Hi Bill! I’ve been reading through your posts on hear and feel like I’ve learned a lot but I have to say, I’m starting to worry about some of my dark types. From what you’ve been saying, most dark types are kinda nasty but all of mine are massive softies. The only time I’ve ever seen them violent or aggressive was when they thought me or my family were being threatened. Do I have to worry about them hiding something or is this sort of thing normal?

LH here, anonymous.

Normally, I let Bill answer these questions himself, but because of reasons that involve my partner’s inability to not scare readers, he’s currently distracted … by another episode of Binaclebob Trapezoidpants.

That said, don’t worry, anonymous. Most of Bill’s pokédex entries are written tongue-in-cheek and refer to either each species’ official entry in the National Dex (which are often themselves referring to wild pokémon only) or his own experiences with these pokémon (which are often harrowing because my partner is a wonderful researcher when it comes to fieldwork—this is, after all, the same man who thought grabbing a honedge by the hilt because “that old wives’ tale about honedge possession can’t possibly be real” was a brilliant idea).

Actual, tamed dark-types are surprisingly more loyal and sweet than most other pokémon. This is because in the wild, dark-types rely on their abilities to sneak or to gang up on other pokémon to survive, either because they’re not actually that strong on their own or because other pokémon would do the same to them. For that reason, they’ve garnered the reputation of being vicious, but actually, when they feel safe—such as in situations when a human is taking care of all their needs—they lose their need to be vicious and adopt more friendly and open personalities. Of course, some pokémon, such as houndoom, will always be aloof in comparison with their non-dark counterparts, but that’s just the way they are. It’s not really any indication of whether or not they’re good, evil, vicious, or friendly.

So really, you don’t have to worry about your own pokémon. They’re most likely every bit the massive softies they seem to be on the surface.

Honestly, though, it’s probably fairy-types if anything that you’d have to worry about. Those know how to use their cuteness to get what they want, but honestly, that’s not exactly dangerous. Just slightly nefarious, but only insofar as pokémon treats are concerned. And honestly, how can you argue with a face that pink and cute?