Vamprachne have three sets of legs and two arms. Their legs are long, curved, and spider-esque. They are sickly purple, contrasting the scruffy brown fur covering the majority of their bodies. Each of the legs have two-pronged claws, which Vamprachne use for gripping the slippery cave walls. Vamprachne's arms are longer, ending in three-toed paws. At the elbow joints, there are a thorn-shaped piece of cartilage, which joins the webbing of their wings to the other side of their arms. Vamprachne spin their own wings from gossamer they secrete. Despite their appearance, Vamprachne's wings are not good for flying; they can glide, but cannot take off from a standstill. Vamphrachne's bones are not hollow, like most avians and chiroptera are. This makes Vamprachne too weighty to fly for long distances. Instead, Vamprachne use their wings to store small morsels of food. Only brute force can loosen an object from their silk, which means that most small prey animals are not able to wriggle or chew their way out. Vamprachne regularly mend their wings. When a fellow colonist is too ill to spin their own, another Vamprachne will step in to help it.
Vamprachne have squashed snouts and large, batty ears. Their sense of hearing is keen, and they can rotate their ears 180° to pick up even the faintest of scuffles in deep caves. Vamprachne have four eyes protruding from both sides of its head. Three of the eyes on each side are small, while the lower, centered one is the biggest. Jewel-bright, these eyes are a stunning amethyst colour.
Gender Differences[]
Vamprachne have no outward gender differences. However, the females have stronger venom than the males. Female Webbat are also more aggressive than their male counterparts.
Behaviour[]
There are three female Vamprachne for every male, as they are copulative cannibals. Even situations where there is an abundant food source, or the Vamprachne are in captivity, the females will kill the males more often than not. This suggests that there is more to their motive than merely feeding their newly-hatched young the carcass. Nevertheless, suitors generally try to appease female Vamprachne with regular offerings of food.
Vamprachne's appearance has often been described in terms such as "frightful" and "nightmare-inducing" by humans. A common fear of children who live near colonies of Vamprachne is that one is hiding under their bed or inside their closet. Vereshad Regional Census data ranks fear of Vamprachne between astrapophobia and running out of repels far from home. This fear is more misguided than anything. Vamprachne's behavior towards trainers does not back up their reputation: they seldom leave their caves. Domesticated Vamprachne are civil to teammates and, if treated properly, will dote on their trainers. Humans with Vamprachne may wake up to an offering of half-digested prey, or find that their Vamprachne has spun them a protective cocoon overnight. Vamprachne also have an eye for shiny objects. In addition to bits of food, they may stick bright stones or scraps of metal to their wings. A trainer who owns a Vamprachne is certain to notice change and paperclips never lay around the house for long.
In battle, Vamprachne use a host of different methods. Their venom is a potent blood coagulant, while the claws on their arms can deliver painful, infected scratches. Vamprachne have also been known to use the points of their wing joints to lance their enemies when attacked from behind. If an enemy gets stuck in Vamprachne's wing, the battle is as good as won.
Habitat[]
Vamprachne live in deep caves. Because of their size, they prefer spacious caverns with high ceilings. Although they are flightless, Vamprachne have no fear of heights: they spin upside-down nests for themselves and their young far from the reach of curious trainers.
Game Data[]
Pokédex Entry[]
Pokédex entry
Vamprachne spin their own wings out of sticky gossamer. They store food, attractive objects, and their unruly young in them.