Name: Linoone
Classification: Rush
Type: Normal
Number: 264
Evolution: Zigzagoon – Linoone (level 20)
Length: 50 centimetres (excluding tail)
Weight: 7-20 kilo
Animal type: Mammal, badger/polecat
Habitat: Meadows, deciduous forests
Description: Linoone is a small, energetic omnivore that has adapted to the coming of Man very well. Where it used to live exclusively in deciduous forests, it has now learned to hunt in open fields and meadows. Boars (males) are usually slightly larger than sows (females). It lives in extensive setts which it digs out with its huge fore claws. Occasionally, it will live in an abandoned rabbits burrow, expanding it at will. Setts are usually covered on the inside with grass or moss. Up to twelve Linoone can share a sett, though solitary Linoone are also common. A group of Linoone sharing a sett is called a clan. Each clan has a dominant boar and sow, which are often the only pokémon in the clan to procreate. Female Linoone can use delayed implantation: after mating, which takes place any time of year, they can keep the fertilized eggs in suspended development until an appropriate time, usually April or May. A nest consists of 3-7 young. At birth, the young weigh only 20-30 grams and are completely cream coloured: the brown stripes appear later. They do not hibernate, but prepare for winter by eating enormous amounts of food during autumn. In winter, it can weigh up to three times it’s original body weight because of all the fat stored in its body. In this season, it looses its slick appearance not only because of this extra weight, but also because its undercoat stands out from its body. Linoone are omnivores. In the evening and early hours of morning, it can be seen digging up bulbs, roots and earthworms, or – if the season is right – eating berries. Because of their tendency to dig through cultivated fields and gardens, they are not very popular with farmers. During the night, they hunt live prey. They usually lie in wait somewhere, waiting for suitable prey – anything from small insects to Pidgey – to pass. It then rushes at the prey, pins it with it claws and bites it in the head or neck to kill it. Linoone that live near water sometimes hunt at the water side, rushing into the water when frogs or fish appear near the surface. It can quickly reach speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour over short distances. In some parts of the world, Linoone races are still popular, with prize winning specimens reaching speeds of almost 80 kph. However, it can only run in a straight line or at best make direct angle turns. This is because their long claws get in their way when trying to make a gentle curve. There is a rather unflattering saying about this pokémon: ‘to stink like a Linoone’. This expression comes from Linoones defensive behaviour. When threatened, it excretes a milky fluid from two glands near the base of its tail. The smell of this fluid is reminiscent of a skunk's spray. Linoone reach an average age of 14 years, with the record at 19 years and 3 months. Many die sooner because of traffic accidents.

At first, I thought of Linoone as a ferret-like animal, but then I read on Wikipedia how Linoone resembled a European badger and that sounded great! So part badger, part polecat. The basis for the skull is a European badger as well.
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