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Hey Bill, I recently moved from Unova to the western part of Kanto, and while the culture shock is big on me, it’s even more influential on my Unfezant. Lately he’s refused to fly out and forage his own food, he can’t be coaxed out by my Honchrow, and when i take him outside and run inside to close the door He just walks around bored and sits under a tree till I come get him. Is there anything I can do to get him more active, he’s starting to lose his tone and weight and I worry for him.

Moving to a new place can be quite stressful for anyone, including and especially pokémon. Pokémon may be intelligent, but they may not always understand why they have to be moved from territory they’ve considered to be their home for quite some time.

This isn’t to say you did anything wrong in moving, of course. Rather, it’s to say that your unfezant’s behavior is rather understandable, and it may be more approachable if you keep in mind that your unfezant likely feels like he had to leave everything he knew behind. In other words, he may be homesick.

There are ways to alleviate his homesickness, however. Giving your unfezant things that remind him of Unova (perhaps an old sports shirt or a souvenir from your home city) and using aromatherapy may help calm and pacify him on the short-term, as will encouraging him to exercise (even if you don’t succeed in getting him to fly). The latter may be the easiest option, as training and exercising him will allow him take his mind off Unova, as well as help him release endorphins that will lift his spirits a bit.

Helping him adjust to Kanto is also important at this stage. Sometimes, that can be as simple as introducing him to a Kanto native. Consider catching a member of the pidgey family, as those are the closest Kantonian cousins to the pidove family and thus the most likely species to get along well with your unfezant. Think of this capture like meeting a new, human friend. Just as making your own friends—particularly one knowledgable in the neighborhood—helps you forge local connections and lay down your roots (so to speak), meeting and befriending a local capture may do the same for your unfezant.

Otherwise, though, simply being as emotionally supportive towards your unfezant will work wonders for his mood. Be sure to include him as much as possible in your daily activities, but don’t push him too hard. Always read his mood and let him know that you are willing to do whatever he needs you to do, even if that’s leaving him alone for a bit with a bowl of fresh millet.

Most importantly, though, remember that some pokémon take longer to adjust to change than others. Although your unfezant may not want to fly or hunt on his own for the moment, give him time and be as supportive as possible, and eventually, his homesickness will subside. In the meantime, have patience and, well, switch him to store-bought pokémon food (until he’s ready to fly) to resolve the weight loss issue.

Best of luck!

I’ve noticed a lot of dragonite art and even in my pokedex has smaller wings… but my dragonite has very large wings outstretching my 5’4 body. Is there a reason for that?

The art you see of dragonite—as well as the photographs in the pokédex—are just one example of what a dragonite looks like, anonymous. In reality, pokémon may differ from the examples in the textbooks, sometimes in subtle ways and sometimes—such as in the case of your dragonite—in fairly obvious ways. It all comes down to genetics, really.

Do Pokémon in similar animal groups (like foxes and cats) get along? I ask cuz I recently acquired a butterfree and I’m worried about its interactions with my beautifly

For the most part, yes—when caught and introduced to a team, anyway. Of course, in the wild, the general answer is no, as pokémon often compete for resources or space. Or, well, eat each other, as nature is wont to do.

However, pokémon actually understand that being with humans means they no longer have to worry about their own survival. This is quite literally half the reason why pokémon are very fond of befriending and bonding with us humans: to them, we represent a plentiful source of everything they need. Hence, once caught and tamed, pokémon that may be bitter rivals in the wild—such as butterfree and beautifly, meowth and growlithe, and so forth—have no problem setting aside their differences and considering each other as partners, friends, or even family.

For the most part, anyway. It’s also not uncommon for two pokémon to fight for personal reasons (jealousy, anxiety over the possibility of being replaced, prejudice against a species or type, or simply a dislike for someone). If this occurs, however, it’s important that you address those issues as soon as possible. Check the team building tag (http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/tagged/team-building) for tips on how to handle this.

Best of luck, anonymous! 

Hoi Bill!!! Recently I got a Poliwag for my birthday, and I could use some advice in caring for him and keeping him entertained. Oh, and I’d like to know if it would be safe to have him interact with my moms Lucario, since he’s being really touchy since she lost her leg and I don’t want them to fight :(((

When caring for poliwag, the most important thing you must do is establish its habitat. Poliwag need a lot of water and thus should be kept in either a heated pool or an aquarium. Be sure that you change the water on a regular basis, and keep the temperature of its habitat (not the water itself) at around eighty degrees Fahrenheit, or 27 degrees Centigrade. Poliwag need to keep their skin hydrated, and they’re very easily affected by temperature. Thus, it’s vital that you maintain the moisture and temperature of its enclosure. Additionally, this habitat should have a bit of solid ground lined with soft mulch (not gravel or cage filler, as with other pokémon) to allow your poliwag to come up and rest when it likes. You may also wish to add aquatic plants or a hiding space to make your poliwag feel more at home.

As for feeding, poliwag are carnivorous, and they prefer live prey, such as live crickets or other insects. However, if these aren’t available to you (or if you, understandably, can’t provide these), kibble will work just as well. Try not to overfeed if you give your poliwag kibble, as this may pollute their environment.

Once you set up its habitat and put it on a routine feeding schedule, caring for poliwag is actually quite easy. If given enough space, poliwag will be able to exercise themselves outside of battle training, and they’re perfectly content to sleep on the ground or in the pool you’ve set up. The only work you’ll need to put forth is to clean its enclosure and change its water at least once a week. This includes siphoning out old water, scrubbing down fixtures and the sides of its tank or pool with hot water, and adding new, clean(, preferably treated with special conditioners) water, as well as removing old food.

Finally, be sure to wash your hands before and after touching your poliwag—particularly before. Poliwag don’t drink; rather, they absorb moisture through their skin. While this is a great survival trick, it also means that they can easily be poisoned by toxins if pollution gets into their enclosure or if you happen to be wearing lotion or perfume. Washing your hands will minimize that risk.

As for your question concerning your mother’s lucario, it should be safe unless the lucario is exhibiting signs of stress or irritation whenever she interacts with your poliwag. If that’s the case, then you may wish to introduce your poliwag to her gradually and train your poliwag to be a bit less, as you say, touchy.

Best of luck, anonymous!

I often go to bed with my absol at the foot of my bed, and when I wake up she has usually found away underneath the blanket and my legs. When I leave without her to go to work or something she gets very stressed and sometimes I find the house messy, what can I do to ease her separation anxiety? Do I need to stop sleeping with her at night?

Not necessarily. For separation anxiety, what’s more important is that you establish comfort with your absol during her waking hours. Leave her in a comfortable atmosphere with plenty of food, water, and toys, and always tell her when you’re coming back. Furthermore, stick to your schedule, including when you’re at home. If you feed her, walk her, and perform all the same tasks at the exact same time, you’ll train her to understand the concept of time itself, which will help her know when to expect you. Then, reinforce this concept by leaving at the exact same time every day and trying to come home, also at the exact same time.

In addition to this, never leave her sight without giving her that cue. When leaving a room, tell her where you’re going, and when you reenter a room, announce yourself. This will train her to understand cues as well. Reinforce this idea by feeding her a treat every time she takes your absence well.

Once you establish these ideas, be sure to announce when you leave for work shortly before walking out the door, and announce yourself when you come home. Give your absol a treat if you come home to find your home in order and your absol fairly relaxed. Eventually, through a combination of strict schedules, verbal cues, and positive reinforcement, your absol will get a sense for how long you’ll be gone and when to expect you, so it will be easier for her to understand that you are coming back. Once that happens, you should find that she’ll be more and more at ease while you’re gone. She may even find it easier to sleep at night once she no longer needs to be constantly reassured of your presence.

Best of luck, anonymous!

My Umbreon and Charizard will not stop arguing with each other. My Umbreon has always been a more serious girl, but my Charizard is very cocky and he likes to show off. Any advice to make them get along?

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I’d like to answer all of these asks at once for the sake of saving time. Many of these asks have very similar responses: I don’t have enough context to know for certain why your pokémon are arguing or lashing out at teammates (or guests, in the case of the above mentioned sylveon).

You see, a pokémon is never aggressive for no reason, but that reason is entirely circumstantial and dependent on a wide variety of factors. So the first step is to observe your pokémon to determine a trigger. Sometimes, it’s jealousy—a pokémon becomes jealous of another or of a human you’ve chosen to spend more time on. Other times, it’s simple personality conflicts, a personal dislike of each other, competition for resources that are actually less abundant than you realize, or anxiety over a new person or pokémon.

In each case, it’s important to find out what the specific cause is by observing your pokémon carefully. Read its body language, see what it and its target are doing just before violence breaks out, and see if there’s anything in particular that seems to provoke your pokémon. Consider also simply communicating with your pokémon and asking them if they can tell you what the problem may be. Although pokémon can’t often literally speak to us, they’re highly intelligent and may be able to indicate what’s upsetting them with gestures, barks, or simply by showing you.

Once you determine the cause of the issue, it will be far easier to resolve it. If two pokémon are arguing, serve as an objective mediator by suggesting compromises. Couple this with increased double training off the battlefield (that is, train your pokémon together outside of battles and have them perform tasks as a team) to strengthen teamwork.

If a pokémon is aggressive towards another who isn’t reciprocating, be sure to introduce them slowly, rather than at once. Set up a comfortable environment and allow your pokémon (both the aggressive one and the target) to enter this space, first for a short period of time and then over increasingly long periods until your aggressive pokémon can tolerate being in the same room as the other. (You may wish to teach your pokémon to heel before this.) Yes, even if your pokémon has never displayed aggressive behavior towards other members of your team, it may be worth it to go through this process with it and its target anyway. Think of it like meeting a new person. You may not like everyone you meet, or you may have gotten a bad first impression. However, if you’re in a comfortable atmosphere and you’re asked to interact with that person, the more you do this, the easier it will be to tolerate them.

If a pokémon is aggressive towards a human, it’s important to pay attention to why, especially if your pokémon is psychic or an absol. (The one in the above asks is not, but even so, this doesn’t rule out the possibility that your pokémon is sending you a warning.) If your pokémon is acting out of fear for either you or your safety, promise them that you’ll take their warning into consideration but reassure them that they don’t have anything to fear, especially if you know your human company well enough to determine right away whether or not such fears would be unfounded. If, however, your pokémon seems to be jealous or seems to dislike a person on a personal level, teach your human guests the best ways to interact with your pokémon partners and have them do so (cautiously at first). Let your guests feed your pokémon treats and play with them as you would. Allow them to connect with your pokémon as friends. All the while, reassure your pokémon that you’re not replacing them with human contact.

In each case, the point is that aggression in pokémon sometimes happens, but it never happens for no reason. It’s up to you as a trainer to determine what that reason is and to take steps to alleviate it, depending on what the specific problem may be.

Best of luck to all of you!

Are there flying types that would be good therapy pokemon for someone with anxiety?

blackjackgabbiani:

bills-pokedex:

Well, aside from the usual go-to service pokémon that is togetic and togekiss, swablu and altaria are perhaps the most popular, due to their soothing feathers and equally soothing voices, coupled with their level of comfort and calmness around humans. Altaria especially are good choices, as not only can their wings double as stim toys (this doesn’t hurt them), but also, for those who suffer from anxiety and don’t mind physical contact, an altaria is rather effective in creating a sense of safety for their partners by enveloping them with its wings and humming a calming melody.

The only other pokémon often used for this purpose is jumpluff, whose cotton hands and slow, graceful movements through the air are often said to be rather calming in nature. However, it should be noted that as a pokémon that relies on spore-based techniques (and that stores such spores in its hands), jumpluff may not be effective for those who have allergies.

Beyond that, I admit that the selection for flying-types is rather limited, although anyone can train their pokémon to be companions if they have enough patience and time.

Chatot. Not only do they have the floof and are good for petting, they’re remarkably empathic (not in the psychic sense, more of they can tell when something’s wrong) and can talk to you.

Ah, of course! How could I forget about chatot?

Thank you for the addition!

Are there flying types that would be good therapy pokemon for someone with anxiety?

Well, aside from the usual go-to service pokémon that is togetic and togekiss, swablu and altaria are perhaps the most popular, due to their soothing feathers and equally soothing voices, coupled with their level of comfort and calmness around humans. Altaria especially are good choices, as not only can their wings double as stim toys (this doesn’t hurt them), but also, for those who suffer from anxiety and don’t mind physical contact, an altaria is rather effective in creating a sense of safety for their partners by enveloping them with its wings and humming a calming melody.

The only other pokémon often used for this purpose is jumpluff, whose cotton hands and slow, graceful movements through the air are often said to be rather calming in nature. However, it should be noted that as a pokémon that relies on spore-based techniques (and that stores such spores in its hands), jumpluff may not be effective for those who have allergies.

Beyond that, I admit that the selection for flying-types is rather limited, although anyone can train their pokémon to be companions if they have enough patience and time.

I live next to a human abandoned house and there is a lone gengar living there. I know this because sometimes it comes over to mine and as soon as it sees me or my Pokémon or gets very scared and leaves. So… that leaves me with the question when you see Pokémon like gengar and alakazam in the wild, Pokémon who can’t evolve unless traded, does that mean they were abandoned by their trainer?

Not necessarily. For many pokémon that evolve by trading, trade evolution is only the faster of two options. Trade evolution pokémon may also evolve  by themselves, just like many others do; the only thing is that the pokémon in question must be of considerable age and battle experience to do so.

However, it’s difficult to say with this particular gengar. Its timidity may indicate that it hasn’t seen humans in years (which means it’s old and has evolved on its own) or that it’s endured trauma (which may indicate that it’s been abandoned). On the other hand, the fact that it visits you may indicate that it’s curious, which seems to imply the former (that you’re the first human it’s interacted with in a very, very long time).

Regardless of the reason behind its behavior, it wouldn’t hurt to show that you mean this gengar no harm, but certainly be cautious. While I advocate making friends with any pokémon, a gengar’s curiosity may also indicate that it’s examining you for your potential as food. Consider investing in sage before attempting to befriend this gengar.

Best of luck, anonymous!