Tag: asks

How come dragonite look so different to their pre-evolutions? I know it’s not uncommon for pokemon to look different from their pre-evolutions, but dratini and dragonair look so similar…

True, but it’s nonetheless pretty normal for a pokémon line with high-cost evolutions. In dragonite’s case, it’s simply that dragonite represents the adult form of the line, whereas both dratini and dragonair are the larval stages.

Putting it another way, many lines whose stages look vastly different (remoraid and octillery, venonat and venomoth, magikarp and gyarados, and so forth) are often two-stage lines because the larval or basic stage can achieve the energy and power needed for evolution without much trouble. Dragonite needs an immense amount of power to evolve, so it needs to pass through an intermediary stage before it can reach its adult. Consequently, the evolution from dratini to dragonair uses a minimal amount of energy, which means it ends up strongly resembling its basic stage, rather than a cross between dratini and dragonite.

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!

(Sorry if this has been asked before, I forget.) Is there any difference besides a categorical one between legendary and mythical pokemon?

Yes, actually. Legendary pokémon are well documented in a region’s history, and generally speaking, there are more sightings of them than mythicals. Mythical pokémon, meanwhile, are often only vaguely mentioned in a region’s folklore, and sightings of them are so rare there can be debate about their existence. The line between these two categories is fuzzy, though, and many researchers consider the latter to be a subset of the former.

Why do so many counterpart pokemon (frillish/jellicent, basculin, shellos/gastrodon, latios & latias, sawk & throh) seem to divide into blue and red specifically? (Also, did people model gendered fashion off of jellicent, or did they get bred so males had mustaches and females had lips and eyelashes?)

Coincidence.

That may sound like I’m being facetious, but there have been a number of studies on this point, all of which came to this exact conclusion.

The same could be said in response to your question concerning jellicent. Jellicent simply evolved to look like that on their own, and human concepts of gendered fashion just happened to mirror the jellicent through a completely unconnected (to the jellicent, that is) series of cultural shifts. It’s quite fascinating, really.

Hey Bill. My new Dragalge and I were surfing recently when I got caught by a riptide; luckily he was there to save me, but he may or may not have scratched me in doing so. There aren’t any noticeable marks or localized pain, but I’ve been running a fever all week with headaches, general stomach issues, and fatigue. I’m a poison-type trainer, this isn’t my first rodeo getting pricked, but I’m not as versed in Kalosian Pokémon as I might be. Is it possible he accidentally poisoned me?

There’s a very good chance, I’m afraid, as both of dragalge’s primary natural abilities can cause poisoning upon contact. It wouldn’t hurt to consume pecha berry extract or administer a general antidote just in case, but if the fever persists after that, consider taking yourself to the doctor to run a few tests on waterborne illnesses instead.

Do the second heads on cherubi have consciousness like the rest of the cherubi? Why did cherubi evolve to have two heads?

Regarding your first question, not really. It reacts to stimuli (light, heat, pain, and so forth), but it’s not capable of independent thought beyond that.

As for why it evolved, the going theory is that it’s actually a store for nutrients, but the way a cherubi’s body is structured (which is ideal for hanging from branches but not so ideal from keeping this store away from predators) required it to develop a means of protection. A rudimentary pseudobrain just happens to be a rather effective warning system for a main body. (See also: girafarig.)

Sorry for the long question… a Gallade is my partner and best friend. Recently we’ve been battling together and he loves it and really wants to take on the League. The problem is he doesn’t have a pokeball and the league won’t allow our application unless he is registered to one. He thinks they’re degrading. I try to explain that he has to be in one only for a second to get registered and I won’t think any less of him but he won’t listen. Is there anything else I can say?

Perhaps there isn’t much you can say, anonymous, but maybe there’s something other pokémon can say. Have your gallade meet a gym leader’s team; gym leaders are often more than happy to let their pokémon mentor others. Additionally, show your gallade recorded matches between members of the Elite Four or the various champions. The more your gallade is exposed to pokémon that have poké balls (either by conversing with them or by watching them), the easier it may be to convince him it’s a painless process.

Best of luck!

So I’ve been wanting to enter contests for awhile. I’ve only raised water types so far; my dear seadra and chinchou. The question is, would all contests have a certain water-themed stage for water types that don’t really do well on land? And another thing, do you need all contest category ribbons to enter the grand festival and how do battles work in contests? I’m sorry, I don’t really know how it all goes. I’ve only ever seen it on tv and it blew my mind how amazing contests are.

I admit my knowledge of contests is limited (that’s more Lanette’s wheelhouse than mine—she was a coordinator whereas I was a trainer), but from what I understand of the way she described it, you only need five ribbons of one type for the main contest circuit—that is, the one that ends with the grand festivals. There are themed contests as well (beauty, cute, tough, and so forth), which are considered to be the closest equivalent to the Elite Four gauntlet that coordinators undertake, but these only have four ribbons, with the master rank contest ribbon being the ultimate goal. (That is to say, the themed circuits don’t end with a grand festival; they end with a master rank contest.)

Battles are only a part of the general circuit. Themed contests focus purely on highlighting a pokémon’s appearance and skills, so they’re structured to showcase both off the battlefield. The general contests, meanwhile, highlight not only the pokémon but also the skills of the coordinator, so they’re divided into the stage round (a performance showcasing a pokémon’s aesthetic and skills) and the battle round (which emphasizes the coordinator’s bond with their pokémon as well as their creativity under pressure). To put the battle round in short, there are two possible goals: knock your opponent out or survive with the highest amount of points. You lose points if you either execute a poorly thought-out strategy (usually defined as a move used in a way that doesn’t highlight your pokémon at the same time—or in other words, brute force) or if your opponent executes a brilliant strategy against you. It’s actually easier to lose points and be disqualified that way than it is to knock out your opponent, so it’s in a coordinator’s best interest to be strategic, rather than strong.

(As challenging as this is, themed contests are still considered harder because of the lack of this round. It’s simpler to work with your pokémon during a contest than it is to rely solely on their aesthetic to fit with the contest’s theme. Apparently, anyway.)

Finally, water-types. While a pool can be made available on request, most coordinators opt for using energy nets to suspend their water-types above the ground. This is considered to be more aesthetically interesting, especially in the Sinnoh circuit, where coordinators combine this with poké ball capsule seals for dramatic effect.