Piccio are one of the most common Espers found in our part of the thymosphere. I wouldn’t be surprised if every agent had seen one! Despite their numbers, they’re fairly harmless and don’t pose much of a threat to a careful agent.
Length: 30 – 50 cm
Energy: 5 – 10 GeV
Strength: Air
Weakness: Physical
Appearance:
I’ve overheard some agents remarking that Piccio seems plain or drab-looking, or is somehow uninteresting because they are easy to find in almost any city. But Piccio have a lot to offer, and our research on their behavior has been invaluable.
The common city Piccio will appear like this on one’s ANCHOR device:
Piccio are small and thickly feathered. They do look a little bit like a ball of fluff when they’re not flying, but there’s more to Piccio than that. What’s particularly fascinating about them is their unique capacity for speed control. Their large, fluffy feathers are excellent at catching air and slowing Piccio’s descent, but they can, with a twitch of its muscles, be streamlined and flattened to make Piccio considerably more sleek and aerodynamic, as seen below.
There also seem to be several varieties of this Esper. We are not sure where this hybridization between bird and plane derives from, but, rarely, we’ve found that Piccio’s tail may develop into more of a plane shape for increased speed and maneuverability.
Behavior:
Piccio is not your average city pigeon. It’s not at all uncommon to find a large group of them hopping around on the ground in the urban thymosphere, but, unlike its real-world counterpart, Piccio is a fairly clever bird. They have a penchant for taking unpredictable (and extremely fast!) dives, which is, EsperCorp believes, why they wear protective goggles on their heads. It is not uncommon to see a peacefully gliding Piccio suddenly turn and swoop down upon a Cuca or a Myr.
Unlike Earth pigeons, Piccio do migrate, and can be seen flying in large fleets. During winter-time, the southern cities often get overcrowded with the migrating Piccio. Agents, I know it’s cute, but do avoid its sharp peck. Their hurtling dives can wound the most defensive Espers.
Other Notes:
I clearly underestimated the Piccio I was studying. Using my ANCHOR to interact with it, I tried to run some preliminary tests, only to have Piccio repeatedly soar out of range of our instruments and attempt to dive-bomb my own Espers. I had to finally resort to giving it some synthetically generated treats! Then it calmed down and our crystals registered lower levels of energy and even a slight crystal vibration which seemed to mirror a pigeon’s coo. Keep in mind, agents, that even harmless-looking Espers are still powerful spiritual creatures!
