I have an Aron that l caught not to long ago and he loves to headbutt my Flareon. I’m getting worried he’s going to seriously injure her so I built a “dummy” for him to spar with, but he got bored in minutes. I’ve separated them in the meantime. Someone told me it was possibly a display of dominance and suggested either get another male to spar with or to get a female to be his mate. Do you think either is a good idea or is there another solution?

Perhaps not a mate, as this may make him more aggressive (depending on his usual temperament), but a sparring partner is worth looking into. Consider something sturdy and calm to keep your aron grounded mentally while taking hits. Members of the makuhita line are a reasonable choice (despite the fact that it’s not armored). Likewise, beldum is an excellent choice, not only because of their natural armor but also because the telekinetic abilities their line eventually develops offers an additional way to keep your aron out of trouble. Really, though, any bulky or armored pokémon will do (short of rock-types, of course).

Best of luck!

The Aron Line

bills-pokedex:

Aron
The Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel/Rock
Official Registration #: 304
Entry: A small but hefty tank-like pokémon originally discovered in the cave systems of Hoenn. Although these small but docile pokémon typically live deep underground, they thrive on iron and will thus rise to the surface in search of it if underground deposits run dry. In the process, they quickly become destructive forces of nature, capable of destroying anything within their paths easily until they consume the iron they need. They have been known to devour anything containing iron, including railroad tracks, cars, heavy equipment, sensitive research equipment, and more … yet the editor of this blog still considers them to be “cute” and “not at all dangerous” for some reason.

Lairon
The Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel/Rock
Official Registration #: 305
Entry: The evolved form of aron, by battle experience. Aron, a pokémon that typically lives in herds, will congregate into similar herd structures after evolution. These herds typically congregate near mineral-rich underground springs, where they often engage in vicious battles with one another by slamming into each other’s armor, all in preparation for fights against invading pokémon or humans. Unfortunately, because their spring-side habitats tend to be closer to the surface than their nests as aron, they are known to lay waste to even more human-built structures, including mines, tunnels, or mountainside villages. For whatever reason, the editor of this blog thinks lairon is cute too.

Aggron
The Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel/Rock
Official Registration #: 306
Entry: The evolved form of lairon, by battle experience. Upon evolution, aggron will break away from its former herd and roam vast, mountainous territory by itself. A single aggron will claim an entire mountain as its personal territory, and as such, aggron are known to aggressively repel other aggron—even those from its former herd—with incredible feats of violence. Lone aggron are therefore much easier to capture and train, and in fact, aggron are among the strongest pokémon available in the Hoenn region. Their popularity is only helped by the fact that the Hoennian champion, Steven Stone, includes one among his signature team … which, actually, might explain the editor’s predilection towards them.

What are you implying?! —LH

Mega Aggron
The Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel
Official Registration #: 306+
Entry: The advanced form of aggron, via aggronite. Upon mega evolution, aggron loses its affinity for the rock type but gains a considerable boost in defensive and physically offensive capabilities. Some believe that, in conjunction with its own territorial nature and the existence of mega tyranitar, mega aggron is itself proof that there is no higher power in the universe, as clearly, monsters with world-ending abilities and devastating tempers are allowed to exist and be placed in the hands of a species with notoriously questionable levels of judgment. Others believe that this is actually proof that there is a higher power out there and that this higher power is both a pokémon and extremely puzzled that humans have managed to survive for as long as we have.

The editor of this blog, meanwhile, simply believes that a 400-pound armored behemoth with spikes quite literally everywhere and a strong tendency to protect the pristine state of its territory through the most violent means possible is cute.

Edit: Really? Nothing, Lanette? —Bill

Why would I have a comeback? It’s cute, and to be fair, the world could use more sentient tanks to protect the environment. —LH

Sometimes I forget how terrifying you are… —Bill

Recently my late wife’s Aggron laid a small clutch of eggs. We turned most of them over to a licensed breeder, but my daughter decided to keep one and use it as her starter when she starts her journey in a few months. The two of us have been taking care of Aggron the past few years, but it had been fully evolved long before I met my wife. Is there anything we should know about raising a young Aron, both for the next few weeks at home, and later when my daughter sets out?

Luckily, you still have the aggron parent. That makes things immensely easier, not only because the aggron will do much of the work to take care of its child for you but also because aron will generally need many of the same things as aggron, just in smaller doses. Aron still need cool, dry places to sleep; rocks to supplement its diet (if you don’t feed it exclusively stone); and plenty of time to battle so it may gain experience and harden its shell. I would recommend a diet of pure stone, incidentally, as well as at least one hour of defensive training a day. Aron’s best traits on the battlefield is its defensive capabilities, so the harder its armor when it begins its time as your daughter’s starter, the better. It may also be worth it to invest in a sand bath of its own, complete with a few stumps or stones for it to Tackle. That way, it can bathe, play, and continue to work on training its defenses, all in one.

The only trouble you may encounter would be at the start of your daughter’s journey. Your late wife’s aggron may cause trouble, as losing her trainer would have been traumatic enough, but with the departure of her child and one of her caretakers, she may see the journey as less an opportunity for the both of them and more the act of losing half its family. It’s important to spend time with her and make it clear that you won’t leave her. If you have any other pokémon, have them bond with her too. If you don’t, consider getting her a long-term mate or ask the breeder who took on most of her clutch if she can visit until the hatchlings are adopted (or if she can spend time on the ranch, caring for any other pokémon—even this interaction will do wonders for her).

As for your daughter and her aron, have those two bond as much as possible. It sounds like the aron will still be young when it leaves home with its trainer, so you’ll need to focus on making the separation from its parent go as smoothly and as non-traumatic as possible. By having your daughter take an active role in caring for it—by feeding it, battling with it, playing with it, and so forth—the aron will bond with her more readily and, therefore, see her as its main family and caretaker, or someone who will be there for it and who it can trust.

In short, take care of the aron the same way as you would an aggron. The same could be said after your daughter begins her journey. She’ll need to continue feeding her aron and battling with it regularly. The only change is that she may need to polish her aron by hand, using a rag and standard steel-type polish, available at any pokémart. It’s just that prior to her departure, ensure that both your wife’s aggron and your daughter’s aron are emotionally prepared for the separation.

Good luck, and congratulations on your daughter’s journey!

The Aron Line

Aron
The Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel/Rock
Official Registration #: 304
Entry: A small but hefty tank-like pokémon originally discovered in the cave systems of Hoenn. Although these small but docile pokémon typically live deep underground, they thrive on iron and will thus rise to the surface in search of it if underground deposits run dry. In the process, they quickly become destructive forces of nature, capable of destroying anything within their paths easily until they consume the iron they need. They have been known to devour anything containing iron, including railroad tracks, cars, heavy equipment, sensitive research equipment, and more … yet the editor of this blog still considers them to be “cute” and “not at all dangerous” for some reason.

Lairon
The Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel/Rock
Official Registration #: 305
Entry: The evolved form of aron, by battle experience. Aron, a pokémon that typically lives in herds, will congregate into similar herd structures after evolution. These herds typically congregate near mineral-rich underground springs, where they often engage in vicious battles with one another by slamming into each other’s armor, all in preparation for fights against invading pokémon or humans. Unfortunately, because their spring-side habitats tend to be closer to the surface than their nests as aron, they are known to lay waste to even more human-built structures, including mines, tunnels, or mountainside villages. For whatever reason, the editor of this blog thinks lairon is cute too.

Aggron
The Iron Armor Pokémon
Type: Steel/Rock
Official Registration #: 306
Entry: The evolved form of lairon, by battle experience. Upon evolution, aggron will break away from its former herd and roam vast, mountainous territory by itself. A single aggron will claim an entire mountain as its personal territory, and as such, aggron are known to aggressively repel other aggron—even those from its former herd—with incredible feats of violence. Lone aggron are therefore much easier to capture and train, and in fact, aggron are among the strongest pokémon available in the Hoenn region. Their popularity is only helped by the fact that the Hoennian champion, Steven Stone, includes one among his signature team … which, actually, might explain the editor’s predilection towards them.

What are you implying?! —LH