to an uncharted level of fun (or annoyance, depending on the observer). You'll probably have to use a few TMs or HMs to make them particularly useful in combat, but as long as you can get them to start dancing, you shouldn't have much trouble winning any battle with them. Just make sure not to play any music during the night, even if you need it to go to sleep; after all, there are few things as silly and annoying as having to watch and listen to a Ludicolo dance to the beat of whale calls!

Professor Wormwood