Drampa is born old: story of a heterochrony

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New discoveries from Kalos have gifted precious informations to the scientific community, and, of course, there's been a huge buzz surrounding the new Mega Evolutions; they bring us closer to solving the mystery of this temporary transformation, and they still leave us with a couple (or more) fascinating questions to grapple with: how do they work? How do they change the Pokémon they happen to, and what can they reveal about their biology?

One of the newest additions to the Mega Club is Drampa, the Placid Pokémon. Its entry in the Lumiose City Megadex reads:

"Drampa's cells have been invigorated, allowing it to regain its youth. It manipulates the atmosphere to summon storms."

Mega Drampa no longer has its white fur, it no longer hunches over, it's regained all those features that as a youngster it... didn't have in the first place? Wait, what?

Well, yes. Baby Drampas are born old.

Or better yet, they are born already displaying the characteristics typical of adults: this phenomenon is called gerontomorphy, meaning "having the shape of an old one", and it is a form of heterochrony, a genetic variation in the rate of growth that distinguishes one species from other organisms (for example, in this case, from their own ancestors).

Heterochronies are absolutely fascinating mechanisms that living beings rely on to modify aspects of themselves over time, such as the size and shape of certain organs, or the inhibition or enhancement of physical mechanisms (for example, the presence of multiple evolutionary stages). In a certain sense, it is one of the sharpest weapons biology has at its disposal for the birth of new species.

Beyond making Drampa look old, for example, it is thanks to heterochrony that Pokémon like Girafarig and Farigiraf obtained their long necks: instead of adding structures they didn't already have, such as more vertebrae, these Pokémon exploited heterochrony, modifying the growth rate of the bones they possessed. Their bodies thus grow the same number of vertebrae for a longer period of time, resulting in elongated bones, and therefore elongated necks.

But back to our furry dragons: if they're born old, where do these youthful characteristics in Drampa come from? 

It's likely that Mega Drampa is simply drawing on youthful traits that were present in its ancestors, the genetics of which is still present, dormant, in its modern DNA, until the Mega Energy arrives to give it a good shake and make it resurface.

In short, the miracle wrought by Mega Energy isn't turning back the clock on Drampa as individuals, but as a species, offering us a previously unseen glimpse of what their ancestors might have looked like before consolidating the accelerated development that makes them look like oldies since hatching. 

This raises the possibility that Drampa may have looked quite different from the one we know today, even of a possible pre-evolution or baby stage that was lost with the adaptations the Pokémon later adopted. 

It's currently difficult to determine exactly what drove the ancient Drampa to hastily leave their youth behind, but one possible explanation lies in imagining potential Drampa babies as particularly vulnerable. This would fit well with their modern nature: Drampa are renowned for their affection toward human children, and the fury with which they protect them or avenge wrongs they've been inflicted (so much for the "Placid Pokémon"); if their young were once, too, particularly vulnerable, selecting caring parents would have been a winning strategy to allow the species to continue. Only the most attentive and responsive parents would have been able to raise their young to adulthood, so that these young would then be able to have children of their own, passing on the genes of their caring grandparents to their offspring. 

Of course, growing quickly also meant being less vulnerable to Fairy-types, which are still abundant in Drampa's habitats: baby dragons could have become easy prey for, say, a Galarian Sylveon. (There's a lot to say about how friendship-induced evolution in wild specimens punctually forces the rest of the ecosystems to adapt, but that would require a dedicated article of its own).

In short, the new, vigorous form of the Placid Pokémon has been a fantastic starting point for imagining and learning more about this species. Who knows how much more we'll be able to discover thanks to evolutions and regional adaptations!

Reconstruction of an hypothetical baby Drampa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prof.ssa Roberta Camara

Università degli Studi di Panormus 

 

 🌵🎨 All the drawings in this page (and probably of all the others too, unless otherwise specified) were made by our artists, Furiarossa e Mimma.🌵🎨