Diablos

* Normal
* Bloodbath

Bloodbath Diablos

The **Diablos** is a large Boulder Class dragon that lives in deserts.

## Official Description

Wyverns feared as desert tyrants, Diablos are extremely territorial and will attack invaders with blind aggression. With the ability to burrow underground, Diablos can strike from below. However, their sensitive ears make them susceptible to loud sounds. Despite their predatory appearance, they are herbivorous and feed mostly on cacti, but will indulge in plants and ores from time to time. In extremely rare cases, a Diablos with a broken horn at a young age may mutate and grow into a variant known as a **Bloodbath Diablos.**

## Physical Appearance

### Egg

Diablos eggs are big and heavy, reaching about 7 inches long, 6.2 inches wide, and weighing almost 5 lbs. The eggs have a base coloration of yellow or mustard, and all over the egg are tiger-like stripes in bright or dark orange colors. These colors help with camouflage within the nests of sand that Diablos lay their eggs in.

### Hatchling to Adult

Diablos are born with short, stubby horns, a soft shell, and a club-like tail. Colorations can vary with shades of either brown or beige, most males being lighter than females. As they grow, so do the length of their horns, tusks, and frill on the back of their head. The tail splits from a mace-like club to a studded, two-pronged horn-like club.

Adult Diablos have powerful armor plating covering much of their bodies. Their most noteworthy feature is a pair of massive, solid bull-like horns above their red eyes. Diablos also possess a pair of tusk-like fangs and a large, spiny neck frill. Their tails end with a heavy, studded club that can be used for defense and offense. They stand on a pair of stocky, wide-set legs and possess a broad upper body complete with thick, muscular wings.

Pregnant female Diablos are completely black, from horn to tail. More commonly referred to as **Black Diablos,** the females' dark coloring warns of their increased vigilance and aggression, and that they are also already spoken for and mated.

    In rare cases, a variant known as the **Bloodbath Diablos** arises when a young Diablos breaks a horn and experiences fluctuating growth pattern, where the broken horn grows to a massive size, much larger than the other, which splits and becomes severely warped. It is unknown how this change occurs, but a Bloodbath can be identified by its mismatched horns, and its bluish blood covering parts of its body, including its face, wings, and tail. When enraged, these variants show red flame-shaped veins on certain parts of its body, and in an even further heightened aggression stage, steam will spread off its body.

## Abilities

### Burrowing

Diablos have the ability to burrow into the earth and travel underground, employing this tactic to surprise unsuspecting targets or slip away from a dangerous encounter. The blunt claws on their wings, their large horns, and strong hind legs help them burrow through desert sand. Many can feel the vibrations of a Diablos burrowing under the sand and ground from half a mile away.

    Diablos prefer burrowing to flying, as they typically avoid the latter for the purpose of transportation due to their disproportionally high mass, which prevents them from effectively flying for long periods of time. Because of this, Diablos are most well known for their burrowing ability, and have even been dubbed the "Tyrant of the Desert."

### Strength and Combat

Due to their lack of firepower, Diablos rely on brute strength to defend themselves. Although they are purely herbivorous and petrophagous, these dragons will attack and kill any living being that wanders in their territory or attempts to face off against them.

Despite their large frame, these dragons will charge at foes with incredible speed and devastate any unprepared opponents. Using their powerful legs in tandem with their heavy upper body and head, Diablos are well known for charging attackers and impaling them with their horns, using the powerful momentum to maximize the potential for damage.

The front of a Diablos is not the only offense, no, as on the end of their tails is a strong, studded club that can send a whole ground of humans hurtling through the air. This club is hardy enough to break through solid rock. One strike to the head of a similarly-sized dragon can easily stun them, and in cases of smaller dragons and humans, it can even kill them.

    Diablos horns are notoriously hard to break at adult age, so they are used for a multitude of reasons, including offense, defense, digging, and even lifting up other animals. One researcher witnessed a Diablos lifting a full grown Bombwelter and throwing it backwards without showing any signs of struggle. Not only do Diablos throw with their horns, but they also swipe, stab, and swing at enemies, and even other Diablos when it comes to mating season, or their heavily aggressive pregnant mates.

### Ear-Splitting Roar

    Diablos have one of the loudest roars known in the dragon kingdom, able to stun and even deafen other dragons and humans. While an enemy is stunned or recovering from the roar, Diablos will charge and impale and knock out their enemy, taking advantage of the moment. This shows a very high intelligence, as Diablos are aware of their roar's effect and will use it as an offensive tactic.

### Senses

What the Diablos lacks in sight, it makes up in hearing. Due to its poorly developed eyesight, these dragons rely on their incredible hearing to pick out an enemies location. So pinpoint accurate is their hearing that they can follow the sound of a target from underground and thrust themselves straight up into the intruder without any visual confirmation.

### Bloodbath Variant Abilities

    Compared to normal Diablos, Bloodbath Diablos have more physical strength. Repeated battles with other dragons make a Bloodbath's unbroken horn stronger, allowing it to penetrate enemies deeply. The blood of its victims is scattered on its hide and mixes with the bodily fluids on its body, causing some parts to become blue. Not only have these battles forged its single horn, they've further developed its organs, allowing it to fight longer than its opponents can and for blood to circulate throughout its entire body more efficiently.

The angrier it gets, the hotter its body gets. From the sudden increase in blood flow, its body temperature increases, causing the Diablos to secrete bodily fluids from its body to keep itself cool. In some cases, the bodily fluids will explode into steam from this monster's body temperature increasing drastically. This happens most often in its second "anger" state. When in this state, these dragons can also change directions during a charge without stopping, allowing for very sharp and smooth turns. Even if a Bloodbath misses its target, its steam explosion will likely catch up.

## Weaknesses

### Sight

Diablos are known to have very poorly developed eyesight due to their small eyes and the amount of time they spend moving underground. However, to make up for this, it boasts a superb sense of hearing.

### Sensitivity to Sound

Because of their amazing sense of hearing, Diablos are extremely sensitive to loud noises and sounds. This causes them to spend so much time secluded in their caves, where its quiet and calm.

### Horn Breakage

When a Diablos breaks a horn, or even both, at a young age, this almost always causes a stunted growth and a mutation into what is known as a **Bloodbath Diablos**. Even though they are more powerful in this variant stage, it causes many health problems and puts them into danger constantly due to their need to constantly fight. Their lifespans are also significantly shorter, but it is unknown whether this is by natural causes or because they fight so often and recklessly.

## Personality and Behavior

Despite their herbivorous and petrophagous diets, Diablos are extremely aggressive toward other dragons and humans who venture into their territory. What interests researchers is the fact that although these dragons do not eat meat, they will kill just to kill. However, they aren't blind with their fury, and will usually focus on creatures that can actually pose a threat to them, their mates, their territory, or their young.

    Territorial conflicts can erupt between the male standard Diablos and pregnant Black Diablos. Normally paired Diablos will occupy the same territory, but during the mating and hatching seasons, the extraordinarily aggressive Black Diablos will consider even her own mate as an intruder and aggressively chase the male out of her territory. Leading up to this, the two mates may square off and bash their horns in a battle of strength. Such conflicts may cause irreparable damage to an individual's horn or horns, making the daily life of that Diablos extremely challenging.

    Diablos prefer to feed at the same location of cacti and plants. This may be because they favor cacti that contain the greatest hydration, but it's possible that the routine could simply be rooted in a preference of taste. Cacti provide both nutrition and hydration for the Diablos, eliminating the need for them to travel to inconveniently located water sources. Their pointed fangs are well suited to gnashing a cactus's hard skin to bits for easy consumption. The Diablos leave its nest for feeding, and it will cross the desert to feed upwards of five to six times a day in order to maintain its size.

While pregnant Diablos attack in largely the same way as a normal Diablos, she'll display a more diverse way of carrying herself. The most significant difference is how she will take her time circling a target and looking for an opening. When she finds one, she'll charge her target at full speed, but don't mistake this for reckless behavior. Black Diablos excel at following indications of an intruder's presence and will accurately course correct - even during a charge - to follow her target.

A Black Diablos' black shell is not only a warning to other Diablos that she's paired, and to other dragons that she is not to be messed with, but an aid to absorbing sunlight in order to naturally raise her body temperature during pregnancy.

Bloodbath Diablos are highly aggressive, like its normal counterparts. However, Bloodbath's are described to be rogue when they encounter enemies, especially if that threat has wronged them before. One hunting group was said to have broken the horn of a juvenile Diablos, and when returning to the wild, the same Diablos had mutated and turned to a Bloodbath. It was told that this Bloodbath individual focused only on attacking the hunter who made the final blow on its horn, ignoring the rest in the party. These mutants will go out of their way to make sure that any threats do not make it out alive.

## Training

As of now, it is unknown how to train a Diablos, Black Diablos, or Bloodbath Diablos.

## Trivia

* All species of Diablos are from the Monster Hunter universe.
* Diablos are the only species to have a mutation that gives them completely different abilities and change their biology.
* Being within a few hundred feet of a Diablos when it roars can deafen any creature, dragon, or human.

## Gallery

Black Diablos ©Halycon450©ArcoSauroTaurus©hyuthefish©XStreamChaosOfficial©Its-Midnight-Reaper©Nanasschevelu©azemnaibafBloodbath Diablos Headshot ©Tyrant28Bloodbath Diablos ©C00laise
## Image Sources

1. FA - MHW - Baby Diablos by EiswolfZero on DeviantArt
2. Diablos, the Desert Tyrant by Halycon450 on DeviantArt
3. Monster Hunter: Diablos by ArcoSauroTaurus on DeviantArt
4. Monster Hunter Diablos by hyuthefish on DeviantArt
5. Monthter Hunter Challenge 2021 002 Diablos by XStreamChaosOfficial on DeviantArt
6. Diablos by Its-Midnight-Reaper on DeviantArt
7. Diablos by Nanasschevelu on DeviantArt
8. Diablos in the dark by azemnaibaf on DeviantArt
9. The Massacre Demon by Tyrant28 on DeviantArt
10. A good Diablos is a dead Diablos by C00laise on DeviantArt