Battlesnake

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The remainder of this article contains lore created collaboratively by the Blaseball community.

Battlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes comprising two genera, Bachiia and Baquetaia. There are ██ known species of blattlesnake, all presumably native to the Big Leagues but naturally^{[citation needed]} introduced to the Immaterial Plane.

Battlesnakes owe their name to the battle, a bat which also rattles and is located on the end of their tail.

Ecology

NB: The ecology of battlesnakes in their native Big Leagues are poorly understood; all information below refers to observations from the Immaterial Plane.

Battlesnakes occupy a range of habitats across the Immaterial Plane, with major populations concentrated in blaseball stadiums. In general, their climactic requirements are consistent with medium-sized predatory ectotherms, though species which have adapted to ballparks in less reptile-friendly areas have survived and became the dominant species in their respective regions. While no known species of battlesnakes are truly aquatic, most are capable of swimming in adverse conditions.

In comparison to most snakes, battlesnakes are omnivorous before their first two sheds, able to subsist on a range of ballpark Snacks and field marking chalk. Ballpark-dwelling juveniles are easy to spot, as they often adopt the colors of the home team to appeal to snack-holding fans. As they approach maturity, their diet transitions to hunting birds or playing blaseball.

The battlesnake's iconic battle forms after their second shedding; the rattling it produces is acoustically and/or psychically unbearable to most creatures and a reliable defense mechanism. During their juvenile stage, without the battle, is when battlesnakes are most vulnerable. They are easily preyed upon by birds, cats, larger snakes, and horses.

There appears to be no upper limit on the size of a battlesnake, though growth generally slows once they reach maturity at a length of eight feet (excluding their battle).

Battlesnakes have very intricate courtship dances where they will make ornate patterns in dirt or sand. Observers of the battlesnake have noted that the patterns have, at times, seemed to resemble words, or even whole phrases. Most notably, one researcher noted a pair of battlesnakes leaving behind a dance pattern that resembled the opening paragraph of Chlaucer's The Wife of Bath.

Interaction with Blaseball

Battlesnakes were first introduced to the Immaterial Plane during the Season β12 Latesiesta, following the Breach that returned the Baltimore Crabs (and heralded the arrival of three expansion teams) to blaseball. They appear to be well adapted for life in ballparks, often spotted in ballpark rafters where they cheer and rattle along to games being played. Battlesnake mating rituals often incorporate blaseball equipment and paraphernalia, such as the gifting of blaseballs to a prospective mate or their courtship dances spelling out (unredacted) sections of the Forbidden Book.

Whether this is behaviour carried over from Up, or an adaptation to this plane, is unknown to all but the Crabs (who claim to be under an NDA regarding further information on battlesnakes).

Trivia

• Battlesnakes can blush.
• The shed skins of battlesnakes are adorned on   players as a good luck charm, to encourage birds to peck them out faster.
• The existence of battlesnakes, with bats on their tails, implies the existence of rattlesnakes, some manner of nonsense serpentine creature with a rat on its tail.