Hey everyone, welcome back to shelby on
safari!
Today we are going into the world of
eeveelutions!
That's right Chaz the video you
requested
and have been waiting for ever so
patiently is finally here!
We are focusing on Eevee the evolution
pokemon
and looking at some real world animals
that do
something similar! But before we do, if
you're new here and you want to learn
all about animals in pop culture, the
wild
and in captivity be sure to hit that
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Now let's get started,
and my helper today is the one and only
Maui!
Eevee the evolution pokemon,
first introduced in generation one. This
normal type pokemon may seem cute and
fluffy on the outside,
but in the inside it has an unstable
genetic makeup! The pokedex entries for
eevee
have evolved throughout the years.
Ranging from
pokemon yellow's definition that "its
genetic
code is unstable so it could evolve in a
variety of ways.
There are only a few left alive"
To the latest in pokemon sword stating
"It has the ability to alter the
composition of its body
to suit its surrounding environment".
Currently,
Eevee has eight different evolutions.
Eevee
even has a gigantamax form which was
shown
in the galar region in the latest
pokemon sword and shield games!
In fact eevee has the most evolved forms
of any other pokemon! If you're fans of
the anime,
you may know that Eevee has appeared on
the teams of
many a main character! Including May,
Serena and my favorite Lana. Eevee has a
total of nine
signature moves, this is the most
signature moves that
any pokemon has! Look how cute it is
it's so fluffy! According to bulbapedia
eevee actually wasn't entirely based on
one distinct animal,
although one of the creators did say
that it reminds some of a fluffy cat or
dog-like creature.
But that is not the animal that we will
be focusing on!
Instead let's head over to the Galapagos
islands!
On the islands of the Galapagos there
are
15 species of birds collectively known
as Darwin's finches. Charles Darwin
is kind of like the equivalent of one
Professor Oak one might say? When Charles
Darwin was sailing on the Beagle
and landed upon the islands of the
Galapagos,
he was struck by the biological
diversity he found on the island.
In particular it was the variation of
the bird's
beak shape and size that caught his
attention.
Seeing just how different, but also how
similar these finches were
gave way to the principle of natural
selection.
And to use Darwin's finches as an
example of this,
a few million years ago one species of
finch
migrated to the Galapagos islands from
the mainland of either central or south
America.
From just this one migrant species
would come at least 13 different species
of finch. For they would evolve from
that single
common ancestor. This process from which
one
singular species gives rise to multiple
different species that fulfill an
ecological niche
is called adaptive radiation! But before
we dive in
into adaptive radiation, and how that's
similar
to eevee's evolutions, I thought we would
focus
on a single species that some scientists
believe might actually be
the closest living link to this ancient
ancestor of the Darwin's finches
and its name might surprise you! Meet the
dull
colored grassquit....Yeah you heard me
right.
Dull colored grassquit.
Gosh some scientists can be really
brutal sometimes.
This bird is found in northwest
Argentina, Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and western
Venezuela.
Both males and females are distinctively
drab in color for they are entirely
medium brown and with no distinctive
markings.
Their main diet consists mostly of seeds
in particular grass seeds. Back in 2001
a group of scientists released a paper
which stated that they believed
that the dull colored grassquit was the
nearest living relative of the Darwin's
finches.
They hypothesized that the initial
adaptive radiation
from this group apparently occurred on
the Caribbean islands,
and then spread to central and south
America from which
the ancestors of the Darwin's finches
went over to the Galapagos
approximately 2.3 million years ago.
Not quite as quick of a change as just
using a water stone or making a curry in
the Galar region, eh?
So again the definition of adaptive
radiation
is the process in which one species
gives rise to multiple species that
exploit
different niches. So in the case of
Darwin's finches
it is believed that the one common
ancestor
was a ground-dwelling seed eating finch
but because the islands of the galapagos
are so diverse
the finches had to respond accordingly
in order to survive their beaks adapted
in both size and shape to eat different
diets.
Such as seeds, insects, nectar
and leaves. So the ecological niches
exert the selection processes to push
the populations
of birds in various directions! More
recently with climate change affecting
the food supply in the Galapagos
certain finches have lived or died
depending
on which species beak structure
was more suited or best adapted
for the most abundant food aka
natural selection! So how can this
concept of adaptive radiation
be brought into the pokemon world with
Eevee?
Well let's first look at Jolteon
the lightning pokemon! Eevee evolves into
Jolteon
when you expose it to a thunderstone, but
let's take a trip down memory lane
to good old Kanto. More specifically,
the Kanto power plant! This power plant
was abandoned
years ago although some of its machines
still
work and it is infested with electric
type pokemon!
I do remember coming across many things
that I thought were
item balls but alas they were Voltrob
or electrodes. So what does adaptive
radiation
mean specifically in terms of Jolteon?
Well
Jolteon's prickly fur is made of
electrically charged needles
these needles generate negatively
charged ions
thus creating a sparking noise when it
moves. Jolteon
also has an electricity generating organ
in its lungs! And say eevee's were
wandering around the power plant
it could get quite sketchy with all the
electrical discharge that could be
happening!
Thus Jolteon has static electricity
in its fur that amplifies the low level
electricity
generated by its cells thus allowing it
to discharge
10 000 volt lightning bolts!
Pretty impressive eh? Now let's head
south of Pallet town to Cinnabar island.
Cinnabar island is home to a large
volcano,
which would be apt for a flame pokemon!
Maybe one as such by the name of flareon?
In fact in generations two and four
after the events that happened in
generation one and three
we find that cinnabar's volcano actually
erupted destroying everything and the
only thing left
is a pokemon center ! It is said that
flareon
can be found around volcanoes which
again lends itself
quite nicely to adaptive radiation.
Flareon
naturally has a high temperature this is
caused by its internal
flame sac. Flareon stores and
heats inhaled air in this sac and then
releases it as fire. If flareon's body
temperature does get too hot
flareon will puff out its yellow fur
around its neck
to cool off. So what better way for an
eevee to evolve to survive
on volcanoes such as the one on Cinnabar
island then to evolve into an eevee that
can handle the heat
and even camouflage into the natural
environment
of a volcano! And now for my favorite of
the original three evolutions
Vaporeon the bubble jet pokemon!
Eevee's that live by freshwater lakes
or the ocean may need a way to get
around
and hunt for food therefore adaptive
radiation
could be used in terms of evolving an
eevee
into a vaporeon with the help of a water
stone.
For we see when eevee evolves into
vaporeon
not only do they get a really cool tail
but they get a white fin around their
neck
and three fins on its head. It's been
said that vaporeon's tail
has been mistaken for mermaid tails in
the past.
Vaporeon is adapted for life on land
as well as in the water for they can
still move around
on their legs however it has developed
to be more
suited to the aquatic lifestyle. For its
cell composition
allows it to essentially melt into water
this allows vaporion to camouflage
perfectly
when swimming through the water to
capture its prey,
fish pokemon!  However what happens when
you go to Johto
and you come across umbreon or espeon?
They do live in the same area however
they evolve into different forms based
on the time of night.
This could be an example of sympatric
speciation. Sympatric speciation
is the evolution of a new species from a
surviving
ancestral species while both continue to
inhabit
the same geographic region. Espeon
evolves from eevee when leveled up
with high friendship during the day or
morning. Its velvety lilac covered fur
is said to be able to pick up minute
changes
in the air thus allowing it to predict
the weather.
Most distinctively though they have a
small
red gem in the center of their forehead
which helps
boost their psychic power! And then of
course in Johto you also can get
umbreon the moonlight pokemon. While
espeon
seems to be diurnal, umbreon is certainly
nocturnal
because that's how you get an eevee to
evolve into one.
You have to level up with high
friendship at night.
An umbreon is suited for the nocturnal
life,
its yellow markings glow at night or
when it's excited.
Umbreon has perfect camouflage for
hiding in the darkness
and then leaping out to surprise prey
however when it does leap out
its markings do burst out in the yellow
color which
probably is quite scary! lLeafeon has a
quite unique adaptation as well
when eevee is leveled up next to a moss
rock
or shown a leaf stone in later
generations,
it evolves into leafeon. Leafeon's
cellular structure
is similar to plants. In fact
they can photosynthesize! They can get
their energy
this way instead, of by eating! And it's
no surprise then that leafeon prefers to
live
in lush forest. Of course then there's
Glaceon,
which eevee evolves into if you're near
an ice rock
or have an ice stone in later
generations.
It should come as no surprise that
Glaceon
is capable of freezing its fur
into sharp needle-like icicles! Glaceon
can control
its body temperature at will, this
enables them
to freeze the moisture in the air around
them!
But what about the fairy type Sylveon?
Well this is where I think humans could
come into play,
after all sylveon can only evolve from
Eevee with high friendship or high
affection
depending which game you're playing.
Maybe humans helped select
the eevees down into having such
big eyes and the big ribbons after all
sylveon will wrap these feeler ribbon
things
around its trainer which allows it to
read their feelings.
Eevee can evolve into eight different
types of pokemon
each are specifically adapted to
live and thrive in a certain type of
environment
whether that be in the water with a
really cool tail
or alongside humans and be able to read
their emotions
like sylveon can.  Eevee can certainly
exemplify
adaptive radiation from which one
species
gives rise to multiple species
that exploit different niches. Darwin's
finches
did the same thing adapting to the
different island environments and diets
on each of those islands in order to
best survive,
whether by eating insects seeds
fruit or even cactus! It's great to see
really key biological concepts being
used in the pokemon world!
If you enjoyed this video and learned
something new today,
please give it a thumbs up and let me
know in the comments below which pokemon
you want to see featured next! Have a
great day, bye!
