Tag: Anonymous

Hello Bill! I have taken interest in pokemon performing, but don’t know much about it like the regions, age, or what pokémon qualify. Hope you can help me!

Admittedly, I never had much of a personal interest in pokémon performing or showcases in general. This is more Lanette’s field, to be quite frank, so I’ll allow her to take it from here.

LH: Well, to start things off, most regions don’t hold pokémon showcases, largely due to the popularity of pokémon contests, a similar sport. Just about the only places where you can participate in showcases are in Kalos (and Europe in general) and Unova (although musicals are more popular over there). Still, it’s worth it. I personally enjoy watching showcases more than contests, just because there’s more variety in the sub events and emphasis on style and synchronization between pokémon and performer.

On that note, practically any pokémon can participate in a showcase, but it’s important to know that, just like in a contest, you have to be strategic about who you use. Of course, most performers don’t know the theme of the first half of a showcase until it happens, so unlike in contests or even gym battles, I don’t mean research the next showcase when I say be strategic. What I mean instead is, of course, choose pokémon who work well together and whose abilities can be combined to highlight not only each other’s skills but also your creativity. Of course, building a routine for the second half of a showcase (the freestyle performance) is important too, so always keep that in mind when choosing which pokémon to enter.

As for your age, that’s rather simple. Just like with contests, you can’t enter showcases unless you have a valid trainer’s license. In most regions, this means you must be ten or older in order to register.

Say I already had a Pokémon gifted to me from a parent or something, could I still go to a professor and get a “starter” from them? Is there a limit? Like what if I got a “starter” from kanto and then went to Hoenn. Could I get a “starter”‘there too?

This tends to depend on the regional league’s rules and the distributor’s discretion. In less populous regions where there are fewer trainers starting out (such as Hoenn), you may be allowed to obtain a starter from a distribution point, even if you already have a pokémon registered to you. On the other hand, the leagues of more populous regions with far more new trainers per year (such as Unova) may specify that the first pokémon you have registered to you, regardless of its origins, is your starter, barring you from obtaining a starter from a professor if you’ve obtained a pokémon from someone else first.

On the other hand, distributors may also either create their own rules or file for special cases. For example, Professor Sycamore of Kalos has, on at least one occasion, given an additional starter to specific trainers as part of his research, thereby suspending Kalos League rules for those special cases only. Conversely, while there are no starter restrictions in Alola, Professor Kukui and Kahuna Hala limit trainers who begin their journeys with them to just one starter, due to the specifics of Alolan tradition. (It’s thought that any pokémon given to Alolan trainers is their chosen partner, so those who are already partnered with a pokémon prior to the starter ceremony must undergo the ceremony with that pokémon, rather than one of the traditionally offered trio.)

Thus, it’s a good idea to check with both your local league and the person from whom you plan to get your starter, just to understand the rules in your particular circumstance.

Hi! I was thinking about adopting a vulpix. Could you tell me the pros and cons of both alolan and non alolan vulpix? Thanks

Care for the two variations is more or less the same, anonymous. The only differences is that Alolan vulpix are generally seen to be slightly harder for the following reasons:

1. Grooming. Their cloud-like manes and tails capture more debris than the neatly curled manes and tails of standard vulpix. Thus, Alolan vulpix require more vigorous daily brushing to maintain its peak mental health. Moreover, its fur only gets harder to groom after it evolves, not only because an Alolan ninetales possesses thicker, longer, and more unruly manes and tails but also because Alolan ninetales are far more fickle than standard ninetales.

2. Personality. While standard ninetales are far more hot-headed (forgive the pun) and much easier to provoke, they’re also easier to predict and understand. That is, a standard ninetales will never attack for no reason. However, although it’s famed for its calm demeanor, Alolan ninetales’s affinity for the fairy element may make it more mischievous and prone to trickery. It’s said that you should never lay a hand on a standard ninetales … but you should never turn your back on an Alolan one. 

By contrast, however, the variations of vulpix are nearly identical, although the Alolan one tends to be calmer and easier to please.

3. Evolution. The ice stone needed to evolve an Alolan vulpix into ninetales is extremely rare, available only in certain parts of Alola and the Arctic Circle. By contrast, fire stone is readily available, so if your standard vulpix wishes to evolve (or if you wish to evolve your standard vulpix), all it takes is a visit to a reputable stone dealer.

All of this isn’t to chase you off the idea of raising an Alolan vulpix, anonymous. Both forms make for excellent pets and partner pokémon, and if you prefer a calmer pokémon or one of the ice element, the Alolan variation is an excellent choice. (At the very least, it won’t set fire to your possessions or home.) It’s just that overall, it’s a bit more of a challenge to raise, especially if you’re considering evolving it at some point in time.

So do the devs ever get together to play Dungeons and Dragonites?

We do it over Discord, actually.

Bill’s created so many intentionally terrible characters it’s become a competition among the rest of us to see how quickly we can kill him off when it’s our turn to DM. The record-holder is currently Bebe, who killed off his bidoof bard within five minutes of the campaign’s start. —LH

You, on the other hand, consistently play fighters prone to bouts of violence so ornately detailed that it worries me a little. —Bill

From what ive heard, fusing with the alien jellyfish gives you crazy superpowers.

Well, I’m intrigued.

Bill, first off, no. Second, you didn’t even use any of the special abilities you’d gained while fused with other pokémon. Why would you start with “the alien jellyfish”? —LH

How would you know if I’d never used any of Clefairy or Rattata’s powers? For your information, of course I had. It just … didn’t entirely end in a way that was scientifically interesting enough to write down. —Bill

Oh really? And what, for the sake of satisfying curiosity, did you do? —LH

It’s not important. Let’s just say I might have used Metronome, and what might have come out of that led to a very mild fire that may or may not have destroyed that scarf you got me for Christmas that one year. —Bill

…I genuinely can’t figure out if you’re telling the truth or making an excuse for why you never wear that thing. —LH

Is it cannibalism if my Nuzleaf eats greens? He doesn’t eat nuts though.

This is actually an excellent question with an awkwardly simple answer: no. Just as eating beef doesn’t automatically make you a cannibal, allowing your nuzleaf to eat greens doesn’t make him one. There are plenty of species of plants, so a plant eating another plant is really more or less akin to an animal eating another animal, if we oversimplify things.

However, technically speaking, you would be more of a cannibal than your nuzleaf. Although plant pokémon bear striking similarities to actual plants on a cellular level, they’re not even in the same phylogenic kingdom (as opposed to us humans and cows, which are). So, yes, there’s nothing wrong with nuzleaf eating plants.