Name: Delcatty
Classification: Prim
Type: Normal
Number: 301
Evolution: Skitty – Delcatty (moon stone)
Height: 1.1 m
Weight: 30-50 kg (depending on age and sex)
Animal type: Mammal, feline
Habitat: Anywhere comfortable
Description: Either you hate Delcatty for their egocentric, changeable personality, or you love them for it: there is nothing in between. This big cat is a favorite of rich girls all over the world – ‘rich’, because the only way to keep a Delcatty, is to keep it happy. It does not seem to feel loyalty at all and will just move on when its trainer can’t provide the perfect food or sleeping spot. So many Delcatty have been reported missing, in fact, that the police has made it their unofficial policy not to to bother looking for them. Trainers find it hard to use this Pokémon in battle, as even well-trained Delcatty may simply walk out of the arena in the middle of a battle. In captivity, the main point Delcatty are selected on for breeding is their beautiful fur. The contrasting orange and purple colours should be as bright as possible, and the purple collar should be as long as possible. Several subtypes have been identified. A rare line of Delcatty has bright red contrast fur instead of purple. Breeders need to have plenty of space available, because Delcatty live completely solitary lives and all but one will walk away if they feel they are too close together. Only for mating do they meet briefly. The female raises her cubs alone for a surprisingly short amount of time. After a month, the Skitty are left to their own devices. In fact, in captivity Skitty are usually taken from their mother after a few days and raised by hand. The mother seems to prefer this to actually having to take care of her young and the Skitty seem to suffer no ill effects. Though they can stand cold pretty well, Delcatty prefer to live in warm places, or will migrate south (or north) with the warm weather. Very little is known about Delcatty’s hunting habits. In the wild, it is hard to find (which also makes population estimates very unreliable) and in captivity, it doesn’t hunt wild prey, preferring to be waited upon. This has led to the belief that Delcatty may be a scavenger. Also, it’s bright purple fur hardly makes it inconspicuous, which is a major drawback for a hunting species. It’s lazy attitude to life suggests that it has evolved under conditions where food is plentiful. They sleep most of the time, preferably in warm, cozy spots. In the wild, they may sleep on tree branches if it’s sunny, or in abandoned Ursaring’s caves or large Linoone’s setts when it’s cold. They can’t run as fast as other pokémon of their stature, such as Persian, nor are they as powerful fighters. They are very light and it is unlikely they can kill large prey. Delcatty prefer to avoid conflict. Rather than assert their dominance, they will simply go somewhere else when meeting with another, agressive pokémon. The size of an individual Delcatty’s territory is estimated to range up to 500 square kilometres and the borders can change daily. Delcatty mark their territory with urine and by scratching at trees (or, in captivity, anything they can get their claws on), though why it does this – as it will simply move if invaders come along – is somewhat puzzling. It is also possible that these marking indicate the fertility of the female, as they seem to be more disposed to scratching.

Maaaan I never thought a cat could be this difficult! I actuall inked three versions and then decided to colour this one. The first was too much like a lion with big ears and the second looked too much like a caricature. And the second also died when I got frustrated erasing the pencil lines. So here I tried to take parts of a lioness and a lynx and make the proportions slightly wrong. The body is shorter than usual in cats, the paws are small and the head is large - like the game icons.
I like the idea of an animal/pokémon just relying on its charm to get it through life. 'Fine, if you won't feed me, a hundred others will. I don't need you.'

An art trade with the lovely  Ookami-girl, who has given me the most lovely comments over the past few weeks and whose art is absolutely charming. (yes, that was an order to go look at her page)