I’m training in MMA, and I’ve been thinking of having a Fighting-type Pokémon train alongside me! Does that sound like a good idea? If so, what kind of Fighting-type Pokémon would be recommended for younger trainers (around 13 y.o.) in specific?

If you’re careful, it could be a good idea. More specifically, if you do this, be careful about which pokémon you choose. Quite a few fighting-types may be too eager or too rough for a human to train with, while some can tone it down (so to speak) to match the limits of their partners.

In particular, starters are very attuned to human partners and thus can adjust their power fairly easily. The downside, of course, is that no “official” starter line is part fighting in their most basic stages, so whichever you choose will need a bit of training before it can begin mastering fighting techniques. That said, of the three (technically four, if one counts chesnaught, although that requires more rigorous training than the others), the torchic line tends to be the most popular due to its flexible fighting style and the fact that it’s neither too fast to keep up with (as in the case of monferno and infernape) or nearly too bulky to train with (as with pignite and emboar). But really, any of them may make excellent choices.

Alternatively, if you can’t obtain a starter, machop tends to be both easy to obtain and easy-going in personality, and as such, it can make for a patient sparring partner. Meditite as well, particularly if you’re looking for a less aggressive approach. Members of the makuhita line are popular among fighters due to their bulk; they can take hits as well as show their human partners how to perform formidable punches of their own. Conversely, hawlucha and members of the riolu line are often sought-after as training partners due to their eagerness to train; it’s fairly easy to learn along with these pokémon as a result.

Whatever you choose, anonymous, always remember that training your pokémon is as important as training yourself. Be sure your pokémon understand your limitations and boundaries before engaging in any sort of training with a fighting-type.

Good luck, anonymous! Your journey sounds like it will be quite interesting, although I admit I don’t entirely know what MMA means exactly. I imagine it’s something like judo?

EDIT: After having discussed this entry with my editor, looked it up, discussed this entry again with my editor, and then discussed it with the lawyer who handles many of the issues surrounding my work, I am now obligated to add that I am not an expert in human sports or health and that neither I nor the editor are liable for whatever happens as a result of my advice concerning either of those particular subjects. I am also obligated to phrase that as “as a result of my advice, however ridiculously terrible it may be” for reasons I’ve been told I’m not allowed to question.

Kangaskhan

bills-pokedex:

Well. Now that that bit of unpleasantness has been cleared up, let’s continue with a pokémon that this writer has recently been reminded of for reasons that have nothing to do with the last actual entry.

Kangaskhan
The Parent Pokémon
Type: Normal
Official Registration #: 115
Entry: A kangaroo-like pokémon consisting of a mother creature and a separate, smaller baby, known within the pokémonology field as a “joey.” Much of the mother pokémon’s life revolves around caring for and violently defending her young, which she always carries in her front pouch. Curiously, this changes upon mega evolution, at which point the joey leaps from its mother’s pouch to be used as a partner in equally vicious hand-to-hand combat, which indicates that despite the fact that the mother kangaskhan will do anything to protect her joey, said child is actually fully capable of fighting and defending itself. Additionally, unlike other pokémon that are capable of mega evolution, kangaskhan does not undergo any physical transformations beyond the fact that her joey leaves her pouch to add its own power to her attacks. Thus, it is said by experts in evolutionary stones that kangaskhanite is not a true mega stone at all but rather a stone capable of shining a bright light that signals to the joey when to enter the fight. Despite this, kangaskhanite on the collectors’ market can fetch obscenely high prices, indicating the absolute brilliance of either human con artists or kangaskhan that know all too well that their trainers are gullible.

Mega Kangaskhan
The Parent Pokémon
Type: Normal
Official Registration #: 115+
Entry: The advanced form of kangaskhan, via kangaskhanite. Upon mega evolution, a kangaskhan joey leaps from its mother’s pouch to be used as a partner in equally vicious hand-to-hand combat, which indicates that despite the fact that the mother kangaskhan will do anything to protect her joey, said child is actually fully capable of fighting and defending itself. Additionally, unlike other pokémon that are capable of mega evolution, kangaskhan does not undergo any physical transformations beyond the fact that her joey leaves her pouch to add its own power to her attacks. Thus, it is said by experts in evolutionary stones that kangaskhanite is not a true mega stone at all but rather a stone capable of shining a bright light that signals to the joey when to enter the fight. Despite this, kangaskhanite on the collectors’ market can fetch obscenely high prices, indicating the absolute brilliance of either human con artists or kangaskhan that know all too well that their trainers are gullible.

You had a year off from these, Bill. A year. —LH

I know! Isn’t it impressive how much one’s sense of humor can improve with rest? —Bill

No. No to all of this. —LH

Bill, I’ve recently caught a Shiinotic. Do you have any tips on caring for him and making him as comfortable as possible?

Allow me to answer this for both morelull and shiinotic, as they’re both extremely similar in terms of needs.

The morelull is fairly easy to care for, but it’s also a bit of a challenge due to its behaviors. You see, both pokémon are strictly nocturnal. While it’s possible to train them during the day, they won’t thrive all that well unless you allow them to rest for at least part of the time that the sun is up. Some trainers find it easiest to train their morelull and shiinotic right at the early hours of the night (and then allow their mushrooms the rest of the time to do as they please), but others find it even easier to simply invert their own sleep patterns. Do whatever will be the most comfortable and convenient to you.

Beyond that, morelull and shiinotic need moist environments, preferably outdoors with a tree nearby. Give it a patch of moist soil underneath a tree in a yard if you can, but if you can’t, simply giving them a large pot with some herbs will do just as nicely. Shiinotic and morelull feed primarily by draining nutrients out of nearby plant matter, so it may be a bit of a challenge to keep enough plants on hand unless you have a yard. Otherwise, a shiinotic or morelull’s diet can be supplemented with kibble (so long as it’s soaked in water first) or overripe berries, but it’s still a good idea to give them a moist, dark place to rest during the day.

Both morelull and shiinotic aren’t that difficult to take care of beyond those two major points, as they’re easy-going pokémon that aren’t particularly demanding when it comes to enrichment or companions. Simply let them do their own thing during the night, and they’ll find ways to amuse themselves. However, in the morning, be sure to clean up your home or their enclosure. Vacuum or mop up—do not sweep—any glowing spores you come across. These aren’t exactly toxic to humans, but they are powerful sleep inducers and may lull new trainers to sleep within seconds. While you can build tolerance to your shiinotic’s spores over time, exposing yourself to his spores may still be an unpleasant experience, even then, and it certainly won’t be for guests. I would advise handling these spores while wearing a mask and gloves as well.

As for hygiene, just give a morelull or shiinotic a light spray with a water bottle every few days to clean off excess spores. Also do this while wearing gloves and a mask.

Other than that, as I’ve said, they’re rather easy to care for. Just be wary of their mischievous sides, as they are part-fairy.

Best of luck!

Audino

bills-pokedex:

Audino
The Hearing Pokémon
Type: Normal
Official Registration #: 531
Entry: A rabbit-like pokémon native to the fields of Unova. Audino possess not only sensitive ears but also specialized feelers for detecting sound, which in combination gift it with the most sensitive hearing in the pokémon kingdom. As such, audino are typically timid pokémon, but they also make great healers, not only because they have the ability to detect aliments and heartbeats by sound but also because they have a natural inclination towards wanting to cure others. It is thus one of the gentlest pokémon in existence as well as one of the most useful to both trainers and civilians alike … yet most of Unova know it as “the best punching bag to use if you really want to get your pokémon some battle experience.”

Mega Audino
The Hearing Pokémon
Type: Normal/Fairy
Official Registration #: 531+
Entry: The advanced form of audino, via audinite. Upon achieving mega evolution, audino gain a considerable boost in their defensive capabilities, a slight boost in one of their offensive capabilities, an affinity for the fairy element, and an insatiable thirst for vengeance towards humans who only valued them as target practice for their pokémon teams.

I assure you, they do not gain one of those things… —LH

You’re right. Their offensive capabilities don’t really get that much better after mega evolution. —Bill

Bill, for some reason when I just read the ask about Ditto making good parents I thought it was asking if Ditto would make a good parent for human children. So now I gotta ask, would a Ditto make a good parent for a human child? Could I have a Ditto babysit human children?

The thing with ditto is that because they’re pokémon and not humans, they don’t fully understand human needs or society. (Granted, there’s always a possibility that there’s a ditto out there who does, but those are very likely extremely, extremely rare. And there certainly hasn’t been any documented case of such … probably for good reason, but that’s a tangent.)

So would they make good parents? Not really, no. They can provide basic care, but it’s unlikely they’d be able to provide the emotional support and general wisdom a human needs growing up and learning how to navigate our part of the world.

As babysitters, however, yes, most ditto have some level of baseline judgment skills that would allow them to keep human children out of trouble for short periods of time. Some might even be better babysitters than humans.

(Granted, why people leave small children in the care of teenagers is beyond me. Some of them can barely take care of pokémon.)

Bill. Remind me again how old you were when you moved out to the middle of nowhere on your own and became the storage system administrator of two heavily populated regions? —LH

Yes, but let’s be perfectly honest with each other, Lanette. Would you trust me with small, human children? —Bill

Fair point. —LH

Hello, everyone!

Thank you so much for your patience while Bill and I worked on clearing the ask backlog. We have just a few more asks to get through before it’s completely empty, but before we get there, we would like to share some exciting news.

If you haven’t already noticed thanks to tonight’s special entry, the Pokédex has notably been … lacking in a few key entries. These include mega evolutions, Alola forms, and recently discovered Alolan pokémon. Because we can’t have a full pokédex without these entries, Bill will be going back through and adding them daily. (Or, well, as near to daily as our schedules allow.)

In addition, there will be a minor delay before the askbox is reopened (as we prepare one last thing to help us out with content), but the askbox will finally, definitely be opened back up by the end of the month. We’ll make a second announcement when we’re almost ready, but until then, be sure to check the tags as you get your questions ready!

—LH

The Ralts Line

bills-pokedex:

As an apology for our delay in both the response to the last question and our entries as a whole, please accept this special, extra entry for the day. Thank you for your patience. —LH

Ralts
The Feeling Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Official Registration #: 280
Entry: A childlike pokémon native to the quieter forests of Hoenn. Because of its ability to sense the emotions of others, it typically avoids contact with anything that is not of the ralts line and is, therefore, extremely rare and difficult to find. However, because of its timidity, its soft but cute cry, and its eagerness to please others (in order to neutralize any negativity that surrounds it), it is also a popular pokémon among children and young adults … which very likely does absolutely nothing to alleviate ralts’s aversion to drama and high doses of extreme emotion.

Kirlia
The Emotion Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Official Registration #: 281
Entry: The evolved form of ralts, by battle experience. Although kirlia possesses more mastery over its psychic abilities than its predecessor, it is still prone to being highly affected by the emotions of its trainer. For example, trainers who experience incredible emotions of joy or pride may cause their kirlia to dance with happiness. Trainers suffering through negative emotions will find that their kirlia has become lethargic and depressed. And trainers in the vicinity of other humans they find incredibly attractive will cause their kirlia to ███████

Really, Bill? Really? —LH

Gardevoir
The Embrace Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Official Registration #: 282
Entry: The evolved form of kirlia, by battle experience. Only the strongest trainers who form the closest, most loving bonds with their kirlia may see their pokémon evolve to their final, natural forms. Thus, a gardevoir is born out of strong feelings of loyalty, so it stands to reason that gardevoir in general are inherently extremely protective of their trainers. This is true; all observable tamed gardevoir have been known to go to extreme lengths to protect their trainers from any potential threat. Unfortunately for most people, “extreme lengths” may include creating a miniature black hole, and “potential threat” may include literally anyone within five feet of their trainers.

Gallade
The Blade Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Fighting
Official Registration #: 475
Entry: The evolved form of male kirlia, by exposure to dawn stone. Although its sibling evolution results from the incredible bonds formed between a kirlia and another being, this does not mean gallade do not experience similarly intense urges to protect their trainers and loved ones. If anything, their ability to sense the emotions of potential foes, combined with the drive to battle inherent in all fighting-types and extreme fondness for using the swords hidden in their forearms, make them even more gung-ho about protecting the people and pokémon they value the most. Therefore, trainers should be extremely wary about teaching their gallade to attack only on command, rather than any time they sense danger. Well-meaning researchers who intend to give gallade to sisters with questionable tastes in men, however, are free to teach their pokémon whatever they wish.

They aren’t, but good try. —LH

Mega Gardevoir
The Embrace Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Official Registration #: 282+
Entry: The advanced form of gardevoir, with gardevoirite. Due to this pokémon’s bridal appearance and strong associations with emotion, it’s said that those who manage to mega-evolve their gardevoir in tandem with a partner’s gallade are destined for one another. Unfortunately, the author has yet to verify these claims, as the only person he knows with a member of the ralts line has been a less-than-willing subject.

I’m not evolving my kirlia until he’s ready, just because you want to test the validity of old wives’ tales! Also, you don’t even have a gallade! —LH

Mega Gallade
The Blade Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Fighting
Official Registration #: 475+
Entry: The advanced form of gallade, with galladite. Due to this pokémon’s noble, swordsman-like appearance and strong associations with protection, it’s said that those who manage to mega-evolve their gallade in tandem with a partner’s gardevoir are their partner’s destined protector. Unfortunately, the author has yet to verify these claims, as the only person he knows who could secure a galladite for testing has been forbidden (by the editor of this blog) from selling evolution stones of any sort to him without the reassurance that it’s not for science.

Stop telling Steven you’ve gotten my permission too! —LH

I recently got out of a very abusive relationship and have physical and emotional scars to show what I’ve been through. My absol went through similar issues due to my ex now has a very strong fear and anger of men and stands between me and any man that tries to get near me, will growl as a warning but I believe he won’t hesitate to attack if someone were to be near me. What can we both do to heal our emotional wounds?

Recovery will always take time, anonymous, including and especially for emotional wounds. It’s important, for both you and your absol, to take it slow and take it easy. It might also be an excellent idea to talk to someone—Nurse Joys can provide such a service for both you and your partner if need be, if not suggest someone else who can.

In the meantime, outside of professional help, form bonds with others. Seek out a support group (both in literal terms and in the sense of a solid base of friends or family) who can help rebuild both your and your absol’s trust in humans in general. Once that trust is rebuilt, you may be able to move on and work on getting comfortable with men again, but again, don’t rush too much. It’s not unusual for some hurt to linger well past traumatic events, and pushing yourself when you’re not ready may open up old wounds.

If, however, you mean what should you do if your absol tries to attack a man on the street, again, training is of the utmost importance. As difficult as this may be, teach your absol the difference between a threat and a non-threat. Have him learn how to trust his instincts again too. His abilities are his best means of figuring out what is and isn’t a danger to you, but he’s become so fixated on what has already happened (perhaps through his guilt of being unable to prevent it) that he seems to be relying on the past as his means of judgment, not his ability to read the future. Speaking with a professional, comforting him, and retraining him, in combination, should be able to help him heal enough to learn how to use his species’ inherent powers again.

Best of luck, anonymous!

Hey Bill: I was reading my Pokedex on Aerodactyl, and Mega Aerodactyl, and then I read your entry about it, and other fossils and I noticed you didn’t have any information about Mega Aerodactyl. Are what scientist say about Mega Aerodactyl being it’s true appearance a widely accepted thing, and does it have any truth in it? I am extremely interested in this flying fossil friend and/or foe.

Ah yes. I should get to those mega evolution entries someday.

[Yes. Yes, you should. As you’ve said more than a year ago. —LH

Patience, Lanette. Good things take time to produce. —Bill

You designed the storage system in a month. —LH

…touché. —Bill]

On a serious note, anonymous, that’s actually a point of contention within the scientific community. Some scholars say that mega aerodactyl is what the species had looked like in ancient times, yes, but others say there’s actually no fossilized evidence that this is the case. If you look at the rock surrounding an aerodactyl fossil, the type of stone surrounding the skeletal structure is often uniform in nature, meaning the stone protrusions the pokédex claims were originally there are, well, not. Moreover, aerodactyl is traditionally revived through samples of old amber, which preserves the structure of tissue much better than fossilization does (for, well, obvious reasons included in the definition of “fossilization” itself). Yet no sample of old amber exists with any such stone fragment, not even in the famous sample of old amber found recently that successfully preserved a considerable amount of ancient aerodactyl tail. For that reason, I’m personally skeptical about the pokédex entries myself, as much as it pains me to admit that I disagree with reports vetted by a distinguished member of the Pokémon Symposium.

As for whether or not mega aerodactyl’s violence can be attributed to the strain its physical form places on it, I’m admittedly just as skeptical. It’s uncommon but not unusual for a pokémon to undergo some level of personality change when mega evolving, just as they do when simply evolving, and aerodactyl is a notoriously difficult to tame pokémon to begin with. It’s likely that the violence mega aerodactyl displays is merely the result of the freedom it gets from its boost in power, rather than specifically due to the form it’s forced to take or the process itself.

so i have feelings for my best friend, and i often have romantic dreams about him… well my musharna has been taking my dreams and trying to broadcast them to him! i manage to stop her before he sees visions of us kissing, but this is so embarrassing. i know she means well and wants him to know how i feel so i can be happy, but how can i get her to understand i need to take this at my own pace?

Communication is key here, anonymous. It’s important to set boundaries with your musharna and make it clear that although you appreciate your help, you don’t feel comfortable with her sharing your most intimate thoughts with another person. It may help to visualize with the utmost clarity what you think would happen if your best friend were to see these visions so she can see your viewpoint in terms she understands.

Additionally, consider confiding in your musharna more often. She may be attempting to make herself “useful” by connecting you to your best friend, but if you give her another purpose, such as talking to her about your feelings whenever you can, she may feel less inclined to act on her own in order to make you happy.

Best of luck, anonymous!