hello mister!! i’m a bit concerned about my gengar, Noir. he hasn’t done anything wrong, no, but he’s super affectionate!! he loves giving hugs! the only problem is, well. he’s poisonous. i’ve been knocked out, at best, by the fumes he can give off! he’s a good pokémon… but how can i return the affection without fainting???

Over time, through exposure, you’ll build up tolerance to his poison, anonymous, so don’t worry. Of course, this will take quite a bit of time, so this may not sound so reassuring, I admit.

To avoid fainting now, keep pecha extract on hand. You can find pecha extract in organic food or supplement stores, but if not, antidotes contain pecha extract and will work just as well. Antidotes simply won’t smell as pleasant, which may or may not be an issue for the next step.

That being, of course, that you should soak a handkerchief with either pecha extract or antidote and then cover your nose with the handkerchief and breathe in every time you feel lightheaded around your gengar. This should keep you on your feet long enough to reciprocate.

My daughter will become a trainer soon, she adores dark types and wants one to be her starter, what dark type would you suggest for a beginning trainer?

It’s always an excellent idea to start off by asking the new trainer in question what their favorite pokémon are specifically and work from there. It’s possible that your daughter might already have a starter in mind, and it doesn’t hurt to indulge her if the starter in question is easy to obtain. She will, after all, be bonding with her starter under your supervision (for the most part), so even the rowdiest dark-types may be suitable starters, if she’s given enough time before the start of her journey.

The other consideration is, of course, where you live. Most dark-types are a bit difficult to obtain in certain regions (or at all), so your choices may be rather limited. For example, while sneasel is a perfectly viable starter in Johto, it’s extremely rare and difficult to obtain in Alola (and its ice typing and dislike of bright light mean it may not fare well in that region anyway), so I wouldn’t recommend even bothering to search for one, even if your daughter is rather keen on them.

With those two considerations in mind, I always like to recommend analogues to the traditional grass, fire, and water starters, as part of the reason why these types of pokémon are often given out as starters is because some combination of these stand the highest chance against the first gym of a circuit. With that in mind, houndour is actually a wonderful choice for a fire-type analogue, but quite honestly, it’s an excellent pokémon beyond that as well. Houndour are often loyal to their partners and incredibly intelligent to wit, and thus, they’re remarkably easy to train.

Beyond that, however, your daughter may need to have patience, as a number of excellent choices only become dark-types in their advanced stages of evolution. For example, litten and froakie are both traditional starters and thus ideal choices for beginning trainers, but the both of them are pure fire- and water-types (respectively) until evolution. Still, if you’re looking for both loyalty and either power or speed, you can ask for no better dark-types than incineroar and greninja.

Regarding partial grass-types, however, it’s a bit more of a challenge. Cacnea (which evolves into cacturne) is an excellent choice, of course, but cacturne may be a bit mischievous and difficult for a younger trainer to handle. On the other hand, the other grass-type option, nuzleaf and shiftry, are powerful, intelligent pokémon in their own right, but seedot (their base stage) is notoriously difficult to train due to its lack of powerful offensive moves at first.

Alternatively, if your daughter is less interested in the traditional trio and more interested in more unconventional choices, you may be interested in:

Pawniard is quite possibly the best choice, in my own opinion. Its disposition is often easy to work with (especially as they will often take orders from anyone who establishes themselves as an authority figure), and it will grow into a rather powerful companion with all the resistances and defensive capabilities of its steel-typing. However, bisharp (despite the loyalty it inherits from its pawniard stage) are a bit of a gamble. Some evolve and retain some semblance of their pawniard personality; others become quite cold and violent (towards an opponent, not their trainer). If your daughter chooses pawniard, she should be careful as she raises it.
Alolan meowth and Alolan rattata. Both are equally powerful and easy-to-train pokémon, which is why they’re often either starters for trainers beginning in Alola or otherwise among their first catches. However, outside of Alola, these pokémon may be difficult to obtain (as noted above), with meowth being easier to find than rattata. The same can also be said of purrloin, although replace “Alola” with “Unova” there. They are also even more fickle and mischievous than Alolan meowth, so your daughter will need to keep her guard up at all times until earning a purrloin starter’s trust and respect.
Sneasel is actually a rather popular choice in Johto, due to its speed, stealth, and intelligence. However, it’s also a fickle pokémon (meaning your daughter must work hard to earn its respect at first), and as noted above, it doesn’t fare well in tropical climates with an abundance of bright, sunny days.
Sableye tend to be a less popular choice, but they have a cult following of their own due to the ease in caring for them (simply give them a few rocks and some water, and they’ll be fine), the beauty of their jeweled skin, and their surprising stealth and power. However, they dislike bright sunlight even more than most other dark-types, so they’re also difficult to train without inverting one’s sleep cycle.
Scraggy are highly popular in Unova for their personalities, but it’s extremely important for your daughter to know that because they’re partial fighting-types, their natural moves consist only of techniques designed for close, physical combat. She will need to keep a particularly close eye on the state of her pokémon during battle if she chooses one of these.
Absol is an often sought-after pokémon for dark-type enthusiasts, and they’re exceptionally strong as starters as well. However, they’re also difficult to find, and in some cultures, they are quite literally omens of death and destruction.
Both sandile and stunky are equally excellent choices with few drawbacks (even in terms of personality). However, naturally, your daughter will want to be aware of stunky’s defensive stench.
If none of these interest her, eevee evolves into the dark-type umbreon. Just a thought.

Best of luck to your daughter, anonymous! May her journey be exciting!

I’m considering taking an extended trip to Alola. I currently live in Kalos, but I was wondering if the Alolan climate would be hard on my Banette? I want to bring him with me, but if it’s going to be painful for him, I’ll skip the vacation.

Not at all, actually! You see, Alola has a very similar climate to Hoenn, one of the banette species’ native ranges, so if anything, your banette may be right at home in Alola.

However, it’s important to note that like many other ghost-type pokémon, banette is nocturnal and may not fare so well in bright sunlight. Be sure to give yours plenty of shade to rest in or keep him in his poké ball until sundown.

Happy vacation, @fawcettforever!

Hi, Bill, I have a question regarding my Alolan Meowth. She’s not being very cooperative with me and sometimes, she’ll even scratch me. Is there something I can do to make her more docile?

Alolan meowth can be even more fickle and difficult to work with than standard meowth, as the Alolan breed are specifically domestic in nature (and thus more used to pampering). However, there are small steps you might be able to take to help you, anonymous.

First, if she attempts to scratch you, give her a firm “no.” Conversely, if she cooperates with you, be sure to reward her with a favored treat.

Second, get to know her a bit more. Rather than simply pet her, pay attention to her body language and understand that what may feel comfortable or pleasant to one meowth may not feel the same way to another. Figure out what works for your meowth and work with her to make her feel safe and comfortable with you.

Third and lastly, if all else fails, bribing usually works. Most Alolan meowth like shiny objects, so giving her a coin might temporarily satisfy her.

Best of luck, anonymous!

Hello, readers!

It’s been quite a while, and we thank you kindly for your patience.

In honor of Halloween (and to clear as many asks as possible from our drafts folder), we’ve decided to post 24+ of the most interesting asks concerning dark- or ghost-type pokémon we’ve yet to answer as a bit of a treat for bearing with us so far.

That’s a full day of dark- and ghost-type asks, so be sure to check our archive if you’ve missed any!

Thank you, and happy Halloween!

—LH

Bill, Houndoom have no ears. Is there any logical explanation for this?

They have ears. They’re located just under their horns, obscured by their dark fur.

What they don’t have are pinnae—or none that we would recognize, anyway. Their horns essentially function as pinnae for houndoom, and, in fact, the going theory is that these were actually evolved from houndoom’s pinnae millions of years ago, likely as an adaptation in response to their pack structure. Oftentimes, houndoom determine pack leaders (as well as hunting parties) by engaging in battles with one another. The strongest houndoom—that is, the ones who are victorious in these battles—are the ones who hunt for food and lead packs to new breeding grounds. Thus, it’s likely ancient houndoom developed their horns, as those with horns have an easier time defending their positions within houndoom packs than those without.

There’s a new trend in hoenn where people are using Pokémon like the roselia line to use sweet scent and other soothing moves to relax people before/during massages, as well as with Pokémon in rescue shelters to relax them for care. Is there any repercussion to this or are moves like this safe?

Actually, it’s quite safe, for both the Sweet Scent user and the target. If anything, it’s just as therapeutic for the user as it is for whatever they’re treating, as it’s a healthy outlet for their abilities. Think of it like exercise for a human being: it helps develop parts of the body while at the same time allowing them to release pent-up stress and maintain their psychological health.

As for the target, there’s no such thing as overusing Sweet Scent or Aromatherapy (or similar moves). The worst that might happen is that it may trigger pollen allergies, but that will happen upon a first use, rather than due to prolonged usage. For this reason, it’s not a treatment that should be given to younger children or those with known allergies, but for everyone else, it’s perfectly safe.

Hi Bill! Do you answer EVERY ask that you get or will even YOU get stumped sometimes?

Well, answering and being stumped are two different things, anonymous. It’s true I don’t answer every ask: some asks cover questions I’ve already answered or are perhaps accidental duplications.

However, yes, there are some questions I can’t answer because I don’t entirely know what the question is going on about. For example, I don’t know how some of you obtained the information you did on Mewtwo, and I admit I don’t fully understand when some of you talk about “levels.” The latter is especially intriguing and disconcerting. Hopefully those of you who ask don’t actually think of pokémon battling as a video game!

Hello there! I have a Salazzle among my mostly male team and I noticed that she hasn’t established a reverse harem which Salazzle are known to do. Is normal? Thank you in advance and have a nice day.

Absolutely. Some salazzle just aren’t interested in forming breeding groups, either because they prefer the company of female pokémon or simply don’t wish to breed at all. You could try placing her with female pokémon to see what her reaction is, but even if she expresses no interest at all, then always do your best to support her and her decisions.

Apologies if somebody already asked this, but why are there no dark-type gyms?

Bill: No one’s quite sure, actually. The Association has no rules governing what types gym leaders may specialize in. Dark-type specialists simply … don’t submit applications.

Personally, I’m a little inclined to theorize it has something to do with Karen. Ever since the dark-type was discovered and she claimed the title as the de facto leader of Johto’s Elite Four, she’s gained quite a following, consisting of many dark-type trainers who aspire to be just like her, if not like Grimsley of the Unovan Elite Four. But that’s simply a theory.