Bill, I have a serious problem: my recently evolved sylveon is extremely aggressive towards dragon-type pokemon. Recently my sylveon ran off and nearly Moonblasted some poor kid’s Goomy to death. Needless to say, this attracted police attention and my sylveon was ordered to stay in her pokeball in public. She was docile towards dragons as an eevee and is always friendly towards people and pokemon of other types. How can my sylveon be comfortable around dragons? Please help!!!

It’s unfortunate, but very occasionally, an eeveelution responds to its evolution with … unusual amounts of zeal, to put it lightly. This is often caused by the very nature of an eevee’s evolution. Because the eevee family possesses the highest number of branches of any pokémon family, the decision to evolve (as well as what to evolve into) requires more thought and passion on the part of the eevee than any other pokémon. Consequently, sometimes, an eeveelution tries a bit too hard to conform to its new identity by adopting traits it thinks are typical of their type. In a sylveon’s case, this can be particularly unfortunate or even dangerous, as the fairy type is often associated with mischief, magical superiority, and in some cases even bloodlust.

Thus, the first step to getting your sylveon to behave in the presence of dragons is to reassure her that she doesn’t have to be a typical fairy-type to be comfortable with herself. She is still very much a valid fairy-type, even if she befriends or otherwise treats dragon-types like any other type of pokémon. While that may sound like it’s easier said than done, it’s actually a simple matter of training more with her (although perhaps not on dragon-types). The more she battles and trains, the more she becomes accustomed to her body and your guidance.

The second step, of course, is to train her to treat dragons with respect. While it may be most effective to do this by acclimating your sylveon to an actual dragon-type, because dragon-types are rare and difficult to come by, consider training with a dragon-type doll, such as a dratini plush. Before exposing your sylveon to the plush, however, it’s important that you teach her to heel first. (A full explanation on how to teach a pokémon to heel is here: http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/post/163998759883/help-my-cubchoo-has-an-insatiable-appetite-for . Admittedly, this post covers how to do so with a cubchoo specifically, but the process can be adapted to sylveon or any other pokémon as well.) Once she understands how to heel, use the plush to simulate a dragon-type pokémon and place it in the same room as sylveon. Have sylveon heel, and if she obeys, reward her. If she attacks, try to remove the plush before she can complete her technique. Do this for at least ten minutes a day at first, then gradually work your way up until your sylveon can stay in the same room as that plush for an hour without even trying to attack it. If she succeeds, move on to real dragons (for example, the other trainer’s goomy) to further reinforce what she’s learned.