Existing in the planet Pabu's oceanic depths were the Vratheans, colossal leviathans distinguished by their tentacled forms and bioluminescent carapaces. These creatures, rarely seen at the surface, were denizens of the deep-sea. In the vicinity of 18 BBY, one such vrathean launched an assault upon the Force-sensitive Asajj Ventress and the clone Omega while they were aboard a Pabu skiff, conducting tests on Omega's m-count.
The skiff was overturned by the leviathan, and Omega was seized. Ventress intervened, severing the vrathean's tentacle with her lightsaber, thus rescuing Omega. Subsequently, Omega's allies initiated an attack on the creature from their attack shuttle, the Marauder. However, Ventress intervened, utilizing the Force to calm the vrathean, which then retreated.
The vrathean can be described as a type of carnivorous leviathan native to the oceans of the world Pabu. These creatures preferred the deep, and were seldom observed breaking the surface of the water. Reaching immense sizes, they averaged 12.5 meters in height and 30.5 meters in length. They possessed serpentine bodies and a sturdy, armored carapace.
The carapace extended over the creature's face, shielding a bony beak equipped with jagged, toothed jaws, positioned between two large, plate-like purple eyes featuring rippling black lines as pupils. Each creature had a multitude of at least three tentacles, composed of tough flesh and lined with numerous suckers on their undersides. The skin of a vrathean was brown and textured, marked with cyan patches, while its carapace exhibited bioluminescence, displaying shifting colors of brown, dark purple, and cyan across its surface. They communicated through bellows, growls, and shrieks. Encounters with a vrathean demanded a high degree of composure for survival.
In approximately 18 BBY, Asajj Ventress, who was sensitive to the Force, accompanied Omega, a clone, on a Pabu skiff on Pabu's ocean to assess her m-count. To demonstrate the power of the Force, Ventress reached out to the surrounding life forms near the vessel, causing a group of luminescent green rays to encircle the skiff. As Ventress withdrew her influence, the rays dispersed, and a vrathean approached. The creature partially surfaced, revealing its carapace near the skiff, and then resurfaced to rock the vessel, spinning it as it passed.
The vrathean then fully emerged, its mouth dripping with glowing green matter as it bellowed toward the skiff. Ventress, who had not intentionally summoned the creature, started the skiff's engine and attempted to evade it. However, the vrathean submerged and pursued them, raising two tentacles and slamming them down behind the skiff, generating waves that capsized the vessel. Ventress and Omega were thrown into the water. As they surfaced, Omega was seized by a tentacle and dragged under. She struck the creature's tough flesh, which proved less resistant to Ventress' lightsaber. Ventress used the weapon to sever the tentacle where it encircled Omega, leaving a bleeding stump.
Ventress and Omega resurfaced, closely followed by the vrathean, which roared and flailed its tentacles. Before it could strike again, the Marauder, an Omicron-class attack shuttle piloted by Omega's clone brethren Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair, who had observed the attack from the nearby island, bombarded it with blaster fire.
Distracted, the creature turned, attempting to track the starship with its waving tentacles. It then turned to seize Ventress with a tentacle after the Force-user told Omega that she could handle the creature on her own. Omega instructed the other clones via comlink to cease firing as Ventress reached out with the Force to calm the vrathean while it pulled her toward its gaping jaws. Upon reaching the mouth, Ventress placed her hand on it, and the creature stilled, its eyes widening. Cyan light pulsed across its shell as it gently lowered Ventress back onto her ship before submerging and swimming away. Ventress and Omega then departed safely in the Marauder.
A vrathean made its debut in "The Harbinger," the ninth installment of the animated television series Star Wars: The Bad Batch's third season, which premiered on March 27, 2024. The creature's designation was not spoken within the episode but was present in the subtitles. Dawn Carlos created several pieces of concept art of the vrathean for the episode, and Molly Denmark developed several lighting concepts for the creature. Initial hints of its appearance were made in a post by Kiner Music as part of a series of cryptic Tweets that hinted at upcoming Bad Batch episodes.