Have you ever taken a look at a Pokémon and wondered how exactly its body worked? Have ever wondered how a Pokémon moved? What about what it eats? If you're anything like me than chances are that's happened a few times in your exposure to the series. The Pokéology series examines Pokémon and aims to work out how their bodies would function in the real world. This time around, we're looking at Aron.
Aron is a physically small quadrupedal Pokémon standing at only forty centimetres tall and not being particularly long either. Despite this though, Aron is reasonably heavy weighing in at sixty kilograms.
Aron has stubby legs that hold up a much larger, somewhat rounded body with a head that is ovoid and nearly as large as the rest of its body. Aron is encased in a thick metal (probably steel) from head to toe although this armour also has several small openings. Aron has a single blunt protrusion on its back, however given its bluntness, location and Aron's already heavily armoured body, it is unlikely to be there for defence.
Aron is extremely heavy for its small size weighing nearly as much as the average adult man but being significantly smaller. In addition to this Aron's body is near spherical and it's legs are extremely short and stumpy with no knees and only a single hinge joint. This (along with Aron's abysmal Speed stat) suggest that it's an extremely slow mover. It's possible that Aron actually spends very little time moving at all. Due to it's thick armour, Aron would have little to fear from the average predator which might explain why it didn't evolve a body more suited to fleeing.
It is stated in most of Aron's Pokédex entries that it eats rocks and metal. This implies that Aron has an extremely powerful jaw. It's probable lack of movement and extremely heavy body suggests that Aron would probably spend its time settling down into a single location and eating until it was out of food. Aron doesn't have claws, but it's powerful jaw could potentially be useful for creating burrows also.
It is quite easy to theorise about Aron's diet. We already know that Aron eats rocks and metal for the sake of obtaining the iron and other elements/minerals it requires to heal and strengthen its metallic armour. However, rocks and metals do not provide much else in the terms of nutrition. This means Aron probably has some other source of nutrition.
It's heavy body and stumpy legs make it extremely unlikely that Aron is an active predator like the real worlds lions or tigers. The lack of fauna in a mountainous cave environment also suggests that Aron is not carnivorous. Considering Aron's habitat, it's likely that Aron's diet consists largely of fungi found in caves such as mushrooms, moss and lichen. This would fit well with the theory that Aron spends little time moving and tends to just sit in one place eating since it would take a lot of fungi to provide it with significant nutrients for survival. It is also possible that Aron supplements its primarily herbivorous diet by being an opportunistic carnivore, snapping other cave dwellers that stray to close.
Aron is extremely heavy for its size, even when considering it's metal coating. This suggests that Aron may have a strong, thick skeletal structure and a lot of fat or muscle mass. It's skeletal structure could potentially be largely metallic, made of the same materials as its armour. Aside from it's jaw, where it would require significant muscle mass to allow for its powerful bite, Aron's lack of movement implies it wouldn't have much muscle mass. It is more likely that Aron has a layer of blubber to contribute to its weight as caves are often extremely cold environments. This might point to the holes in its armour existing as a means of allowing some heat to escape so Aron doesn't cook itself from the inside.
Considering Aron dines on rocks and metal, the most obviously impressive aspect of Aron's internal biology is obviously its digestive system. Most animals have stomachs containing hydrochloric acid. This is easily capable of dissolving the fungi that likely constitutes an Aron's diet and even any meat it might snatch up. Unless an Aron plans on waiting years to replenish its armour though, this isn't going to be enough to dissolve the rest of its diet. There is another hydrogen-based acid that could dissolve rocks and metals relatively quickly. Hydrofluoric acid made of hydrogen and fluoride is much stronger than hydrochloric acid but still is unlikely to be strong enough to burn through Aron's stomach so long as it was coated in a strong basic material. Aron probably has a very fast metabolic rate (another reason to spend most of its time eating as opposed to moving).
That's it for the first edition of Pokéology! What do you think of the conclusions I came to? Do you have any alternative ideas? What Pokémon should I tackle next?
