Gaiien Region: Regi Knockoffs: Thornlem, Crystlem, and Maglem

#093 - Thornlem/Akanthamaton (disputed synonyms)
Automaton Pokémon
Grass/Steel-type
It follows orders without question and will fight to the death. However, it will not attack unless instructed to, and birds nest in it for protection. According to legend, it is an artificial pokémon.
Base Stats: 80/120/80/80/100/120 (580)
Ability: Needle Skin (Attackers take damage on contact, “spike” moves are powered up) / Hidden: Regenerator
Learnset: Scratch, Slash, Night Slash, Metal Claw, Meteor Mash, Smart Strike, Hammer Arm, Needle Arm, Spikes, Spiky Shield, Autotomize, Destiny Bond, Revenge, Pin Missile, Power Whip, Wood Hammer, Spike Cannon, Acupressure, Iron Maiden, Bear Hug

#094 - Crystlem/Hydromaton (disputed synonyms)
Automaton Pokémon
Water/Crystal-type
It is said to have been created by an ancient monarch as a display of wealth. It was found wandering the desert where nothing grows, and where the lone and level sands stretch far away.
Base Stats: 100/80/120/80/120/80 (580)
Ability: Clear Body / Hidden: Water Bubble
Learnset: Scratch, Slash, Crystal Knife, Shell Smash, Tri Attack, Diamond Dust, Crystal Glow, Glass Transit, Twinning, Resonance, Diamond Drill, Aqua Ring, Bubble, Bubblebeam, Bubble Blast, Hydro Pump, Power Gem, Whirlpool, Spikes, Autotomize, Destiny Bond, Ancient Power, Diamond Storm

#095 - Maglem/Etnamaton (disputed synonyms)
Automaton Pokémon
Fire/Rock-type
It is powerful but slow. It follows a path that only it understands, and no structure can withstand it, even of stone or metal. Locals have built around it and stay out of its way.
Base Stats: 100/80/120/120/120/40 (580)
Ability: Flame Body / Hidden: Filter
Learnset: Ember, Incinerate, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Eruption, Magma Storm, Magma Wave, Firefield, Pyrocumulus, Lava Plume, Liquefy, Harden, Withdraw, Shell Smash, Autotomize, Stealth Rock, Ancient Power, Earth Power, Rock Blast, Smog, Bear Hug, Supervolcano

There are a few pokemon in the Gaiien Dex that lampshade its post-Hoenn/pre-Sinnoh origins (old fire/fighting Oxhaust (I DIDN’T KNOW OKAY NONE OF US KNEW), jossed Murkrow evo, poison skunk, also the region name ends with -en), and the above golem trio followed pretty clearly from the Regis.

What differs these guys from the Regis, I decided, was that they’re made out of mutable substances that can shift and rearrange easily, maybe going so far as to designate Deoxys-like formes depending on the shapes taken, but I’ll explore that one more exhaustively later.

Thornlem honestly looks like a MTG Thorn Elemental in my head but I gave it a good try here to render it without un-pokemon-ish busyness I hope. Crystlem was originally two separate sand- and crystal-based golems that I shoved together, and then at the eleventh hour I realized it would be cool if I had a Grass/Water/Fire thing going. Maglem has a scallop’s face and eyes.

It amuses me to give rare or undocumented pokemon multiple possible names; unlike the anime, where pokemon say their own names, which sound different depending on what language you speak, and are named thereby (?????????). In the Gaiien fanfic world, pokemon portmanteau names are established in much the same way as new elements or species, i.e. after absolutely vicious online debate with weight given to the discoverer’s opinion.

If it were up to me there would be three “legendary” pokemon categories, Arcane, Legendary, and Mythical, with the lower BST legends in the “Arcane” category. People like seeing Arcane pokemon at tournaments, and it’s even apparently permitted to use runty ones against beginner trainers in gyms (cough), though probably frowned upon. Actual Legendaries are more of a handful, perhaps having important ecological or geological roles to play precluding their capture. And Mythicals would be one-off pseudo-deities from outside time and space instead of the contextless event pokemon that Nintendo tosses at us once in a while. (Yeah I’m eternally salty that we didn’t get a Volcanion Power Plant event or whatever.)

Thornlem appears in Chapter 6 of my fanfic, Gods and Demons.