Molagast

Molagast (MO-la-gast) is a reclusive Flying Wyvern that ambushes its prey with silent movements and clouds of explosive orange gas.

Physiology
Molagast is a pseudowyvern with a lithe, streamlined body and fully functional wings. Its head is covered by a "hood" of its elastic neck skin when it is on the offensive, and it can raise and lower this hood at will. Its head and hood are a burnt red that fades to purple, which fades into gray on its body and black on the ends of its tail, wings, and limbs. Its scutes end in red points. Under its hood it has large, glowing red eyes, nostrils near the top of its head, and teeth that protrude outward from its jaw.

Behavior
Molagast is a nocturnal ambush predator that often makes its home in warm caves. It tends to be fairly peaceable, keeping to itself unless hungry or provoked. It avoids large flames and Brightmoss and is especially susceptible to Flash Pods or Flashflies.

Placement In Food Chain
Molagast is near the top of the food chain, though its infrequent feeding and non-confrontational attitude towards larger monsters prevent it from being considered an apex monster.

Behavior Towards Other Monsters
It flees larger monsters by exhaling a blast cloud and escaping. It only threatens small monsters when it is hungry or enraged.

Tracks

 * Gashes - Two sets of three tightly grouped claw marks on trees or the ground
 * Footprints

Specific Locale Interactions
Molagast will wall-jump similar to Odogaron or Tobi-Kadachi when presented with trees or a climbable wall.

Abilities
Its powerful body and weaponized tail allow for impressive chained attacks, and it can exhale massive clouds of explosive gas that can be set off by slamming its tail's flint-like scales against the ground. Its eyesight is remarkably good for a cave-dweller, which can be its downfall if the hunter is packing Flash Pods.

Rage and Tired States

 * Rage State: Blast gas huffs out of its mouth and its attacks become 20% faster. It chains together more moves in this state. Its hood stays up more often.
 * Tired State: It drools and its attacks become 10% slower.

Mounts
It is mounted like most other pseudowyverns, but halfway through it will start flying and from there the mount is like that of a true Flying Wyvern.

Ecology
It has overdeveloped wings compared to most pseudowyverns, which allow for advanced mobility and evasion, as well as prolonged flight. It is able to convert the less usable parts of its food into an explosive gas that it stores in a separate stomach-like organ. It can bathe prey and predator alike in this gas, and the piezoelectric scales on its tail can create sparks suitable to detonate the clouds of gas to obliterate anything caught in them. Its skin is notably thick yet impressively stretchy, and it has evolved a retractable hood for its head to protect its sensitive eyes and face from its own explosions.
 * Biological Adaptations

Attacks

 * Tail Slam: On Ground: lifts its tail at an angle before slamming it down onto a hunter. Can be chained into a second Tail Slam or a vertical takeoff. In Air: Flies over the target, hovers with the tail under it, and then slams the tail down in front of it.
 * Pounce:  After a short delay, starts to gallop at the hunter before leaping at them. This can be chained into a 360 Tail Swing or a Wall Jump.
 * 360 Tail Swing: Molagast growls and winds up with its tail, then quickly whips its tail around in a 360 degree circle.
 * Wall Jump: Climbs a wall, stares at a hunter, and then lands on them. If this attack lands while in rage mode, the hunter will be pinned.
 * Pin Attack: It gets the hunter under it and paws at the hunter for a few seconds before blasting them with gas, if it does so it will inflict Blast on the hunter.
 * Cloud Line: Breathes 1-3 gas clouds that extend in a straight line. Then it spins around and hits the ground with its tail, detonating all the lines at once in a wave.
 * Immolation: Rears up and inhales a large breath, then exhales enough blast to shroud a massive radius around it. Hunters caught in the gas will be inflicted with Blast, and after breathing out all its gas Molagast will slam its tail into the ground, detonating the entire cloud in a quick wave starting from the tail's tip.

Breakable parts / Damage Effectiveness
Its head can be broken and its wings can each be broken individually. The head's hood gets tattered and multiple teeth become broken. The wings get yellow scratch markings on them and the membranes become tattered and ragged. Its tail can be severed, which makes it have to hit its tail on the ground twice to detonate its clouds. Breaking the head drops a Molagast Shroud, and for the second wing that gets broken it will drop a Molagast Wing.
 * Breakable parts

Physical Damage Effectiveness
How much a monster is effected by various methods of damage on different parts of the body.
 * Head (with hood on) = ★★★(★★)
 * Torso = ★★
 * Wings = ★
 * Feet = ★★
 * Lower Tail = ★★★
 * Tail Tip = ★

Element Effectiveness

 * Fire = ★
 * Water = ★★★
 * Thunder = ★★★
 * Ice = ★★
 * Dragon = ★
 * Earth = ★

Status Effectiveness

 * Poison =★★★
 * Sleep = ★
 * Paralysis = ★★★
 * Blast = ✖
 * Stun = ★★
 * Blind = ★★★

Shiny Item Drops
It drops a Wyvern Tear or a Molagast Scale when toppled.

Slinger Ammo
Drops Slinger Bombs.

Interactions With Unique Statuses (Frenzy/Apex, Hyper Status, Tempered Status, Fanon Status, etc)
It can be affected by Frenzy and Hyper Status. It does not have an apex form.

Trivia

 * Molagast's name is an combination of "mola" from the word immolate and "gast", which is a portmanteau of gas and ghast, given its penchant for gas clouds and its "ghastly" appearance.
 * Molagasts are something of a perfect storm against human settlements because of their nocturnal nature, agility, and ability to ignite a wide area before the target realizes that the gas has descended on them. Luckily, Molagasts have extremely sensitive eyes, and bright flames planted around a settlement are usually enough to deter them.
 * Molagasts have heterodont teeth, with the front ones extending outward from the jawbone much like those of a Masiakasaurus, suggesting that they eat the fish that live in underground lakes. Molagasts are also sometimes seen visiting lakes and rivers at night, likely to hunt when they can't catch any cave fish.