Hello, Bill! I’ve been having trouble for some time with connecting to any particular Pokémon. It seems that everyone has a Pokémon that they adore (or would even become.) I can’t connect to any one species, or even enough to build a team. I think I’m overthinking it pretty badly. Is there a quiz or book to help me know which Pokémon I’d fit with best? I’m worried I’ll always feel distant to any Pokémon I train…

Well, to be perfectly frank, anonymous, there are tests designed to help match a trainer with a partner, but not many of them are all that accurate. Besides, pokémon are living beings with individual personalities, so it could very well be that even if you found a species you resonated with, you may not get along well with the individual paired up with you as your starter. Conversely, on the other hand, you may find that a pokémon you never would have dreamed of training ends up being your closest companion. It’s all-around a bit of a gamble.

My best advice is actually do continue doing your own research. Get to know as many species of pokémon as you can by simply reading about them in standard textbooks or on the internet. Ask trainers questions about specific pokémon or interact with them at your nearest shelter, pokémon center, or professor’s laboratory. Consider even taking an apprenticeship or internship at one of these locations so you have plenty of opportunity to get to know individuals.

But above all else, be patient. Finding the right partner is rarely as easy as television and movies will have you believe. You’ll find one you resonate with, I assure you, but it will take a lot of research, meditation, and interaction to do so. Then, when you’re on the road with a partner, don’t worry too much about which pokémon will be perfect additions to your team. Part of training is getting to know each pokémon you acquire and figure out from there how to bring out their individual strengths and weaknesses. The act of training in itself will help strengthen your bond with a pokémon, regardless of what it is.

If, however, you mean you don’t have a particular favorite, I wouldn’t worry about this either. Some people have specific favorites, yes, but others may like a wide variety of pokémon. It’s actually a great thing to be open-minded about pokémon, as every one of them has their merits.

In any case, best of luck with finding your partner, anonymous!

I had a snivy who I let sleep with me at night, usually curled on my chest or side. This continued to her being a servine but as a serperior she’s much too large to be on the bed/not crush me. I have a bed for her to the side of my bed but I still wake up being crushed due to her cuddling me. I’m trying to reinforce her new bed but I think she missed being small enough to cuddle. What can I do for her?

As odd as this may sound, have you considered wrapping her with warm blankets, perhaps one with weights (such as bean bags) added to them? Remember that members of the snivy line are grass-type reptilian pokémon, so they need warmth—such as, for example, from the human body—in order to sleep comfortably at night. This goes doubly for your serperior, who you may have also inadvertently trained to use you as that source of heat. Covering her with a blanket and adding weights will simulate the feeling of being close to you while allowing her to remain warm, even when the temperature drops at night.

Best of luck, anonymous!

I’ve recently started my journey in Unova and my panpour seems to get really excited at night when me and my other Pokémon are trying to sleep. He bounces off walls and makes sounds and tries to play. How can I make him realize it’s sleepy time?

The most important thing that you should do is establish a routine, anonymous. You’ve just started a new journey, so it’s understandable that you may still be figuring out the balance between journeying and taking care of yourself and your team. As mundane as it sounds, that is actually one of the most challenging aspects of being on a trainer’s journey. However, routines enable you to be consistent when training your pokémon, especially when training them for day-to-day tasks.

While your other pokémon may adapt well with or without a schedule, it’s important to keep in mind that pokémon you catch later on in your journey may operate differently. You’ve just gotten a taste of that now with your panpour. So as restrictive as it may be for the pokémon that have adapted to a looser routine, you’ll want to adopt a stricter one until your panpour can effectively be trained to go to sleep when you do.

The first step in doing so is deciding when you’ll set up camp and dedicate yourself to doing it every night at exactly the same time. Always do it at exactly the time you’ve decided upon, rather than rely on a vague time marker (such as the setting of the sun) to do so. This will instill a sense of time on your panpour because you’re creating a consistent sense of hours on the road. (For that matter, always break camp at the exact same time each morning, even if you’ve woken up early and feel that the perfect conditions to train.)

Second, meals. Meals will likely be the other marker that will be of most interest to your panpour. Always feed all of your pokémon at the exact same time each day to reinforce the first time marker (that is, setting up or breaking camp). Follow this by creating other markers out of the things you also do every day. For example, if you have a specific training routine you do before or after setting out for the day, do it at the exact same time each day. Travel on the road for the exact same length of time. Change into your bed clothes and take care of your and your team’s hygiene at the exact same time. You likely get the idea from there.

Once you’ve decided upon times and dedicated yourself to your new schedule, the other thing you should do is apply rewards or discipline to your panpour for following or going against the routine, respectively. For every marker that your panpour adheres to, give him a treat. This can be a small snack for markers during the day, but at night, you may wish to give him affection immediately or extra food and praise in the morning. (Try to avoid giving him a snack too close to bedtime, as this may make him restless at night.) If, however, he does not stick to a marker, give him a stern verbal warning but be gentle at the same time. Never shout but instead explain to him in simple terms why he needs to follow routine. Eventually, he’ll associate following the markers with rewards and not following them with, well, a lack thereof. In any case, the more you reinforce those markers, the more your panpour will be able to follow them on his own, allowing him to understand when bedtime actually is.

Best of luck, anonymous!

What does a completely black pikachu mean? I just hatched one and his eye color is blue; it’s so pretty. I hope this means good luck, I really want to keep him on my team.

It either means your pikachu is melanistic or due for a very strange, somewhat violent life. Not that the latter is a bad thing, of course. Or it isn’t a bad thing if you’re an aspiring pokémon master who also happens to be an anarchist with supernatural abilities.

That … sounds oddly specific. —LH

Yeah, I’m not quite sure where that came from either. —Bill

Please help! I recently moved to Alola with my Glaceon and she seems incredibly sick all of the sudden. Could it be the sudden change in temperature? She’s been staying close to the air vents and rushes into the refrigerator whenever she’s able, and spends all her energy freezing the house, it was 40 degrees this morning! She’s refusing her food, and I don’t want to spend a ticket going all the way back to Icirrus City, Unova, but I will if I need to.

This would be heat sickness, yes.

If you can, try to install an air conditioner in your home. If you can’t, improvise with a fan, a tub of water (which your glaceon will need to freeze), and perhaps a bag of ice. Give her plenty of cold water to keep her hydrated, and try to give her cooling foods (lettuce in addition to cold meats) to help keep her temperature down.

Whenever possible, you may wish to take her to the Pokémon League now and then. The facility is located at the top of Alola’s highest mountain, and as such, it’s perpetually covered in snow. The break will be good for your glaceon, and you might run into a potential ice-type partner that will work with her to keep her temperature down at home.

Best of luck!

My Primarina and I have a great relationship, on and off the battlefield. Recently, my parents hired what they thought was a good vocal coach for her. However, as the days passed on, my starter’s voice became hoarser and hoarser. We’ve decided to take a break from battling until further notice. My mom went back to check the coach’s credentials and turns out, he wasn’t certified at all! My parents are taking legal action against him. What should we do to prevent this from happening again?

Always check a professional’s credentials before leaving your pokémon with them. Anyone can create a seemingly legitimate business these days, even if they actually lack the credentials or training to perform the skills they’re offering. It’s especially a problem in regions where criminal organizations (namely Team Rocket) are active, as many will use these businesses as fronts for money laundering, if they aren’t simply attempting to scam customers out of money or their pokémon partners.

So yes, verify a business’s credentials first. Read reviews from other customers. Do a lot of research on the business and, if possible, the person running it. Never assume that a business is legitimate, just because it looks that way at first glance.

(Also, don’t feel bad about falling for this “singing coach.” There have been reports in Kanto and Johto of a pair of Rocket underlings scamming the same trainers out of their pokémon using entirely different scams every week for years. Some con artists are simply good at what they do.)

Should I take any precautions when taking my ice types out during the day? I just recently got an Amaura from a friend and I’m worried about how well she’ll do in the Alolan heat.

Absolutely, especially if your pokémon isn’t native to Alola. Luckily, what this actually entails can be as simple as providing plenty of shade, preferably indoors, with air conditioning if you can afford it. (A fan will work just as well if you can’t. So would a kiddie pool full of water that your pokemon freezes.) Moreover, keep your pokémon well hydrated, and educate yourself on the signs of heat exhaustion. (Nausea, lethargy, and confusion being the topmost signs. If your ice-type is mammalian in nature, they may also run a fever.) When your pokémon start exhibiting signs of danger, bring them into a cool, shady area and provide plenty of water as they rest. If any of those symptoms worsen, take them to the pokémon center immediately.

That having been said, there’s a chance that your amaura will fare better than most ice-types because of its rock typing and natural hidden ability (Refrigerate tends to cool the air around the pokémon that possess it), but most definitely keep an eye on her for the next few days for any sign of discomfort or exhaustion.

Best of luck, anonymous!

Hello Bill! I’ve got an eevee drama. Recently, my neighbour has gifted an eevee egg to me (my friends says he has a crush for me, but he’s a kid, it’s impossible right?), and it’s the most adorable little thing you’ve seen. The problem it’s that there is no eevee formula in the pokemart because Customs problems and giving her raw miltank milk can cause intolerance. The recommended me to give her formula from another pokemon within the same egg group. Would she be allright with it? I’m from Alola

Strange. As eevee are actually native to Alola (and abundant on one of the islands, at that), you shouldn’t have any trouble finding eevee-specific formula. Moreover, formula is not typically an item seized by customs, as if processed correctly (that is, not laced with lead-based pigments, as some countries with less scrupulous quality control tend to do), formula contains nothing that would be considered harmful to the Alolan ecosystem or population. You may wish to ask again or look in larger supermarkets. If all else fails, try shopping on Akala Island, where eevee tend to thrive in the wild.

That having been said, using different formulas for baby pokémon tends to be trickier than using generic kibble for adults. Babies require a very precise balance of nutrition that varies greatly by species. However, if you absolutely must, you can give your eevee formula from a different species of pokémon, but (and this is a very important but), it can’t simply be formula for a member from the same egg group. Try to match up the other species with eevee as much as possible. Your target species should be a carnivore, preferably a canine, as these will have the same nutritional requirements (or as close to the same as possible) that your baby eevee will have. Rockruff or vulpix may be your best choices.

Good luck, and congratulations on the new addition to your family!

Grimer/Muk make wonderful companions once you get over the smell, my little Alolan Muk named Diesel is just the sweetest thing!

This is absolutely true, anonymous. Many trainers are perfectly happy with their grimer and muk. It’s just important to wash one’s hands after handling them, even if you’ve acclimated to their smell.

(Although, of course, it should also be noted that Alolan grimer and muk lack the standard form’s signature odor, so actually, members of that particular breed are even better choices for those who can’t imagine ever getting used to a grimer’s stench … as unfortunate as that may be.)

hey bill! recently I got an eevee that I plan on evolving into jolteon. however when I try to introduce him to thunderstone I have for him, mai, my alolan raichu, snatches the stone and hides it. it takes me hours to find it each time >:( I don’t know why shes doing this can u help

Pay close attention to the body language of your eevee, anonymous. Mai, as an Alolan raichu, is half-psychic and highly empathic as a result. Thus, it’s likely she’s picking up on your eevee’s anxiety about evolving (at all or into jolteon specifically) and trying to stop you from forcing your eevee to evolve against his will. Communicate with your eevee and make it absolutely clear to him that evolution is his choice, including and especially when it comes to the topic of what he wishes to evolve into. If he seems hesitant at the idea of becoming a jolteon, ask him if he would prefer a different form or if he would wish to stay an eevee. Be sure to go over all of his options carefully so he can make the decision on his own. If you absolutely must have a jolteon, you can try convincing him, but do so in a way that makes it clear you have his interests at heart.

If he actually does want to evolve into a jolteon, then the other possible issue at play here is Mai’s worry that you’re getting another electric-type to replace her on the field. If this is the case, then be sure to reassure her that she will always be valuable to your team and that you by no means intend on retiring her.

Of course, there is also the possibility that neither of these are Mai’s concerns, at which point you’ll need to communicate with Mai as much as possible to figure out what it is that’s troubling her. Take her aside, sit her down, and ask her about her concerns. Keep reassuring her that you only want what’s best for your entire team, but you’re willing to be perfectly flexible to meet their needs.

Best of luck, anonymous!