My kirlia has just evolved into a gardevoir and her attitude has completely changed. When she was young, she was shy and usually only made physical contact with me when it was supper or bedtime. Now since she evolved, she’s become much more touchy, such as holding onto my arm, or laying down near or on me. I’m only worried because it seems like her nature did a complete 180. It’s not a bad change, but i’m worried for if something happened to her mind or not?

Evolution does funny things to a pokémon, anonymous, and behavior changes are certainly a possibility. In gardevoir’s case, their psychic abilities are boosted exponentially, and physical contact further amplifies their already potent telepathic and empathic powers. In other words, touching you feels far more intense than it had been when your gardevoir was younger. Imagine being nearsighted and going about your entire life only seeing your world as one massive blur, and all of a sudden, someone gives you a pair of glasses that sharpens every little detail. Everything seems sharper and newer, and thus, the world feels more exciting to you. This is what it feels like to be a pokémon that undergoes evolution, but it’s especially true with something as sensitive to others’ psychic energies as gardevoir.

That boost, in turn, factors into the other changes about her. All pokémon, when undergoing evolution, typically become more mature or confident, in a way. Think of evolution as being the process of growing up, with the first stage being your childhood and the last stage being adulthood. While some adults are certainly childlike, many others become wiser or otherwise more confident what they can do. This is true for pokémon that reach their final evolution as well. Just as adults grow more and more capable with interacting with the world around them, final-stage evolutions grow more comfortable with their abilities and interacting with their trainers (either in a positive or negative light). Combine this with the aforementioned power boost, and you have one of the most protective pokémon in existence.

In other words, the “touchiness” you’re describing is actually perfectly normal for a gardevoir. It’s her way of not only taking in how different you feel (now that her powers are at their best) but also of establishing a literal personal connection (as to her, being in physical contact with you is not only a sign of affection but also a nonverbal reassurance that she’s there to protect you). It should only really be a cause of concern if she takes the affection too far or if it otherwise becomes uncomfortable for you—which sometimes happens with gardevoir trainers. If that ever occurs, it’s important to establish boundaries. Tell her politely that you appreciate what she’s doing, but you’d prefer physical distance. Let her know that you still want her to protect you and to work with you in a trainer-pokémon relationship; it’s just that your bond should be strictly platonic.

Good luck, anonymous, and congratulations on the recent evolution!