Bill, I’ve recently caught a Shiinotic. Do you have any tips on caring for him and making him as comfortable as possible?

Allow me to answer this for both morelull and shiinotic, as they’re both extremely similar in terms of needs.

The morelull is fairly easy to care for, but it’s also a bit of a challenge due to its behaviors. You see, both pokémon are strictly nocturnal. While it’s possible to train them during the day, they won’t thrive all that well unless you allow them to rest for at least part of the time that the sun is up. Some trainers find it easiest to train their morelull and shiinotic right at the early hours of the night (and then allow their mushrooms the rest of the time to do as they please), but others find it even easier to simply invert their own sleep patterns. Do whatever will be the most comfortable and convenient to you.

Beyond that, morelull and shiinotic need moist environments, preferably outdoors with a tree nearby. Give it a patch of moist soil underneath a tree in a yard if you can, but if you can’t, simply giving them a large pot with some herbs will do just as nicely. Shiinotic and morelull feed primarily by draining nutrients out of nearby plant matter, so it may be a bit of a challenge to keep enough plants on hand unless you have a yard. Otherwise, a shiinotic or morelull’s diet can be supplemented with kibble (so long as it’s soaked in water first) or overripe berries, but it’s still a good idea to give them a moist, dark place to rest during the day.

Both morelull and shiinotic aren’t that difficult to take care of beyond those two major points, as they’re easy-going pokémon that aren’t particularly demanding when it comes to enrichment or companions. Simply let them do their own thing during the night, and they’ll find ways to amuse themselves. However, in the morning, be sure to clean up your home or their enclosure. Vacuum or mop up—do not sweep—any glowing spores you come across. These aren’t exactly toxic to humans, but they are powerful sleep inducers and may lull new trainers to sleep within seconds. While you can build tolerance to your shiinotic’s spores over time, exposing yourself to his spores may still be an unpleasant experience, even then, and it certainly won’t be for guests. I would advise handling these spores while wearing a mask and gloves as well.

As for hygiene, just give a morelull or shiinotic a light spray with a water bottle every few days to clean off excess spores. Also do this while wearing gloves and a mask.

Other than that, as I’ve said, they’re rather easy to care for. Just be wary of their mischievous sides, as they are part-fairy.

Best of luck!

I don’t live near a particularly large body of water, but I would really love to train a Frillish. Is it possible for Frillish and Jellicent to live in lakes? Also, do you have any tips for raising a female Frillish?

Frillish are fairly adaptable, being partly ghost-types. (Ghost-types tend to be more resilient to environmental changes than most pokémon, except in the case of light.) So yes, absolutely, they will do just fine in lakes.

That having been said, frillish are also fairly easy to care for. To start, yes, they must have a body of water to rest in at all times. Although the salinity of this body of water doesn’t entirely matter, the temperature does; be sure that the temperature of the lake doesn’t drop below freezing … or, in other words, don’t let your frillish be in the part that freezes over. Otherwise, the fluids in her body will also freeze, which won’t necessarily kill her but will be massively unpleasant. Conversely, allowing her to dry out (by neglecting to give her water) results in a deflated frillish. This also won’t necessarily kill her unless she’s dried out for a long time and then salted. (Some parts of Asia consider frillish treated in this manner to be a delicacy, just as a fun side note.) It’s also possible to keep a frillish in a tank during the colder months, although this is only advisable if you have enough space and time to maintain one. Be sure to equip the tank with the usual tools a pokémon fish tank would use, including a filter/aeration system, plants, and a gravel bottom.

In terms of food, frillish are carnivorous (and do not consume the souls of the living, as is commonly thought). They often eat brine shrimp or plankton, both of which are available at most pokémarts, either dried and canned or shaped into a cake. (Simply break off pieces of the cake form as per instructions on the package.) Luckily, a number of fish-like pokémon share this same diet, so it’s not that difficult to find this sort of food for your frillish, but if push comes to shove, a generic water-type poké kibble will do just as well. Cleanup is not necessary unless you keep your frillish in a tank, at which point, clean her tank once a week at the minimum. (Remove all food debris and feces, cycle the water, add water treatments, and clean off any grime or algae buildup. The whole process may only take an hour.)

The hardest part of frillish care lies in keeping her enriched and entertained. Frillish are ultimately social creatures, and many females will want one or more male partners. As such, try to raise yours alongside your other pokémon. If you have a water-type, this will be even better. If you have no other pokémon, consider adding a male frillish to your home to help maintain your frillish’s mental health. Otherwise, provide your frillish with toys (anything light that she can carry or float—particularly waterproof balls or other waterproof toys), and be sure to train her for at least an hour a day, as per usual with most pokémon. Luckily, most frillish aren’t particularly aggressive or mischievous in low numbers, but nonetheless, always be on high alert for any poltergeist activity out of your frillish.

Best of luck!

I read that in certain regions, Poison Pokémon aren’t allowed out of their PokéBalls. I was considering going on vacation to Kalos with my Skuntank. Would it be okay for him to leave his PokéBall and walk with me if he doesn’t use any poison-based attacks?

Certainly! Kalos has no such restrictions on tamed poison-type pokémon, and even then, there’s really no need to worry that your skuntank will do any harm to the environment. As an animal-like pokémon (as opposed to the literal embodiment of pollution, as in the case of the trubbish and grimer lines), skuntank do not passively leak toxins into their surroundings. They simply release toxins when threatened, so as long as your skuntank is calm at all times, the two of you should be fine.

Can I train my Stufful to not kill me when I touch or hug it? I realize it doesn’t like being touched but I have to at some point.

Well, one important thing to keep in mind is that your stufful knows best what is and isn’t a pleasant form of affection to it. If it dislikes being touched, it may be best to begin with rewarding it or showing your affection some other way until it gets comfortable with you. Consider feeding it treats it likes or playing with it using its favorite toys or simply sitting close by it. Any of these, as distant as they seem, may be mean the world to a pokémon that shies away from physical contact.

If your stufful ever wants to be touched, let it determine when that will be. For example, if it cuddles up to you or nudges your hand, then it’s okay to touch your stufful, and even then, start slowly. Pet it, find spots it particularly likes (to have scratched or rubbed), and then move on to letting it climb onto your lap or curl up next to you. Eventually, try a hug if and only if it seems comfortable to be picked up.

I know it can be rather difficult to not be able to show the sort of affection you want, dear reader, but the last thing you’d like to do is instill resentment, fear, or other forms of negativity by forcing your pokémon to do something they aren’t comfortable doing. That can lead to mental health issues for your pokémon … and, well, physical health issues for yourself (what with the fact that we’re talking about pokémon and all). So take things slowly and let your stufful decide when hugging would be appropriate.

In other words, it’s possible to train a stufful to accept a hug, but that training actually consists of giving stufful the forms of affection it already wants until it decides it would rather have more.

I’m considering taking an extended trip to Alola. I currently live in Kalos, but I was wondering if the Alolan climate would be hard on my Banette? I want to bring him with me, but if it’s going to be painful for him, I’ll skip the vacation.

Not at all, actually! You see, Alola has a very similar climate to Hoenn, one of the banette species’ native ranges, so if anything, your banette may be right at home in Alola.

However, it’s important to note that like many other ghost-type pokémon, banette is nocturnal and may not fare so well in bright sunlight. Be sure to give yours plenty of shade to rest in or keep him in his poké ball until sundown.

Happy vacation, @fawcettforever!

Can Ice Pokémon be caught and trained if you live in an area without much ice?

Absolutely! Case in point: Alolan vulpix and sandshrew. The key is creating a comfortable atmosphere for them to spend a lot of their time in. A cool home with plenty of air flow (fans are sufficient if air conditioning isn’t feasible for you) will be enough, and be sure they have access to plentiful sources of cold water for hydration. Be aware of their health as well and never force them to train under hot sunlight if you can.

There are, of course, a few pokémon who are literally made of ice, such as vanillite, bergmite, and so forth, and these cases may be more sensitive to cold than mammalian ice-types such as snorunt, spheal, and Alolan vulpix. However, even these are trainable even in tropical climates, so long as their trainers keep an eye on their conditions. If your literal ice pokémon looks lethargic and wet, bring it into a cool place immediately and allow it to rest within a refrigerator or cold bath. (Granted, it should also be noted that literal ice pokémon are harder to come by in tropical regions to begin with, but the point is that if you happened to receive one in a trade or from a breeder, it’s still possible to raise them so long as you’re careful.)