I got my pikachu in Johto, if I were to evolve it in Alola would it become an alolan raichu or be a normal raichu because it isn’t originally from Alola?

Unfortunately, should you be hoping for a psychic raichu, the truth is that Alolan raichu are the byproducts of adaptive evolution. That is to say, the pikachu of Alola simply have a slightly different genetic code than Johtonian pikachu (or, for that matter, any other), so pikachu brought to Alola will always evolve into the non-psychic variation. To that same end, pikachu brought out of Alola to other regions will always evolve into the psychic variation.

Thus, to answer your question, a pikachu born in Johto will only evolve into non-psychic raichu.

Good day, Bill. May I ask–is there any other difference between training a normal exeggutor or an alolan exeggutor? Besides the fact that one of their necks is so darn long and that they might have a possibility of not hearing your commands during battle? Thanks.

Well, besides all of the inconveniences brought on by Alolan exeggutor’s long neck (Alolan exeggutor are also a pain to clean and feed because of this), there is the fact that Alolan exeggutor are dragons, whereas exeggutor from elsewhere are psychics. Alolan exeggutor behave like dragons as well, from their inability to withstand cold (exacerbated by the fact that they’re partially plants as well) to their naturally fiercer natures. On the positive side, while their weakness to bug-types is not completely negated, they gain more of a resistance to insects than their psychic counterparts, and fire is barely an issue at all thanks to their dragon element. In short, the most important thing to remember about an Alolan exeggutor (besides all of the problems associated with its neck) is the elemental shift. Types that would greatly harm an average exeggutor may not affect an Alolan exeggutor the same way—but types that might not affect an average exeggutor that much may aversely affect an Alolan.

Of course, there are other things to keep in mind. As I’ve briefly mentioned above, Alolan exeggutor behave like dragons as well, so they may be slightly more aggressive than their psychic counterparts. Doubly so because their psychic counterparts prefer standing in one place and blending in with their surrounding forests, whereas Alolan exeggutor, powered by the brighter sunlight of its native region, prefer to defend themselves with acts of aggression and dominance.

Also, be wary about the tail. While not as fragile as its neck, the bulk of the tail is difficult for an exeggutor to defend. However, like girafarig, the seed at the end is actually another head, and this head is capable of thinking and acting on its own to defend the rest of its body from behind and below. (It does not need to be fed a separate meal, but some trainers find it more convenient to let their exeggutor eat using it instead of its main heads.) In other words, don’t assume that just because your exeggutor has its back turned towards you that it’s defenseless. If anything, standing behind your exeggutor is more dangerous than standing in front of it. At least if you stood in front, it can only rely on its main heads to see you and attack (not that you should provoke your exeggutor in the first place).

Finally, Alolan exeggutor rely more on sunlight than their psychic counterparts and should be kept outdoors at all times (not that … you would find much of a place for them indoors). It is, after all, the brightness of the Alolan sun that allows them to grow to such a height, so not exposing them to constant, direct sunlight may make them lethargic or stunt the growth of a newly evolved exeggutor.

Good luck, @dragonlikeleaves. May this prove helpful to you as you, presumably, raise your own exeggutor.

What are your thoughts on the alolan pokemon Rockruff? The people of alola say it has some kind of secret evolution. Do you have any ideas or theories about it? Also it is extremely adorable.

Well, for starters, I agree wholeheartedly on the subject of its cuteness. Then again, I’m also rather partial to canine-like pokémon, so I admit I’m a little biased.

That having been said, I’ve heard the rumors of a secret evolution, and I’m certainly intrigued by them. I admit that as of current, I have no theories as to what that may mean, but I’m certainly open to hearing about others’. In the meantime, I’ve been keeping up with news about Alola and its local pokémon for months now, with the hopes of finding out more about not only rockruff but all of the region’s fascinating creatures, and I’m excited to hear the next bit of information that comes to the rest of the world. Supposedly, the researchers of Alola will be integrating their pokédex with the National Dex in November of this year, and you can be certain that I’ll do everything I can to get my hands on the National Dex’s latest edition as soon as possible.

Bill, my friend and I have been debating whether Alolan Pokémon will receive individual entries in the Alolan National Pokédex! He thinks, for instance, the standard Vulpix and Alolan Vulpix should each have their own ‘dex entries, since they’re so wildly different. I think it’s redundant, especially when there’s a precedence for Pokémon with varying forms only having a single entry, such as Wormadam. What do you think?

It’s a bit of a tricky situation. On the one hand, you’re correct in saying we don’t normally give separate pokédex entries to alternative forms. Doing so tends to cause confusion, especially given the fact that all forms are technically still the same species, even if their traits are vastly different. Wormadam is an excellent example of this. The shellos line and vivillon are as well. Even mega-evolutions are not considered to be separate evolutions but the enhancement of a species, which is why mega charizard X and mega charizard Y are never listed separately from charizard.

On the other hand, the Alolan pokémon are not just cases of different traits but also of different environments, and your friend is astute in saying that they’re so wildly different thanks to adaptations that they’re almost completely new species. It’s also true that we’ve actually handled such a case in the past by giving both forms completely different pokédex entries. That case? Nidoran, a pokémon whose male and female forms are so different they’re actually genetically different species.

So it’s a bit difficult to say at the moment. To be honest, personally, I believe that Alola will create its own regional dex that will be added to the National Dex as subpages of each relevant pokémon. This is because each Alolan pokémon is still related to their off-island kin on a genetic level, so an Alolan vulpix and every other vulpix are considered the same thing, save for the adaptive traits Alolan vulpix have gained over time. But I suppose we’ll have to wait and see, @psychms.

My Komala lost her stump and I was wondering if it is possible to get a new one for her as she is very distressed!!!

Absolutely, but it must be done as soon as possible. Komala require many hours of sleep a day—hence why they’re very rarely seen awake. Some pokémarts in the Alola region will stock “komala pillows,” which are specially crafted items meant to be roughly the size, weight, hardness, and texture of the average komala log. These can be used until you can find a suitable replacement of real wood. Alternatively, simply go out and cut a piece of wood roughly the size and shape of her original stump if you can recall it. Bringing your komala out during this process will guarantee that you’ll cut a piece she finds suitable.

Good luck, anonymous.

Since I’ve been hearing a lot about Alola forms of Pokémon I was wondering, if we were to somehow check on the Alola Region in about thousands and thousands years from now (or however long it would take) would it be possible for Alola forms Pokémon to be completely different species? Like a split is forming right now and if we were to check in later they wouldn’t even be consider the same Pokémon. And are there any Pokémon species that something like that might have happened with in the past?

It’s entirely possible.

To be a bit more specific for the sake of clearing any confusion on the matter, when a pokémonologist refers to evolution, they could be referring to one of two things. There is, of course, metamorphic evolution, which is the process by which one pokémon transforms from a juvenile form to a more adult form—such as, for example, the transformation from a bulbasaur to its ivysaur stage.

However, there is also Darwinistic evolution, which is, of course, the transition from one species to another by way of millions of years of adaptation. Pokémon are the only beings on Earth capable of both, and as such, present-day pokémon are actually descended from long evolutionary trees dating back to prehistoric ancestors of completely different species. For example, every vulpix is actually related to growlithe, poochyena, and more by way of a common ancestor. (There are, of course, plenty of others. Even pokémon such as ponyta and rhyhorn, which one would think are not related at all, branched off a common ancestor in the very distant past.) Each species simply diverged from one another by way of differing adaptations according to their needs and habitats.

That’s why vulpix and other pokémon with “Alolan variations” are so fascinating to pokémonologists, actually. It stands to reason that, just as rockruff and growlithe diverged from a common ancestor, vulpix will someday diverge enough that its ice-and-fairy-type form and fire-type form will create entirely new species. This will perhaps not occur in thousands of years but rather millions, as Darwinistic evolution is slow, but it will happen someday.

So I suppose the final answer to all of your questions is … yes.

Are you planning on visting the Alola region? If so, what do you hope to discover there?

Absolutely, anonymous! The Alola Pokémon League has requested its own storage system, so as part of that, it’s my duty to evaluate locations for a base of operations, set up and test equipment, and select and acclimate an administrator.

Of course, I’m more than happy to go. Seeing new regions full of pokémon I’ve never met is always quite exciting! Most of all, though, I would love to see if the regional professors have discovered any new eevee evolutions. The environment of Alola is sure to be just unique enough to trigger something new. I’m sure of it!

No one break his heart. —LH