Kelehest

"'A powerful monster with the ability to use the environment against opponents, the Kelehest is a nightmare for many hunters, mostly because unlike other monsters, it learns.' - Kelehest Summary"The Kelehest is a Bypaldian-class monster centered around a pugilistic fighting style. Making use of large oversized claws that cover it's hands when first facing opponents, before switching over to the actual gripping appendages to make it harder for hunters to take it on.

There exists a brawnier and much more powerful version of the Kelehest called the Prawn Kelehest, which lacks the elemental versatility in favor of physical enhancements.

Physiology
The Kelehest, appropriate for it's status as a pugilistic fighter with the capacity to take hunters head on, has a hunched, somewhat upright position. It is capable of partly separating it's vertebrae to reach up for fruit to eat, or to supply itself some extra range when ambushing another monster or a hunter.

It has pronounced reptilian features, including a thick, broad tail and a skull built similar to that of many Carnosaurs, with the head bearing a vague resemblance to the head of an axe. It has great closing power, with the ability to slightly move it's upper jaw to slam down hard on other monsters, smashing into flesh and snapping bone, etching into it with serrated teeth.

A notable ability of the Kelehest is it's power to use elements, despite being unable to produce any, against hunters and prey. How it is able to use freezing temperatures, electricity, scorching flames or scalding water against it's opponents is due to the fact it's practically numb on the outside of it's hands, the 'skin' mostly being a collective of inanimate materials and scar tissue accumulated over the years, indicating that only the adults are capable of doing so and juveniles must rely on their own power.

Uniquely, the Kelehest has blades on it's forearms, and can swivel them forward to create powerful slashing attacks. These sacrifice grappling power and elemental boosts in favor of ripping apart it's target, and combined with high agility granted to it by high-strung legs that quite literally spring it forward, backward, side to side, or, sometimes, upward, it is capable of jumping in, create wounds bigger then the grand canyon, and jump out.

Kelehests mostly have purple color-schemes, with black as a secondary color and gray for accents.

Kelehest fists are similar to our own, with the exception of bony plates, scarred flesh, and hardened rock being present.

Elemental Blocking
On a side note, Kelehests, when their fists are out, can quite literally PUNCH an elemental attack to defend against it. The outside of their fists act as armor, defending them from the attack and, if the fire is attached to a fluid, grant them temporary FIRE FISTS to beat the crap out of their opponent. The same goes with ice and electricity, with water being somewhat of a stretch.

Behavior
The species thrives off an omnivorous diet, having fruits and plant material as snacks and meat as a main course, the diet providing them enough calories to evolve to a stage that enables them to be hard fights against hunters.

Rarely leaving their nests, instead staving off hunger with fruits and sometimes entire branches, Kelehests come out at night or during twilight, where creatures are lazier and less inclined to be active, which is good because inherently, Kelehests like to reserve their strength, much like lions, spending much of their day asleep with the occasional fruit.

Useful Information/Loading Screen Tips

 * Kelehests will learn when to anticipate certain attacks and will jump away from harm before the final heavy hit makes contact. Try out a mix of other movements to reduce the possibility.
 * The beast will almost always attempt to block attacks coming from the front. While repeatedly hitting it's guard will do the trick, try setting up traps or moving around it to lay the smackdown on it.
 * Scream Pods will help when a Kelehest's fists are concealed in ice. Their frequency will crack and destroy the crystalline water, making it easier to fight.
 * It is almost always possible to eliminate the effects a Kelehest may gain from blocking or punching elemental attacks with one of your own. Consider using pods against an element. (I.E. Watermoss against Fire, Screamer Pods against Ice)
 * Learn the difference between hiding behind the shield and defending. If you block for too long, the monster may try and get around you or simply choose to stomp on you repeatedly.
 * Always prepare to fight circular. The beast has a circle-like fight plan that involves getting around the opponents guard and hitting them hard.
 * Don't shoot elemental pods at a Kelehest without an element, your just making things harder for you.
 * Despite it's size, the monster is capable of outputting bursts of agility to quickly move around line of sight. It won't dodge in a pattern for most of the time, so always keep a lock on it.

Placement In Food Chain
Kelehests will usually establish themselves as mid-class predators, being outpaced by overwhelming strength from the likes of a Deviljho. However, if they get to a locale before another nomadic monster reaches it, they will become top predators and will battle those seeking to take the throne.

They will almost never establish position as an Apex.

Behavior Towards Other Monsters
Kelehests seem to have a disinterest in many monsters, instead warding them off with a display or scaring them with it's roar. It will, uniquely, almost always attempt to attack an Herbivore such as an Apoceros or Aptonoth on sight, thought not before situating itself to an advantageous position.

Tracks
Kelehest Tracks include:
 * Footprints
 * Scrape Mark
 * Scale Piece
 * Kicked Up Dirt

Specific Locale Interactions
Places with the ability to cause elemental damage will instead give the monster a new weapon to work with. It will use the mud from the Wildspire Wastes to inflict Waterblight and defend itself from flames, or lava to inflict Fireblight.

Special Behaviors
The monster is the closest one can have to PVP conflict, dodging often and using smart tactics to avoid perishing. It will even grab hunters and smash them into others, harming both them and the grab victim.

It may imitate an action similar to laughing when being shot at with elemental pods when it currently doesn't have an element, suggesting the ability to mock others.

Cutscenes

 * Location: Anywhere


 * Being a nomadic creature, the Kelehest will almost always crash and hijack a mission at random points. When it is about to be encountered, this cutscene will play.

The cutscene begins with the hunter in the middle of a fight with a monster, be it a Tobi Kadachi, Najarala, or Great Jaggid. The hunter is seemingly succeeding in the fight, pushing the monster into a corner and pressuring it to release one final attack in order to regain ground... only to suddenly disappear, taken by a purple and black blur.