Vaporeon Report

Vaporeon (the Bubble Jet Pokémon) is an exceptionally rare Water-type Pokémon found among seashores and bodies of clean water within the Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar, Hisui and Paldea regions as well as the Hoenn and Sinnoh regions on rare occasions. The direct result of Eevee mutating in the presence of a Water Stone, Vaporeon are elegant creatures with the ability to travel through any body of water and even become part of it, in turn making them the perfect partners for Water-type specialists that love to use aquatic environments to their fullest advantage. It was once believed long ago that the tails of these creatures belonged to mermaids, but that was long before the truth was known about these odd creatures; of course, you can be sure that any sailor that gets close enough to one will find that's obviously not the case!

In this evolution, the radiant energy of a Water Stone mutates Eevee and causes them to grow fins and gills, thus setting them up for an aquatic lifestyle (though they are still capable of breathing on land) and granting them access to the Water Gun and Bubble attacks immediately after evolving. While Vaporeon are able to live in both fresh water and salt water, they usually prefer dwelling in clean, clear waters near beautiful shorelines; the exact reason, however, is still a mystery. Since their short legs are not very good for swimming, Vaporeon rely on their large tails for locomotion in water; furthermore, the movement produced by the small fin that runs down their back helps stabilize their bodies while swimming in addition to decreasing the amount of surface water their movements disturb (in other words, the fin helps them swim and hide from potential attackers). The fin on their back has one other strange ability: It can predict when rain will fall by detecting the amount of moisture in the air. If you see the fin on a Vaporeon's back vibrate while above water, it's a sure sign that rain will fall in the area within the next few hours. The exact mechanism behind this appears to be an advanced neuron-sensor designed to alert Vaporeon to the possibility of precipitation as a method of survival, since Vaporeon need to keep their bodies constantly hydrated in order to stay healthy and maintain their powers.

The reasoning behind this unique sensor, ironically enough, lies in the fact that Vaporeon react so strongly to mutation that their cells lose most of their cell walls and become little more than gelatinous sacs almost completely consisting of water molecules. As a result, Vaporeon have free control over water and can even liquefy their entire bodies for brief periods of time, generally ranging from a few seconds to an hour at most, and employ this action both as their primary tactic for hunting the fish that compromise the majority of their diet and for escaping any enemies that invade their territory. Besides acting as an impressive tactical maneuver, this grants Vaporeon the ability to utilize moves like Acid Armor that are otherwise known by very few Water-type Pokémon. However, this does come at the price of an exceptional weakness to electricity that their pure typing would not otherwise suggest. Not surprisingly, this also means that Vaporeon will rarely battle against Electric-type Pokémon without being physically pushed into doing so by their trainers, which can sometimes create some tension between trainer and Pokémon. This shouldn't be too much of an issue in the long-run, though, as Vaporeon are generally kind-hearted and will rarely attack an opponent full-force unless it is otherwise called for in battle.

Though Water Stones are generally rare and hard to come by, you'll definitely want to pick one up if you're a Water-type specialist interested in experimenting with the Eevee family. With an interesting set of both offensive and defensive moves at their disposal and the ability to literally melt into their natural surroundings at will, it can certainly be said that any trainer looking for a calm, collected Water-type for their team will not be disappointed with what these strange mammals can offer. Just make sure not to take it out to sea with you when the tides start changing; it might sound funny at first, but there are few things as frustrating and potentially disheartening as accidentally losing a good friend in the water when the tide goes out and takes it along!

Professor Wormwood