Tag: Dragonite

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.

How far down are Dragonite on the furries list? I’d think dragons would be pretty popular in general.

Well, according to my friend, dragonite is among the most popular “scalies” in the community. People identify most with dragonite’s “classic” look, not to mention its muscular yet cute appearance.

(Of course, my friend identifies more with dragonite’s typical disposition, the general dragon aesthetic, and the folklore surrounding it.)

You know, you can just say that’s you, Bill… —LH

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’ve noticed a lot of dragonite art and even in my pokedex has smaller wings… but my dragonite has very large wings outstretching my 5’4 body. Is there a reason for that?

The art you see of dragonite—as well as the photographs in the pokédex—are just one example of what a dragonite looks like, anonymous. In reality, pokémon may differ from the examples in the textbooks, sometimes in subtle ways and sometimes—such as in the case of your dragonite—in fairly obvious ways. It all comes down to genetics, really.

I was thinking about geting a dragon type Pokemon, becuse dragon’s. Most likely goodra, or dragonite lines since I do know where to get one legally. I gess I’m looking for care tips for them or dragon types in general. And aslong as I could meet there needs would thire be any problems geting both?

Offering general tips on how to care for a particular type is a bit tricky, anonymous, and the reason why is because even within a type family, different species may require vastly different things. For example, you wouldn’t take care of a seviper the same way you would take care of a standard muk, even though they’re both purely poison-types. Or for a closer comparison, you wouldn’t care for a scyther the same way you would a vespiquen.

Similarly, dragon-types, while all draconic in nature (obviously speaking), all have slightly different variations in care requirements. For example, noivern are nocturnal, eat fruit, and require a perch; garchomp are diurnal, carnivorous, and require wide-open spaces they can burrow into. Axew and jangmo-o are both similar to take care of (as they are both primarily carnivorous dragon-types that dwell in mountains and caves, require a source of heat, and evolve into at least one aggressive stage), but haxorus has a completely different personality from kommo-o and thus requires a different sort of training and psychological support. Granted, this doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t get along at all—and in fact, haxorus gets along quite well with a number of different pokémon, not to mention kommo-o generally feel protective towards anything it considers to be part of its herd or team—but it’s worth keeping in mind.

Then you have pokémon like dragonite and goodra. Goodra, by necessity, needs to be kept moist at all times. Otherwise, the fluids coating and composing its body dry, resulting in cracked skin that may be open to infection—or worse, general tissue damage. Dragonite, meanwhile, don’t necessarily need water to survive (although dratini and dragonair, being lake and river pokémon, do), but as wild dragonite live in and around the ocean, a tame one would be happiest when given a large pool. Thus, these pokémon may be difficult to keep with the aforementioned dragons, but they do quite well with the likes of kingdra and dragalge.

Other than that, goodra are primarily vegetarian (and one of the few dragon-types that are, with noivern being the other), whereas dragonite is an omnivore. Dragonite, additionally, cannot be put onto a full vegan diet, as it needs protein from meat sources to fuel its fantastic draconic powers. Both don’t normally need toys or extensive bedding, but dragonite needs a large amount of space, as it’s both a marine pokémon and one that flies. Letting it out to stretch its wings (so to speak) for a few hours should be enough for it. Goodra, meanwhile, is a less active pokémon and will require very little beyond a normal training routine. It’s worth it to allow a goodra at least an hour to swim, however.

Finally, as both goodra and dragonite fill very similar roles on a team, they can actually train together rather well. It would be a good idea to allow them to work together as they grow and learn new moves, as one pokémon can easily help the other to adjust and perfect their techniques.

In other words, by and large, there are certain combinations of pokémon that may be difficult to raise together, but at the very least, dragonite and goodra are highly compatible. The only differences between them are diet and exercise, really, unlike other dragons that require environments and routines that differ vastly from the more aquatically-inclined dragonite or goodra. If you plan on collecting more dragons than these, it’s imperative to do basic research into the habitats of the dragons you’re considering, as their natural environments will tell you a lot about what you would need to know to raise them—such as, for example, whether or not you can house them in the same enclosures as either dragonite or goodra.

Best of luck, anonymous!

I have a big dragon house for my dragonite to sleep in and he keeps sneaking in and taking and hoarding my jewelry in it. Why he is doing this?

Although it’s not often spoken of, most dragon-types have a tendency to hoard. What this means is that most dragon-types collect certain things. What that thing is tends to depend on the individual dragon. Some like to collect flowers. Others like to collect round objects. Some even collect stamps. Most tame dragons try to stick to hoards that they can easily collect, but the urge usually drives them to obtain whatever “feels right” to them. The latter happens rarely, however, and keep in mind that not all dragon-types do this—as in, it’s very easy to own a dragon-type and never notice this behavior, either because your dragon has elected to collect something you might pass off as standard litter about its living space or because it simply doesn’t have a hoard.

That having been said, in your case, your dragonite has either followed an urge to collect jewelry or views yours as easily obtainable. You may perhaps wish to secure your valuables a little better within your home, but if that doesn’t work, train your dragonite to collect something else by offering alternatives (toys, for example) and positive reinforcement whenever he accepts the replacement hoard item over your jewelry.

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.