Surveying and Sampling

Taming

Sporting

Growth Stages

Sometimes a single species of Monstazoa will have multiple distinct stages of life, so distinct in both appearance and behavior that they are categorized, ecologically speaking, as different creatures. Monstazoa will undergo these dramatic transformations naturally over time, as they grow stronger, when they reach certain milestones in life, or when certain dietary or environmental conditions are met. Some species have split growth paths with more than one potential growth stage, determined by factors like diet, sex, or the environment they were raised in. Some may even achieve a new growth stage under mysterious circumstances that have not yet been discovered!

A single Monstazoa usually never transforms from one growth stage to another more than twice, for a total of three stages. These stages are:

Juvenile - The very first stage of a Monstazoa's life. Zoa at this stage are often being raised by their parents, and can't get by without help.
Mature - The middle or adult stage of a Monstazoa's life. Zoa in this stage are typically at their strongest physically and are able to reproduce. Zoa species that do not have any distinct growth stages are almost always considered a part of this stage.
Senescent - The later stage of life. Zoa in this stage are no longer able to reproduce, and are beginning to grow old. They may still gain new abilities previously unattainable by the middle stage, but this stage is rare for most wild Zoa.

Recycling

Tamed Monstazoa, as a side effect of time spent inside the Capture Card, attain a state of cycling "immortality." When a captured individual reaches the end of its life and passes away, it reappears at the beginning of its life inside the card and begins growing again, progressing through its life cycle from the beginning. This also occurs when an individual is killed prematurely. This phenomenon is referred to as recycling.
Modern Capture Cards are manufactured with a built-in counter that records how many times a specimen has been recycled. Recycled individuals retain no memories from their previous life cycle, but they may retain certain instincts or skills.