Hi Bill and Lanette, I’ve been breeding Pokemon for six years and something has come up that I need assistance with. My Blaziken just hatched a shiny Torchic, but for some reason she’s rejected it. I’d tried reintroducing it to her but she shows no interest in it and has even lashed out at us a few times. In my six years I’ve never had a Pokemon reject a shiny offspring and the Pokemon Center has said that the chick is of optimal health; do you have any ideas as to why she’s behaving this way?

Bill: This can happen from time to time, I’m afraid, anonymous. Scientists and breeders alike aren’t quite sure what causes a parent to reject a hatchling, but shininess does indeed seem to increase those chances. It’s thought to be tied into a sort of survival instinct: the more oddly colored a pokémon is, the less likely it will be able to benefit from the advantages its standard coloration provides (camouflage from predators, camouflage from prey, warning patterns, mimicry, etc) in the wild. Therefore, a shiny pokémon tends to be less likely to survive. Additionally, in some cases, shininess may be mistaken for illness, particularly in species whose coloration are lighter than standard or specific colors associated with internal problems (such as yellow being associated with jaundice, especially in humanoid pokémon). Given the color of a shiny torchic, this might be the more likely case—your blaziken might not recognize what a shiny torchic looks like and may think that this hatchling isn’t meant to survive.

Alternatively, it could be something wrong with the mother as well. Just as humans occasionally suffer from postpartum, pokémon mothers may feel the same way, which could result in their inability to even want to care for their offspring. If the birth of this torchic was recent, these feelings may fade away over time, but you’ll need plenty of patience (as well as a temporary surrogate mother to care for the torchic for now) until your blaziken recovers. Support her as much as possible in the meantime and observe her behavior carefully. If/when she feels at ease and safe, reintroduce the chick to see if this is the cause.

The third and final possibility (that I can recall off the top of my head, at least) is that the torchic was separated from its mother far too early. If, for example, you removed the chick from your blaziken for even as little as a few hours after birth or even if you’ve removed the chick from the nest and failed to put it back at night while your blaziken was resting, you may have accidentally interfered with the bonding process. While the entire idea that handling a hatchling with your hands will cause parents to reject their children is a myth for most species, for blaziken, there is a grain of truth to it, especially when they’re extremely young. While your blaziken likely won’t be able to catch your scent on her chick, she will be unlikely to recognize its look or heat signature if it’s not next to her for the first several hours after birth.

Of course, these are only a few possible scenarios out of many. As I’ve said, it’s difficult to tell what the case actually is, and as expressive as pokémon are, they may not be able to convey effectively what’s wrong. You could certainly try (and this would be an excellent idea, actually), but I’m afraid many of the possibilities have rather bleak outcomes. That is to say, if your blaziken has outright rejected this torchic, then it’s likely to have been permanently rejected, and any attempts for reintroduction may actually result in violence from your blaziken. (Many wild blaziken will kill torchic they reject, and this holds true for tame ones as well, as you likely know.) I would advise giving your blaziken a little more time to recover from the excitement of having a torchic hatch, then trying to reintroduce her torchic to her one more time. If she still rejects it, I’m afraid you’ll need to raise the torchic yourself.

Luckily, though, many bird pokémon such as torchic are rather independent, compared to most mammalian pokémon. That is to say, your torchic still has a very strong chance of survival, even without its mother, so long as you’re careful about hand-feeding it and keeping watch on it for the first few months.

Best of luck!

Why does the Alolan pokedex say such horrible things about mega evolution? My blazekin, Hina, gets a real thrill from the temporary power boost it gives, She eagerly taps her megastone when she goes into battle, and when she mega-evolves, she gives that particular cluck that she uses to mean “Good! Good!”

To be fair, the Alolan pokédex says horrible things about s lot of pokémon. That’s what happens when you let a ghost-type write the entries and an eccentric “approve” whatever it writes.

In all seriousness, though, mega evolution can be a highly stressful, extremely violent event. For most pokémon/trainer combinations, it takes time and effort to control the process, and only the extremely lucky or highly skilled master it right away.

The Torchic Line

bills-pokedex:

Torchic
The Chick Pokémon
Type: Fire
Official Registration #: 255
Entry: One of three pokémon traditionally offered to new trainers at the beginning of their journeys in Hoenn. A small, chick-like pokémon whose natural body temperature is so hot that the fireballs it launches during battle can reach temperatures in excess of 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus, in Hoenn, it is said that torchic are very warm to cuddle, but given that these are the same people who live in a region that feature a desert, an active volcano, a dormant volcano, and a tropical jungle, outsiders should take torchic’s cuddliness with a grain of salt.

For your information, it is very cuddly, and someone who had the misfortune of being raised in a region where you don’t see sun for six months out of the year because of the constant rain should perhaps keep his opinions about Hoennians to himself. —LH

The reason why I poke fun at every other region but Hoenn, ladies and gentlemen. —Bill

Combusken
The Young Fowl Pokémon
Type: Fire/Fighting
Official Registration #: 256
Entry: The evolved form of torchic, by battle experience. A powerful and energetic pokémon, combusken is capable of delivering ten kicks per second, and each kick is capable of rending solid concrete in two. In Hoenn, this has made combusken a prized fighter ideal for taking on the rock- and steel-heavy Hoenn League. In Unova, however, combusken are noted for their muscular legs, which apparently taste wonderful to an Unovan when said legs are breaded, seasoned, and fried in whatever magical oils the local Floccesy Fried Chicken establishment uses.

Blaziken
The Blaze Pokémon
Type: Fire/Fighting
Official Registration #: 257
Entry: The evolved form of combusken, by battle experience. Upon evolution, blaziken gain the ability to jump thirty-story buildings, set their fists on fire via flame cuffs, breathe jets of flames, and endure hours of intense fighting. Upon mega evolution, it also gains the ability Speed Boost … because that’s exactly what you need a six-foot-tall chicken with fire powers and superhuman martial arts skills to do: gain speed boosts naturally.

Mega Blaziken
The Blaze Pokémon
Type: Fire/Fighting
Official Registration #: 257+
Entry: The advanced form of blaziken, via blazikenite. As noted in the entry for its base form, blaziken gains the ability Speed Boost upon mega evolution. This ability allows it to launch its notorious flurry of kicks with even greater speed than it would as an ordinary blaziken. It does not, contrary to popular belief, allow blaziken to become a “spicy fast boy,” as the internet puts it.

How can I kindly tell my blaziken that while I appreciate the sentiment, he cannot (want to) punch my ex in the face everytime we see him on the street?? I don’t need the police being called on my pokemon…

If it makes you feel any better, no court in any region would press charges on a pokémon.

Edit: As expected, Lanette has decided this was a terrible answer.

Contrary to popular belief regarding bird-like pokémon, blaziken (and all bird-like pokémon, for that matter, but that’s neither here nor there) are actually highly intelligent. This is why yours has taken it upon himself to protect you from your ex. Or, well, to seek revenge on your ex for hurting you. In any case, what I mean to say is that it’s important to communicate your wants and needs with your blaziken. Tell him in a firm but gentle manner that you appreciate how much he cares about you, but he can’t be as aggressive as he’s being towards your former significant other. Explain to him that doing so will get you in trouble (as you’re his trainer and thus responsible for all his actions) and in any case, it’s far better to move on and find your happiness without your ex than to dwell on it and strike back days, months, or even years after the two of you went your separate ways.

If your blaziken fails to understand this, then you may wish to avoid letting him get anywhere near your ex. Keep your poké ball on hand and return him if your ex ever crosses your path (or, better yet, whenever your blaziken seems a little more aggressive than normal).

Alternatively, consider teaching your blaziken to heel. (I’ve written a guide on how to do so here: http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/post/163998759883/help-my-cubchoo-has-an-insatiable-appetite-for . Although this guide is geared towards mammalian pokémon, it can be adapted to practically any pokémon at all.) Teaching him to heel will give you the ability to keep his anger in check in situations where returning him may not be entirely feasible.

In short, try starting off by having a conversation with your blaziken first, then move on to teaching him how to heel and keeping him on a metaphorical short list. It may be awkward at first, but I quite agree it’s a far more desirable course of action than, well, being arrested for allowing your pokémon to assault someone.

Best of luck, anonymous!

My Machamp and Blaziken, Star and Magician, have been posing very… Intensely, recently. They’ll just lock eyes and suddenly strike a very impressive pose after a moment. Is this a behavior commonly seen in fighting-types?

Strangely, yes. While not all fighting-types do this, many consider flexing to be a form of communication. Think of it as similar to the way two growlithe sniff at each other’s tails when they first meet. Just as this is a way for growlithe to understand each other, two fighting-types display for each other to show off their power, which in turn allows them to understand a number of things about one another, including how they train and so forth.

It should be noted that when I say that fighting-types compare how they train with one another, I don’t mean that they try to establish dominance. Rather, it’s a form of camaraderie, an act in which two pokémon engage in friendly appraisal. This is especially common with pokémon on the same team, as fighting-types will gauge each other’s progress for the sake of helping one another to develop their talents.

So in short, it’s nothing to worry about, @samthewindwaker. It just means that your pokémon have been putting forth a particular amount of effort in their training regimens lately, and they’re discussing their progress.

(Assuming, of course, that they aren’t literally fighting one another or displaying any form of explicit aggression towards each other.)

My blaziken had just laid eggs and she has been aggressive towards every pokemon around, including her mate. So far I’m the only one in general she allows near her eggs and while I can understand her behavior and was even prepared for it, this is a bit too much. Is there any way to make her feel less on edge?

Sometimes, a blaziken will grow more comfortable and at-ease if you give her treats before her mate approaches, and other times, she may grow more comfortable if you show her that she can trust others around her eggs with your usual daily care. (That means cleaning her nest, refilling her food and water supplies, getting her to exercise daily, and checking on the temperature of her eggs.)

However, it’s also possible that there’s very likely little that you can do until her brood hatches. Remember, blaziken are one of the few bird-like pokémon that don’t normally have “shifts” when it comes to incubating the eggs. That is to say, the hen lays the egg and incubates them; the mate has very little involvement in them after fertilization. It’s very likely that your hen is attempting to drive away what she perceives as a clingy mate—or, perhaps, a threat to her brood (as a male blaziken can get rather aggressive, even to his own offspring).

For that reason, at most, I would advise just keeping an eye on the hen and ensuring that the hatching goes smoothly—and, of course, that the hen doesn’t do too much damage to her mate.

The Torchic Line

Torchic
The Chick Pokémon
Type: Fire
Official Registration #: 255
Entry: One of three pokémon traditionally offered to new trainers at the beginning of their journeys in Hoenn. A small, chick-like pokémon whose natural body temperature is so hot that the fireballs it launches during battle can reach temperatures in excess of 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus, in Hoenn, it is said that torchic are very warm to cuddle, but given that these are the same people who live in a region that feature a desert, an active volcano, a dormant volcano, and a tropical jungle, outsiders should take torchic’s cuddliness with a grain of salt.

For your information, it is very cuddly, and someone who had the misfortune of being raised in a region where you don’t see sun for six months out of the year because of the constant rain should perhaps keep his opinions about Hoennians to himself. —LH

The reason why I poke fun at every other region but Hoenn, ladies and gentlemen. —Bill

Combusken
The Young Fowl Pokémon
Type: Fire/Fighting
Official Registration #: 256
Entry: The evolved form of torchic, by battle experience. A powerful and energetic pokémon, combusken is capable of delivering ten kicks per second, and each kick is capable of rending solid concrete in two. In Hoenn, this has made combusken a prized fighter ideal for taking on the rock- and steel-heavy Hoenn League. In Unova, however, combusken are noted for their muscular legs, which apparently taste wonderful to an Unovan when said legs are breaded, seasoned, and fried in whatever magical oils the local Floccesy Fried Chicken establishment uses.

Blaziken
The Blaze Pokémon
Type: Fire/Fighting
Official Registration #: 257
Entry: The evolved form of combusken, by battle experience. Upon evolution, blaziken gain the ability to jump thirty-story buildings, set their fists on fire via flame cuffs, breathe jets of flames, and endure hours of intense fighting. Upon mega evolution, it also gains the ability Speed Boost … because that’s exactly what you need a six-foot-tall chicken with fire powers and superhuman martial arts skills to do: gain speed boosts naturally.