Hey Bill, I need advice. I’ve had this really turbulent relationship with Pokemon and training them. I was going through one of those phases where I questioned if it was really right to capture and train Pokemon at all. I gave up my whole team, including a Munna I had raised since birth. It was a scary time for me. I was wondering if there are any Pokemon that would be great for former trainers wishing to get back into the swing of things. Preferably something local, you know how Unova can be.

Ah yes. You must be referring to the Plasma Incident. I have more than a few choice words about Team Plasma, but unfortunately, as that would be a rather strong tangent, I’ll simply say that it’s a shame to hear from another victim of their rather unique grip on pokémon welfare. That is to say, I’m terribly sorry to hear that this happened to you, anonymous.

That having been said, as odd as it may seem to be, have you considered another munna? While another one may be no decent replacement for the one you once had, you’re already very familiar with caring for one, and thus, bonding with another one may be easier than you might think.

However, if the thought of raising another munna is too painful for you (which would be understandable), Unova is home to a fantastic wealth of pokémon that are easy to care for and fully capable of helping you heal. For example, audino are very perceptive to a trainer’s needs, both physically and emotionally, and they’re surprisingly resilient and versatile on the battlefield. They’re also fantastically abundant across Unova, so finding one may be a fairly simple matter for you. (You may even be able to adopt a retired nurse audino or an audino that didn’t quite make it through its medical certification. These audino may be the best for you, as they’re trained to be calm and comforting in most situations.)

Alternatively, common pokémon—such as lillipup, pidove, and purrloin—are fantastically loyal pokémon that typically evolve into capable battlers later on (although liepard is admittedly not as strong as other choices, and purrloin is often mischievous and a challenge), as are the starter lines (which are often difficult but not entirely impossible to obtain). Other pokémon that simultaneously make for wonderful companions and perfect partners for former trainers include the gothita and solosis lines (as their psychic abilities make it easier for some trainers to bond with them), as well as golett (both fantastically loyal and easy to train), pawniard (same), minccino (popular domestic pokémon), emolga (same as minccino), and axew (none of the above, but the challenge in both taming and training axew may bring out the best in both you and it while helping you to heal from releasing your munna).

In all, I would highly recommend a pokémon you’re most likely to bond with. What you need right now is to heal and to be reassured—even if you’re consciously certain—that raising pokémon is perfectly ethical. So I would strongly suggest trying to raise a munna, but if not, go for something that’s guaranteed to adapt well to training in the first place. (Unless you really do want to try training an axew. Again, the challenge is often worth it.)

Best of luck!