Cursola is a Galar exclusive evolution of Galarian Corsola and this spookier version of the joyous and adorable Corsola is… sad? 😥
Well, umm, that’s because it’s dead dear reader. Guilty as charged. And it evolves into another dead Pokémon that’s the focus of this write-up: Cursola.
But regardless, this Pokémon looks so cool that you’d probably want more of this kind of mons in the games. Or do you really want more? 😐 Calm down, let’s show you something nice and pretty then! 
Coral reefs!
Vivid, colorful, vibrant… such a delight. And, similar to other creatures, coral reefs can be white (albino).
This process is called bleaching, however. When the water is too warm, corals will dissipate an algae named zooxanthellae. This algae lives in their tissues and it renders the coral completely white.
Fun fact: Coral reefs have existed for more than 400 million years but they have started turning white only in the last 30 years. Also, nearly 20% of the planet’s coral is bleached already and another 17% is expected in the next 20 years.
The culprit behind these? Industrialization and CO2 emissions.
But let’s dig out more details about that algae mentioned previously.
Corals are rough and perfect spaces for algae to thrive. This algae absorbs sunlight to photosynthesize and its by-product is then consumed by the coral.
Here’s the catch though… if the coral or algae get stressed, they actually don’t get along with each other as they did previously. And it’s a messy breakup process.
The coral goes on to kick out the algae and this turns it empty and white. If the coral stays white for too long, it dies. And oh, it stays permanently white.
So, stress out coral reefs (Corsola) and it becomes white and dead (Cursola). How do you stress out Corsola then? 😕
What could possibly weigh so much on Corsola, that it literally dies?
Well…
Humans are the killers of coral. The origins of Cursola are dark because it’s scary what we are doing to our planet.
The ocean absorbs CO2 and converts it into various substances, and one of these is carbonic acid. This acid affects the pH balance of the water and thanks to the increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, the oceans are turning too acidic in many areas. This literally kills the corals.
Basically, the overly acidic water surrounding corals wears down their calcification, which not only makes it extremely challenging for corals to grow but difficult to survive as well.
On top of that, the rising temperature of Earth and the rising sea levels impact the photosynthesis ability of reefs.
Not to mention, illegal fisheries employ dynamite to blast reefs, completely destroying them.
And, as the images I added clearly depict… dumpling plastics is literally choking the oceans and its inhabitants. Add abandoned nets, agricultural runoff, and industrial wastewater, and you see where this is going. Pathetic.
But, why is it Galarian Corsola? Why Galar? Well, England started the industrial revolution. Their reefs were the first to die.
But today, the entire world is equally guilty. Sadly, reefs may not last much longer. In our lifetime, it’s highly probable that all reefs end up dead and white.
Let Galarian Corsola and Cursola be a wake-up call to all of us to at least not harm our oceans. Catch as many of these two in Pokémon GO and the mainline games, but let’s hope that they don’t end up being widespread in real life.
Our corals need to remain vibrant and colorful, not white. Peace out!
