Deviation Actions
Description
Okay, first off, can anyone tell me where I can download a good clean rom/emulator of the original Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald games? I miss them, considering my originals had their internal batteries run dry, and ORAS…was actually insulting for me….I aced the original Ruby when I was eleven, Nintendo, and that was knowing nothing about the mechanics—don’t dumb it down for me ten years later! And don’t mess up Sun/Moon either with the Final Fantasy narrative you saddled Black/White with! I wanted to play the game, not read it!!! 
…deep cleansing breath….
…
Okay, rant over—moving on to fun stuff!
So, I was drawing a Gardevoir cross for a member-run contest over in PKMNation, did the lineart for the helmet-portion of the Gardevoir face, and said “You know, that kind of looks like a beak.”
*lightbulb goes off*
Granted, I’m a bit of a sucker for realistic Pokémon, and I love applying the anatomy of real-world animals to Pokémon in order to understand how they’re put together better (and because one of the first rules of drawing is to study anatomy >-<). And since I also love birds, this was fairly easy to do. 
“But wait! The Ralts line aren’t Flying-type!” Response: neither are the Torchic line, but they are still obviously based on birds. Granted, the Ralts line are a little vague and fae in design, so they could realistically be based on a few types of animals—for example, x-lazulith-x depicts them as being more feline in appearance, which to me works just as well; I’m just strange and like birds more than cats. 
And I’ll probably do a full-body reference for these, because I do have some ideas….
Design Influence
Facial structure does have some humanoid influence, and the head as a whole has a lot of inspiration from our cockatoos and chickens. In addition, the Gallade has some hawk features to it (requiring researching its skull for structure), as to me the Fighting type firstly makes it look more fierce, secondly means it could probably be more suited to eating meat than the rest of its line. That big honking crest on the Gallade is based specifically on the crest of the Sulphur-crested cockatoo, which curves forward like a Gallade’s does.
The beak is mainly psittacine in appearance and structure, and is again mostly based on our own birds (and may very well have caused me to finally crack the code of what the mouth of my Chyrotyto Chaos look like…). The fact that the face is much rounder than the skull depicted can be attributed to owl inspiration—owl faces look mighty round, but the skull is the same as a regular bird skull, just with more forward-facing eyes; the rest of an owl’s head is mostly feathers. And the little patches of fluff behind the ears are based on my chickens’ ears. ^^
And yes, that skull applies for both of them—I'm thinking that the Gallade may have a sharper beak, but any other difference in facial aesthetics probably come from the feathers.
Behavior Influence
Again, based on parrots, especially how surprisingly loving and snuggable they can be. Also took a teeny bit from guinea fowl, particularly their sleeping habits (as I couldn’t honestly picture something as big as a person perching on a tree limb to sleep). Gallade also took some inspiration from how my roosters behave (although hens will fight each other in similar fashion, oddly enough). Also took notes from how they behave in-game because hey, it’s still Pokémon.
By the way, roosters—yes, chicken roosters—have been known to give brutal beatdowns to animals that try to hurt their flock, including hawks and dogs. The hens are the same way too—I have personally seen a little bantam hen beat up a two-foot-long snake that tried to eat her eggs. The snake slithered away to die of its wounded pride.
General Info
Gardevoir
Psychic/Fairy
Lighter in color than the bolder Gallade, Gardevoir are the natural end evolution of the Ralts line in Hoenn, and yet are rarely seen in the wild. This may be due to the line’s naturally shy and reserved behavior, although those who own a Pokémon from this line may contest that. Gardevoir, specifically if they are raised from the Ralts stage, are loving and deeply attached to their trainers, even going so far as to hiss and behave threateningly to others. Trainers are advised to socialize their Pokémon early on so as to avoid this problem.
Gardevoir, like the Blaziken line, seem to be avian in form (despite not being assigned the Flying type), and are coated in soft feathers that possess a dusty dander—trainers should know that wearing dark clothing around them may bring this to note quickly. They possess small beaks that can deliver a painful bite, but are mostly used to crack the shells of nuts and pierce the skin of tougher berries. Gardevoir can and will eat meat, but they do not actively hunt prey. They possess molars in the back of their jaws, which assist with digestion, although they primarily rely on their beaks to rip their food down to manageable bits (and occasionally fling away the parts they don’t like, much to the chagrin of their owners). Gardevoir are primarily foragers, and tend to quickly drift through forests in search of food—this combined with their humanoid appearance has persisted the assignment of fae qualities and stories to them, and eventually aided with the assignment of the recently-discovered Fairy type to them.
Future-sensing abilities, as with all Psychic-type Pokémon, is questionable, as it could be that Gardevoir are simply more in-tune with nature, which coupled with being more similar to prey-Pokémon, means they have a heightened awareness of danger. Also questionable is the report that Gardevoir can summon a black hole. Professors are advised to always validate these claims themselves and not simply rely on the hearsay from ten-year-olds.
Gardevoir are generally quiet in nature, communicating with others of their species through telekinesis and soft coos. However, when threatened, excited, angry, or just plain being silly, Gardevoir can become very vocal. Their vocal-based moves, like Disarming Voice and Hyper Voice, also act as a defense mechanism, startling an attacking Pokémon long enough for them to flee. Gardevoir are also capable of mimicking a handful of human words, if trained patiently; it is unsure whether or not they understand the word or how it is used, but it is known that they enjoy vocalizing with their trainers, even when the trainer thinks they should quiet down for the night.
As with all Psychic-type Pokémon, the source of a Gardevoir’s powers are not quite determined. It is worth noting that Gardevoir have a larger brain capacity than most Pokémon, and studies have shown that its chest spike does possess extra nerve endings. The numerous thick feathers on its face may also assist in directing electric impulses from others to its brain, giving it heightened awareness of its surroundings and others’ intent.
Gardevoir are primarily diurnal, although they can be active on nights of the full moon. Gardevoir sleep in scrub brush and ground cover; while one would not think that a white and green Pokémon would be able to hide effectively, Gardevoir are quite adept at finding a spot to hide, and once they stop moving, it can be surprisingly difficult to pick them out.
Gardevoir’s natural enemies are Mighteyena, which actively sniff them out and hunt them at night, and Shiftry, which are their main competitor for resources and are more willing to eat meat than Gardevoir are.
While Gardevoir are fairly skittish and tame in behavior, they will viciously defend those they care about, and will hunt down and destroy something that attacks or snatches their Ralts or Kirila children. Trainers are advised to take care when capturing Ralts, and ensure that it wishes to come; otherwise, there will be a very angry Gardevoir family to deal with.
Tame Gardevoir can become quite devoted and attached to their trainers, and will groom or attempt to groom them often. Domestic Gardevoir tend to live as long as humans do, so raising one is a lifelong commitment. Remember to do as much research as you can before bringing one into your home, and make sure you have plenty of space for it—because while that cute little Ralts may only come to your knee, the adult Gardevoir is frequently as tall as you are.
Gallade
Psychic/Fighting
The result of ingesting Dawn Stone shards with its grit, Gallade are much more colorful and boisterous than Gardevoir. An odd case of sexual dimorphism, Gallade are singularly male, and possess a large feathered crest—partially for intimidation purposes, partially to avoid damage to the head, and partially to impress the ladies.
Gallade have been assigned the Fighting type in addition to its primary Psychic type, due to it being much more aggressive and direct than Gardevoir. Meat makes up a larger portion of the Gallade’s diet, and Gallade have been observed to actively hunt smaller Pokémon. Gallade fight each other for mating rights and pecking orders, and the posturing observed before such fights begin have led trainers to describe Gallade as being courteous and knightly; such trainers have never been on the receiving end of a Gallade’s attacks. Gallades rarely draw blood during these disputes, as the focus is getting the other to back down; there have been reports of two Gallade fighting to the death, however, as their pride kept them from backing down or running away. These reports also note that the observing Gardevoir eventually drifted away once it was obvious the fight wasn’t being resolved soon.
Gallade are a preferred choice of battling trainers, as they don’t back down from a challenge. Trainers note that Gallade are not as docile or suited to domestic life as Gardevoir, but if raised from a Ralts or worked with extensively, Gallade can be just as affectionate as Gardevoir. More effort needs to be spent on ensuring that Gallade are sociable, however, to keep them from driving others away from its trainer.
Gallade generally pair with one Gardevoir, although Gallade have been seen with flocks of two or more. Gallade are perhaps more vocal than Gardevoir, but do not have the same ability of mimicry that Gardevoir have. Gallade do preen their trainers, frequently insist on being scratched behind the crest, and will occasionally bring their trainers little presents (as the wild ones do for their Gardevoir)—this can be anything from an exceptionally shiny stone to a dead Rattata. Gallade do seem to pick up on which gifts please their mates or trainers more, and will eventually start adjusting and bringing more of what they like—so please, unless you like that sort of thing, don’t tell your Gallade that you liked the little dead Rattata it brought.
Gallade’s Psychic type is mostly used to communicate with others of its species and to augment its battle abilities; Gallade’s elbow blades are theorized to actually be a cluster of longer feathers made sharp by its psychic capabilities. Gallade’s facial feathers, like Gardevoir’s, may detect electrical impulses and transmit them to its large brain; this may be why Gallade can easily perceive its opponent’s next move.
Like Gardevoir, Gallade are primarily diurnal, and will settle down in scrub brush or other ground cover for the night. Again, one would not expect a green and white Pokémon the size of a human to be able to hide effectively, but Gallade manage just fine, thank you very much.
Gallade’s most common natural enemy are Luxray and Pyroar, as they are not as easily affected by Fighting-type moves as Mighteyena are. Gallade have been known to viciously defend their flock from such predators, and large clearings have been made in forests where the two have clashed. The occasional recording of such a battle is something to behold, as the defending Gallade have been shown to hold off numbers as lopsided as five to one, and have run down and brutally beaten Pokémon that have managed to snatch a Ralts or Kirila from their flock. Because of its more overt behavior, Gallade are seen more frequently in the wild—usually when some poor trainer just captured or is trying to capture a Ralts.
Gallade do not occur in the wild in Hoenn, due to Hoenn lacking Dawn Stones in its soil composition. However, trainers have imported Dawn Stones from other Regions to evolve their Kirila into Gallade, thus resulting in a domestic population of Gallade in Hoenn. League Regulation coupled with the Regional Sanctity for the Environment Act (RSE) require that all domestic Gallade be banded and/or microchipped to avoid introducing Gallade into the wild in Hoenn—while they may not be able to occur naturally in Hoenn, having a Gallade roam wild will most likely result in an imbalanced ecosystem for as long as the Gallade lives, which is about the same as a Gardevoir’s lifespan.
…
Okay, that was over three pages in Microsoft Word—that was a mite more than I expected from a couple of sketches from a brainstorm. 
If you read through all of that, have a cookie and a couple of cute birds:
Pokémon © Game Freak; Nintendo
Done in Adobe Photoshop (with a Wacom Tablet!
)
Very Nice and Unique!