Pagotegius

Pagotegius is a Behemoth appearing in Monster Hunter Venture.

Physiology
Pagotegius resembles a hybrid of a nodosaur and a stegosaur, and so it has large, sharp spikes lining its flanks, shoulders, neck, and tail. Along its back it has numerous thin, blade-like plates that curve sharply. Despite their thinness, these plates have a very wide diameter. Its spikes and plates are a silvery-blue color, while its scales and hide are mint green. Pagotegius is notable for having a very long, thick tail, the top of which is covered in spiky icicles. It also has a "beard" of icicles on its lower jaw and throat.

Abilities
With the ability to freeze the water vapor in the air around it instantly thanks to special organs in its tail, Pagotegius can create a covering of icicles on its tail. These icicles can be thrown a fair distance, or they can simply be used to amplify its tail attacks.

High Rank and Onward
Tail Slam: Pagotegius lifts its large tail onto the ground and slams it down heavily, causing tremors around it.

Scorpio Sting: Pagotegius swings its tail upward rapidly to attack threats above it. Can cause Iceblight.

Tail Brushes: It brushes its tail against the ground by swinging it in a high arc twice in a row.

Snow Scatter: While standing on a snowy area, its Tail Brushes attack can scatter clumps of snow around. These snow clumps cause Snowman.

Whip Slash: The monster quickly lashes out at threats directly behind it with a sharp, well-placed swing of its tail.

Galloping Tackle: Pagotegius runs at a target at full speed in an attempt to crush them under its weight or ram them with its large body. This attack covers distance relatively quickly, but does not last very long and has a long cooldown time.

Shoulder Ram: Pagotegius puts its shoulder and flank spikes to use as it rams into a nearby enemy with its side, knocking them away.

Heavy Stomp: The monster stomps the ground with its forefoot, amplifying the attack's power by using its body weight. This attack causes tremors in a small range.

Tail Swat: A simple swipe with its tail. Used primarily for getting smaller threats away from its rear.

Chill Cannon: It breathes out a small projectile of congealed ice and snow that explodes upon contact. Causes Iceblight.

Enraged Only
Icicle Barrage: Pagotegius swivels its tail in a loop before swinging it upward, launching several small icicles forward. These icicles will crash into the ground or a target, causing Iceblight if they connect with a hunter.

Polar Piercers: The monster whips its tail forward, sending out 5 small icicles that fly forward in a straight line. These icicles can hit multiple times as they collide with an enemy, and hunters hit by them in quick succession can suffer Bleeding as well as Iceblight.

Scatter Slam: Pagotegius slams its tail onto the ground, sending icicles flying outward. The icicles can cause Iceblight.

Triple Stomp: It stomps three times, once with each foreleg, then with both at once. This attack causes tremors in a wide range.

Chill Cannon Trifecta: It shoots three of the projectiles from its Chill Cannon attack in a similar fashion to Rathian.

G-Rank Exclusive
Running Shoulder Ram: Pagotegius runs at a threat before striking them with its Shoulder Ram attack.

360° Tail Sweep: Pagotegius places its tail on the ground and growls before sweeping it in a full circle.

Slam Into Sting: It performs its Tail Slam before chaining it into its Scorpio Strike.

Enraged Only
Winter Blossom: Pagotegius curls inward and tenses its body. It then releases a large burst of icicles in a dome shape. Causes Iceblight and Bleeding if a hunter is hit multiple times.

Rolling Razor: Like Uragaan, it curls its tail close to its face and rolls forward.

Freezing Shrapnel: It launches three large icicles from its tail. If this attack hits the ground, the icicles will remain stuck in the ground for a brief period of time before exploding and scattering shrapnel. If it hits a living target, the icicles will explode upon contact and scatter shrapnel. This attack causes Iceblight, and suffering multiple hits from the shrapnel can cause Bleeding.

Taxonomy

 * Order: Ornithoscelida
 * Suborder: Stegosauria
 * Superfamily: Spiky Hide
 * Family: Pagotegius

Habitat Range
Pagotegius lives in Genoia's cold, freezing regions, such as the Gelid Ocean, Frozen Cliffs, and Alpine Peaks. Herds of them are also known to gather at Mount Calamity for unknown regions.

Ecological Niche
Pagotegius is an herbivore, feeding mainly on herbs, seeds, and needles from the plants that grow in its environments. Occasionally, it isknown to eat insects as well, which it collects on a long tongue. Despite the fact that they live in the same environments and are both herbivores, Pagotegius does not compete with the Fanged Beasts Gammoth and Gammuthus for food as both species prefer different kinds of plants. Pagotegius itself has few predators, but it is preyed upon by large wyverns such as Tigrex, Tirraukronus, and Ukanlos. The Elder Dragon Kushala Daora is also known to prey upon Pagotegius.

Biological Adaptations

 * The spikes lining Pagotegius's body protect it from predators and rivals, its back plates intimidate enemies and attract mates, and its long, spiky tail is an effective weapon. The top of this tail secretes a mysterious chemical that causes water vapor in the air to freeze almost instantly, forming icicles which serve as offense and defense for the monster. To control its large tail, Pagotegius has a large brain-like organ in its hips, but this organ is actually a ganglion. This nerve cluster is merely for aid in movement and serves no thinking purpose.

Behavior
Pagotegius is surprisingly docile for a large monster, and this is speculated to be due in part to its low intelligence. It has a relatively slow reaction time, and it may take several seconds for it to respond to an attack. However, when forced to fight, its low intelligence makes it a very dangerous opponent, as it will become so focused on eliminating a threat that it will ignore its own pain and disregard its safety.

Trivia

 * It was originally based of a simple stegosaur, but several attributes and abilities were added to make it more interesting.


 * The nerve cluster in its tail is based off the false hypothesis that Stegosaurus had a second brain in its hips.
 * Its name is derived from "pago", the Greek word for cold, and Stegosaurus.