Mercury Shojorai

==Appearance==
Mercury Shojorai has a similar general body build as its relative Shojorai, but is a bit smaller than it. This subspecies has shorter legs, the scutes are less prominent. It doesn't have thorns on its carbalite-purple back but viscous metal chunks of the same coloration. The color expands to both head and tail and it has no stripes on its sides. The tail is a bit shorter but essentially the same compared to the one of its green cousin. The Behemoth's head is about the same size, same for the strong neck. While the jaws are even stronger, it doesn't possess fangs like the regular Shojorai. Instead of this, a shovel-like protuberance is visible on the lower jaw. This subspecies has a silver-grey mouth and a long, mercury-covered tongue. The underside of Mercury Shojorai's body has a different color depending on where it's found.
===Morphs===
The known morphs of Mercury Shojorai are:
*White underside in the Old Swamps, Marshlands and Moor due to Light Crystals as well as in the Gem Chasm but due to many different ores altogether.
*Light Blue underside in the Misty Peaks, Ancestral Steppe and Sunken Hollow due to Machalite Ore.
*Green underside in the Heaven's Mount, Ruined Pinnacle and Ruined Labyrinth due to Dragonite Ore.
*Red-Orange underside in the Old Volcano, Volcano, Volcano (3rd), Volcanic Hollow, Elder's Recess, Inferno Hill and Lava Landscape due to Firestones.
*Pink underside in the Sagnum Woods and Dark Hain due to Bathyzite Ore.
*Yellow underside in the Thunderstorm Valley due to Lagacite Ore.
*Brown underside in the Mountain Side due to Territe Ore.
*Dark Blue underside in the Genesis Caverns due to Glacite Ore.
*Yellow-Green underside in the Underhive due to ???.
*Dark Purple underside in the Darkshine Caves due to Purpleshine Rock.
==Habitat and Ecology==
Mercury Shojorai inhabits mountainous and cavernous areas as well as volcanic locales where it searches for ore to feed on. With its strong jaws it pulverizes the ore it finds, then the Behemoth uses its tongue covered in mercury to extract the metals. The remains of the ores are spit out and left behind. The shovel-like protuberance on its lower jaw digs up ores and removes it from the wall or ground they're found in. Everywhere where ores are abundant Mercury Shojorai is a common guest. Such areas are Old Swamp, Marshlands, Misty Peaks, Ancestral Steppe, Sunken Hollow, Heaven's Mount, Ruined Pinnacle, Old Volcano, Volcano, Volcano (3rd), Volcanic Hollow, Elder's Recess, Extinct Volcano, Genesis Caverns, Inferno Hill, Gem Chasm, Ruined Labyrinth, Sagnum Woods, Dark Hain, Thunderstorm Valley, Mountain Side and Moor.
Unlike many other monsters of its caliber this subspecies of Shojorai is completely peaceful in most cases. Even when attacked it won't fight back unless the attacks persist for a period of time. The reason for this are the substance on its back which seem to be incredibly uncomfortable to touch for other monsters. They are actually excess metal that are excreted on the back. Even if a monster of equal strength or one that is even more powerful than the Behemoth assaults it, after a single touch it is let go. Due to this Mercury Shojorai has completely lost both instincts for fight and flight with the only exception being huge monsters coming its way.
While Mercury Shojorai complements its diet with small creatures from time to time, it gains most of its nutrition out of the metals from the ores which are digested by special bacteria in its stomach. The Behemoth searches for food constantly and often devours more than it needs, which then gets excreted. Ingested mercury gets stored in a special organ, when a true threat appears it can spit it towards them. Most of the time this type of attack is used against hunters as those are able to attack it long enough to be perceived as threat by the monster. After a fight it will seek out as many globs of mercury it spat out as possible, as the metal is essential to its survival because Mercury Shojorai can't extract the metal from ores without it, which greatly decreases the efficiency of digestion.
For this Shojorai subspecies, its supply of mercury is its life line, so it looks out for any source of mercury it can ingest so it never gets too low. If the Behemoth lacks a sufficient amount of the metal, its peaceful and apathetic demeanor is completely gone and turned into the opposite. Mercury Shojorai will then attack any and all monsters in sight and devouring them to resupply the mercury and get nutrients to survive. But as most other monsters have no mercury in their body, this is a futile exercise. Quite the opposite even, as its sensitive intestinal flora gets out of balance when it eats more than a small amount of meat or plant matter. Other bacteria then gets the upper hand and supersede the unique ones. In a mercury-lacking state Mercury Shojorai will also start attacking conspecifics to cannibalize them and get back the mercury it needs.
When mating season comes around, the Behemoths get restless, roaming around more recklessly. Because of this urge for motion they often ram into other monsters without meaning to. Both males and females go through this change and until they find a mate of the opposite sex, this behavior persists to the end of the mating season. When two members of the same sex meet they mostly ignore each other unless the other gender is around, then they fight for their right of getting together with it as the mere presence of the opposite sex gets their hormones to go crazy. After a couple has found each other the male leaves the female after the mating. The eggs get layed into a small cave where the mother protects them from harm. The usually one or two youngs get a bit of mercury from their mother, so they are able to feed on ore as well. They then follow their parent around and learn how to ingest ore. This period of time is rather short, because Mercury Shojorai grow quite fast and are protected by the metal they excrete, so their paths diverge quite quickly. During this time the mother stays apathetic, but is much easier provoked.
===Interactions with other Monsters===
Predators:
It's unknown if the Behemoth has any predators as most monsters that are strong enought to potentially hunt it down stay away from it because of the metal chunks. Only colossal monsters can scare off this monster.
Another kind of predation happens with the metal excreted from the back. Some monsters that also feed on metals sometimes approach Mercury Shojorai just to feed on the substance on its back. As it's just excess metal for the Behemoth, it ignores this as well.
Apathy:
Due to the metal chunks on its back and the resulting avoidance of most potential predators, Mercury Shojorai is complerely apathetic to other monsters nearby as it doesn't need to fear a threat in most of them. Even if attacked it usually won't strike back unless the assault outlives a period of time. While they keep some distance to it, other monsters, mostly herbivores, don't perceive the Behemoth a threat and stay close to it unless the Shojorai subspecies gets ready to fight.
===Turf Wars===
Mercury Shojorai only engages in Turf Wars when provoked.
Uragaan
-
Gravios
-
Shojorai
-
Whirlwind Shojorai
-
Irrgaston
-
Kalopern
-
==Abilities==
Due to its massive body and weight, Mercury Shojorai's physical attacks are quite devastating but not very fast, even though it's more agile than the regular Shojorai. When the Behemoth is provoked it attacks with its claws and tail. The powerful jaws can deal high damage with their bites that can crush bones with ease. Other than that the spread of the metal on its back can be quite dangerous as contact with it can inflict the leaden status effect. So attention is adviced when engaging with this Behemoth.
Another perilous ability Mercury Shojorai has, is the mercury it possesses. The monster is capable of spitting the metal in large globs at opponents. Due to the characteristics of mercury, a direct hit can weaken both armor and weapon, inflicting the corrosion ailment. The globs it spits stay on the ground so they pose a threat even after the attack itself, but the Behemoth doesn't use the spit attack more than three times in an area to preserve its supply. When left alone Mercury Shojorai will come back to devour the chunks again. It only uses this ability when enraged.
==Attacks==
#Claw Swipe: Mercury Shojorai swipes with one of its arms from one side to another in front of.
#Claw Slam: After lifting one of its front limbs the Behemoth slams it down.
#Stomp: It lifts both of its front limbs and rams them into the ground one after the other down while backing off. The monster stomps four times. This attack may lead some of the metal on its back to fall away, which inflicts the leaden status if a hunter comes into contact with it.
#Body slam: Similar to the previous attack, but the Behemoth jumps up a bit and slams its body into the ground. This causes tremors and some of the metal chunks to fall from its back, landing in random spots at each side of it.
#Sideway kick: When an opponent is located at the side of its hind legs Mercury Shojorai glares at them and then kicks to the side while it slightly turns its body.
#Tail swipe: The Behemoth swipes its tail towards a hunter behind it.
#Wide tail swipe: The monster puts its tail to one side swings it a little over 180° while rotating the whole body in a vigorous manner. This attack may cause some substance from its back to fall off.
#Tail slam: Mercury Shojorai lifts its tail and slams it into a target.
#Boulder throw: With the shovel-like lower jaw the Behemoth digs up a boulder and throws it at a far away target by jerkily raising its head. Depending on the ground it uses this attack on, this will cause either fire-, water- or earthblight.
#Body shake: It shakes its body violently, letting metal chunks fall around it.
#Charge: Mercury Shojorai turns towards a far away target, charges at it slowly and ends it off with a bite attack.
#Slamming charge: Similar to the previous attack, but instead of a bite attack it slams its body to the ground sideways to hit the target with its full body weight. This attack also scatters metal chunks in the direction the Behemoth runs to. This attack gets only used in Rage Mode.
#Bite: The monster opens its mouth wide and smashes its jaws together crushing anything in between.
#Mercury-infused bite: Mercury Shojorai gathers some mercury in its mouth and covers the jaws with it. It then approaches a target and tries to bite it. When it hits a hunter with it, it will cause the corrosion ailment. After a few attempts the effect of the mercury is gone. The monster only uses this attack when enraged.
#Mercury spit: The Behemoth gathers the mercury in its mouth and spits its towards a target with full force. Hunters hit with this attack will experience the effects of corrosion. This attack is only used in Rage Mode.
#Pin attack: Mercury Shojorai roars while standing straight and then jumps a short distance forwards with its forelimbs extended in front. If the attack hits a target the monster keeps it pinned with its front limbs and starts licking the victim. After a short while it chomps down on it, dealing a high amount of damage. Be aware that already the licking causes corrosion. The Behemoth will only use this attack when enraged.
==Notes==
*The weakness is nature, then water.
*In Rage Mode it huffs grey smoke and its throat starts glowing dimly. The amount of substance excreted from its back increases.
*When exhausted its underside coloration gets duller and the Behemoth will search for a lode or mining spot to feed on.
**Mercury Shojorai will leave behind remains of ores that aren't metals. These piles can be gathered, sometimes they contain some rare materials.
*About five attacks of an individual or group of hunters provokes the Behemoth enough to strike back.
*A shiny may drop when one of the chunks on its back fall down.
*The head can be wounded three times, the back twice, each of its front limbs and the tail once. The tail can be severed as well after damaging it.
**Wounding the back twice will decrease the amount of metal chunks and speed they regenerate.
==Materials==
Mercury Shojorai Scale, Mercury Shojorai Hide, Mercury Shojorai Shell, Shojorai Scute (when front legs are wounded), Mercury Shojorai Chunk (when back is damaged or as shiny), Mercury Organ, Shojorai Claw (when wounded twice), Mercury Shojorai Jaw (only when wounded twice), Shojorai Tail (when carved), Mercury Shojorai Plate
==Trivia==
*The idea sparked from a single statement by Dinoman0310, the creator of the original Shojorai, about a possible subspecies with different eating habits.