Zi Xiaoren

Zi Xiaoren is a species of Carapaceon which was discovered to be the juvenile form of the giant Shen Gaoren.

Physiology
Being the juvenile form of Shen Gaoren means that Zi Xiaoren has an appearance which largely resembles Shen Gaoren. It resembles a Japanese spider crab, having long limbs. This makes it stand much taller than most other Carapaceons and giving it great reach with its long arms. It also has much shorter antennae than its adult form. Its shell is moss green and white in color while its claws are mantis green. The parts which the antennae are connected to are light green and its eyes are black. Its mouth is yellowish in coloring. It carries a large Rathian skull on its back.

Behavior
Zi Xiaoren are generally passive in nature, but can become very aggressive when threatened at which point it'll not only attack with beams of water, but also by shooting fireballs from the Rathian skull on its back.

Hunt Cutscene

 * Location: Deserted Island
 * Synopsis: As the hunter enters Area 5 of the Deserted Island, they notice the absence of smaller monsters. They then start hearing loud splashes of water as if something large is walking through water. Suddenly, a fireball flies right towards the hunter who barely manages to avoid it. The hunter then looks in the direction where the fireball came from which is when they see something large walk out of Area 9. At first it looks like a Rathian, but as more of the thing walks into Area 5, they notice it has long legs and is a different shade of green. The thing then turns around, revealing it to be the Zi Xiaoren they have to hunt down. The Zi Xiaoren spreads its long arms as it runs towards the hunter, starting the hunt.

Ecology Cutscene

 * Location: Mountainous region
 * Synopsis: The cutscene begins by showing a mountainous region which resembles the region which Lao-Shan Lung or Shen Gaoren are fought in. A Shen Gaoren then starts walking down towards a large open area which has paths that lead down to the regions below. It seems to be holding onto what seems like a corpse of another monster. The cutscene then zooms in on what's behind the Shen Gaoren, which is a bunch of Zi Xiaoren following its parent. As the Shen Gaoren reaches the large open area, it lowers its arms and puts the corpse of the monster on the ground. When the Zi Xiaoren catch up to their parent and reach the corpse, they start eating from it. The Shen Gaoren then starts turning around and walking back into the mountainous region. As a Zi Xiaoren finishes its meal, it walks down the path to the lower regions which its siblings also start doing when they have finished feeding on the corpse. The cutscene starts ending when all the Zi Xiaoren are going down to the lower regions, which is where they will have to fend for their own.

Abilities
Zi Xiaoren are large Carapaceons which, unlike their parents, are still quite mobile thanks to them still being young and not as immense in size as their parents. The Zi Xiaoren's long limbs allows it to have a large amount of reach with its physical attacks, especially when using its arms. Zi Xiaoren are also capable of shooting a beam of water from their mouth towards foes, similar to Daimyo Hermitaur, and are capable of shooting fireballs from the Rathian skull on their back.

Rage and Tired States

 * Rage State: When Zi Xiaoren becomes enraged it will start foaming white bubbles like Daimyo Hermitaur and Shogun Ceanataur when they're enraged. When enraged, Zi Xiaoren will more often use attacks which utilize the Rathian skull on its back, including fireballs and flame breath.
 * Tired State: When Zi Xiaoren becomes tired it will start drooling and will trip after doing some attacks.

Frenzy, Apex and Hyper
Zi Xiaoren can be affected by the Frenzy Virus and turn Frenzied, but it cannot enter the Apex State. Zi Xiaoren have also been found in the Hyper State.

Zi Xiaoren which are Frenzied have the usual changes of a Frenzied monster, but the ranged attacks it does with its Rathian skull might also leave pools of the Frenzy Virus, similar to Gore Magala.

Hyper Zi Xiaoren have the usual changes of a Hyper monster.

Mounts
When Zi Xiaoren are mounted, the hunter will be on the Rathian skull on its back. The Zi Xiaoren will have a mounting animation similar to that of Daimyo Hermitaur, but slower and it will also not jump. Instead, it will lift either side of its body and slam it down to try and get hunters off.

Taxonomy
Zi Xiaoren is a large Carapaceon and the juvenile form of the mighty and gigantic Shen Gaoren. It has a Variant named Gege Zi Xiaoren, which is an older individual which has almost fully matured, and a Lone Species named Dynasty Zi Xiaoren, which will mature into a Teppeki or Guren Shen Gaoren.
 * Order: Decapoda
 * Infraorder: Unknown
 * Family: Gaoren

Habitat Range
Zi Xiaoren have been found mostly inhabiting low altitude regions, especially ones where Rathian lives as it needs the skull from Rathian for protection. They are also known to inhabit mountainous regions when with its parents, but eventually Zi Xiaoren move down to lower regions when they have to fend for their own. Regions they have been found in include the Old Swamp, Jungle, Marshlands, Great Forest, Deserted Island, Flooded Forest, Primal Forest, Everwood, Jurassic Frontier, Abysmal Trench and the Desolate Village.

Ecological Niche
Zi Xiaoren have been found preying on a wide variety of smaller monsters, but also other kinds of food like vegetation as they're omnivorous. Prey can include the likes of Velociprey, Ioprey, Aptonoth, Hermitaur, Vespoid, Hermitaur, Ceanataur and Mosswine. Zi Xiaoren's large size allows to also feed on large prey which can include the likes of Gendrome, Bulldrome, Iodrome, Velocidrome and Arzuros. Sometimes large and strong monsters like Shogun Ceanataur, Najarala and Rathian might be taken down for food.

When Zi Xiaoren are with their parents, they have almost nothing to worry about except from some Elder Dragons. But as soon as the Zi Xiaoren have to fend for their own, they have to worry about powerful competitors and predators. Several of the earlier mentioned monsters can be dangerous for a Zi Xiaoren, but also monsters like Rathalos, Yian Garuga, Taisho Argasto, Norberus, Lagiacrus, Tigrex and Luxacolios.

Despite their large size and power, Zi Xiaoren still get preyed upon by powerful monsters. These include Elder Dragon-level monsters, like Deviljho and Solmaron, Deviants, like Dreadking Rathalos and Tidecaller Voluron, and the occasional Elder Dragon.

Biological Adaptations
Being the juvenile form of Shen Gaoren means that Zi Xiaoren are already of an impressive size, even though they are just juveniles. In fact, they are already larger than several other Carapaceons including Daimyo Hermitaur, Emperor Lithotaur, Kaiser Turbotaur and Tyrant Bacutaur. The few Carapaceons which actually outsize them are its adolescent forms, Gege and Dynasty Zi Xiaoren, its adult form, Shen Gaoren, and the giant Magna Karchinos. This large size gives Zi Xiaoren a large amount of strength and reach which it can use to hit foes from some distance. Just like many other Carapaceons, Zi Xiaoren has to carry a skull on its back to cover a large weak-point. The skull Zi Xiaoren utilizes is a Rathian skull which it can use to hit foes or shoot fire from as its acidic abilities haven't developed enough to be utilized effectively.

Behavior
At first Zi Xiaoren spend their life with their parents as they aren't capable of hunting yet themselves. In this stage of their life, they're generally passive with only occasional aggressiveness. But as soon as they're old enough, they'll have to fend for their own at which point they can become quite aggressive when threatened.

Calm

 * Claw Swipe: Zi Xiaoren will swipe a small portion of either of its arms at close targets. This attack can knock hunters down.
 * Claw Snap: Zi Xiaoren will snap either of its claws at a close-by hunter from the side which can knock them down.
 * Run: Zi Xiaoren will run at a hunter which can knock them down.
 * Kick: Zi Xiaoren will try to kick a hunter which can knock them down.
 * Sideways Claw Swipe: Zi Xiaoren will walk sideways towards a hunter and then do a Claw Swipe.
 * Turning Claw Swipe: Zi Xiaoren will swipe a small portion of either of its arms at close targets while also turning with the swipe. This attack can knock hunters down.
 * Stomp: Zi Xiaoren will try to stomp either set of its leg onto a hunter which can knock them away.
 * Arm Swipe: Zi Xiaoren will swipe either of its arms at hunters which can knock them away.
 * Big Claw Snap: Zi Xiaoren will snap either of its claws at a hunter from above which can knock them away.
 * Sideways Arm Swipe: Zi Xiaoren will walk sideways towards a hunter and then do an Arm Swipe.
 * Turning Arm Swipe: Zi Xiaoren will swipe either of its arms at a hunter while also turning with the swipe. This attack can knock hunters away.
 * Skull Slam: Zi Xiaoren will face towards a hunter with the skull on its back at which point it will jump backwards, trying to hit hunters with the chin spike on the Rathian skull. This attack can knock hunters away.
 * Fire Ball: Zi Xiaoren will use the skull on its back to shoot a fireball at a hunter which can knock them away and cause Fireblight.

Enraged

 * Twin Claw Snap: Zi Xiaoren will quickly snap both of its claws at close-by hunters from the side which can knock them down.
 * Rock Throw: Zi Xiaoren will rip a small rock out of the ground with either of its claws and then throw it towards a hunter which can knock them down.
 * Arm Slam: Zi Xiaoren will try to slam either of its arms down onto a hunter which can knock them away. This attack will also cause Tremors which require Tremor Res +1 to block.
 * Triple Fire Ball: Zi Xiaoren will use the skull on its back to shoot three consecutive fireballs in a trident shape towards hunters which can knock them away and cause Fireblight.
 * Water Beam: Zi Xiaoren will shoot a beam of water towards hunters like Daimyo Hermitaur. This attack can knock hunters away and cause Waterblight.
 * Rising Body Slam: Zi Xiaoren will rise itself upwards until its legs are fully extended at which point it will slam itself down which can knock hunters away. This attack will also cause Tremors which require Tremor Res +1 to block.

High Rank

 * Note: Zi Xiaoren will now be able to use its Low Rank Enraged attacks when not enraged.

Calm

 * Claw Slam: Zi Xiaoren will try to slam either of its claws down onto a hunter which can knock hunters down.
 * Claw Upswing: Zi Xiaoren will swing a small portion of its arm upwards towards a hunter which can knock them upwards.
 * Rock Slam: Zi Xiaoren will rip a small rock out of the ground with either of its claws and then try to slam it down onto a hunter. This attack can knock hunters down.
 * Trident Fire Ball: Zi Xiaoren will use the skull on its back to immediately shoot three fireballs in a trident shape towards hunters which can knock them away and cause Fireblight.
 * Hunter Slam: Zi Xiaoren will screech towards a hunter and will then quickly walk towards them. The hunter must now dodge out of the way or the Zi Xiaoren will grab them with both its claws. The Zi Xiaoren will then lift the hunter up and slam them into the ground repeatedly and finally throw them away. If allies manage to do enough damage to the Zi Xiaoren, it will let go off the hunter and be open to attacks.

Enraged

 * Fire Ball Bombardment: Zi Xiaoren will use the skull on its back to a shoot a large amount of small fireballs towards hunters which can knock hunters down and cause Fireblight.
 * Sweeping Water Beam: Zi Xiaoren will start shooting a water beam and then quickly sweep it across the area. This attack can knock hunters away and cause Waterblight.
 * Arm Upswing: Zi Xiaoren will swing its entire arm upwards towards a hunter which can knock them upwards.
 * Spinning Body Slam: Zi Xiaoren will first do a Rising Body Slam, but after it has impacted with the ground, it will do a spin with its arms and legs fully extended giving it great range on this attack. This attack can send hunters flying away.

Calm

 * Claw Slam Charge: Zi Xiaoren will first screech after which it will start to repeatedly do Claw Slams towards hunters while also moving forwards. If hunters get hit by the Zi Xiaoren walking into them, they can be knocked down, and if they get hit by the Claw Slams, they can be send flying away.

Enraged

 * Fire Breath: Zi Xiaoren will use the skull on its back to shoot a wave of fire inside the skull's mouth towards hunters which can knock them away and cause Fireblight.
 * Slam and Swing: Zi Xiaoren will first do an Arm Slam towards a hunter after which it will quickly swing that arm to either the left or the right, depending on which arm it used with the Arm Slam. This attack can send hunters flying away.

Breakable Parts

 * Skull(1): The Rathian skull on Zi Xiaoren's back will be damaged in that it has scars on it.
 * Skull(2): The Rathian skull's chin spike will be broken and several other parts will be broken off.
 * Claws: Either of Zi Xiaoren's claws will be damaged.
 * Legs: Either set of Zi Xiaoren's legs will be scarred

Blademaster
Skills: WIP

Gunner
Skills: WIP

Quests
WIP

Trivia

 * Just like Shen Gaoren, Zi Xiaoren is based on the Japanese spider crab.
 * Originally, Zi Xiaoren was gonna have a Rathalos skull, but it was changed to a Rathian skull.
 * Zi Xiaoren's name roughly translates to "Young Short Man".