My Rowlet likes being in my head and shoulder and bag. Will be keep up this behavior when he evolves?

It depends. Usually, if a pokémon acquires a habit in one stage of their lives, they carry it through to their other stages unless it’s corrected, yes. As such, not only might your dartrix rest on your head, shoulder, or bag, but very likely, your decidueye might as well. It may be a good idea to train your dartrix not to do this—but only after it will evolve, so it will be easier to teach.

Of course, there’s also a possibility that this behavior will only exist in your rowlet. As I’ve said, the passing of behaviors from one stage to the next is what usually happens, but in some cases, behaviors drop when a pokémon’s personality shifts. It really depends on the individual.

To be honest, though, it’s not something that should be cause for alarm, I should think. It’s best to observe your rowlet before and after he evolves, but let him evolve unhindered nonetheless. Once he gains mass with his new form, he’ll be able to recognize what he can and cannot do through trial-and-error.

My tsareena has become a body guard for me when people and Pokémon get too close and doesn’t stand down until I let her know they’re friends. Why is this?

Because neither tsareena nor steenee are found in the wild, I’m going to assume that you caught yours as a bounsweet and raised her from there. If so, then the first thing to note is that the longer you’ve spent with a pokémon, the more it bonds with you. Additionally, for most pokémon, evolution is a rather big deal. For tamed pokémon, it represents the attainment of the highest amount of power they can possibly have, and because many pokémon strengthen their bonds with their human partners by fulfilling their evolutionary requirements (read: by battling), an evolution into a final stage—such as the evolution of a steenee to a tsareena—can sometimes be a symbol of the strongest possible bond between trainer and pokémon. In other words, your tsareena feels an especially strong bond with you, and as such, she wishes to express her loyalty.

The other thing to note is, of course, the fact that tsareena are regal by nature. As such, they take their duties extremely seriously and will fight to defend themselves and anyone under their care. This means that it’s actually perfectly natural for your tsareena to refuse to stand down when confronted by anything she doesn’t think is a friend right away and that it would actually mean something rather negative if she didn’t. That is to say, so long as your tsareena assumes the role of a bodyguard, this behavior means that she highly respects and values you and deems you worthy of protecting. If she chose to ignore you instead or didn’t take her relationship with you as seriously as she does, this would mean she considers you to be beneath her.

In short, this is a perfectly natural occurrence for tamed tsareena, in part because they tend to be with a trainer throughout their evolutionary process (and thus for a rather long time) and in part because it’s in their nature to defend their trainers with honor. I wouldn’t worry about your tsareena’s behavior until it gets in the way of your ability to perform day-to-day activities, such as interacting with people in your daily life (the postman, a barista, people at a grocery store, and so forth). If this happens, it would be prudent to train her to act only when there’s a clear and present threat to your well-being.

Do you know if it illegal to own legendary pokemon?

Not at all! In fact, for trainers, it’s (unfortunately) a status symbol. If you own a legendary, that broadcasts to others that you’re a strong trainer who may put up quite a bit of a challenge on the battlefield. For this reason, not only are there no laws in place stating you can’t capture a legendary, but also, the training community often encourages you to try.

Of course, “encourages you to try” is the key phrase there. It’s often difficult to capture a legendary, and many of them are innately linked to their respective elements—sometimes to the point where removing them from the wild may do catastrophic damage to the world at large. Luckily, many of these legendaries put up quite a fight, never mind the fact that they’re often extremely difficult to find in the first place.

It’s also worth it to note that, yes, in some cultures, it may also be considered taboo to do so. It will still technically be legal to capture a region’s legendaries, but the locals may not be so happy to see you do it. For example, nothing is stopping anyone from capturing Ho-oh, but to a Johtonian, attempting to do so would make you an incredibly arrogant human being unless Ho-oh itself has deemed you worthy enough to train it.

In other words, it’s not illegal, but the locals may not appreciate it, no.

Do growlithes or rockruffs make better travel companions ? What about service animals?

This is difficult to say, anonymous, because they both have fantastically similar dispositions. Both are extremely loyal, friendly, and easy to train, both require exactly the same kind of care, and both have excellent hearing and senses of smell, among other physical attributes.

As a traveling companion, it really depends on which region you’re starting in. For many regions, beginning with a fire-type is a bit more challenging than beginning with a rock-type. Additionally, in some regions, the fire stones growlithe need to evolve are rare to nonexistent, which only adds to the challenge. On the other hand, just because rockruff may pose less of a challenge when it comes to the gym circuit and evolution doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t be difficult to handle overall. While it’s true that lycanroc are generally more powerful than arcanine, they’re also generally more fragile as well, and rock-types have more weaknesses than fire-types. Likewise, the midnight form of lycanroc are notoriously rowdier but also slower than either its midday counterpart or arcanine.

As a service pokémon, it’s roughly even … but there’s a footnote to this. Growlithe is slightly easier to train than rockruff when it comes to getting them to heel and work, but rockruff have the ability to sense when their trainers are in need of emotional support, which makes rockruff slightly better as an emotional support pokémon than growlithe. However, growlithe are highly difficult to evolve, so they rarely need retraining because they’ll often remain growlithe for their entire lives. Rockruff, on the other hand, evolve by field experience, which means they can evolve at any time if they’re not wearing specialized collars equipped with everstones. This is dangerous because both of its evolutionary forms may pose a risk to their human partners. Obviously, midnight lycanroc are naturally hot-blooded and must be retrained to heel. Otherwise, they have a tendency to run off and challenge practically any pokémon that wanders into their line of sight. Midday lycanroc, meanwhile, are highly obedient and loyal and thus don’t actually need retraining … it’s just that their manes contain extremely sharp and long rocks that can damage property or anyone that touches them. If these manes are trimmed and smoothed down, then they’re actually fantastic choices for service pokémon, but it’s very rare to find a lycanroc who will sit through such a procedure.

Follow up question about the sexy custom since I feel like some rewording is needed now. Have you ever brought a sexy pokemon custom on purpose? Or has anyone that you know bought one for you? And if so what custom was it? #AMA

No, of course not.

Edit: My editor has reminded me that for this month, I’m obligated to answer these sorts of questions honestly, so for that reason, allow me to give you the full answer:

It was a “sexy magikarp” costume. I was young, stupid, and under the impression that it would be the best way to get Bebe to stop inviting me to her Halloween parties.

It didn’t work.

How can I keep my bewear from crushing my spine? I would love to hug her but dying doesn’t seem like a good idea

In bewear’s case, it may be prudent to pressure train them. Begin with a large log, a boulder, or something extremely sturdy and have your bewear hug it. If she manages to do so without breaking the item, give her a reward. If she breaks it, find a replacement and try again. Keep training her in this way until it’s clear she won’t break the stone or log, then move on to something a bit softer. Continue your training in this manner until you get to the point where your bewear is embracing punching bags or training dummies. Whenever you feel comfortable, try hugging her yourself at that point, and she should be able to restrain herself just enough that her embrace will be harmless to you.

In short, getting your bewear to hug you without crushing your spine is a rather simple matter of training, but it may take time and effort on your part before it can happen.

Best of luck, anonymous!

My mimikyu is a wonderful Pokémon but she’s very shy. My primarina and tsareena keeps trying to be friends but mimikyu keeps getting scared and running behind me

Mimikyu are unfortunately very shy by nature, anonymous; each one simply expresses it a different way. In the case of yours, that means obvious, extreme shyness—hence her tendency to hide when faced with her own teammates.

One way you can help the rest of your team bond with her is by initiating and overseeing group activities. The more your mimikyu sees you interact with your other pokémon, the more likely she’ll relax when in the presence of her. Encourage her (by speaking to her) to interact with your primarina or tsareena alongside you. Note also that this doesn’t necessarily have to be in battle, either. Virtually any activity you can think of can be used to help bridge the gap between your mimikyu and the others. Play with your team, have them do housework together, or simply go on a leisurely walk—whatever is easiest for you.

Additionally, ensure that everything your primarina and tsareena do around her (even when you’re not present) are non-threatening, even on an unintentional level. Have them keep their distance at first as they communicate with her, and make sure they invite her to join them, rather than let them approach her and try to coax her into participating with them. Teach them non-threatening methods of communicating, including open gestures and softer voices, and be sure they understand the difference between asking your mimikyu to join them and pushing their friendship onto her.

Finally, it may help to have mimikyu interact with only one of them at a time. Two may be intimidating to her, especially given the fact that both tsareena and primarina are generally much larger than the average mimikyu. Dim the lights as well in order to make your mimikyu feel comfortable.

Keep in mind that no matter what you do, it will take time for your mimikyu to open up to the rest of your team, even if she has already been a member of your family for a while now. Just be gentle as you approach her and do all that you can to ensure she doesn’t feel threatened, and let her open up in her own time.

Best of luck, anonymous!

When my my raichu (alolan) was a pikachu it seemed my mimikyu was really shy around it but now that Peaches (my raichu) has evolved they’re best friends. Mimikyu even rides on Peaches tail! Is this normal behavior? Are mimikyus typically at odds with pikachus?

While it’s true all mimikyu are envious of pikachu, how they express that varies from mimikyu to mimikyu. Some are at odds with pikachu and display violent behavior in the vicinity of one (even going so far as to engage in intense battle with them on sight), but others may prefer to watch pikachu from afar or shyly befriend them in order to understand them. It’s very much like human jealousy, really. Some people befriend the people they envy or respect, and others spend much of their lives allowing their jealousy to fester into toxicity. Naturally, the latter isn’t exactly the best outlook for one’s psyche, and as such, it may be prudent to help your mimikyu find a healthy way to manage their frustration should you find yourself training a mimikyu of the more violent, negative variety, but if you find yourself training a mimikyu of the positive variety, you may be pleasantly surprised that it will do perfectly well around a pikachu teammate.

In other words, what you’re describing sounds perfectly normal, anonymous. Your mimikyu is evidently the type that deals with their envy by building understanding. It’s good to hear that your mimikyu gets along so well with your raichu! May their relationship only strengthen from here onwards.

I’m thinking about going on vacation next summer. Sevii Islands, Orange Islands, or Alola?

Hm. I suppose it would depend on what you want from an island vacation.

Allow me to put it this way: although all three of those regions are tropical in nature, their cultures make them vastly different. In Alola, the people are highly friendly and eager to share their culture with outsiders, in part because the tourism industry is the biggest contributor to their economy. As such, if you’re the sort of tourist who enjoys exploring historical landmarks and observing regional culture, Alola is an excellent choice for a destination.

Meanwhile, the Orange Islands also rely on their tourist industry, but it shares a lot of culture with its neighbors, Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn. Thus, people travel to the Orange Islands less to take in the regional culture and more to enjoy a tropical island paradise. There are plenty of resorts and relaxation spots throughout the archipelago, and the less-inhabited islands, such as the Seven Grapefruit Islands, are tourist destinations centered around the region’s agricultural industry or its unique gym circuit. (I would highly recommend the Orange Islands’ fruit tasting tour, for example.)

Finally, the Sevii Islands are far less inhabited than the other two regions, and due to that and its general isolation, the locals are less friendly towards outsiders. You’ll find it harder to partake in local culture or find a resort outside of Seven Island. Even then, Seven Island is more of a destination for trainers due to the Battle Tower, rather than a general tourist spot. (Seven Island is also home to the Tanoby Ruins, but that’s a highly sacred site to the Seviian people. Thus, it’s discouraged for most people to enter them.) On the other hand, the entire island chain features highly rugged territory, beautiful swaths of wilderness, and the best hot springs in Japan, so it’s worth exploring for those who enjoy hiking or training in rigorous environments.

Additionally, if you’re a trainer who likes transitioning from a vacation to your next big adventure, keep in mind that only the Orange Islands has a gym circuit. Granted, each gym is a bit nontraditional in nature. Rather than simply a battle, you’re required to participate in a challenge of skill before you’re permitted to face the gym leader. There are four gyms in all, culminating into a battle against the reigning champion. Thus, the Orange Islands may have something fairly close to the gym circuit you’re used to, but at the same time, it’s a vastly different experience from the traditional gym system.

Alola has its own trainer’s circuit in the form of the island challenge, but this is more of a local concept. Outsiders can participate, but they’re less encouraged to do so. However, the Pokémon Association is in talks with Professor Kukui about setting up an actual gym circuit in the region, but this won’t happen for a few years and is therefore less useful to you.

The Sevii Islands, as noted earlier, has no gym circuit or equivalent trial of their own; besides training in the wilderness, the only facility for trainers is the Battle Tower on Seven Island. Of course, also as noted earlier, the region is still filled with excellent training spots.

In short, if you’re the sort of person who just wishes to relax in the island sun, go to the Orange Islands. If you’re looking for a full tourist experience, try Alola. Finally, if you wish to go on a full-scale adventure in the wilderness, take your team to the Sevii Islands.

May your vacation be highly enjoyable, regardless of what you choose, anonymous!

Hi Bill, I have a question regarding Toxapex. It is said through the Pokedex that Toxapex has dangerous poison that can incapacitate for 3 days with dangerous aftereffects. Does that make Toxapex a dangerous Pokemon to own and battle with? Could it fatally wound a small Pokemon or a human with poison? How would one go about safely owning and battling with a Toxapex?

While it’s true that toxapex can utilize poison that potent, it’s important to note that all poison-types have the ability to generate extremely dangerous toxins or harbor deadly microorganisms. For example, the toxic fluids that compose grimer and muk’s bodies are so potent that they can render an area virtually inhospitable to plants and any other wildlife for up to three years just by passing through it. The slightest scratch from a toxicroak’s claws, for another example, can outright kill an adult man in seconds. Dragalge’s poison is so acidic it can eat through three feet of solid steel, and koffing and weezing’s toxic gases are so volatile that they can ignite in a fiery explosion upon contact with open air. Poison-types by nature are extremely dangerous to handle, which is why they are one of the more difficult types to master.

However, the main thing to remember about them is that although they can kill, they won’t unless you pose a very real threat to them. Even grimer and muk, whose abilities you’d think would be passive, actually only secrete the fluids they’re known for as a last resort. During any other time outside of those dire circumstances, even a human can touch them without suffering any ill consequences whatsoever.

In other words, poison-types are fully capable of controlling how much poison they use at any given moment, and they understand that landing a lethal strike may do more harm than good when it comes to their own personal growth. That is, if they’re tame, and they kill their opponent, they know that means it may be a long while before they can battle again. If you encounter one in the wild, they know that if they kill you or your pokémon, then their chances of being caught and trained will decrease exponentially. They know they need you to either train them or to spar against them, so, in other words, they need you alive.

Of course, if you wander deep into a poison-type’s territory, then you may actually be in real danger, but with toxapex, that would mean diving into the ocean and intentionally touching one. While toxapex do indeed learn Venoshock (a distance attack) early on, they much prefer not attacking unless you come too close for comfort.

In short, anonymous, yes, toxapex can kill small pokémon or a human, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s dangerous to handle. So long as you make it clear to your toxapex that every battle is meant to be non-lethal, it will very likely understand and hold itself back. The only time you’ll need to worry is if your toxapex is scared for your life or its own life, but part of your job as its trainer is ensuring it always feels safe and comfortable, even on the battlefield.