Author: Minty

It’s my birthday and I walked out of my room to see feathers everywhere then a very dead starly on the floor with my very please looking Litten who nudged it to me. Why did he do this? It’s the first time ever and cleaning up dead bird isn’t exactly how I wanted to spend my morning

Litten often believe humans are very large, strange-looking, extremely incompetent litten. As such, they will often present their trainers with “gifts” in the form of dead animals, as an effort to teach us how to hunt. So with that in mind, your litten is doing one of two things:

  1. Giving you a birthday present by way of assuming you wish to have something extra special for your birthday.
  2. Operating under the assumption that you’re old enough to know how to hunt while at the same time finding it odd that you don’t.

In short, your litten is just trying to help. By telling you that you can’t hunt, and this is a shame.

bluefox4:

stemsynthillusionist:

Honestly though the most unrealistic thing about Ultra Beasts is that there aren’t huge internal debates within the Pokémon scientist community about how to reclassify non-human creatures.

“What the fuck are you guys even talking about there are literally no biological consistencies between Pokémon, we have everything from housecats to molecular jello to fucking sentient keychains, what does it even mean to say Ultra Beasts are a separate category of creature when Pokémon was never a coherent concept to begin with?!”

“You’re overthinking this. “Pokémon” is just our shorthand for “nonhuman.” Of course Ultra Beasts are Pokémon, everything nonhuman is. Therefore, the Ultra Recon Squad are also Pokémon.“

“Excuse you, but for a long time we have been able to make accurate descriptions of creature’s behavior by classifying them as Pokémon. If it fits in a pokeball, eats poffins, learns moves as expected, and even has the same type rules as the creatures on our planet, there is no reason not to call it a Pokémon”

“Bullshit. Ultra Beasts behaviors towards humans and wormholes are completely different than those of Pokémon, so we can define Ultra Beasts as a different set of behavioral traits.”

“You are all wrong. “Ultra Beast” is a term used to describe the origin of the creature. Pokémon live with us while Ultra Beasts came from beyond, there for they are a different thing”

“Wait but there *are* Pokémon from other planets and dimensions now”

“Exactly: we misclassified them. Clefairy, minior, lunatone, solrock, and similar creatures should properly be called Ultra Beasts”

“Fools. “Ultra Beasts” clearly only applies to extradimensional creatures, Pokémon were extraterrestrial from this planet in the first place. No, only Pokémon like Giratina should be reclassified as Ultra Beasts”

“Does the “spirit world” and other similar references count as a separate dimensional plane? Does this mean Ghost-Type is a type solely for Ultra Beasts?“

“Guys look you are missing the very important distinction between the two: aesthetic. Pokémon make you want to hug them with their cuteness, Ultra Beasts look like twisted abominations from someone’s nightmares. Therefore: we need to reclassify creatures based on how cute they are”

“Ultra Beasts are cute too what the hell are you talking about”

@bills-pokedex

Is this about what kind of chats happen at the Symposium?

This is precisely the kind of chats that happen at the Symposium.

so i took a trip to unova and caught a very sweet sandile who i named Zoro, who is now a krookodile. now, ive gotten all the necessary paperwork to take him to my home reigon of Hoenn, but i know how humid hoenn can be (i live just a bit away from fallarbor town). are there any precautions i should take before bringing Zoro home?

Not particularly. Unlike quite a few ground-types, krookodile can fare just as well in humid environments as in arid ones, so long as it has a sand pit to bury itself in during particularly humid days. Additionally, be sure to give yours a dry place to rest whenever it rains, and try to wait for a few hours after a rainstorm (for conditions to dry up) before sending him back outside again.

How do moves like Metronome work?

In my experience, quite well.

Edit: I have just been informed by my editor that I’m only allowed to make that joke once on this blog before “it stops being funny,” and therefore, I’m to offer an actual response to this question.

The truth of the matter is no one’s quite sure. The going theory is that those who use Metronome tap into some ancient gene (passed down from Mew, supposedly) that allows a pokémon to use any move in existence. This theory hinges on the idea that most elements and techniques are actually hard-coded into a pokémon’s DNA; it’s just that pokémon can’t use just any move in existence due to the physical limitations they’ve gained through adaptation and the slow, progressive sort of evolution. However, Metronome allows a pokémon to override these blocks and call upon elements and techniques just once, at random.

The other theory, which is slightly less popular (although it makes somewhat more sense to me, personally), is that the pokémon doesn’t call upon a random technique but rather the move itself does. That is, the user merely conjures an untamed sort of energy that manifests into a random move, occasionally even puppeteering its own user in order to do so. This explains why a pokémon is often incapable of remembering how to use whatever came out of Metronome until they attempt the Metronome technique again (and sometimes not even then).

My shiny Swellow recently laid a clutch of 4 eggs, and they hatched a couple of days ago. One of the Taillow actually hatched shiny too and it appears she’s paying more attention to this chick than the rest. Is this because of its colour being the same as hers or could there perhaps be another reason?

Not so much because the chick’s color is the same as hers, anonymous, as it is because shiny pokémon have a decreased likelihood to survive. Most shinies are easier to spot than their standard-colored counterparts, as their coloration stands out as something new and different, rather than something a predator might have seen more than a few times. (Alternatively, yes, some colors can stand out in that they render a pokémon incapable of blending in with their environment, and this is true for a shiny taillow as well.) As such, your swellow is likely grooming her shiny chick a little more than the others to ensure its survival outside the nest. It’s really only worrisome if the mother is completely ignoring the rest of her brood altogether.

Are there actual laws *against* carrying more than six pokemon at a time, or just against using them in battles and the like? I’ve always viewed my pokemon as some of my best friends, and I hate the idea of leaving them for long expanses of time while I go gallivanting around with someone new. The belts I’ve seen only have six holders, so I’ve been carrying everyone’s pokeballs around in my backpack… will I get in trouble for this?

Not necessarily, but yes, you won’t be able to enter any league battles unless you select six to carry with you, and if you have a trainer’s license (this also applies to those registered as any of a number of trainer off-shoots, such as coordinators), there are League-enforced rules and regulations on team limits you’ll be forced to follow. Of course, if you have a trainer’s license, you’ll also have a storage system account, so the six-pokémon limit will be enforced automatically anyway.

That aside, though, even outside of League rules, it’s actually highly discouraged to carry a large number of pokémon at once. This is because the more you carry, the more difficult it is to give a pokémon the care they need. Additionally, there are certain environmental laws in place that limit the amount of impact a trainer may have on a location. For example, some parts of Alola are protected areas, which means that while trainers are welcome there, there are strict rules in place that basically state that they must leave the area (jungle, national park, wilds, and so forth) as they found it. Or in other words, you wouldn’t be able to release all your pokémon at once to feed them, as this would be considered a disruption to the natural landscape. 

However, if you weren’t traveling and if you had a home of your own, this would of course be a non-issue, and so long as you can take care of all your pokémon in a humane way, there are no laws restricting the number you can have. Note of caution, however: There have been many cases of pokémon hoarders, particularly those who treat their pokémon as objects, neglect them, or raise them in fantastically unhealthy living conditions. In these cases, yes, it’s possible to have pokémon be taken away from you, but we’re assuming you’re capable of taking care of your pokémon in a humane manner here.

In short, not necessarily in legal trouble, no (although you may be in trouble for related reasons in the case of environmental and pokémon welfare laws), but all in all, it would be safer to leave your pokémon at home, to stay home with your pokémon, or to store them in the system.

So how are non-damaging given a type?

All moves are categorized not by the offensive effects they have on other pokémon but rather on the element they apparently are aligned with. All moves, regardless of whether or not they do damage, resonate with a certain elemental energy that can be either observed outright or measured through any of an array of sensitive lab equipment, such as the elementometer (a device geared specifically towards sampling and breaking down a move’s resonant energies into types). A researcher just needs to get close enough to the move in use to take samples or record data, and the rest is fairly standard procedure from there.

Pokémon prey on each other in the wild. Would it be a problem if I had both predator and prey Pokémon within the same team? They seem to display certain levels of animosity.

So long as they’re well-trained and well-fed, no, not at all. Predator and prey pokémon typically have no trouble getting along on the same team so long as they understand that their minimum needs will be met and that they’re meant to work together as a team.

Of course, keep in mind that you will need to actively teach your pokémon both of these things, as we’re talking about a behavior modification. You will essentially need to train your pokémon to understand that they’re no longer in the wild, and this can be as easy as establishing and following a routine. Feed your pokémon every day at the exact same time so they can know that they have a daily source of food, and the rest should be easy.

Granted, should your pokémon display animosity towards each other anyway, even after you train them to know when they’ll be fed, you’ll need to consider it a form of interpersonal hostility, determine the exact source of your pokémon’s disagreements, and work towards making both sides feel more relaxed towards one another. The tips outlined in this post should provide further help in that matter: http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/post/165308388176/my-umbreon-and-charizard-will-not-stop-arguing

Bill, my daughter has always loved ghost-type pokemon, and now that she’s turned eight my wife thinks we should get her one. She won’t be going on her pokemon journey yet, but we thought this would be a good way to introduce her to taking care of her own pokemon. However, I’ve heard that ghost-types, as a whole, don’t tend to be very good around kids. Is this a misconception? And which pokemon would you recommend we get her?

At the risk of being blunt, it is indeed a misconception. While some ghost-types are more difficult to control than others (spiritomb, for example), most ghost-types can be very docile in the hands of someone willing to give them proper attention. Moreover, while it’s true that a ghost-type’s abilities can be rather dangerous, the truth of the matter is this isn’t unique to the ghost-type. All pokémon are gifted with fantastic powers that can be highly destructive or even deadly if handled recklessly, but most pokémon are fully capable of controlling these abilities. It’s only when a trainer forces a pokémon to use its powers recklessly or when a trainer fails to respect a pokémon as a living being that pokémon become threats.

In other words, seeing as your daughter loves ghost-types, I have no doubt she’ll be safe in the company of them. It’s usually those who adore particular pokémon or types who can see the beauty in them and thus know how best to respect them.

That having been said, it depends on where you are and what your daughter would like. Start off by asking her which one is her favorite, and consider getting her the most basic form of that pokémon’s evolutionary line. If she has no preference, allow me to share a few notes on the matter:

  • Many ghost-type enthusiasts start with gastly, as these tend to be the hardiest and most readily available ghost-types in existence. (They live in practically every region except Unova and Hoenn, and they’re far more common than even native species of ghosts.) However, they can be tricky to handle, not because of their capricious natures or poison-typing but instead because they don’t learn especially powerful moves until they evolve. Not to mention they’re famously difficult to evolve into their final forms as well.
  • If your daughter is interested in ghost-types that also share elements with traditional starters, litwick and frillish are both exceptional choices for fire and water, respectively. At their most advanced stages, litwick (or chandelure, rather) possesses formidable offensive power that pairs well with its particular battling style, and frillish (jellicent) grows to be fantastically resilient, especially given either of its potential hidden abilities.
  • As for a grass analogue, pumpkaboo may be the better choice (over phantump), especially if you can obtain one of the “super-size” varieties. This is largely due to the fact that pumpkaboo—particularly at that size—is all-around faster and more defensively capable than phantump … and also partly because of, well, what phantump likely is. However, either way, remember that both pumpkaboo and phantump are difficult to evolve, so if your daughter wishes to train either of these, she should be aware that the road ahead of her may be difficult than that of most trainers.
  • As an alternative, rowlet may not be a ghost-type, but it eventually evolves into one. Never rule out pokémon that evolve into ghosts just because they don’t start out as one, as that may exclude several potentially excellent partners, such as froslass and Alolan marowak.
  • If your daughter is interested in more unconventional ghost-types, or if she’s more interested in personality than in type or battle capabilities, golett, being automaton pokémon, are naturally loyal to humans, or at least possess more of an affinity for them. They’re also fairly easy to care for, as they don’t need much more than food, a bit of liquid (but not much at all, given that it’s made of clay), and weekly grooming by way of polishing.
  • Honedge is likewise more docile than most ghost-types as well as resilient (being part steel), but it’s important to note that the warnings concerning its hilt are true and that honedge can easily be a bad choice for a starter if your daughter is particularly curious.
  • Sableye is just as easy to care for as golett (its needs consist of water, a plentiful source of rocks, and dark spaces), but as it prefers a quiet life in the darkness of a cave, it may be a bit of a handful for a novice trainer unless the sableye in question is one of the more docile varieties (or unless your daughter befriends it quickly by giving it particularly valuable rocks to eat).
  • Finally, as ghastly as it may sound (forgive the pun), yamask are also excellent partners for new trainers. Their needs tend to be simple (food, water, and a place to sleep, as with golett and sableye), and like golett, many tend to be loyal and friendly. However, it’s said that yamask are actually incarnations of deceased humans, so in some communities, it may be … not exactly taboo as it is awkward. And even if you don’t believe in the idea that yamask are the returned departed, that they all have complex personalities, and it’s vitally important that you make sure you find a trustworthy, actually friendly yamask to give to your daughter.

Best of luck on your daughter’s journey, anonymous!