Tag: Anonymous

Is there only one spiritomb? Or are they just all made up of exactly 108 spirits?

Actually, there can be a wide number of spirits within one spiritomb. Many only contain one or a handful; others might contain ten, twenty, or more. There has even been a spiritomb on record that contained as many as 1000 spirits in it at once, although the keystone that held it together was barely holding itself together at that point. (The spiritomb unfortunately passed on shortly after its birth, but not without inflicting quite a bit of damage on the Sinnohan countryside.)

The “standard” 108 count is actually just a common number in folklore that just happened to coincide with the first spiritomb ever recorded. Mere coincidence, more or less.

Hey Bill! I’ve been considering getting a Corsola, but I am a worrywart of a trainer and the reason I can’t decide to get one or not is due to Mareanies. I don’t want to force my Corsola to always stay within eye sight, but I am afraid what could happen if they ran into their natural predetor, and wonder if there is any way I could help Corsola counter or look less attractive as a meal to a Mareanie?

The best advice I could possibly offer in this situation is informing you that corsola can learn Calm Mind, Psychic, and Earthquake via the TM system and that the mareanie line is part poison.

(Well, that and mareanie tend to be rare outside of Alola, so you may not have much to worry about at all.)

Best of luck, anonymous!

Speaking of Conferences, have you heard of the one year at Sinnoh’s Lily of the Valley Conference where the winner was a rather gloomy looking young man who had a Darkrai and Latios on his Team? Did that seem Controversial to you, given your stance on leaving Legendaries and Mythicals alone?

Oh, are you referring to that time a trainer recklessly endangered the lives of an entire stadium full of spectators by exposing thousands of people to the powers of Darkrai, lord of nightmares?

I have no opinion.

More like he’s been asked not to share it anymore because no one else should be subjected to two and a half hours of Bill McKenzie’s righteous fury. —LH

You say that as if it’s not justified (for once)! —Bill

Hi Bill! I have a darling little Sableye and I try to give him a good mineral rich diet but I was wondering about special treats. I would love to be able to afford rare gems for him but not realistic. Would sugar gems or rock candy be an okay treat for my Sableye? I thought he would like the crunchy texture. Thanks!

Actually, this (that is, being able to give a sableye rock candy in lieu of actual rocks) is a common misconception, but the truth is that sugar is not the best thing for a sableye’s health. It doesn’t digest it like we do, and it can build up in its digestive system, leading to certain health problems.

Instead, consider offering cheap crystals such as polished quartz, which you may be able to find in bulk for less than $10 online. Alternatively, glass (so long as you’ve sanded the edges) and ceramic (same) can work just as well, although they’re not quite as nutritional as tumbled crystals.

Hi Bill, it’s that photo-happy Rotom again, bzzrt! Your advice really helped, and I’m no longer a photophile! Though… I have a new problem. My Trainer’s girlfriend keeps taking selfies using my favorite camera, bzzrt, and will burn up all the memory before I can sneak a couple of shots. Any idea how I can stop her, short of a Thunder Wave?

Hello again! Glad to hear that my advice helped!

As for your current conundrum, might I suggest communicating with your trainer? Your trainer is perhaps your best liaison between his girlfriend and you, so if anyone can convey just how special that camera is to you, it would be him. The worst case scenario is, of course, that he ends up having to buy her a camera as well, but luckily, I’ve been told that mini cameras are still rather cheap on PokéBay.

Best of luck, little rotom!

What are some of the biggest/best Pokemon battling tournaments to participate in? What are the requirements to participate in them? What sort of trainers compete in these tournaments?

Well, if we’re talking about tournaments anyone can participate in, you can get no bigger than the annual league conferences, anonymous. You may already know this, but each year, participants in every region’s Pokémon League who have earned a minimum of eight badges gather together to battle and determine who’s the best of the best for that particular year. While each of these tournaments are equally challenging, I must say I’m a little partial to Johto’s Silver Conference and Kanto’s Indigo Plateau Conference myself. (Then again, I am also horrendously biased, so take this opinion with a grain of salt. My partner, who is slightly less biased, considers both to be dull and finds the Lumiose Conference far more interesting for reasons I believe have to do with the fact that Professor Sycamore is often in attendance.)

[That would be your reason for watching it with me. —LH]

Outside of the conferences, there are also annual exhibition matches in every region between members of the Elite Four, plus the world-famous Pokémon World Tournament of Unova, which pits gym leaders against one another and the champion of Unova. Additionally, under very special circumstances, a trainer who’s earned eight badges may go up against a region’s Elite Four and champion in the Elite Four Gauntlet, which is frequently a televised event as well (mostly because the winner of the gauntlet is traditionally crowned the next regional champion).

Additionally, if you’re willing to stretch the definition of “battling,” coordinators also get their own version of conferences with the grand festivals, such as the Hoenn Grand Festival, which is the oldest (although it’s commonly thought that the Wallace Cup is both bigger and more exciting than any grand festival in existence).

As for requirements, practically anyone can participate in the league conferences and grand festivals. All you need is the appropriate number of badges or ribbons from officially sanctioned gyms and contest halls to enter. Traditionally, this means eight badges or five ribbons, but there are exceptions. (Competing in the Orange Islands’ Champion Battle, for example, only requires that a trainer earn four badges before arriving at Pummelo Island. The Wallace Cup, meanwhile, has no such requirement at all, as its ribbon instead counts towards any circuit’s requirements for entry into the regional grand festival.) Meanwhile, the exhibition matches are obviously not open for the public and are instead performed between select groups of trainers, usually Elite Four or gym leaders. There was only one recorded instance of a regular trainer participating in the Pokémon World Tournament, but this was more of an extenuating circumstance.

The gauntlet, meanwhile, is a bit trickier to get into. While in theory, anyone can join, in practice, it involves not only earning the eight badges but also clearing the Victory Road challenge and then … arranging a battle with all five members of the gauntlet. Yes, I realize that sounds anticlimactic, but when it comes to the Pokémon League, there is no bigger challenge to a trainer than utter bureaucracy.

(On a serious note, Victory Road is traditionally the most dangerous place in each region, so by the time you’ve gotten through to the end, you’ve more than proven yourself worthy of a battle with the gauntlet. This is why the next step is pretty much getting them to agree to battle you.)

Besides those, there are of course local tournaments, such as Johto’s Whirl Cup (a tournament for water-type specialists that takes place around the Whirl Islands), but these tend to have fanbases that are confined to their respective regions, even if some of them (such as the Whirl Cup) are almost as large as the regional conference. Practically anyone can participate in these tournaments, but oftentimes, they’ll have certain rules that restrict trainers to specific types or specific kinds of pokémon. For example, the Whirl Cup, as a tournament exclusively for water-type specialists, only allows you to battle with water-types, although you only need a minimum of two to participate. (The first round involves a one-on-one match, whereas the second is two-on-two. Of course, it’s best to have a full team of six to choose from when you register for the tournament, but you could quite literally get away with the minimum number of two and still win.) Other tournaments, of course, vary rather wildly, so chances are if you’ve heard of it on your travels through each region, it may be worth it to look into—and even then, be sure to check the rules thoroughly before entering.

Best of luck!

Dear Bill, I live about a mile outside Fortree city. Last night, I wake up to hear my Guard Lycanroc raising cain. I go out, thinking it’s some plusle and minun harassing them, but instead, i find a pair of Eon Chicks, no older than maybe a month. I hadn’t heard of Eon pokemon living in my area, so i worry they might be the victims of poachers. Any advice on how to care for them until i get a letter to the Fortree Nurse Joy? Also, another matter of concern that i’ll dedicate another ask to CONT.

Well, first and foremost, it’s perhaps a bad idea to seek help for emergencies through my ask box, as one reader unfortunately found out…

That having been said, though, your first step should be to call the local center and the Fortree authorities, not send them a letter. It’s faster that way, and all pokémon centers have their own phone lines. Likewise, it’s rare these days for a home, even one on the edge of civilization, to have no means of communicating rapidly with the nearest hospital or center for emergencies, and most trainers in Hoenn should have a phone system built into their pokénavs. This isn’t an attempt to shame you, of course, anonymous. It’s simply to say that you are (or were, anyway) dealing with an emergency, so it’s quite honestly more appropriate to reach out to your emergency services.

With that having been said, allow me to address the eon hatchlings first. Take a good look at the surrounding area. If they’re alone, then it’s probably best to leave them alone unless one (or both) of them is(/are) injured. Poachers are unlikely to leave something as rare as a pair of eon hatchlings alone, even if a gardevoir is nearby. Not that I know this from personal experience (I quite frankly detest the entire practice of poaching, let alone the sale of pokémon outside of sanctioned breeders), but eon hatchlings can be highly profitable to certain types of individuals if sold on the pokémon black market. So if a pair of hatchlings are completely alone, it’s more likely that their parents are nearby, which can pose a threat to you, as they may likely attack in order to protect their young. (This might also have something to do with the gardevoir’s state.) Alternatively, if the eon hatchlings are fully feathered and capable of refracting light off their down, then they’re not actually hatchlings at all but instead a fledgling and are actually fully independent at this stage. Either way, it’s best to leave them alone.

If, however, you see humans nearby, contact your local authorities and keep an eye on the humans’ activity but keep your distance at the same time. Poachers are highly dangerous and quite often armed with more than just pokémon. It’s best to let the authorities handle this.

As for the gardevoir, while she’ll survive without her skirt, she’ll need immediate medical attention to avoid complications, especially if the skirt was severed close to its roots (that is, close to her major organs). Even if the wounds were cauterized, she’ll nonetheless need a thorough examination and quite possibly treatment for anything from blood poisoning to internal bleeding, never mind possible surgery to minimize pain. In short, please take this gardevoir to your nearest pokémon center immediately.

That having been said, as a reminder to readers, the ask box is not for immediate advice. If you’ve encountered an emergency, please seek help with your local authorities or emergency medical services, whichever is more appropriate.

Bill, I’m in an interesting situation. My Espeon is a Pokemon a befriended the “old fashioned” way. She doesn’t have a pokeball, basically. I scheduled an appointment to have her spayed, and on the day of, she escaped! We located Her a few weeks later and immediately went for that appointment… only to find she has a litter on the way now! What do I do with a litter of eevees I wasn’t expecting?!

Well, anonymous, you can do what I always do and offload them onto your friends and trustworthy-looking trainers.

Edit: My editor has informed me that this is a terrible idea, but I respectfully counter with the fact that all of those eevee, as far as I’m aware, are still alive and happy with the people I’ve given them to.

Should any of us tell him we offloaded his eevee onto other trainers? —Bebe

No, let him live his life. Just add in a note about considering humane pokémon shelters or leaving them with pokémon centers in the tags or something. —LH