Pet Mod - Generation X - The Next Chapter (Region 4: Brunica) [Slate 2: Generational Gimmick] (2024)

Smoldering Form:
A Pokémon that lived 3 million years ago, resurrected from feathers preserved in viscous tar. While this sticky mass is difficult to clean, it makes an effective barrier against the teeth and claws of its enemies.
In ancient times, it is thought to have been a Fire- and Flying-type that used its burning wings to scare other hunters away from carcasses. When it scavenged from tar pits, it must've gotten stuck in the tar itself.

Ignited Form:
A Pokémon that lived 3 million years ago, resurrected from feathers preserved in flammable tar. When it ignites the volatile compounds stored in its coat, it can create its own thermals and soar high into the sky.
Thought to be ancestral to both Braviary and Mandibuzz, its mighty wings cast the land in shadow as it hunts for prey from the air. It ignites the tar covering its body to unleash devastating Fire-type attacks.

Name Origin: Tarmac + Teratorn
Type: Rock/Fire
Abilities: Thermal Lift*

Stats: 70 HP/110 ATK/65 DEF/100 SP ATK/65 SP DEF/90 SPD = 500
Level-Up Moves: Peck (1), Leer (1), Tar Shot (1), Fury Attack (5), Flame Charge (8), Agility (12), Smack Down (15), Wing Attack (19), Sludge Bomb (22), Rock Polish (26), Ancient Power (29), Incinerate (33), Drill Peck (37), Heat Crash (40), Stone Edge (44), Sludge Wave (47), Brave Bird (51)
Notable TMs: All fully universal TM/Tutor moves + Toxic, Venoshock, Sunny Day, Roost, Solar Beam, Smack Down, Earthquake, Flamethrower, Sludge Bomb, Sandstorm, Fire Blast, Rock Tomb, Aerial Ace, Helping Hand, Flame Charge, Overheat, Steel Wing, Stealth Rock, Will-O-Wisp, Acrobatics, Explosion, Shadow Claw, Brave Bird, Earth Power, Stone Edge, Swords Dance, Fly, Bulldoze, Retaliate, Rock Slide, Poison Jab, U-turn, Nature Power, Air Slash, Assurance, Body Press, Bounce, Defog, Double-Edge, Dual Wingbeat, Gunk Shot, Head Smash, Heat Wave, Hurricane, Knock Off, Meteor Beam, Power Gem, Revenge, Snatch, Spite, Tailwind
Notable Egg Moves: Iron Defense from Skarmory; Nasty Plot from Honchkrow; Flare Blitz from Talonflame; Belch from Cramorant; Rock Throw from Bombirdier (Flying)

Flavor/Design:
A colossal bird Pokemon and perhaps one of the largest to have ever flown, Tarmatorn ironically spends much of its time on the ground, taking to the air only when necessary - its 8-foot-tall, 308-pound body is hard to get off the ground, after all. It relies on soaring flight thanks to the ability to create its own thermals by setting its tar-soaked plumage on fire, and flaps its gigantic wings only rarely to conserve energy; to attack, it simply drops down onto its prey or opponent like a fiery meteor, talons-first. Its overall appearance, apart from scale, is not unlike its cousin Braviary, though its head is much larger relative to the body and its neck is longer though still heavily muscled; unlike Mandibuzz, its neck is feathered, though its face is bald. If anything, it's like you took the neck and head of a terror bird the size of a T. rex and attached it to the body of an oversized eagle with a wingspan as wide as a personal aircraft. Its legs and feet are thick with muscle, resembling those of Tyrantrum more than any bird, but it retains four toes on each dark red-brown, scaly foot with one facing back and every single one of them bearing an enormous black claw. Its feathers are absolutely caked with thick, purplish-black tar, which forms a gloopy covering like Muk's body, though some of its burning feathers, which glow a vivid orange, stick out from the tar arbitrarily. The flight feathers on its wings and its fan-shaped tail are tar-free and have a luminous fiery pattern of bright yellow and red-orange, as though they were literally made of fire; the shape and patterning of these is akin to the wings of Galarian Moltres, though with more visible slotting like an eagle's wing. Meanwhile, the thinner feathers of the neck are soaked with oily tar which makes them a purplish gray and drooping with a sort of "wet cat" look, with more such feathers drooping from the top of its head like emo hair to obscure its face. There is also a white, starburst-shaped feather ruff at the base of the neck with wispy points tipped with yellow, almost like a cartoon sun. If the head feathers are parted, the facial skin is dark gray as though charred by a cartoon explosion, though its fierce orange eyes are still visible with a fierce glare when not covered by the head feathers. Its massive bill, meanwhile, has the same red-brown color as the feet, though curiously it has a scaly texture to it like Archen's; its shape is like that of a tomahawk, the downcurved cutting edge at the front being black like the talons, flowing smoothly into the hooked tip of the beak - allowing it to use its head like a battle-ax to chop its prey into pieces small enough to swallow.

All of the above, of course, is for Tarmatorn's Smothered form; in this form, it remains on the ground with its wings raised and spread wide to intimidate opponents, its tar dripping from its body with a thick, pudding-like consistency. When it attacks with an ability that triggers Thermal Lift, however, it takes to the air as the tar ignites into flame, its entire covering now a glowing red-orange with trails of fire flowing from wherever the stray feathers were sticking out. The neck and head feathers light up with a gradient from yellow closest to the skin to orange near their ends and closer to the torso, and they now flow upwards instead of downward with a flame-like shape like the wings, as though its whole head is on fire; its face skin is also now pitch-black from the sheer heat, and its eyes blaze solid white. It will remain in this ignited state as long as it is airborne, above the reach of Ground-type attacks. Only a super-effective Water-, Fighting-, or Rock-type move can shake off enough tar to stifle its heat-producing ability and send it plummeting, though it can also return to the ground voluntarily by switching out and then re-entering battle.

Gameplay Info: The main gimmick with this big bird is its form-change ability, which works in a similar manner to Aegislash's Stance Change, though with a broader set of moves and with different effects instead of changing its stats. The most important thing about Thermal Lift is the two immunities its Ignited Form provides, no-selling one of its double-weaknesses but still leaving it vulnerable to three other types - in particular, its 4X weakness to Water remains. If you don't feel confident in the contact damage cut of the Smoldering Form, it's important to have it use a Fire-type attack and get off the ground as fast as possible. Aside from the standard Rock and Fire fare, alongside Tar Shot which can work well with its Fire STAB especially, it can also learn a bunch of Flying, Steel, and Ground-type attacks as coverage, but Solar Beam is arguably your best bet since it's the only Grass-type attack it can learn and thus its only answer to Water. Sun team support would be invaluable, though it can also learn Sunny Day itself to set up Solar Beam more freely, on top of boosting its own special attack to better make use of Solar Beam with Nasty Plot. Be aware though that Tarmatorn is not a good switch-in against Ground despite the boon of its Ignited From, because it will be in its Smoldering Form whenever it enters battle, even after switching out. Needless to say, moves that force a switch like Dragon Tail or Roar are an absolute nightmare to it, especially with entry hazards like Spikes or Stealth Rock active.