My Eevee recently evolved into a Flareon without my permission. (I don’t even know where he found a Fire stone) How do you care for a flareon without him burning down my house? I’ve never had a fire-type before.

Ah yes. Eevee can be quite tricky like that, especially if they’re particularly keen on one of their evolved forms.

That having been said, caring for a flareon is rather straightforward, anonymous. Use the exact same techniques as you had when your flareon was an eevee, just with minor alterations. For one, you will likely need more of everything: more food, more time spent training, larger toys, and so forth. Your eevee has spontaneously grown from a precocious, foot-tall ball of fur to an equally precocious, three-feet-tall ball of fur, and thus, you’ll want to accommodate accordingly.

The other change you’ll need to make is, of course, fireproofing everything. You may need to keep your flareon outside for the first few weeks. As eevee are not fire-types, yours has likely never wielded fire before now and will likely need some time to learn how. Giving him a safe environment away from your valuables and flammables would be the best way to do this. Just be sure that this safe area might also be shielded from the rain. (Perhaps consider giving him a place on a sheltered porch or building a specialized dog house on stilts or a platform to keep him out of the rain and away from yard flooding during rain.) Once he shows a reasonable amount of control over his new abilities, reintroduce him to your home carefully, but consider investing in fireproofing sheets (specialized, plastic-like sheets for new pet fire-type owners) to cover your furniture.

Best of luck, anonymous!

When my pikachu evolved from pichu, it’s electric sacks on its cheeks stayed pink instead of turning red. I’ve taken him to the Pokémon center and he has a clean bill of health. Is this occurrence common?

Absolutely. While all pokémon have a common coloration, an individual specimen’s coat, pelt, or so forth can actually vary wildly from the standard. And that’s not even referring to “shiny” pokémon or albino or melanistic ones. The variation can be as minor as a pikachu’s cheeks being the wrong shade.

So yes, anonymous, what your pikachu is displaying is actually a common occurrence, albeit not quite as common of one as the completely standard red-cheeked pikachu.

Do Fossil Pokemon need any particular help adjusting to modern life? I plan on raising a Kabutops and I want to make sure s/he will be able to live comfortably and not be freaked out by the dramatic change of scenery by being dead for 300 million years.

Generally, no. So long as you can approximate their diet and living conditions, they should get along well. For example, feed your kabutops meat, offer a pool of warm water for swimming, keep it well exercised and hydrated, and give it a solid surface on which it can sharpen its scythes, and it should thrive in your care.

Of course, there are a few cases in which it might be more of a struggle. For example, archen once ate a very specific fruit that is currently extinct. Some archen may be picky and not easily satisfied by anything but this fruit, which makes the species difficult to raise. However, there is a chance that you may be able to wean it onto a different fruit (persim berries are perhaps the closest fruit in taste, whereas belue is the closest in texture and look) without much of a problem.

Would a fossil fall victim to the culture shock of being brought back to life after 300 million years, however? No. Revived fossils rarely remember the prehistoric era they came from, and those that do are kept strictly for research purposes. Those given to the public, however, are born in this time period and thus are, for all intents and purposes, modern pokémon. They simply act on instinct regarding preferences on occasion.

Hi Bill! I was wondering how do Pokemon and Animals interact with each other both in captivity and in the wild. For example how would a house cat interact with a pet skitty? And what about a wolf verses a lycanroc or a deerling, and a regular deer? Could a regular wolf be able to hunt deerling, and sawsbuck as well as regular deer? Or would the pokemon’s elemental abilities overpower a wolf leaving only lycanroc to hunt them?

By and large, pokémon and animals get along reasonably well. I say “reasonably” because of course wild creatures may display hostility to one another, and it’s true that pokémon wield powers no animal can defend themselves against. Furthermore, unlike humans, pokémon gain no benefit from coexisting with animals, generally speaking, so one would assume that the two don’t cohabit.

Yet strangely … they do. Pokémon actually treat animals with caution for the most part, and while animals are a bit rarer than pokémon, pokémon ensure that there is some sort of niche left for animal wildlife. Sometimes, the two even work together, to build nests, to hunt, or generally to survive. For example, sometimes, wild poochyena will hunt alongside wild coyote to take down larger prey. On the other hand, wild pikachu will often defend rabbits from hawks or snakes, and sunkern will sometimes help squirrels find new sources of nuts. (Then again, with the latter example, that’s partly because squirrels will otherwise eat sunkern.) Even outside of woodland environments, you have corsola serving as homes for fish, rattata leading urban rats to food caches, and so on and so forth.

In the home, meanwhile, most pet pokémon will get along quite well with pet animals. It’s just that pokémon will often perceive themselves to be a step between their human owners and their animal companions. That is to say, pokémon will often view themselves as caretakers for cats, dogs, and so forth, even though they realize they’re only pets for humans themselves.

That relationship has offered a lot of insight into the pokémon kingdom’s relationship to both mankind and the rest of the animal kingdom, actually. By observing the way pet pokémon interact with animal pokémon, scientists were able to form the current going theory: that pokémon view themselves as custodians of nature, in a way. That is to say, because they’re more in-tune with nature than humans are, they take on a role in which they accommodate and work hand-in-hand with the other creatures sharing their world. For humans, that means battling alongside them and getting stronger. For animals, that means living in harmony with them.

Unless, of course, the animals happen to be prey or vice versa. Squirrels eat sunkern, pidgeotto eat worms, and so on and so forth.

My Torkoal is having trouble breathing fire lately; she’s sneezing a lot and producing a lot of nasty-smelling black smoke instead of the normal white steam. Is she sick? Any treatments you could recommend for her?

It does indeed sound like your torkoal has a cold, anonymous. For the most part, all you’ll need to do is ensure she gets plenty of rest. Additionally, although this might seem a little counterintuitive for a fire-type, give her warm fluids (such as soup) and be sure she sleeps in a warm, steam-filled room. (You can use a vaporizer to generate a steady stream of, well, steam.) If this sounds exactly like how you might treat a cold for a non-fire-type or even a human, that’s because … it is. Oftentimes, a cold will go away on its own; the body simply needs rest and enough fluids to keep one’s mucous membranes moist.

If your torkoal’s sneezing and congestion doesn’t clear up within a week, however, take her to a pokémon center. Your local nurse may prescribe antibiotics or other medications that may also help.

Best of luck, and may your torkoal get well soon, anonymous!

Would a Croagunk be good for a brand new trainer? (I’m a brand new trainer)

For the most part, yes! Croagunk are some of the more laid back fighting-types one can obtain, and thus, they’re also often some of the easiest fighting-types to teach and gain the trust of. Furthermore, many registered leagues start off with a rock-type gym, which can easily be conquered by a croagunk’s Mud-Slap (which it learns naturally) or arsenal of fighting-type moves (which it may learn early by inheriting the technique from a parent).

The only real challenge in caring for a croagunk is really in, well, caring for a croagunk. It’s not exactly challenging to do so, as croagunk have very simple needs, but they do generally need moisture 24/7. As in, their skin must be moist at all times, as they face an increased risk of infection or even heat exhaustion if they’re allowed to dry. Especially if the croagunk in question has the ability Dry Skin.

However, even this is easy to resolve. Simply carry around a spray bottle full of water and lightly spritz your croagunk whenever it looks dry or lethargic (well, more so than usual), and you will be fine.

Best of luck, @ronnoc32122!

Hey! I live in unova and apparently there’s a hurricane coming. My main partner is a castform and he seems to want to be outside all the time I’ve never seen him this eager. I’m afraid he might get hurt with the strong winds any tips on how to make him want to be indoors ?

First and foremost, my sincerest wishes for your safety, anonymous!

With that in mind, keeping a castform indoors is a common problem for castform trainers, but it’s an easy one to solve. Start off by covering up the windows (which you’ll likely do anyway for a hurricane) or moving your castform into a room without any windows to begin with. While castform can sense weather, they’re actually easily convinced to stay inside if they can’t see the weather outside. Reinforced this with distractions—toys, treats, and so forth. Keep your castform as occupied as possible at all times.

If all else fails, use its poké ball. Poké balls are designed for not only the capture and transport of pokémon but also the easy recall of them in dangerous situations. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using your castform’s if he seems agitated or liable to escape, even if you’ve taken measures to keep him inside.

Good luck, anonymous, and stay safe!

Help! I think my Absol is becoming homicidal! A few weeks ago, he slaughtered an opponents Pichu in a battle. Since then, he’s done the same to 4 other Pokémon, and the other day he attacked another trainer. I love my Absol, but I don’t know how to stop this behavior. What do I do?

Please excuse the highlighting. We forgot to close our search after we located these asks. —LH

Pokémon are rarely (practically never) aggressive for no reason, especially if they previously weren’t, readers. Before anything, it’s imperative to figure out why your pokémon are suddenly displaying the behaviors you’ve described, then work to correct the problem from the root. Observe your pokémon to see if you can find any possible triggers. Communicate with them if you can. Consider taking them to a pokémon center to see if their changes in behavior have physiological roots or to receive more personalized care.

Without knowing that root cause, it’s difficult to offer advice, as each of the possible causes come with wildly different solutions, including avoiding certain situations or places (if your pokémon are precognitive, as absol may be—or if they’re simply reading emotions in the case of gardevoir or remembering past traumas in the above ninetales’s case), more rigorous training (if it’s a simple behavioral problem in one or more of the above cases), or even antibiotics or surgery (if the problem is physical in nature). Thus, all I can say is consult your local pokémon center for treatment options, but also, be vigilant in your observations and keep your pokémon’s poké balls on hand at all times.

Lastly, of course, if your pokémon are suicidal, please also be as supportive as possible. Get them the help they need, yes, but also make sure they understand you care deeply for them and will do anything you can to help them.

Best of luck, everyone!

Bill, I need your help! I know my newly-hatched Snivy has a Lonely nature, but I think he’s a bit too clingy. He’s trying to be with me at all times. It was cute at first, but now it’s annoying. Do you know how awkward it is to try to use the restroom with those giant eyes looking at you?

Try having a house full of eevee do it.

On a serious note, anonymous, a lock on a bathroom door is a gift sent by Ho-oh for anyone raising baby pokémon.

Or for a more serious answer, eventually, it’s possible that your snivy will outgrow this tendency. In the meantime, try to give him a comfortable environment while at the same time training him to get used to moments without you. There are tips located here that may help: http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/search/separation

Overall, don’t forget that your snivy is still an infant, so it’s understandable that he will be a little clingy. It’s important for now that you try not to train him to expect contact with you at all times while balancing his needs as a baby pokémon.

Best of luck, anonymous!

Happy Two-Year Anniversary!

On this day in 2015, Bill and I began a blog to catalog every pokémon registered to the National Dex in Bill’s (often unfortunately chosen) words. Since then, we’ve gained quite a few followers and evolved into an advice blog in the process, and for that, we thank all of you. It’s incredibly fun to connect with all of you and to answer your questions, although we do apologize for how long it’s taken for us to clear our backlog.

With that in mind, though, partly in celebration of our two-year anniversary and partly to do exactly that (that is, clear our backlog), we will be answering as many questions as we possibly can today. The queue has been temporarily set to post fifty times between 1 am and 11 pm, and we hope to have that many questions stocked up for your enjoyment.

Thank you again for two wonderful years, and we hope you enjoy the ensuing avalanche of questions!

You know, Lanette, there are better ways of keeping me occupied on my birthday than this. —Bill

Let’s be honest with each other, Bill. What would you have done if I hadn’t asked you to clear the backlog? —LH

Important things! Things I can’t quite think of at the moment that certainly do not have anything to do with holing myself up in my laboratory and attempting to remix “Feel Good Inc.” using only rowlet cries. —Bill