Tao Encyclopedia/Food & Medicine

Tao Encyclopedia

Food & Medicine

Depending on where an individual Pokemon lives, the food they eat will be different, and prepared differently. In the wild, berries are often eaten raw, while in civilized areas, it is easier to prepare complex heated dishes. In the wild, it is more difficult to grow the large amount of grains or nuts needed for a full meal, while in civilized areas, it is less acceptable to eat meat, even from feral Pokemon. Berries are the largest food group, and very few diets exclude berries. Berries are high in nutrients and rarely cause problems even if overeaten, but Pokemon that enjoy the taste of meat or that are used to it may hate the taste of berries. Only a small number of berries are harmful themselves, but many edible berries grow on dangerous or strange plants. In addition to their use as food, many berries can be used to create potions, salves, or other kinds of medicine, or crushed into adhesive, among other uses. Berries with medicinal uses (such as the oran berry) will have minimal healing effects eaten once; a Pokemon that eats two dozen oran berries may experience accelerated healing of cuts or bruises, and eating a handful of leppa berries may cure a headache or hangover. Berries are also a primary component of concentrated medicine, delivered in civilized areas via syringe, or created as balm with a recipe. The manufacture of medicine allows Pokemon with weak immune systems to stave off disease, or for infected wounds to be treated. This contributes to the ability of weak Pokemon to survive, within a civilized area. Large amounts of nuts are more difficult to find than large amounts of berries, but nuts are a suitable supplement to most diets. The amount of grain needed to feed a single Pokemon cannot be readily found in the wild, so grain-based food is much more common in civilized areas. The meat of Pokemon is highly nutritious and can have a different taste depending on the species. Some Pokemon species cannot digest meat while others cannot digest it raw. Certain species, such as those with canines, are the most suited to eating meat. In many civilized areas, such as Tao Village, Snowy Village or Sapling Village, eating meat is taboo; this is most true in large villages and towns. In larger cities it is harder to prevent any one member of the populace from eating meat, and small villages are typically not as civilized as larger settlements. Eggs are a common food product in all regions for containing many of the same nutrients as meat. White or golden eggs with no markings are the most commonly eating type of egg. Eggs with coloured markings contain an unborn Pokemon; the markings generally hint at the type of Pokemon that will be born from that egg. Many Pokemon have additional or replacement food sources beyond the most common food sources. Bovine Pokemon can form a significant portion of their diet with grass, and certain psychic species can often survive by eating dreams or concepts. There are also rarer distinct types of food, such as dairy products.