CARDIAN, the “Touch of Life and Death” Pokégirl

CARDIAN, the “Touch of Life and Death” Pokégirl

Type: Near Human to Not Very Near Human
Element: Magic/Plant (Infernal)
Frequency: Uncommon
Diet: Life Energy (Plants)
Role: Legions of Terror scouts, Saboteurs, Gardeners
Libido: Average
Strong Vs: Normal, Rock, Water, Ground, Plant
Weak Vs: Celestial, Fire, Ice, Flying, Bug
Attacks: Leech Seed, Wood Tower, Seed Bomb, Command Plants, Razor Leaf, Bullet Seed, Vine Whip, Vine Bondage.
Enhancements: Enhanced Reflexes (x2), Enhanced Agility (x5), Enhanced Speed (x5), Plant Affinity
Evolves: None
Evolves From: Daimon (Leaf Stone), Youma (Leaf Stone)

    A true anomaly amongst plant types, Cardians are almost more destructive to the environment than constructive. This is probably primarily a result of their original role as saboteurs for the Legions of Terror. With their speed, agility, and camouflage, they could easily scout ahead of a Legion's lines and use their abilities to damage crucial bridges or the foundations of enemy installations. A favored tactic was to dispatch Cardians to drain the life from a forest where the battle was to be fought, then light the newly created deadwood ablaze around the human forces as the Legions pulled a hasty retreat. However, the Cardians' role in this was not immediately apparent--the idea of a plant-type destroying a forest seemed absurd to many early researchers due to the number of precedents--and so their defeat was never truly a priority during the war. In the modern era, the dual nature of their plant affinity is usually put to work in large-scale gardening ventures.
    Physically, the breed is greatly varied in appearance, but all fall within a general category of being human-esque girls who have some form of vegetation upon their bodies. In near human cases, this can mean simply grassy hair and perhaps green skin, but up the scale there're far more drastic possibilities, such as vines naturally growing from parts of the body or flowers upon the skin. Sometimes, rocks or other inanimate objects will become lodged in as well, and many of the first Cardians purposefully let this happen and their bodies overgrow to, giving them a form of natural camouflage, and this is a trait that many feralborn Cardians will exhibit as well, if allowed. Domestics and thresholders, though, are generally seen with neatly trimmed and well-planned plants upon their bodies, often enhancing their appeal rather than detracting from it in the fashion that the excesses of their wilder sisters do. Still, many would say that finding Cardians attractive is a acquired taste.
    Despite this, though, Cardians are definitely the most commonly seen of the Youma line, and that is because, aside from their powers, they're one of the easier--if more annoying--evolutions to manage. Mentally, the breed follows the dual nature of their powers in that they're quite moody. They aren't quite to the bipolar level of the Maggiemite, but Cardians tend to change moods quite easily, not always bouncing from one extreme to another but still being quite volatile. But, most have the sense not to be overly disrespectful, even in bad moods, and so although the plants around them or their harem sister--they tend to end up at odds with other plant-types, for obvious reasons--may suffer when a Cardian's Master causes her mood to go south, it's rare that he'll have too much of a problem. Alpha bonding also helps in this regard, as it inclines the Cardian to view her master's actions positively and so they usually induce good moods.
    Even so, it's unlikely that this annoyance--minor as it is, when compared to certain other Youma evolutions--would be often put up with were it not for the fairly unique powers afforded to the breed. Although they're capable of using many basic plant-type techniques from the vegetation upon their bodies, that is not truly exceptional. No, instead it is the aforementioned variant of their affinity with plantlife that makes them exceptional, often romanticized as "The Touch of Life and Death." In effect, this ability allows a Cardian to drain life from plants and store it within herself, killing said plant and often whithering or drying it as though it'd been dead for some time. The energy stored within may then be regurgitated later and infused into another plant, inspiring exceptional, rapid growth that, if desired, can be partially guided by the Cardian's will. This has many applications, obviously, from the aforementioned forest-fire tactics to growing powerful roots in places they would be detrimental to foundations to... gardening. In the modern day, Cardians are most commonly found in large estate's gardens or otherwise with those who seek to craft plants to perfection, for what gardener would not appreciate the ability to drain life from weeds and infuse it into a weak plant that is desirable? This practice is most famous in the Noir League, as it is the driving force behind the perfection of the Gardens of Versailles Nouveau, a reproduction said to be far grander than the original, pre-War site.
    But, as functional as this ability is, it can only really be used in certain combat situations. Without significant flora to both take energy from and manipulate, most Cardians are limited to normal plant-type tactics--razor leaves, leech seeds, perhaps wood towers if they've got a good bit of life energy stored--in battle, which primarily amounts to manipulating the flora on their own bodies. Of course, those who have more Not Very Near Human appearances have an edge here, since with even a little stored energy, they can do a great deal with that.... But, beyond that, there are a few Cardians who seek--or are ordered to--become better combatants, and the most common way of doing this is to carry as much stored life energy with them as possible as well as a variety of seeds of plant samples. By doing this, they can create an environment which suits them for the battle with said seeds, and grow it to their specific needs. This may not sound too threatening, but when a wild rose is grown to the point that its thorns are several inches wide... well, that idea is proved to be foolish.
    As far as sexual situations go, the only single thing of any real note is that their moodiness can be an obstacle at times, but considering that they are Pokégirls, it isn't much more than a minor thing. Tastes vary a great deal, although though with more floral components to their bodies will sometimes wish to use them in taming; it's not unheard of for a Cardian with vines to tie herself up with them as an offering to her master if he declines being restrained. Other times, the environment and the plants around will be substituted for those who aren't able to summon vines from their own bodies, but the variety of such practices is far too great to give a decent idea of how it proceeds here. It generally is enough to make up for the mood issues, however, and some tamers have pointed out that they're as likely to randomly get into the mood as out of it.
    Feral Cardian can normally be found in forests, and as stated they tend to be overgrown and unkempt in general, making them dangerous surprise attackers. However, a decent sign of a feral Cardian is to find an area of forest that is devoid of other plant-types. For obvious reasons, the feeding and fighting habits of Cardians tend to drive them away, particularly sense feral Cardians rarely show any restraint as to what they drain or grow, be it beautiful or horrendously ugly. Thus, such unnatural growth patterns can be another decent clue, particularly if they're marked by signs of battle. Capturing them can be a bit of a challenge, though, considering said environs, and so ice-types are an excellent choice to hunt with. Threshold Cardians are rare, but still more common than those from other Youma evolutions above Daimon.