Do service pokemon exist, like guide pokemon? Can dog-like pokemon assist blind people, or perhaps can psychic type pokemon help a deaf person communicate? And what other ways can pokemon be used like this?

They do indeed, anonymous!

For both the blind and deaf communities, growlithe, rockruff, and lillipup tend to be the most popular choice of service dogs, as they tend to be more loyal and attentive than houndour or poochyena (although some breeders raise those as well). Herdier are occasionally used, but many service pokémon with evolutionary forms larger than herdier are typically given everstones to avoid the awkward situation of having a service pokémon far too large for the job. Those with sensitive hearing, such as members of the clefairy or audino lines, also make excellent guide pokémon.

Beyond that, psychic-types tend to be the most popular service pokémon. For example, for the hearing-impaired, psychics with telepathic and telekinetic abilities open up channels of communication that many other pokémon wouldn’t be able to achieve, yes. (They can, for example, help their humans to manipulate devices that enable them to communicate or simply open up telepathic channels that enable more direct modes of communication.) But beyond that, those with precognitive abilities make excellent companions for those prone to seizures, and those with empathic abilities are typically trained to project calming auras to counteract anxiety attacks. Those with particular mastery over their telekinetic abilities—particularly gardevoir—can even help those with limited mobility.

Other than that, when it comes to those facing limited mobility, fighting-types are the second most popular, as even the smallest ones can help their humans navigate their daily lives (literally, even). More nimble ones like riolu and mankey can also reach items their humans cannot.

Conversely, grass-types, particularly ones known for their soothing scent (such as bayleef) or those who can use Sweet Scent are sometimes given to those who require service pokémon for emotional support. Normal-types—especially members of the chansey, togepi, and jigglypuff lines, as well as audino—may also be helpful to those who require a more soothing pokémon, as these lines often possess techniques to calm and heal in addition to the strong inclination to comfort others. Some pokémon, such as klefki and tangela, can even be trained to provide emotional support in the form of stimming—as in, they hold still and allow their humans to toy with their keys or vines or so forth in order to ground themselves and manage extreme stress.

Additionally, hoothoot is often used for those with memory issues, as these pokémon not only provide extremely accurate mental clocks but also can be trained to help humans maintain schedules (such as, for example, schedules for when different medicines should be taken). Murkrow and chatot, meanwhile, are helpful to those with speech impairments, as these pokémon can be taught to repeat the most immediate thing their humans tell them in the clearest manner possible.

Finally, ditto may be used for any of the above, either in its original form (it’s a popular alternative to klefki for stimming, as its true body is smooth, gelatinous, and difficult to actually damage) or by shapeshifting into any of a select set of forms it’s trained to remember to suit specific tasks. (Service ditto, for example, may be trained to take the form of a growlithe without having to see a growlithe.)

These are, of course, only the few I can recall off the top of my head. I have no doubt there are plenty of other kinds of service pokémon out there.

In short, it’s amazing how many ways pokémon and humans come together, and it is equally remarkable that pokémon can do so much to improve our lives for the better. So yes, there are most definitely service pokémon that are used for a wide variety of purposes. Essentially, if you can think of any reason a human would need a pokémon to help them with day-to-day tasks, there very likely is a pokémon that fills that exact niche.

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