Hi Bill! I recently found out that my umbreon is pregnant, and I thought you would be able to give me advice on what I should do to prepare for the babies?

PUPPY-PROOF. EVERYTHING.

It doesn’t matter if you think, “Oh, there couldn’t possibly be a way for an eevee puppy to get in there.” No. No, anonymous. You absolutely must puppy-proof everything. Put locks on the cabinets where you store your household chemicals (and be sure that it’s a cabinet well above floor level). Invest in gates. Invest in gates for the gates. Cover your wall sockets. Secure your valuables and fragile items. Consider bolting your furniture to the floor while you’re at it. Place your wires well out of reach and cover them with repel. And if you happen to have any important papers that you don’t want to see ripped to shreds, lock them away. Eevee puppies are extremely curious and tenacious. They will cause mischief if they can find a way to do so.

Other than that, simply ensure that the mother has a safe, secure place to lay her egg(s), as well as plenty of food and water, and perhaps watch videos on how to assist in delivering and caring for eggs. (Or perhaps don’t do the latter, as the mother may become territorial while her egg is incubating, and in any case, most mother pokémon will know how best to care for their young. Umbreon especially are prone to biting if you get too close to either her eggs or newborn pups.)

Best of luck!

Why do all species of pokemon lay eggs?

There’s actually a simple answer, anonymous: it’s a lot more energy efficient in the long run. Giving live birth is not only a far more exhausting process, but also, it consumes a lot of energy to nourish and protect a developing fetus. Doubly so because battling itself consumes a lot of energy as well. It’s simply easier and safer for both the mother and the young to lay eggs and allow the fetus to develop outside of the womb.

What are some common hatch defects observed in the Charmander line? I tried asking a breeder but she started crying???? I hope she’s ok

Well … admittedly, hatch defects can be quite gruesome, so it can be rough for a sensitive breeder, especially if (and no offense intended to the breeder in one of these asks) the available genetic pool is … less than ideal for viable offspring, to put it as lightly as possible.

To put it bluntly, meanwhile, the worst of these will result in death, either shortly after hatching or, well, long after. Such deformities can range from abdominal hernias (in which the abdominal wall isn’t fully developed, causing internal organs to press against the skin—which is a condition that is not at all viable for life) to conditions in which the charmander will refuse to eat (which is possible to reverse with a lot of hard work) or in which the charmander will build up fluids beneath its skin slowly and for reasons that aren’t entirely understood in the pokémon medical world (which is not possible to reverse and will also result in death months after birth). Some charmander may even develop open sores due to an underdeveloped scale and/or immune system, although this, too, can be treated. However, if your charmander is born without scales or with an inability to produce more, that may make life somewhat painful for it, and battling with such a charmander is not recommended. They simply can’t recover as quickly as charmander with healthy scales, and wounds are more likely to become infected.

However, there are plenty of other conditions that are perfectly viable for life. Sometimes, charmander may be born blind. They could be born missing limbs, claws, or toes. Some have kinked tails (although if a charmander has a kinked spine—that is to say, spinal issues further up the column—then that pokémon may struggle when battling, just as a forewarning) or flames that burn a little dimmer than most, even when the charmander is perfectly healthy. Some have significant underbites or overbites (which only require some minor assistance for feeding when the charmander is young—they will learn to feed themselves eventually), and some are born without eyelids (which require you to administer eyedrops when they’re young until their eyes adapt). Some are simply born too soon and either have their yolk sac attached (which will fall off without any issue on its own) or are otherwise smaller than the rest of the clutch. As you can tell by the abundance of notes throughout this paragraph, all of these conditions result in charmander that can absolutely lead long and healthy lives; it’s just that some of these will require care, especially early on. And before you ask, no, evolution doesn’t “resolve” any of these issues. A charmander born missing a limb will be missing that limb as a charmeleon and charizard, but rest assured that this is perfectly natural and that the pokémon in question is very likely still perfectly healthy.

As a note, all of these deformities are possible in both standard and shiny charmander. Shininess doesn’t really increase the chances of a charmander being born deformed, as many of these deformities depend on a variety of factors entirely unrelated to a charmander’s color, from temperature and humidity of the incubator to genetic mutations on separate parts of a charmander’s DNA from the code that controls pigmentation.

Okay so long story short, my talonflame just had a clutch of eggs and sadly, one of the chicks did not make it long after hatching. I have had to research how to look after the babies myself because (due to grief, I think) she will not take care of the rest. I’ve had no problems caring for them, but this isn’t the ideal situation. Is there anything I can do to help her deal with her loss and have her caring for her young again?

First and foremost, I’m sorry for your loss, anonymous.

This can be a difficult time for you and your talonflame, but there may be a few things you can do. First, ensure that her nest is in a place free from stressors. Keep her space clean and quiet, and always stock it with plenty of food and water, as well as access to fresh air. The more comfortable she is, the easier it will be to keep her calm.

Next, tend to her needs personally. The calmer she is, the easier it will be to go through the rest of the reintroduction process. Feed her treats, give her wing massages, and reassure her that you care deeply for her until she seems completely at ease.

Then, reintroduce her chicks to her nest. Depending on how violently she rejects them, it may be best to do this step slowly, with one chick at a time. Place the chick in the nest and watch for her reaction. If she doesn’t toss it out (and I mean that literally, so be prepared to catch fletchling here or there), add the next one in until the clutch is in her care.

You’ll need to follow this up with a combination of regular check-ups to the pokémon center (which may also offer help for her mental health and assistance with the grief process) and active training, the latter of which should be focused on maternal tasks. That is to say, you may need to teach her how to be a mother again.

Above everything else, though, remember that this may take time. Losing a child is almost always heartbreaking for a mother, even one that isn’t human, and it may be difficult for her to heal. Be patient as you help her, and eventually, she may come to love her surviving fletchling.

If all else fails, though, be ready with a foster parent, or another pokémon who’s willing to act as their mother. As sad as it is to say this, sometimes, a mother who rejects her clutch never reaccepts it.

Best of luck, anonymous!

Hey Bill, I have a raichu I raised since she is an egg and I recently took her to nurse joy to find out my raichu is actually intersex. That explains why raichu acts as male and female. I still love my raichu and care about her the same as before I found out. Nurse joy also said that she is likely not able to reproduce. I consider my raichu close to female because her tail seems it has a flat tip. How rare is this in Pokémon?

To be perfectly honest, genetics is a very complicated topic, and as with all things in nature, it can be … rather messy. That is to say, if you have something that’s traditionally thought as being binary—such as biological sex—oftentimes, the actual definitions of those concepts are a bit on the hazy side when put in practice. That is to say, a lot of things determine the way a pokémon’s sexual characteristics develop (depending on the species), and sometimes, some of those factors don’t fall into the clean-cut categories one would think they would. For example, in pokémon that follow the XY sex-determination system (which is to say, most mammalian pokémon, raichu included), we’re commonly taught that males have XY chromosomes, whereas females have XX. However, there are a whole host of other combinations an individual may have, including XO (i.e., only one sex chromosome), XXY, XYY, XXX (right on up to XXXXX), and so forth. Granted, a number of these combinations actually produce genetic disorders that affect an individual’s day-to-day life (if the disorder doesn’t simply kill them early on), but there are combinations that can be virtually undetectable, save for levels of estrogen or testosterone and minor physical differences. An individual could even have a “standard” pair of chromosomes but develop sex characteristics associated with the other “standard” pair. In short, genetics are far from neat.

(As a note, the above merely describes mammalian sex determination. Reptiles, insects, birds, and all the other pokémon in existence have entirely different biological mechanisms for sex determination, varying from environmental factors, whether or not the egg is fertilized in the first place, right on up to whether or not the newly fertilized egg undergoes mitosis properly—the latter of which is very similar to the process of XY determination.)

How often does that happen, though? It’s difficult to say, and it varies by species, but it’s generally thought to be not particularly common or rare across the board. I know that sounds odd, but I mean that there really isn’t hard data concerning how often an intersex pokémon occurs. In mammals, though, it’s estimated that eggs have a 1 in about 1700 chance of being intersex like your raichu, but it’s somewhat more common than that in insects and crustacean pokémon. Genetically intersex bird pokémon, on the other hand, are either nonexistent or extremely rare. (The known cases of intersex bird pokémon on record actually aren’t genetic. These pokémon have suffered damages to their reproductive system sometime in their lives and consequently started to produce sex characteristics of another gender.)

In short, it’s not often that you see a pokémon like your raichu, but rest assured that she isn’t alone!

Why do Alolan persian look so different to regular persian? Especially since the meowth look the same…

I know several meowth maniacs who would be delighted to hear you say that last part.

In all seriousness, it’s just because you can control quite a bit when breeding, and Alolan meowth were bred specifically to produce a persian with those specific characteristics. The meowth stage looks similar to the standard meowth, however, simply because most Alolan breeders still think it’s cute and wanted to maintain that house cat-like cuteness through to its persian stage.

Is it possible to spay a bird pokemon? I have a female pidgey who has become close friends with a wild taillow who keeps coming into our backyard who happens to be male. I’d like to keep their friendship going but I’m not sure if I’d be prepared to take care of any eggs or hatchlings they might have. If it isnt possible, do I just need to supervise them all the time?

While it’s possible to spay a bird pokémon, it’s extremely difficult and could lead to complications that, in short, means it’s not worth trying unless the pokémon’s life is somehow jeopardized by being intact. That having been said, I’m afraid that’s about all you can do, anonymous, other than training your pidgey to ward off unwanted advances on her own and to avoid mating if at all possible. The only other suggestion I can make for this is to look into options for rehoming eggs in a humane manner, just in case.

Hi there! My precious Flareon had 4 babies couple of weeks ago, 2 eevees and 2 shinxes. Her partner is my Luxray and I want to ask some tips on how to take care newborn pokemons. Their kits are always hyperactive especially the shinxes where they couldn’t control their electrics perfectly yet. So please help me! I want to become a great caretaker for them.

As I’ve mentioned briefly in a previous ask (http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/post/166442752080/um-hi-yes-my-houndoom-hannah-has-recently-begun), for the most part, caring for newborns is complicated, but it’s made easier by the fact that unless the mother has rejected her kits (unlikely, but it happens), she will generally care for her young. This is very true for the eevee family, which are generally protective of their young due to how much the base species is affected by its environment. Likely, your flareon will display similar behavior towards her shinx young, so you won’t need to worry about things such as food or basic care until they grow old enough to be fully independent from their parents.

The same could actually be said for your predicament with your shinx kits. While it may be frustrating to see them unleash their electricity seemingly at random, their luxray parent will instinctually attempt to train them himself unless he’s rejected his young. All you’ll need to do is make sure your shinx kits are given ample space … and that you safely store any object you’d miss.

Once they’re old enough to be weaned, caring for the young is very much the same as caring for the parents, only on a smaller scale, so if you remember how you cared for your flareon and luxray when they were eevee and shinx, you should have few problems. If, however, you had received these pokémon as evolutions or if you don’t remember at all, simply scale back the amount of food and water you give the kits and train them for less time, but provide the same basic care and scale upwards as the kits get older.

If, however, your flareon or your luxray have outright rejected your new kits, feed them formula from a bottle at least once every three hours. (As you get closer to weaning them, you can increase the time between feedings.) Be sure that the formula is warm (but not scalding) and feed them by holding them upright in the crook of your arm, not on their backs like you would a human baby. Swaddle your shinx in rubber-lined cloth (available at pokémarts) or be sure to wear rubber as you bottle-feed them. At one to two months, eevee and shinx can be weaned onto solid food. (Start with wet food in a shallow dish, then move on to dry food soaked in milk and then dry food without milk once their teeth grow in.) At this point, it’s important to keep an eye on their droppings to be sure they’re digesting their food properly. Luckily, eevee can be housebroken fairly quickly using verbal explanations. Shinx may need to be litter trained, however. Rub a cotton ball on each kit’s lower belly immediately after feeding to stimulate their digestive systems, then place them in the litter box and essentially … let them go. Eventually, they’ll get the idea.

Moreover, keep your kits warm at all times. Their ideal body temperatures at this point in time is roughly 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Add a hot water bottle to their carrier or bed if you live someplace cold, and monitor their temperatures regularly. Additionally, bathe your kits regularly by wiping them thoroughly but gently with a warm, wet cloth. Eventually, eevee may need regular baths with eevee shampoo (some, especially those that eventually evolve into espeon, will learn to bathe themselves), but shinx will need to be encouraged to bathe themselves.

Best of luck, and congratulations on your new additions!

How do genderless Pokemon reproduce?

Re, the first question: carefully.

In all seriousness, these questions are actually more or less answered here: http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/post/153028583556/how-is-it-that-two-dittos-cannot-breed-two

To summarize, when in the presence of a ditto, the ditto takes on the form of the subject pokémon … only with appropriate reproductive organs. The ditto lays the egg (more often than naught), and the “genderless” pokémon (they’re actually in possession of male and female reproductive organs typically) fertilizes the egg. On their own, however, these “genderless” pokémon reproduce in a variety of ways, from fission to self-fertilization.

The latter is true for solrock and lunatone … in a way. Rather than lay eggs themselves, as genderless pokémon cannot lay eggs, they spray nearby rocks with spores, which convert the stone into a baby solrock or lunatone that is genetically identical to the parent.

(You’re welcome for that mental image, by the by.)

Hello Bill! I’ve got an eevee drama. Recently, my neighbour has gifted an eevee egg to me (my friends says he has a crush for me, but he’s a kid, it’s impossible right?), and it’s the most adorable little thing you’ve seen. The problem it’s that there is no eevee formula in the pokemart because Customs problems and giving her raw miltank milk can cause intolerance. The recommended me to give her formula from another pokemon within the same egg group. Would she be allright with it? I’m from Alola

Strange. As eevee are actually native to Alola (and abundant on one of the islands, at that), you shouldn’t have any trouble finding eevee-specific formula. Moreover, formula is not typically an item seized by customs, as if processed correctly (that is, not laced with lead-based pigments, as some countries with less scrupulous quality control tend to do), formula contains nothing that would be considered harmful to the Alolan ecosystem or population. You may wish to ask again or look in larger supermarkets. If all else fails, try shopping on Akala Island, where eevee tend to thrive in the wild.

That having been said, using different formulas for baby pokémon tends to be trickier than using generic kibble for adults. Babies require a very precise balance of nutrition that varies greatly by species. However, if you absolutely must, you can give your eevee formula from a different species of pokémon, but (and this is a very important but), it can’t simply be formula for a member from the same egg group. Try to match up the other species with eevee as much as possible. Your target species should be a carnivore, preferably a canine, as these will have the same nutritional requirements (or as close to the same as possible) that your baby eevee will have. Rockruff or vulpix may be your best choices.

Good luck, and congratulations on the new addition to your family!