Tag: Dragonair

Which snake pokemon would you say is the best cuddler? Serperior seems most capable, but probably too haughty.

That depends on your definition of “snake.” Before I continue, yes, serperior is a good cuddler, but there are others that might be better suited to the task.

For example, arbok is notoriously a good cuddler, being an expert at the technique Wrap. Many consider it to be better than serperior, if only because serperior’s fighting techniques don’t quite rely on immobilizing an enemy that way, which means that you are, quite literally, training arbok to cuddle, more so than serperior. Ekans is just as good as its evolution, but arbok really has the advantage of length (and thus, more length with which to cuddle). Meanwhile, if we expand our definition of “snake” to include all serpents, including those that are more dragons, dragonair can not only cuddle but also change the weather of the immediate surroundings to a rather pleasant temperature for maximum comfort of both its trainer and itself.

Of course, if we expand our definition of “cuddler” to include snakes that are excellent for cuddling, you really can’t get any better than dunsparce.

Hey Bill, an acquaintance of mine found some wild Dratini fry(barely newborn) and caught one. I was wondering how ethical it was to catch newborn Pokémon, and I’m actually sort of worried for both the mother and the Dratini in question! She’s a decent trainer, but that doesn’t mean she’s qualified to raise a literal newborn Dratini. Help!

I know this might sound a bit repetitive, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If a very young trainerless pokémon as rare as dratini appears before a human, there are two possible reasons for it. First, it was abandoned or lost as an egg. If this is the case, then its chances of survival are actually incredibly low. Second, it’s not a hatchling but rather a juvenile, which in some species’ cases are difficult to distinguish. However, the difference is extremely important; juveniles can survive on their own, whereas hatchlings cannot.

The driving reason behind both of these things is actually the same: most pokémon nests aren’t easy to find precisely because of human involvement. That is, while we aren’t technically predators for pokémon, it’s true that we do remove them from their natural habitat. Pokémon by instinct will make their nests hidden, inaccessible, or both precisely to protect their young until they’re ready to go out into the world on their own. While young pokémon won’t necessarily die if they leave their nests, they’re still vastly inexperienced and may not be able to stand up to predators or other pokémon without the watchful eyes of their parents, so it’s extremely rare for a pokémon that young to be on its own, without anyone to help it develop its skills enough to battle.

With that having been said, dratini nests are especially difficult for humans to reach. Part of this has to do with the fact that dratini are so few in numbers (and thus aren’t as bold as magikarp, for an off-hand example), and the other part is that dratini fry aren’t particularly strong. Unless your friend dove deep into very remote lakes and fought her way past a swarm of protective dratini or dragonair (or perhaps even dragonite), it’s likely she simply happened across a pool of slightly older, more independent dratini. If that’s the case, then her dratini will be fine in her care.

However, if, perhaps, the dratini she had caught was indeed a fry, it’s actually safer in her care than out in the wild, as the nest was apparently too exposed to be safe. It’s also worrying if only one dratini, dragonair, or dragonite (whatever the mother might have been) was on guard, as dratini form colonies of many nests clustered together and guarded by multiple dragons. It may be a good idea to contact a local pokémon ranger or other authority to check on the nest and see if there’s anything wrong.

Dear LH, I was Wondering if you would know of the Best way to groom a Dragonair for optimum health? And how to make certain my Dragonair doesn’t lose her Everstone? She really doesn’t want to evolve because she feels more comfortable as a Dragonair. Also, a Milotic of mine keeps making advances on her, but can’t take a hint that she’s not interested, even with my toxicroak Poison jabbing him and carting his stunned body away. any advice to deal with the wannabe Brock?

On Grooming: Everything starts with a good diet. Feed your dragonair a healthy mix of vegetables and fresh seafood, and if recommended by your local Nurse Joy, consider supplements as well. This will help keep her color vivid and her scales glossy. Also, make sure her environment is moist and humid so her skin doesn’t dry out. There’s not much else you really need to do; your dragonair will keep herself clean and shed her skin once a month anyway. You only really need to keep a close watch on her whenever she sheds, and if she looks like she’s having trouble, give her something, such as a rock, to rub up against to help herself along.

On Everstones: This is always tricky for a serpentine pokémon, but luckily, dragonair have a nice space between their pearl and their cheekbones and horn that would be a perfect fit for a collar satchel. Bill might have mentioned this in an earlier ask, but collar satchels are special collars with a pouch on the front specially designed to hold items. Just fix one on between your dragonair’s head and pearl, insert the everstone, and close the pouch. The placement between her pearl and cheeks will keep it from sliding off, and the pouch will be close enough to her body for the everstone to work.

On Milotic: Have you tried neutering him?

Lanette … that’s a bit extreme for a first course of action, isn’t it? —Bill

On the contrary. Sometimes, it’s the only way to deal with men who can’t take no for an answer. —LH

…remind me to never make you angry. —Bill

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.

The Dratini Line

Dratini
The Dragon Pokémon
Type: Dragon
Official Registration #: 147
Entry: A mythical pokémon found only in the most remote lakes of temperate regions. Although the most commonly sighted dratini are only up to three feet in length, the pokédex correctly states that the average height of this pokémon is roughly five feet and that it continuously gets bigger as it ages. The discrepancy has a lot to do with this pokémon’s behavior in relation to its size. Calmer, larger dratini tend to sink to the bottom of their lake homes because they spend most of their energy on shedding, rather than forcing their bulk to rise to the surface. Meanwhile, smaller, more curious dratini spend less energy swimming to shore and have more of an inclination to do so due to their interest in the number of oddly-shaped, multicolored creatures that seem very intent on catching them, and long story short, the average height of the species is maintained by the sheer power of natural selection.

Dragonair
The Dragon Pokémon
Type: Dragon
Official Registration #: 148
Entry: The evolved form of dratini, by battle experience. All of the shedding and growth dratini does is for a reason: to generate the magical energy needed to form dragonair’s signature orbs. Each of these orbs carry enough mystical power that even a gentle pulse of magic from one of them can grant dragonair complete control over the weather at any given moment. This may seem like a rather liberal use of the word “magic” on a scientific blog, but to be fair, we live in a world where a three-foot-tall mouse can electrocute an elephant into submission.

Dragonite
The Dragon Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Flying
Official Registration #: 149
Entry: The evolved form of dragonair, by battle experience. As dragonair grows, it continues to develop both its magical abilities and its stores of mystical energy so that when it finally evolves into dragonite after years of training, it takes on an incredibly powerful form equipped with both potent physical and magical strength as well as the ability to fly at supersonic speeds. Likewise, dragonite have the ability to understand human speech, and it frequently displays a kindhearted nature, particularly towards individuals who are pure in heart. Legend also claims that it occasionally takes children to a faraway island inhabited almost exclusively by dragonite, where magic truly exists and an evil witch seeks to disrupt the peace of the happy dragonite kingdom.

…The writer apologizes, as he seems to have been reading the plot to a children’s film. Let me try this again.

Entry: The evolved form of dragonair, by battle experience. As dragonair grows, it continues to develop both its magical abilities and its stores of mystical energy so that when it finally evolves into dragonite after years of training, it takes on an incredibly powerful form equipped with both potent physical and magical strength as well as the ability to fly at supersonic speeds. Likewise, dragonite have the ability to understand human speech, and it frequently displays a kindhearted nature, particularly towards individuals who are pure in heart. Legend also claims that it occasionally takes children to a faraway island inhabited almost exclusively by dragonite, where magic truly exists and wealthy tourists seek to disrupt the peace of the happy dragonite kingdom.