Author: Minty

I’ve had my Salandit, Ridley for a good while now. I usually carry him on my shoulder or hold him (the little guy really loves affection) but I noticed he’s a little weird. Sometimes, not all the time, he’ll have some odd behaviors. Sometimes he’ll hiss at male Pokémon that aren’t on my team and even male strangers. But it isn’t constant. Sometimes he’ll just follow me and bob his head. I tried to explain no, and he’ll listen for a bit, but he usually goes back to old behaviors.

Anonymous, your salandit may be viewing you as a rather large and odd-looking salazzle. On the positive side, it’s unlikely he’ll engage in aggressive behaviors, and quite honestly, the behavior you’re mentioning now is perfectly harmless unless he does get aggressive. On the negative side, he thinks you’re an odd-looking salazzle, so … make of that what you will. (You may wish to consider training Ridley to recognize you’re not an odd-looking salazzle, but that’s a bit of a sisyphean task, I’m afraid.)

Hello! This is the anon who asked about his hostile Alolan ninetales some time back. Glacier is more well behaved now, thanks to your swell advice. I’ve been considering catching my first Pokémon for a little while now, but I’m terrified of how Glacier will react. Are there any other species of Pokémon that my Alolan ninetales will get along comfortably with? Preferably ones that can withstand his ice beam and Snow Warning? Thanks in advance!

Excellent to hear! I’m glad Glacier is connecting with you more, anonymous.

That having been said, usually, pokémon from a ninetales’ (or, well, vulpix’s) natural habitat would be the best partners for them. This goes especially for Alolan ninetales, as they have a tendency to see those not native to their own habitats as intruders and will kindly escort them out.

With that in mind, you may find that Glacier might just get along best with members of the Alolan sandshrew line, as well as other ice-types native to Mount Lanakila, such as snorunt or sneasel. He may also get along with glaceon or crabominable, and if he’s particularly easy-going, you might also have luck with ice-types in general.

If you’d prefer a team with more variation, consider absol or castform (both also native to Mount Lanakila) or canine pokémon (not generally native, but typically appeal to ninetales’ latent but inherent social tendencies).

Of course, it’s also worth keeping in mind that no matter what pokémon you choose, with the right amount of training and the most careful introductions possible, any partner might potentially be a good one for your ninetales. It’s all about patience and understanding the way Glacier interacts with others.

Best of luck!

So I have s bulbasaur named Terry who is in his toddler stage, and he has some separation anxiety. Whenever I walk into a room Terry’s with me, whenever I go anywhere, he’s with me. Well today my boyfriend and I were trying to be -ahem- intimate and we locked the door and Terry was trying really hard to get in to the point he broke the door handle with his vines. I’m not really sure what to do about this, help??

These tip should be effective at resolving your, ah, issue, anonymous: http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/search/separation

Of course, it’s important to be patient while training your bulbasaur (according to the tips above). He is still a child, but with enough patience and care, you should be able to make the experience of being weaned off your constant presence a little less traumatic.

Best of luck!

So I’ve recently considered finding myself a pokémon that could help me in transportation (sadly my region doesn’t have the ride pager yet). What pokémon do you recommend for me? I’m 5 feet tall, need something that’s fast, but also not too big. Also I’m afraid of heights.

That depends on what you need and what your region is like, anonymous. Different terrain and different forms of transportation call for entirely different pokémon. For example, for an island region, it may be more important for you to have a pokémon that can Surf or Fly, at which point many of the ones that can learn either move are suitable, even if they may seem small. (You’ll be surprised at how much a farfetch’d can carry … or how it does so, for that matter … or how quickly.) By contrast, a mountainous region may require a pokémon well-suited for navigating rocky terrain (such as rhyhorn), one with high endurance (mamoswine), or one adept at climbing (machamp)—or alternatively, one that can fly at high altitudes (dragonite). For long distances across even, dirt fields, you may find it suitable enough to use any number of traditional riding pokémon, such as tauros, rapidash, mudsdale, arcanine, or dodrio, but if you were planning on getting through long distances over water, you may wish to have high-powered water-types, such as lapras or gyarados.

In short, it entirely depends on your needs, anonymous, but you can generally figure out what would be best by looking at a pokémon’s physical capabilities. If a pokémon is known for being able to endure certain types of terrain or if they’re known for certain types of qualities (such as speed or even their docile natures), chances are they’ll make excellent riding pokémon.

Hey there Mr. Bill! I’m a student who’s been abroad in Hoenn for some time now. I’ll be moving back to Sinnoh in just a little bit, but not before making a quick trip through Kalos. My question is that I caught one of those neat little Baltoys that hang around old ruins here. Is there anything I should know before bringing the little fella along on my travels or before I settle back in Sinnoh again?

Luckily, baltoy are actually fairly easy to care for. As artificial pokémon, they don’t need food, water, or the like, although they may enjoy eating now and then. That is to say, it’s okay to give them poké beans, poké puffs, kibble, or so forth, but they won’t die if you forget to do so.

Beyond that, simply give your baltoy a level, solid surface to rest on as well as toys to amuse itself with (baltoy have no specific preference, so experiment with yours to determine what it seems to like), and it will be perfectly happy.

In terms of things to be aware of, be sure to include meditative training when honing your baltoy’s abilities. Its strongest techniques rely heavily on its telekinesis, so the more you strengthen that ability, the better your baltoy’s handle on its moves will be.

Additionally, try to avoid allowing your baltoy to come across another member of its species. Baltoy get along well enough with most pokémon, but for reasons we researchers haven’t fully figured out, when it spots another baltoy, the two will congregate together and begin vocalizing. The resulting noise tends to be ungodly.

Best of luck, anonymous!

Can I train my Stufful to not kill me when I touch or hug it? I realize it doesn’t like being touched but I have to at some point.

Well, one important thing to keep in mind is that your stufful knows best what is and isn’t a pleasant form of affection to it. If it dislikes being touched, it may be best to begin with rewarding it or showing your affection some other way until it gets comfortable with you. Consider feeding it treats it likes or playing with it using its favorite toys or simply sitting close by it. Any of these, as distant as they seem, may be mean the world to a pokémon that shies away from physical contact.

If your stufful ever wants to be touched, let it determine when that will be. For example, if it cuddles up to you or nudges your hand, then it’s okay to touch your stufful, and even then, start slowly. Pet it, find spots it particularly likes (to have scratched or rubbed), and then move on to letting it climb onto your lap or curl up next to you. Eventually, try a hug if and only if it seems comfortable to be picked up.

I know it can be rather difficult to not be able to show the sort of affection you want, dear reader, but the last thing you’d like to do is instill resentment, fear, or other forms of negativity by forcing your pokémon to do something they aren’t comfortable doing. That can lead to mental health issues for your pokémon … and, well, physical health issues for yourself (what with the fact that we’re talking about pokémon and all). So take things slowly and let your stufful decide when hugging would be appropriate.

In other words, it’s possible to train a stufful to accept a hug, but that training actually consists of giving stufful the forms of affection it already wants until it decides it would rather have more.

Bill. You remember the Ultra Beast attack in Alola right? I volunteered to leave Unova with my Pokemon partners and other volunteers, and go to Alola to help with fixing the damage caused by Ultra Beasts. While there we lost a team of volunteers in Poni Island, and I was sent to look for them, and I stumbled upon what I think is an Ultra Wormhole. Do you think they are in the portal? What I see in the portal is a different looking Alola region. What should I do? Should I go in?

I can’t say for certain if they’ve gone through the portal, and I doubt it would be possible to know for certain unless you go through yourself. Even psychics don’t quite have the reach to tap into minds on different planes of existence. (Don’t ask me how I know this.)

However, I wouldn’t recommend going through yourself. That’s a dangerous move; after all, who knows what could be on the other side? It could indeed be a mirror of our own universe, or it could be a place full of dangerous and powerful pokémon. Dimensional travel isn’t always straightforward either, and you don’t know for certain whether or not the portal is stable enough to support a return trip.

I would recommend contacting the rest of your team and formulating a plan together. Best of luck, anonymous.