Anon with the fear of fairy-types here; I ended up having a pretty long talk with my girlfriend, and she was actually really understanding? We decided to go see an earlier matinee, then got takeout for dinner and ate in the park while her clefable and my cubone got to know each other. Your suggestion about having him as a buffer was great; I’m still working up to a one-on-one meeting, but seeing how well our pokemon played together made me think things will work out.

Dreadfully belated reply, but this is excellent to hear! Keep working, anonymous, and may your relationship with both your girlfriend and her clefable be filled with happiness.

Hi, uh… so I had a really bad experience with fairy-type pokemon when I was a kid, and I’ve been scared of them ever since. Never told anyone about it, either. Any advice on conquering this fear? Please reply soon; I’ve got a date coming up and she wants to introduce me to her clefable after the movie!

Well … if you had more time, I would suggest exposure therapy using either a less aggressive or less obvious fairy-type such as flabébé or marill. However, seeing as time is of the essence, allow me to suggest this instead:

1. If at all possible, don’t see a horror movie. In fact, try to avoid any movie that would put you on edge. The calmer you’ll be after the movie, the easier the introduction will be.

2. Be honest with your date. Remember, a relationship is about trust and communication. If you share with your partner that you’re afraid of fairy-types but would still be open to meeting her clefable (not to speak for you, but the clefable is still part of your relationship), she may be understanding of your needs and either give you time or talk things through with you to come up with a strategy.

3. If she’s open to having you meet her clefable, remain calm during the encounter. You may wish to bring along your most trusted pokémon to have by your side. Additionally, consider using breathing exercises to ground yourself and keep your thoughts under control. Take the introduction slowly and communicate with your partner when you feel too uncomfortable to continue.

4. If at all possible, inform her of this fear before your date. This may seem awkward, but the sooner she knows about your condition, the sooner she’ll be able to help you—or the easier the introduction will be. She will, at the very least, have time to prepare on her side too.

Best of luck!

Thanks for writing about the Clefairy line! Although, I’ve heard stories that, when a Clefable dies due to violence, it turns into a vengeful Gengar, and stalks the land trying to find whoever killed it. Is that true, or was that Johto guy just leading me on?

You’re welcome.

As for your question concerning clefable, don’t be silly, anon. They have to start out as gastly first and then evolve into gengar. No pokémon can just turn into the last member of a ghost evolutionary line! Why, that would be absolutely ridiculous. Furthermore, it’s not just clefable, either. All non-ghost pokémon do this.

Who even gave you this information? Eusine? It must have been Eusine. Ho-oh even knows where he gets his theories sometimes.

The Clefairy Line

Cleffa
The Star Shape Pokémon
Type: Fairy
Official Registration #: 173
Entry: Because of its star shape and tendency to appear during meteor showers, it is said that cleffa and its evolved forms originated from either the moon or elsewhere in space. In order to determine if this claim has any grain of truth to it, tests have been proposed by numerous scientists throughout history to determine whether or not cleffa can withstand the extreme conditions of space. However, no test has ever gotten past the proposal stage for two reasons. First, cleffa are listed on the endangered wild pokémon list, making testing with them virtually impossible. Second, shooting a pokémon into the vacuum of space is generally frowned upon by ethics boards.

Clefairy
The Fairy Pokémon
Type: Fairy
Official Registration #: 35
Entry: The evolved form of cleffa, via happiness. Little-known fact about clefairy—they secrete a sticky substance from the backs of their throats that hardens into a crystalline form upon exposure to air. Additionally, their tendency to dance under the light of the full moon is actually an irresistible drive, not simply a behavior some of them enjoy if given an appropriate amount of time and space. Both of these facts make life as a clefairy rather awkward, but on the positive side, their fur is about as soft as velvet, and the ability to hear even the most subtle sounds is a plus. …Not that the writer would know anything about either, of course.

Clefable
The Fairy Pokémon
Type: Fairy
Official Registration #: 36
Entry: The evolved form of clefairy, by exposure to moon stone. Although its pink fur, its rabbit-like ears, and its bouncing gait make it an adorable choice for a pet, this pokémon is not to be underestimated. In truth, clefable possess enough fairy magic to bring down a rampaging hydreigon, and this combined with its extremely acute hearing and its disarmingly soft and cute look make it a vicious predator of dragon-type pokémon. Entire hordes of clefable have been known to take down wandering dragons. Whether this is to feed their expansive clefairy colonies or simply because they enjoy hunting for sport is still a matter of debate.

Well, I assumed that since your house is very close to Mt. Moon, you would have had a golden opportunity to study the rare Clefairy, the rarer Clefable, and the rarest Cleffa! Why, what were you referring to?

…Why, yes, I was likewise referring to my address. Of course!