Xatu Report

Xatu (the Mystic Pokémon) is a rare Psychic/Flying-type Pokémon found among savannahs and ancient ruins within the Johto, Alola and Galar regions as well as the Ruin Valley of the Sevii Islands, the Sinnoh and Unova regions on rare occasions and possibly the Hoenn region. Completely mysterious in nature and enigmatic in behavior, Xatu are fascinating creatures that take the act of fortune-telling to a whole new level of awkwardness in battle and life in general. They might not be able to tell you what day you will die or when you will get married, but...well, actually that's the point; even if you ask, you likely will never get a clear answer!

Xatu spend nearly all day of every day doing only one thing: staring at the sun. Once a Xatu begins meditating and staring into the sun at dawn, it will not awake from its deep meditation until sundown. During this time, Xatu make absolutely no sound and do not move in the slightest; although concentrated meditation among Psychic-types is common, such incredible inner willpower is rare among bird Pokémon. In battle, this can make challenging Xatu a bit difficult at times, as they act very much the same regardless of the situation and seem to be incapable of panicking, being frightened or even visually disturbed; this is only made more awkward by the fact that they meditate and even sleep with their eyes wide open, so just determining whether or not a counterattack can be expected is a bit difficult. Thankfully, the chances of seeing many Xatu in battle are quite slim, as they are fairly limited in their attacks and are unable to learn any direct form of attack for a considerable amount of time even after they evolve from Natu, making any professional combat without TMs to back them up unlikely (though the fact that they learn Air Slash immediately after evolving and Tailwind shortly afterwards can help them fulfill some sort of tactical purpose until then).

Although it has not been scientifically proven as to how it is possible, it is well known that Xatu have the bizarre and amazing power to see both the past and the future (South Americans devote these functions to their left and right eyes, respectively) at the same time, far more so than any other Psychic-type known. As such, people have come to revere Xatu as powerful mystics, in both modern and ancient times, using them as forecasters for events that will impact later generations down the road. Ancient civilizations in particular relied quite strongly on the predictions of Xatu; although they could not communicate with them directly, many ancient humans found ways of using symbols and ciphers to communicate with their local 'mystics'. Today, more and more people are returning to using Xatu as careful predictors of the future, but they are definitely not stupid; Xatu are well known for giving out often vague messages or messages that can be interpreted in many ways in order to try and keep the future as safe as possible, though the extent of this behavior in regards to information on this past is less. Some believe that Xatu are purposely doing this because they don't think that humans deserve to have all of the answers, while others believe that they do so because they believe that the future is something that is meant to be thought about and not simply known. The most likely truth, though, may be that they simply are unwilling to change the future or at the very least do not have the power to change it, understanding the futility of it, which would explain their tendency to remain motionless at almost all times. What is well known, though, is that these amazing abilities have made them seem almost unearthly to some; believe it or not, there are some people that honestly believe that Xatu are actually emissaries from another world, with others still claiming that Xatu almost never tell the direct truth because they are afraid of what the future holds for everyone around them. Whether or not any of this is actually true, however, remains to be seen.

Whether you believe in their ability to predict past and future events or just think they are strange birds, Xatu are interesting creatures that certainly have a lot yet to tell about the actions of time and its absolute functions. Strong-willed and nearly impossible to perturb in battle, Xatu are skillful fighters that love to use attacks like Future Sight and Miracle Eye to get the drop on any opponent, and with few Psychic-types that are able to match them in sheer willpower, they can certainly be of great use to the right trainers. Of course, if you want to try and understand the deeper meaning or purpose behind some sort of upcoming event or something that happened in the past, communicating with a Xatu might also not be a bad idea; just don't be lazy and ask one for tomorrow's weather report, as you likely won't get a straight answer anyways!

Professor Wormwood