Bribe him.
Edit: Strange. Usually, my partner shows up within the hour to scold me for offering terrible advice.
Actually, Bill, for once, I agree with you. Bribing the stubborn is usually an excellent way to get them to do what you want. —LH
Is this why you or my sister always show up with fried noodles whenever I’ve made up my mind about something? —Bill
And yet, you would still concede. —LH
True, but honestly. —Bill
Well, if you hunt it, it’s by definition game.
Bill. —LH
Edit: Right, right. Terribly sorry.
Generally speaking, there are quite a few pokémon humans should not eat, either due to cultural issues or simply because not all pokémon can be eaten.
First and foremost, there are the legendaries, as these are culturally significant—although the sheer difficulty in obtaining one would make this moot anyway. Ghost-types and dragon-types are likewise considered to be untouchable for the exact same reason.
Second and equally obvious are pokémon that are not edible to begin with. This category includes all rock-types and most steel-types due to body composition (excadrill is the only exception when it comes to steel-types, as the others either possess armor or are taboo for other reasons), as well as many poison-types due to the difficulty in removing their venom. As noted in earlier entries, there are other poison-types that are completely fine to eat so long as they’re prepared with the utmost care. These are typically the more animal-like poison-types. The less animal-like a poison-type is, the more likely it is to be lethally poisonous, with pokémon such as grimer, koffing, and trubbish (as well as their evolved forms) being particularly deadly.
Additionally, there are members of other types that are also not edible, including slugma, the baltoy line, the porygon line, the voltorb line, cryogonal, the bergmite line, and anything whose special ability is either Flame Body or Magma Armor. Grass-types tend to be either-or on the subject; of the non-poisonous species, anything that is not made of or covered in wood may be eaten.
Ditto is likewise not edible for reasons similar to the problem facing poison-types. As ditto produce more ditto by budding, breaking off a piece of one (say, by biting it) is not a guarantee that what you consume will actually be dead, and it’s not easy to kill a ditto, either. Which is to say, consuming a ditto, even cooked, may result in a very unpleasant death for the person daring enough to try it.
On a technical level, psychic-types are also considered to be inedible, although this is largely because all psychic-types possess a telepathic defense mechanism. In other words, attempting to kill a perfectly healthy psychic-type, even using humane slaughtering techniques, may result in permanent brain damage. It’s simply not worth it.
Among the pokémon that are technically edible, only a percentage is universally or culturally acceptable to eat. We do not, for example, kill and eat pokémon that greatly resemble humans, including the machop line, the tyrogue line, the timburr line, the makuhita line, sawk, and throh (as well as those that are also psychics, such as jynx and gardevoir). Likewise, most cultures frown on the consumption of “pet” pokémon, such as the clefairy and jigglypuff lines, as well as starters, monkey- or ape-like pokémon, and all feline, equine (yes, including blitzle and zebstrika), and canine pokémon. Pokémon known for their healing attributes, such as audino and chansey, are also taboo, although chansey’s eggs are fair game (but only if the chansey freely gives you one). Speaking of eggs, the togepi line is also frowned upon, despite the fact that many cultures have plenty of jokes concerning the slaughtering of togepi for breakfast.
Finally, if it’s rare, then there are actually government regulations in place protecting those species from being hunted. Farfetch’d is a notable example of this, as there was a period of time in which they had been overhunted (due to not only the taste of their meat but also the convenience of having your main course carry its own garnish around as a weapon) to the point of near-extinction in Kanto and Johto. Thanks to strict regulations that had been implemented fairly recently, the farfetch’d population is only now regaining its numbers. Other pokémon that enjoy government protection include wailmer and wailord (in Unova, Alola, and Kalos), lapras, carvanha and sharpedo, and absol (especially in the Hoenn region).
I suppose the shorter answer would be “if you would eat the animal, plant, or thing they resemble, then you may eat them.” But short answers are hardly fascinating, in my view.
First and foremost, this post may be alarming to you on some level, but the important thing is that you refrain from panicking. Your leafeon will improve one way or another, but it will require a bit of effort and observation on your part.
That having been said, there may be a number of things that are preventing your leafeon from maintaining his diet of either sunlight or actual food, but the first thing you should do to rule out a few possibilities is take him to your local pokémon center. Sometimes, these behaviors indicate an illness, an injury, or a digestive blockage, any of which can be resolved by a well-trained Nurse Joy. She can also give you a customized meal plan or routine to help your leafeon get back on track, so to speak.
If the problem is more psychological in nature, then consider the following:
That having been said, anonymous, I wish you the best of luck, and may your leafeon get well soon.
Unlike animals, many pokémon are indeed capable of consuming a diet very similar to that of humans, which means many things that would be toxic to their “animal counterparts” are actually not toxic to them. Chocolate is probably the most noteworthy example; while it may be extremely dangerous for canine animals to consume, it’s perfectly harmless for the riolu line, the zorua line, and many others.
Of course, just because a pokémon species can eat it doesn’t mean it should or that every member of the species can. Zorua, for example, are primarily carnivores, so while waffles are fine as an occasional treat, they need a healthy diet of meat and leaner grains and vegetables to survive. If one consumes nothing but waffles for several of its meals a week, it won’t necessarily kill them, but it will be the equivalent of a human being surviving on nothing but candy and instant ramen—which, no, one cannot do. I may or may not know this from experience.
Likewise, while many species have no problems mixing human food into their diets, other species absolutely cannot. These tend to be the more delicate species or species that rely on diets of items that aren’t edible to a human at all. Sableye, many rock-types, most steel-types, and the sunkern line, for example.
Additionally, it’s entirely possible for members of certain species to acquire the inability to consume certain foods. Cat-like pokémon, for example, may become lactose intolerant after weaning (contrary to popular belief). Not all cat-like pokémon become incapable of consuming dairy, however, so knowing whether or not yours can requires keen observation on your part.
That is perhaps the main thing to keep in mind concerning pokémon nutrition, actually: always observe your team members and take note of their habits, their physiology, and their pokédex entries. While it’s true that larvitar may not consume entire mountains, it’s still sound advice to feed yours a diet rich in minerals. The more you study your own pokémon and information about their species, the better armed you’ll be when it comes to taking care of them.
As for your zorua, in the end, it’s all right to feed her waffles now and then but don’t make it a habit unless you’d like a pudgy zorua with a whole list of regrets.
Oh, the answer’s quite simple, anonymous. It’s the same way you would decide whether or not to eat a wild animal. I would presume that every time you come across a deer or a cow, you wouldn’t instantly attempt to slaughter it for its meat, and you wouldn’t cut down every tree you come across for its wood, either. In much the same way, humans look at pokémon and decide for themselves whether to catch it, eat it, or leave it alone for the most part.
Of course, most people eat domesticated pokémon anyway, rather than pokémon found in the wild—meaning you would eat farm-raised miltank or torchic instead of those you encounter in a field. After all, farm-produced pokémon meat (including those from grass-types, which I suppose would be more vegetable-like than meat-like) is typically raised specifically for consumption. Thus, it goes through an approval process to ensure that it’s safe to eat and obtained in a humane manner. Meat you slaughter yourself or obtain from sources that haven’t been officially sanctioned by your country’s agricultural department could be contaminated with any number of diseases or otherwise unfit for human consumption, not to mention you can’t simply slaughter a pokémon and call it humane.
In short, I suppose the answer is even simpler than previously stated: you don’t choose at all unless you’re involved with the pokémon food industry. I suppose you could if you’re a hunter, but although I am not one myself, I would assume that those who go out hunting for pokémon are doing so specifically to find and kill pokémon, rather than to catch them for their teams.
Of course not, anonymous. The components that make food spicy—such as capsaicin, glucosinolates, and so forth—are not found in muscle tissue but rather in the cells of plants (and, well, plant-like pokémon, to be fair). Thus, without seasoning, it’s possible for oddish to taste spicy, but torchic? No, I’m afraid not.
However, torchic do actually taste like smoked barbecue chicken, so you at least have that.
It largely depends on the humanoid pokémon in question. For example, when it comes to the ralts line, you are very astute in assuming they wouldn’t be able to hunt, anonymous. Or, rather, they can’t consume anything with enough of a nervous system to register pain. Therefore, plants and many invertebrates—especially worms, most insects, nematodes, and (for specimens who make their homes close to the sea) sponges and very basic sea life—are fair game to any psychic-type pokémon.
However, with humanoid pokémon of other elements, diets can vary rather wildly. Fighting-types, poison-types, and steel-types are typically carnivorous, for example, as their muscle structure and lifestyles dictate that they need a high intake of proteins found only in meat. Likewise, humanoid grass-types (i.e., cacturne) are typically partly photosynthetic and partly carnivorous. In these cases, their cells possess chlorophyll, but they often live in harsh environments where it’s impossible for them to obtain nutrients from soil alone.
And then you have sableye, which eats rocks.
The Pokédex According to Bill 