Vulpix and Ninetales

bills-pokedex:

Vulpix
The Fox Pokémon
Type: Fire
Official Registration #: 37
Entry: A small, fox-like pokémon known for its beautiful tails, of which it has six when fully grown. While young, this pokémon’s fire abilities are mediocre at best, and its strongest move, Fire Blast, is roughly as potent as a charmeleon’s Flamethrower. However, in rare cases, vulpix may be born with the passive ability Drought, which allows it to subconsciously call down intense sunlight to strengthen any fire-type move used in its presence. Incidentally, this small, fox-like creature shares the aforementioned ability with the legendary behemoth of the earth, Groudon, a beast known for nearly destroying the world beneath the unrelenting sunlight it called forth. …Which is to say that the pokémon world is a bizarre and terrifying thing sometimes.

Ninetales
The Fox Pokémon
Type: Fire
Official Registration #: 38
Entry: The evolved form of vulpix, via exposure to fire stone. The legend that a ninetales will lay a thousand-year curse on you if you touch one of its tails is exactly that: a legend and therefore not true. What is true, however, is the fact that ninetales are generally sensitive about their tails and will set you on fire if you so much as accidentally brush up against one.

Vulpix (Alola form)
The Fox Pokémon
Type: Ice
Official Registration #: 37
Entry: This adorable cousin to the common vulpix, known by native Alolans as keokeo, is popular in the region not only for its cute appearance but also its practicality. When the weather is warmer than it likes, Alolan vulpix will fan its cloud-like tails and create ice crystals from them, effectively serving as a living air conditioner for its immediate surroundings. However, although it may be tempting to venture into its native habitat on the slopes of Mount Lanakila to catch one, a trainer should be warned that this is a dangerous idea, largely because of the vulpix themselves. Attempting to catch an Alolan vulpix may incur the wrath of other vulpix (which typically freeze intruders solid) but also the ninetales that always lurks near vulpix kits (which will freeze intruders solid before throwing them off the mountain). On the positive side, if your goal was to catch a vulpix in order to cool yourself off on hot Alolan summer afternoons, at least you’ll have that.

Ninetales (Alola form)
The Fox Pokémon
Type: Ice/Fairy
Official Registration #: 38
Entry: The evolved form of Alolan vulpix, by exposure to ice stone. This beautiful Alolan cousin to the common ninetales was once worshipped by native Alolans due to its rarity, ethereal nature, and tendency to dwell only on the peak of Mount Lanakila, the tallest and most sacred site in all of Alola. To this day, it acts as a guardian of Mount Lanakila by guiding wayward souls down the snowy slopes … purely because that’s the only way to get them to leave faster. In other words, this is yet another pokémon after the author’s own heart.

Swablu and Altaria

bills-pokedex:

Swablu
The Cotton Bird Pokémon
Type: Normal/Flying
Official Registration #: 333
Entry: A small, bluebird-like pokémon most commonly found in the mountains of Hoenn. This gentle pokémon is known for its highly friendly demeanor towards humans. When a human wanders into their territory, swablu like to swoop in and settle onto the human’s head like a hat made of down and soft, pillowy cotton. This specific behavior is likely due to the swablu’s preference for soft, pliable building materials for their nests, so therefore, it is said that if a swablu settles on you, then it deems you both trustworthy and comfortable. If, however, two swablu settle on you and proceed to lay eggs on your head, then they deem you extremely trustworthy and comfortable. Or at least this is what the author’s partner and editor assured him when he suddenly found himself with an entire team of swablu.

Altaria
The Humming Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Flying
Official Registration #: 334
Entry: The evolved form of swablu, by battle experience. This graceful pokémon is known for its singing ability and its soft, cloud-like wings. When bonding with its trainer, an altaria will envelope said trainer in its wings and sing a beautiful, soothing melody to lull them to sleep. Or, at least, scientists assume this is an act of bonding and that any unfortunate mishaps involving dense wings and songs that lull a human to sleep are entirely accidental. This is also something the author’s editor (or, rather, her sister) assures him whenever her altaria shows “displays of affection” and “excitement to see him.”

Mega Altaria
The Humming Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Fairy
Official Registration #: 334+
Entry: The advanced form of altaria, via altarianite. The mega evolution of altaria is noted for being far more sociable and vocal than its base form. It’s highly affectionate, and it often sings a soothing, melodic tone when it’s about to display affection towards a given target. This is handy for said target, by the way, should he wish to not be smothered to near death by a cloud of feathers from a very familiar altaria. Again.

Mawile

bills-pokedex:

Mawile
The Deceiver Pokémon
Type: Steel/Fairy
Official Registration #: 303
Entry: A small, childlike pokémon first discovered in the cave systems of Hoenn. This pokémon is famous for its giant and fantastically strong set of false jaws growing from its head. Trainers should take caution: the front of this pokémon looks adorable, a fact that this pokémon uses to its advantage in order to lure in prey. When prey is close enough, it turns abruptly and chomps down on the unsuspecting victim with its false jaws. As for its strength, mawile is capable of biting through steel beams. Its false jaws, meanwhile, can do much worse.

Mega Mawile
The Deceiver Pokémon
Type: Steel/Fairy
Official Registration #: 303+
Entry: The advanced form of mawile, via mawilite. Should anyone wish to know why mawile grows a second false jaw upon mega evolution, the answer is simple: one is for gripping a victim with a bite force so strong escape becomes impossible, while the other is for viciously tearing said victim apart. Although, really, if you’ve attempted to physically assault a creature whose modus operandi in its base form is to lull a victim into a false sense of security with its cute face and then whip its single set of jaws at them, then at the risk of being thoroughly unprofessional, what it does with two sets of jaws should hardly be a surprise.

Kalos Legendaries, Part I

bills-pokedex:

Carbink
The Jewel Pokémon
Type: Rock/Fairy
Official Registration #: 703
Entry: A small, imp-like pokémon native to the caves of Kalos. Having slept underground for millions of years, the minerals in its body has been tempered by the pressures and temperatures of the earth itself into precious stones, most notably pure diamond. Interestingly enough, despite supposedly being related to a legendary pokémon, carbink are not considered to be legendaries themselves and are in fact fairly common in their native cave systems, which in turn means their diamonds are not particularly rare. In conclusion, for those of you who are interested in female-identifying people, the old saying “diamonds are a girl’s best friend” is terrible advice, but “chocolate is a girl’s best friend” is usually not. Just a friendly tip.

Diancie
The Jewel Pokémon
Type: Rock/Fairy
Official Registration #: 719
Entry: According to Kalosean myth, this small, princess-like pokémon is the legendary of jewels. As such, it has the power to create diamonds by compressing the carbon in the air around it. Additionally, it is not only said to be the sudden transformation of carbink (through a surge of magical fairy energy), but it is also capable of mega evolving into an even more regal and powerful form. And on that note, the author is sorely tempted to make a reference to magical girls here, but unfortunately, the internet has beaten him to literally every possible one conceivable.

Mega Diancie
The Jewel Pokémon
Type: Rock/Fairy
Official Registration #: 719+
Entry: The advanced form of diancie, via diancite. Despite being a mythical pokémon, diancie has gained a considerable amount of popularity among girls, purely for its magical girl-like mega evolution, and consequently, mega diancie is featured in quite a few Japanese animated cartoons, including and most notably the hugely popular franchise Crystal Knight Mega Diancie. Unfortunately, this also means that mega diancie is considerably popular among certain types of older anime fans, and suffice to say, the author strongly urges one to never look into the Crystal Knight Mega Diancie subreddit.

Audino

bills-pokedex:

Audino
The Hearing Pokémon
Type: Normal
Official Registration #: 531
Entry: A rabbit-like pokémon native to the fields of Unova. Audino possess not only sensitive ears but also specialized feelers for detecting sound, which in combination gift it with the most sensitive hearing in the pokémon kingdom. As such, audino are typically timid pokémon, but they also make great healers, not only because they have the ability to detect aliments and heartbeats by sound but also because they have a natural inclination towards wanting to cure others. It is thus one of the gentlest pokémon in existence as well as one of the most useful to both trainers and civilians alike … yet most of Unova know it as “the best punching bag to use if you really want to get your pokémon some battle experience.”

Mega Audino
The Hearing Pokémon
Type: Normal/Fairy
Official Registration #: 531+
Entry: The advanced form of audino, via audinite. Upon achieving mega evolution, audino gain a considerable boost in their defensive capabilities, a slight boost in one of their offensive capabilities, an affinity for the fairy element, and an insatiable thirst for vengeance towards humans who only valued them as target practice for their pokémon teams.

I assure you, they do not gain one of those things… —LH

You’re right. Their offensive capabilities don’t really get that much better after mega evolution. —Bill

The Ralts Line

bills-pokedex:

As an apology for our delay in both the response to the last question and our entries as a whole, please accept this special, extra entry for the day. Thank you for your patience. —LH

Ralts
The Feeling Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Official Registration #: 280
Entry: A childlike pokémon native to the quieter forests of Hoenn. Because of its ability to sense the emotions of others, it typically avoids contact with anything that is not of the ralts line and is, therefore, extremely rare and difficult to find. However, because of its timidity, its soft but cute cry, and its eagerness to please others (in order to neutralize any negativity that surrounds it), it is also a popular pokémon among children and young adults … which very likely does absolutely nothing to alleviate ralts’s aversion to drama and high doses of extreme emotion.

Kirlia
The Emotion Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Official Registration #: 281
Entry: The evolved form of ralts, by battle experience. Although kirlia possesses more mastery over its psychic abilities than its predecessor, it is still prone to being highly affected by the emotions of its trainer. For example, trainers who experience incredible emotions of joy or pride may cause their kirlia to dance with happiness. Trainers suffering through negative emotions will find that their kirlia has become lethargic and depressed. And trainers in the vicinity of other humans they find incredibly attractive will cause their kirlia to ███████

Really, Bill? Really? —LH

Gardevoir
The Embrace Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Official Registration #: 282
Entry: The evolved form of kirlia, by battle experience. Only the strongest trainers who form the closest, most loving bonds with their kirlia may see their pokémon evolve to their final, natural forms. Thus, a gardevoir is born out of strong feelings of loyalty, so it stands to reason that gardevoir in general are inherently extremely protective of their trainers. This is true; all observable tamed gardevoir have been known to go to extreme lengths to protect their trainers from any potential threat. Unfortunately for most people, “extreme lengths” may include creating a miniature black hole, and “potential threat” may include literally anyone within five feet of their trainers.

Gallade
The Blade Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Fighting
Official Registration #: 475
Entry: The evolved form of male kirlia, by exposure to dawn stone. Although its sibling evolution results from the incredible bonds formed between a kirlia and another being, this does not mean gallade do not experience similarly intense urges to protect their trainers and loved ones. If anything, their ability to sense the emotions of potential foes, combined with the drive to battle inherent in all fighting-types and extreme fondness for using the swords hidden in their forearms, make them even more gung-ho about protecting the people and pokémon they value the most. Therefore, trainers should be extremely wary about teaching their gallade to attack only on command, rather than any time they sense danger. Well-meaning researchers who intend to give gallade to sisters with questionable tastes in men, however, are free to teach their pokémon whatever they wish.

They aren’t, but good try. —LH

Mega Gardevoir
The Embrace Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Official Registration #: 282+
Entry: The advanced form of gardevoir, with gardevoirite. Due to this pokémon’s bridal appearance and strong associations with emotion, it’s said that those who manage to mega-evolve their gardevoir in tandem with a partner’s gallade are destined for one another. Unfortunately, the author has yet to verify these claims, as the only person he knows with a member of the ralts line has been a less-than-willing subject.

I’m not evolving my kirlia until he’s ready, just because you want to test the validity of old wives’ tales! Also, you don’t even have a gallade! —LH

Mega Gallade
The Blade Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Fighting
Official Registration #: 475+
Entry: The advanced form of gallade, with galladite. Due to this pokémon’s noble, swordsman-like appearance and strong associations with protection, it’s said that those who manage to mega-evolve their gallade in tandem with a partner’s gardevoir are their partner’s destined protector. Unfortunately, the author has yet to verify these claims, as the only person he knows who could secure a galladite for testing has been forbidden (by the editor of this blog) from selling evolution stones of any sort to him without the reassurance that it’s not for science.

Stop telling Steven you’ve gotten my permission too! —LH

How did no one realize pokemon like the clefable line, the wifglytuff line, the togepi line, the gardivor line, etc was fairies until recent years? Why aren’t the skitty line and the blissey line fairies?

These two asks cover your first question, anonymous:

http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/post/149815193841/so-typings-are-interesting-before-the-fairy-type

http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/post/150152083081/i-do-sometimes-wonder-if-our-understanding-of

To put it in short, though, type classification is a complicated process, especially given how vastly different the physiologies of each member of a type actually is. This isn’t just taking into consideration secondary typings either (although, yes, things such as the fact that wigglytuff doesn’t respond to the fighting type the same way as gardevoir does due to one being fairy/normal and the other being fairy/psychic does make things a little more complicated). It’s also taking into consideration the actual, literal physical differences between the two. Taking wigglytuff and gardevoir for an example again, wigglytuff are a hardier species than the more physically fragile gardevoir, so even if both shared the exact same type configuration, figuring out that they are, in fact, the exact same type would require a keen enough eye on a researcher’s part to understand the difference between physical and elemental response. In other words, if a gardevoir and a wigglytuff were simply fairies (and not fairy with a secondary typing), if you punched such a gardevoir, it would bruise more than the wigglytuff, and it takes someone with particularly keen observational skills to know that this is because of physical frailty, not a weakness to the fighting element.

This all is to say that determining a pokémon’s type is a lot harder than many trainers know due to the interaction of different factors, and to do it because you had just found a type and need to go through hundreds of already discovered pokémon to see if there are any examples of that type in action is even harder. You can’t simply tell what a pokémon is at first glance, and there isn’t an interface that will tell you what moves are and aren’t super effective against a defending pokémon. You simply need to know what to look for, and sometimes, the signs are subtle.

As for your question concerning the skitty and chansey lines (blissey included), that’s actually an excellent example of what I was just saying at work. While it’s true that blissey can take a physical, fighting-type strike, the fact of the matter is that blissey reacts to the fighting element as a normal-type, not as a fairy-type. Likewise, skitty’s body reacts as a normal-type. Just because a pokémon is pink and/or cute doesn’t make it a fairy-type. For another example, jynx, which is thought to have witch-like powers, is not a fairy-type but rather a psychic, simply because she reacts to elements as a psychic would. It’s all about elemental reaction, not physical appearance, in short.

Morelull and Shiinotic

Morelull
The Illuminating Pokémon
Type: Grass/Fairy
Official Registration #: 755
Entry: This small, mushroom-like pokémon are why it’s highly inadvisable to go mushroom hunting in Alola (that is, its native region) unless you happen to be an expert mushroom hunter. Specifically, in the darkness of the Alolan jungles, the inedible morelull can easily be mistaken for the highly edible and delicious balm mushroom. There are, of course, two ways to tell morelull and balm mushrooms apart. First, if it’s resting beside a mossy rock, chances are it’s a balm mushroom, whereas if it’s resting at the root of a fruit tree, it’s likely a morelull. Likewise, if it does nothing when you nudge it gently with the toe of your boot, it is likely a balm mushroom. On the other hand, if it begins to glow and spew a cloud of sleep-inducing spores at you, there’s a good chance it’s a morelull.

Shiinotic
The Illuminating Pokémon
Type: Grass/Fairy
Official Registration #: 756
Entry: The evolved form of morelull, by battle experience. The other reason why it’s an ill-advised idea to hunt for balm mushrooms in the jungles of Alola is because morelull are often found in the vicinity of at least one shiinotic, which is not only bigger and more powerful but also is highly predatory and prone to feasting on the energy of any prey it considers to be worthy for consumption, including humans. While an effective form of protection against shiinotic would be the standard flying- or fire-type pokémon that can attack from outside shiinotic’s attack radius, it is often more recommended by locals to bring another mushroom-like pokémon, such as parasect or breloom. Shiinotic are often prone to engaging in territory wars with such pokémon, and thus, they provide an adequate amount of distraction while the seasoned, human mushroom hunter slips away. While one would think this recommendation is due to basic logic (fire and hurricane-force winds are far more destructive than close-range attacks from pokémon that are immune to shiinotic’s Sleep Powder), in actuality, it’s more because Alolan natives, for whatever reason, find the drama and in-fighting between fellow mushroom-like pokémon to be hilarious. (To be fair, they’re right in that regard.)

Tapu KoKo entry please!

Why stop at just Tapu Koko?

Tapu Koko
The Land Spirit Pokémon
Type: Electric/Fairy
Official Registration #: 785
Entry: The guardian spirit of Alola’s Melemele Island. Supposedly the bravest of the four Alolan guardians, Tapu Koko is known for observing islanders and bestowing blessings upon worthy trainers. These trainers are then encouraged to undertake the island challenge, a type of journey specific to Alola, geared towards the training and selection of each element’s next kahuna. While Tapu Koko tends to be the most active tapu in selecting such individuals, it is also known for being the most capricious when it comes to deciding which among them actually becomes a kahuna. For this reason, trainers on Alola may start out on a journey to become strong enough to represent their island and elemental specialties, but they could very well find their lives veering off into an entirely different direction thanks to one of Tapu Koko’s sudden change of heart. Not that the author is complaining about such a process, of course. We did get Molayne out of such an arrangement. As well as a wealth of fantasy YA novels that seem to keep the editor happy.

Once again, Bill, I don’t judge you for your literary tastes. —LH

Tapu Lele
The Land Spirit Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Official Registration #: 786
Entry: The guardian spirit of Alola’s Akala Island. It is said that this legendary pokémon scatters glittering scales as it moves and that these scales have the ability to restore one’s health upon physical contact. The latter is highly useful because as with all adorable, pink pokémon described on this blog, Tapu Lele is also infamous for being fantastically cruel and sadistic, and it’s both telepathic and capable of warping the fabric of space to create a strange and highly dangerous pocket dimension around its immediate area. In other words, you will very likely need these scales as Tapu Lele uses its psychic abilities to thoroughly destroy you.

Tapu Bulu
The Land Spirit Pokémon
Type: Grass/Fairy
Official Registration #: 787
Entry: The guardian spirit of Alola’s Ula’ula Island. Supposedly, this pokémon is extraordinarily lazy. Rather than attack an opponent head-on, it simply wills the vegetation around it to grow and ensnare the challenger before it delivers a devastating, close-range blow itself. Honestly, though, the author is intrigued by the fact that some people of Alola consider this to be evidence of Tapu Bulu’s laziness. If anything, it’s a brilliant strategy, and given how much effort the author has put into trying to will plants to do his bidding, he can safely say Tapu Bulu’s battle strategy is really much harder than it looks.

Not a good harvest, Bill? —LH

Oh, the garden was perfectly fine this year. It’s a certain half-plant, half-toad starter with a penchant for eating my crops after I explicitly tell him not to that’s the problem. —Bill

Tapu Fini
The Land Spirit Pokémon
Type: Water/Fairy
Official Registration #: 788
Entry: The guardian spirit of Alola’s Poni Island. This mysterious island guardian is supposedly the most laid-back of the four tapu. Unlike the others, who either actively seek out humans to observe (Tapu Koko) or toy with (Tapu Lele) or who actively avoid human contact altogether (Tapu Bulu), Tapu Fini prefers allowing humanity to do whatever it likes and will often only reveal itself to the truly worthy as a result. This may seem like Tapu Fini is putting in extra effort to avoid being detected, but in actuality, given the fact that her shrine is located in the highly unrelenting environment that is Poni Island, the fact that it surrounds itself with a dense fog full of danger, and the fact that the aforementioned shrine is called Ruins of Hope for a reason, it may be safe to say that Tapu Fini allows the environment to do much of the work when it comes to protecting her—much more than Tapu Bulu does, anyway.

Magearna

We interrupt our series on Ultra Beasts to give you a special entry in time for the holidays. On behalf of the Pokédex, happy holidays, whatever you celebrate!

Magearna
The Artificial Pokémon
Type: Steel/Fairy
Official Registration #: 801
Entry: This unique, doll-like pokémon was created over 500 years ago by a brilliant inventor as a gift to a young princess. It is both sentient and capable understanding human speech, and it possesses both true empathy and an artificial soul. In short, it is a wondrous gift that truly puts every other to shame.

Speaking of inventors who give unnecessarily complicated gifts to young girls, I checked your IP address, Bill, and aren’t you supposed to be celebrating the holidays with your little sister and the rest of your family in Goldenrod, as opposed to, you know, your teleporter and forlorn cottage in Cerulean? —LH

…. —Bill

[BILL has logged off.]