Sinnoh Legendaries, Part V

Regigigas
The Colossal Pokémon
Type: Normal
Official Registration #: 486
Entry: According to legend, Regigigas was the master and creator of the legendaries Regice, Regirock, and Registeel. It created these golems out of mountains of ice, rocks and clay, and magma, respectively, then—using their help and sturdy rope—towed entire continents across the surface of the planet to their present-day locations. If this sounds at all incredible to you, just keep in mind that Regigigas’s special, passive ability forces it to start slowly and gradually work its way towards being productive … much like how many of us are not at all morning people.

I have a service animal Sylveon, and because hes so cute and pink people think they can just come up and pet him. this makes him very uncomfortable because hes working to ensure i am safe and not near panic when we are out. he wears the vest saying “service animal” and everything. what do i do?

Sadly, this is a common problem for those with “cute” service pokémon, as not many people understand the fact that touching service pokémon may distract them from the very real, very important job they need to be doing. Until able-bodied people fully understand what service pokémon do and what it takes to be one, this will continue to be an issue, I’m afraid.

The best that you can do is, if you have the energy to do so, educate people who try to approach by informing them that your sylveon needs to concentrate on his task and that touching him will interrupt his concentration. Some people might not even understand then, but if that’s the case, then it’s best to deescalate the situation as much as possible or remove yourself (and your sylveon) quickly.

It may also help to have a friend along on days when you don’t feel up to explaining your sylveon’s purpose if you can. That way, you may have someone who can offer the explanation for you—or at least protect you from the more persistent individuals.

I apologize that this isn’t quite as helpful as you may have hoped, anonymous. Unfortunately, sensitivity towards the disabled is a concept that isn’t quite as widespread as it should be yet, and there are a lot of people in the world who simply don’t know how dangerous it can be to touch or otherwise interrupt a service pokémon. For this reason, it can be a bit tricky because these same people may not understand what their actions may do, especially when pet pokémon or pokémon that are otherwise okay to touch are so commonplace most humans who see a sylveon automatically think it’s a pet and therefore fine to touch, rather than assuming they should ask for permission first (and then listen if and when their humans say no). By attempting to educate those who approach you and try to touch your sylveon, there’s a chance you can defuse the situation before it happens—or at least give yourself a reasonable excuse for removing yourself from the situation.

And yes, it is rather unreasonable to ask someone (or their companion) to educate when approached, but that’s quite possibly the safest or more peaceful means of dealing with someone who has actually stopped in front of you and is currently reaching for your sylveon. Simply confronting them will make the situation worse, and if your sylveon is wearing an obvious service pokémon vest, you’ve done the best you can to offer prior warning before they approach.

Best of luck, anonymous.

Sinnoh Legendaries, Part IV

Uxie
The Knowledge Pokémon
Type: Psychic
Official Registration #: 480
Entry: According to Sinnohan lore, Uxie is the legendary guardian of Lake Acuity, the pixie of knowledge, and the being who gifted humanity with the ability to think. The latter is its main legacy; most stories regarding Uxie talk about how it flew across the land and how those humans it passed suddenly gained the ability to solve problems and improve their lives, independent of their pokémon companions. Of course, while it’s true that humanity as a whole has shown rich amounts of aptitude to do just this, whether or not Uxie had accidentally missed a few individuals here or there is still a matter of debate.

Mesprit
The Emotion Pokémon
Type: Psychic
Official Registration #: 481
Entry: According to Sinnohan lore, Mesprit is the legendary guardian of Lake Verity, the pixie of emotion, and the being who gifted humanity with the ability to feel. As it flew across the region, it taught the humans it encountered how to feel hope, love, sadness, joy, pain, and sorrow—all the things that are necessary for understanding the gift of life. Humans, in turn, promptly used its newfound gifts to create schadenfreude, politics, and war. Because you just can’t give humanity nice, noble things, apparently.

Azelf
The Willpower Pokémon
Type: Psychic
Official Registration #: 482
Entry: According to Sinnohan lore, Azelf is the legendary guardian of Lake Valor, the pixie of willpower, and the being who gifted humanity with the determination and strength to go through life. Some argue that Azelf was the most important pixie of all, as with knowledge and emotion but without determination, humanity would see no point in using their gifts of intelligence and compassion to make the world a better place. Just remember that, readers—it was not simply Uxie and Mesprit who came to us but Azelf as well, and as such, no matter what happens or what we think of ourselves or even what others think of us, we have Azelf’s gift of strength inside us all.

(And you thought the author was about to end this entry with something far more dismal, didn’t you?)

Completely, totally innocent question because I am curious. Are pokemon affected by alcohol in any way. This is for science.

Yes. For some smaller pokémon, alcohol is literal poison, so I would not recommend giving them any. It’s also completely lethal to fire- and electric-types, as it interacts badly with their internal fire and electric sacs.

Meanwhile, alcohol has similar affects on larger and more humanoid pokémon as it does on humans, but I wouldn’t recommend this either, as a drunk pokémon’s abilities may have adverse affects on the human body.

In other words, please don’t get your pokémon drunk, anonymous.

How often are starter pokemon given out? I assume when the professor runs out you cant just try again tomorrow. Is it like every month? Also, do they carry more of each type every time or is it strictly limited to one of each (like 3 bulbsaur, 3 charmander, 3 squirtle?)

It often depends on the source. Some sources give them out all year long, with new starters available nearly daily. These are sources who give out more common pokémon that are easily obtainable throughout a given region.

However, professors are special cases, as regional ones often give out a set of three starters (one grass, one fire, and one water) designated as “official starters” by the Pokémon Association. These may only be given out once a month, largely because it takes time for a breeder to obtain and hatch eggs of each species, as well as ensure that each hatchling is suitable for battle.

In rare cases, a professor may give out something other than their usual three starters, but usually, these are fantastically unusual circumstances. For example, Professor Oak once gave a boy from Pallet Town a pikachu that was extracted from someone’s home and scheduled to be released into Viridian Forest, but due to the rather … unique case of the boy, it was given to him as a starter instead.

I was wondering, what does Cubone look like without their mother’s skull? I’m assuming that not all Cubone inherit their mother’s skulls (particularly those breed in captivity since the breeders probably don’t kill the mothers so that the Cubone can have a skull). Are breed Cubone given a fake skull to wear?

That’s pretty much it, anonymous. In captivity, because real marowak skulls are considered to be inhumane, breeders simply give newborn cubone helmets made of synthetic bone, based on a generic cast available to all ground-type and cubone-specific breeders. This must be done because an actual cubone’s head is very soft at birth—almost soft as a human’s head—and because pokémon are often battle-ready at birth, not offering the cubone protection may be leaving it prone to brain damage.

For those curious, in the wild, the act of laying an egg and raising it to the point where it’s ready to hatch marks the end of a marowak’s lifecycle. Oftentimes, laying an egg itself severely weakens the marowak, and because male marowak are focus on protecting the female, the female marowak is left to protect the egg. Hatching, then, often distracts one parent or the other from their task, allowing one of marowak’s many predators to come in and kill the distracted parent. If neither parent is killed, then one parent—usually the mother—sacrifices itself to give their child a bone helmet.

As for what they look like underneath, they’re basically lizards, anonymous. Think of a tiny, orange, slightly rounder charizard head, and you’ll have a cubone.

I think my umbreon is afraid of the dark? During nightfall she clings to my side and sometimes whimpers. Her circular lights shine, but it doesn’t seem to help her. Instead of roughing it, I’ve been taking her to Pokémon centers so she doesn’t have to be afraid, and I keep a little nightlight for her so she doesn’t have to rely on her own lights. What can I do to help her with her fears?

Stay with her. Sometimes, if your umbreon is newly evolved, it may take her a bit of time to adjust to the darkness because she herself is adjusting to the dark element within her, not to put it dramatically. She may even outgrow the fear over time on her own.

In the meantime, you can help her conserve energy by investing in a nightlight or lantern with adjustable brightness. Start the first few nights at the maximum brightness until she feels comfortable, then keep it on until she falls asleep. After a few nights, start off with the brightest setting, then slowly adjust it down a little bit. The next night, turn on the light and adjust it so that it reaches the amount of brightness you had achieved the previous night, then adjust it downward again. Keep going until your umbreon can tolerate having the light on at its dimmest setting. Then, the next night, don’t turn it on.

You can do this either in a pokémon center or in the outdoors, but I would recommend doing it in a pokémon center until she can get used to the darkness inside a building. Then, take her outside and repeat the process.

Additionally, do relaxation exercises with her before bed. Have her sit beside you and meditate. This can also help her control her inner darkness and hone her abilities until she feels more comfortable with them. Also, communicate with her during the day and at sunset to ask her what about the dark is so frightening. Although she might not be able to respond to you as children do, the act of asking her will allow her to think about it during meditation and face her fears on a psychological level.

Of course, don’t assume it’s not a valid concern, either. By asking her, she may be able to point out a clear danger as well. If you have a pokémon that can use Foresight, it may be a good idea to have that pokémon use it: if the technique doesn’t reveal any immediate dangers, it can at least put your umbreon’s mind at rest.

In short, helping any pokémon overcome their fears takes a bit of patience, anonymous, but in your case, it will take plenty of meditation and communication if it doesn’t simply resolve itself. Best of luck.

My altaria and flygon have been fighting a lot recently since flygon evolved. Before I used to fly primarily on alratia but since I’ve been training my flygon I’ve been taking Him more often… im really worried one of them is going to get seriously injured. What do I do?

Ah, therein lies the problem, anonymous. Any time you shift attention from one pokémon to another, especially if you don’t explain the situation beforehand, you risk instilling a sense of jealousy in one of them. Yes, this happens even if the jealous pokémon is one of the nicest, most selfless you’ve ever worked with or if the jealous pokémon had been close friends with the one you’re affording more attention to.

With that in mind, in order to rectify the situation, you need to do two things. First, you need to explain clearly to your pokémon (both of them) that you’re not replacing either of them. You’re simply redistributing tasks. Of course, it’s also important that you offer this explanation without implying that your flygon is simply better suited to flight than your altaria. Otherwise, you risk provoking your altaria to “prove” that it’s just as capable of a flyer (by fighting your flygon again).

The second task will help you avoid this implication. What you need to do is, quite simply, spend more time with your altaria. Find something that it does best and work with it every day. Spend a little more time training it. Do everything you can to make it feel important to you or to make it feel as if you’re spending an equal amount of time with it as you do with your flygon. The more effort you put forth to make your altaria feel like a part of your team, the more your altaria can rest easy that its place hasn’t been taken by flygon. And thus, once you figure that part out, it will be less likely to instigate fights with its partner.

Likewise, your flygon may also be less likely to display dominance over your altaria, but I would also keep an eye on him and reassure him that your altaria is not a threat too.

Best of luck, anonymous.

Sinnoh Legendaries: Part III

Manaphy
The Seafaring Pokémon
Type: Water
Official Registration #: 490
Entry: According to Sinnoh lore, this small, sea angel-like pokémon is the legendary Prince of the Sea. Unlike other legendaries associated with the sea (specifically Kyogre and Lugia), it does not control the sea itself, nor does it control the storms above it or channels within it. Rather, its fantastic power—which it possesses at birth—allows it to bond with and communicate with all sea life, from the tiniest plankton to the massive, unfathomable creatures dwelling in the ocean’s darkest depths. Oftentimes, fans of legendary pokémon mock Manaphy and call it the most useless pokémon in a superhero fight, but let it be known that sea life includes both Kyogre and Lugia, so honestly, stop making fun of Waterman, comic book message boards on the internet.

Phione
The Sea Drifter Pokémon
Type: Water
Official Registration #: 489
Entry: According to Sinnoh lore, this small, sea angel-like pokémon is born from a Manaphy when mated with a ditto. How we know this—considering the fact that Manaphy is a mythical pokémon only rumored to exist and considering the fact that ditto are not native to the sea, never mind the other thousands of questions we have about phione—the author can’t say.

How many nights can you stay at the Pokémon center? Do they kick you out after a certain period of time? Do they feed trainers? Can you have your Pokémon out within rooms? Do they have accommodations for larger Pokémon? Or Pokémon with health issues? Do they have beds designed for specific Pokémon?

All excellent questions!

To answer in order:

You can stay at a pokémon center up to a week. Because the free accommodations are for trainers, the clientele usually moves on after that period unless their pokémon are in need of more longterm care. If your pokémon are healthy, then yes, they will ask you to move on, but if you have a pokémon that isn’t yet healthy enough to continue on its journey with you, then you’re free to stay as long as you’d like. However, it’s also worth it to note that trainer culture is structured in a way that makes staying in one place a rather stigmatized concept. Most trainers don’t want to stay for longer than a week, which in turn means most Nurse Joys will sympathize with you if something prevents you from leaving. Many even give you the option of helping out around the center to earn your keep, as it were.

Additionally, you can only stay at a pokémon center if you’re a trainer. Anyone else, even researchers, are required to find other accommodations, even if their business in town is with the pokémon center.

Meals are complimentary to trainers (only) as well, but you only get two of them a day: breakfast and dinner. The cafeteria is open all day long for snacks and boxed lunches, of course, but beyond those the aforementioned two meals a day (or if you’re not a trainer), everything else requires you to pay.

Smaller pokémon—that is to say, pokémon that are no bigger than the average human—are allowed out in your room, but keep in mind the rooms are only as large as the average college dorm room. Most trainers prefer to keep their pokémon in their poké balls for this reason.

There are temporary outdoor accommodations for larger healthy pokémon such as courtyards, but because centers typically take up a finite amount of space and because of the high amount of trainers in the area, it’s highly recommended that you keep your pokémon in their poké balls unless you’re present to watch over them. Usually, you can let them out for feeding and exercise via training during the day, so it’s never really any trouble for a pokémon to stay in their devices for such a long period of time.

As for pokémon with immediate health problems (including larger pokémon), they usually stay in the clinic. The clinics take up most of a pokémon center’s grounds and interior space, and as such, there are plenty of beds for all pokémon, from the smallest to the largest. Pokémon may use these beds for as long as they need to heal.

For longer-term health issues such as pokémon diabetes, these pokémon usually stay with their trainers at all times. If the pokémon is on the larger side (such as a snorlax), then they’re typically kept in their poké balls until their trainers can use the courtyard or surrounding area for their daily care. If a pokémon has a condition that would require constant care, then these pokémon are likely not on trainer’s journeys anyway, and if they ever visit a pokémon center, it’s purely to use the clinic.

As for beds designed for specific pokémon, unfortunately, no. This is because having beds for each specific pokémon would take up far too much space, so instead, the beds are typically generic and capable of handling most pokémon that are human-sized or smaller. Larger pokémon are handled in larger observation rooms, on mats designed to handle heavy pokémon, if they aren’t simply treated in an outdoor space separate from the general courtyard.