I just got to the age where you can get a Pokémon, but don’t know what to get. I like water, ice, and ghost types, and am afraid of bug types.

My apologies, @ronnoc32122. I hadn’t seen this ask when I responded to another ask concerning ghost-type starters. If I had, I would have responded sooner. In any case, when it comes to ghost-type options, you may wish to revisit that post here: http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/post/167247146514/bill-my-daughter-has-always-loved-ghost-type

From there, allow me to address your options for ice-types, as that’s a considerably shorter list. Considering your interest in water- and ghost-types, you may wish to look into options that overlap. For example, spheal is a very basic, easy-to-train pokémon that shares both the water and ice type, and because it’s both highly mobile and a native of tropical regions, it can adapt to inland battling in practically any climate. Lapras is a pokémon that meets similar criteria (water/ice, native to tropical regions, easy to train, extremely friendly), but despite being a formidable battler and an excellent partner, its inability to travel over land may make it less of an ideal partner in most regions besides ones where you’ll encounter plenty of water. (If you live in the Hoenn or Alola regions, however, I would highly recommend giving lapras a try!)

Alternatively, a few pokémon also evolve into ice-types or are ice-types that evolve into partial water- or ghost-types, namely seel, female snorunt, and shellder. Of these, snorunt tend to be the most popular, as they’re highly mobile and friendly, and they’re particularly powerful once they evolve into froslass. (Of course, even if you can’t find a dawn stone on your travels, keep in mind that snorunt’s other evolution, glalie, is still a fantastic partner.)

If, however, you don’t mind working with pokémon that aren’t partly water- or ghost-types, then this opens up your options a bit more. For example, you might also be able to consider cubchoo or vanillite, both of which are fantastically popular among ice trainers. (Cubchoo is cute but evolves into the powerful beartic, and vanillite is the first stage of a powerful three-stage evolution line that’s often underestimated by trainers.) Additionally, if you live in Alola, you may be able to get your hands on Alolan vulpix (a pure ice-type that evolves into the ethereal ice/fairy ninetales) or Alolan sandshrew (a sturdy ice/steel). Vulpix especially is highly intelligent and easy to train, but sandshrew is often seen as a stalwart partner capable of taking hits.

Meanwhile, those who live in Johto and Sinnoh have easier access to sneasel (mischievous and fickle but highly intelligent and loyal once you earn its trust) or smoochum (extremely intelligent but a bit difficult to train due to her lacking defensive capabilities). Swinub is also an excellent choice for those looking for a sturdy and easy-to-train pokémon (although it will eat you out of house and home, as a fair warning).

Really, just about the only ice-type pokémon I wouldn’t recommend is cryogonal, partly because it doesn’t thrive well outside of extremely cold environments and partly because it also often generates extremely cold environments in its surrounding area … which often doesn’t make one well-liked among trainers, wild pokémon, or neighbors.

As for water-types, that is a considerably longer list, which I may not be able to cover completely, I’m afraid. I can, however, say that all regions offer a traditional water-type starter. (Kanto has squirtle, Johto totodile, Hoenn mudkip, and so forth.) These are specially bred to be starters for new trainers, and thus, they often are perfectly balanced in terms of battling abilities, extremely intelligent and easy to train, and lacking in any sort of drawback that would make them excessively dangerous to handle. Above all other pokémon, I would recommend one of these as a starter.

Beyond that, though, the water type is a highly diverse classification of pokémon, and oftentimes, it comes down to what you look for in a partner and what’s most readily available to your region. (At least with ice-types, you will likely need to seek a breeder either way, as ice-types often live in areas too remote for a non-trainer to access.) For example, if you’re looking for an easy-to-train starter, pokémon such as marill, poliwag, buizel, panpour, and wingull are all wonderful choices. For strong pokémon, consider staryu, chinchou, frillish (also a partial-ghost), mareanie, or (if you have the patient for it) magikarp. And if you’re looking for unusual but reliable choices, consider bidoof (which evolves into the water-type bibarel) or lotad.

(As a note, I could also recommend a number of other pokémon, such as alolmomola, but oftentimes, the strongest water-types are strictly aquatic in nature and may be difficult to train on land. I only suggest magikarp because its Splash ability is far more versatile than one would initially assume, and using it for mobility may help it to evolve faster. Just be sure to treat it with an incredible amount of affection if you try this because otherwise, you may be on the receiving end of Twister shortly after your magikarp’s evolution.)

If all else fails, eevee evolves into the ice-type glaceon and the water-type vaporeon. I’m just saying.

Best of luck, good reader!

Bill, my daughter has always loved ghost-type pokemon, and now that she’s turned eight my wife thinks we should get her one. She won’t be going on her pokemon journey yet, but we thought this would be a good way to introduce her to taking care of her own pokemon. However, I’ve heard that ghost-types, as a whole, don’t tend to be very good around kids. Is this a misconception? And which pokemon would you recommend we get her?

At the risk of being blunt, it is indeed a misconception. While some ghost-types are more difficult to control than others (spiritomb, for example), most ghost-types can be very docile in the hands of someone willing to give them proper attention. Moreover, while it’s true that a ghost-type’s abilities can be rather dangerous, the truth of the matter is this isn’t unique to the ghost-type. All pokémon are gifted with fantastic powers that can be highly destructive or even deadly if handled recklessly, but most pokémon are fully capable of controlling these abilities. It’s only when a trainer forces a pokémon to use its powers recklessly or when a trainer fails to respect a pokémon as a living being that pokémon become threats.

In other words, seeing as your daughter loves ghost-types, I have no doubt she’ll be safe in the company of them. It’s usually those who adore particular pokémon or types who can see the beauty in them and thus know how best to respect them.

That having been said, it depends on where you are and what your daughter would like. Start off by asking her which one is her favorite, and consider getting her the most basic form of that pokémon’s evolutionary line. If she has no preference, allow me to share a few notes on the matter:

Many ghost-type enthusiasts start with gastly, as these tend to be the hardiest and most readily available ghost-types in existence. (They live in practically every region except Unova and Hoenn, and they’re far more common than even native species of ghosts.) However, they can be tricky to handle, not because of their capricious natures or poison-typing but instead because they don’t learn especially powerful moves until they evolve. Not to mention they’re famously difficult to evolve into their final forms as well.
If your daughter is interested in ghost-types that also share elements with traditional starters, litwick and frillish are both exceptional choices for fire and water, respectively. At their most advanced stages, litwick (or chandelure, rather) possesses formidable offensive power that pairs well with its particular battling style, and frillish (jellicent) grows to be fantastically resilient, especially given either of its potential hidden abilities.
As for a grass analogue, pumpkaboo may be the better choice (over phantump), especially if you can obtain one of the “super-size” varieties. This is largely due to the fact that pumpkaboo—particularly at that size—is all-around faster and more defensively capable than phantump … and also partly because of, well, what phantump likely is. However, either way, remember that both pumpkaboo and phantump are difficult to evolve, so if your daughter wishes to train either of these, she should be aware that the road ahead of her may be difficult than that of most trainers.
As an alternative, rowlet may not be a ghost-type, but it eventually evolves into one. Never rule out pokémon that evolve into ghosts just because they don’t start out as one, as that may exclude several potentially excellent partners, such as froslass and Alolan marowak.
If your daughter is interested in more unconventional ghost-types, or if she’s more interested in personality than in type or battle capabilities, golett, being automaton pokémon, are naturally loyal to humans, or at least possess more of an affinity for them. They’re also fairly easy to care for, as they don’t need much more than food, a bit of liquid (but not much at all, given that it’s made of clay), and weekly grooming by way of polishing.
Honedge is likewise more docile than most ghost-types as well as resilient (being part steel), but it’s important to note that the warnings concerning its hilt are true and that honedge can easily be a bad choice for a starter if your daughter is particularly curious.
Sableye is just as easy to care for as golett (its needs consist of water, a plentiful source of rocks, and dark spaces), but as it prefers a quiet life in the darkness of a cave, it may be a bit of a handful for a novice trainer unless the sableye in question is one of the more docile varieties (or unless your daughter befriends it quickly by giving it particularly valuable rocks to eat).
Finally, as ghastly as it may sound (forgive the pun), yamask are also excellent partners for new trainers. Their needs tend to be simple (food, water, and a place to sleep, as with golett and sableye), and like golett, many tend to be loyal and friendly. However, it’s said that yamask are actually incarnations of deceased humans, so in some communities, it may be … not exactly taboo as it is awkward. And even if you don’t believe in the idea that yamask are the returned departed, that they all have complex personalities, and it’s vitally important that you make sure you find a trustworthy, actually friendly yamask to give to your daughter.

Best of luck on your daughter’s journey, anonymous!

How well do you think ghost type Pokémon do in heavily populated places like big cities?

Quite well! Most ghost-types are actually urban in nature; that is, they thrive in cities more than secluded places out in the country. This is because they often cohabit with humans for any of a number of reasons, including they derive entertainment from us, we nourish them (some feed off of fear, that is … or our waste products), or they quite literally come from us (either as our literal spirits, the remnants of our emotions, or animated objects from our daily lives).

In short, the more humans there are and the older a city may be, the more likely it’s inhabited by certain ghost-type pokémon. Remote areas, of course, aren’t necessarily devoid of ghost-types; they’re simply host to different species.

So, I was at the Opéra de Lumiose to see La Bohème, and in the middle of the show, a large chandelure dropped from the ceiling onto the audience. I’ve seen the opera before, but I don’t remember that being a part of it. Is this normal behaviour for chandelures? Mine has rarely done such things.

Well, for older, European opera houses (such as the Opéra de Lumiose), it’s not exactly a common occurrence, but it is one that isn’t unheard of. Places such as those tend to attract a lot of litwick and their evolutions, and some individuals may get more restless or mischievous the more people are there to surprise.

As with most ghost-types, tamed chandelure are often less likely to engage in this kind of behavior, as training will naturally help a ghost-type wean off this need to scare others. The reason why is because the need to scare is often linked to either a ghost-type’s hunting techniques (as startled prey is easier to disable and feed on) or a ghost-type’s need for enrichment. Steady diets and a reliable source of both entertainment and mental engagement typically satisfy a ghost-type’s needs, so you will rarely see haunting behavior from a trained ghost-type except in mild examples or in cases of neglect.

In short, it’s not surprising that a chandelure dropped in on the performance (forgive the pun). It’s more surprising that the Opéra de Lumiose has apparently let its litwick infestation go so far as to produce a mischievous chandelure. Normally, one would think an opera house would round up and tame its resident ghost-types as much as possible to avoid interruptions of performances.

But of course, that’s neither here nor there.

Most ghost Pokémon can hover and fly around but can the ghost Pokémon mimikyu and dusclops?

Dusclops can, and it can do so quite well, as its body is actually hollow, which means it’s lighter than it looks. (Well, to be more accurate, it’s sixty-seven pounds, but still.)

Mimikyu, meanwhile … technically can but doesn’t. It’s a spirit like many other ghost-types, but the problem is that if it hovers and flies, it risks allowing others to view its true form beneath its disguise. Hence, it keeps itself as close to the ground as possible to avoid accidental unmaskings.

You’ve answered a lot of asks about anxiety management, so I want to know what Pokémon GIVE or PROMOTE anxiety and depressive tendencies??

Well, certain ghost-types may induce this in sensitive people, as their general presence affects humans on a more psychic and spiritual level. For example, a particularly sensitive person can tell that members of the gastly line are present because they inherently evoke a sense of dread. The same can be said for misdreavus, mismagius, the duskull line, and spiritomb. On the other hand, many others who are less psychically inclined have no trouble handling ghost-types, so whether or not they would induce or promote anxiety in a human being really depends on the human themselves.

Meanwhile, poison-types who emit gaseous toxins actually do this more reliably, meaning these will affect most people, regardless of whether or not you’re sensitive to poison-types. The reason why is because the toxins actually affect us humans on a physical level by interacting with our respiratory systems (and thus, everything from our immune systems to even our skin, digestion, and so forth). In turn, this can induce anxiety because, well, the more our bodies react to pollutants, the more our minds react to the warning signs that we’re breathing in toxic air. It’s very much akin to living in a city full of smog and pollution for prolong periods of time: while it’s possible for you to exist that way, you may find that you’ll feel more at ease when you escape to the country and get some fresh air, so to speak.

This isn’t, of course, to say that it’s impossible or not recommended to train a poison-type (or even a koffing or weezing). Many people who own such pokémon find that they’re perfectly happy with their companions. It’s just that it’s highly recommended to give yourself and your body a break from them, especially if you notice changes in your physical or mental health.

(Also, their gases are literally carcinogenic, so don’t plant your face in your weezing, regardless of how tempting it may be.)

Are there any ghost types that would be a good partner for a beginning trainer?

Phantump.

I hope you realize you’re a terrible person, even if you do give to youth-focused charities. —LH

Edit: First and foremost, I could have said dhelmise, but I did not.

In all seriousness, anonymous, short of the notoriously difficult to handle pokémon (namely spiritomb and dhelmise), practically any ghost-type may be an excellent partner for beginning trainers. The only thing about ghost-types is that quite a few of them require patience to raise. For example, both gastly and misdreavus are known for their mischievous sides, but if a trainer is constantly vigilant and establishes clear boundaries early on, handling either species isn’t outside the capacity for even a beginning trainer.

Moreover, some pokémon—such as litwick and honedge—can be quite dangerous if handled improperly. (Never touch either a litwick’s flame or a honedge’s hilt, even if the litwick or honedge themselves are friendly with you.) However, so long as you know the physical dangers of a pokémon, it’s fairly easy to avoid them. And in any case, the truth is that ghost-types are no more dangerous than fire-types, so by all means, never let this warning scare you away from the type.

If we must narrow it down, yamask tend to be the most responsive to human commands, although training yamask can be a bit of a taboo to certain cultures (given the fact that some people believe yamask are human spirits incarnated into pokémon form). Alternatively, duskull is generally docile; it’s not known for either the mischievous streak or the possessiveness (no pun intended) of some other members of the ghost type. Pumpkaboo likewise is relatively easy to train, as are frillish and golett. But above all, gastly tends to be the most popular, in part due to its ready availability and in part because they’re quite affectionate and eager to please once one gets past their prankster sides.

And of course, there’s also phantump, but these carry even more ethical questions than yamask, even if they are possibly the easiest to train ghost-types one can catch.

Finally, should anyone ask, dhelmise itself is not that difficult to train either. It’s just that it’s a seaweed pokémon that prefers wrapping itself around anchors meant for cruise liners, and thus, they are quite literally difficult to handle. For comparison’s sake, starting your journey with a dhelmise would be very much like starting your journey with an onix: it’s not impossible, but quite frankly, you may wish to consider saving yourself (and Nurse Joy) a headache by starting with something smaller.

I am a pokemon groomer, and i have my own shop where my psychic types: Gardevoir, alolan raichu, and meowstic, and my fairy type: sylveon and mimikyu help me groom the pokemon. Well, a ghost type pokemon that i havent been able to identify has been haunting my shop and scaring the customers pokemon! I’ll feel a cold chill and objects in the shop will start floating or get thrown across the room. What do I do to take care of this?

You have a couple of options, anonymous.

The easiest would be to use your gardevoir’s empathic abilities to detect the location of the ghost and determine what it might want. (It’s unlikely that you have a ghost/dark-type on your hands—that is, a pokémon who can resist your gardevoir’s psychic abilities—as most of those have clear, tangible forms, which means you would already know where it is.) Have your gardevoir follow its mental signature or its emotions back to the source, then either try to reason with it or use your mimikyu’s ghost-type techniques to draw it out into the open. Once in the open, you may wish to battle and capture it, or simply chase it out of your shop. (I would recommend capturing it, however, as letting it go risks amusing it with your reaction and thus encouraging it to return.)

The second easiest would be to hire a trainer or a channeler to remove the spirit for you. Of the two, the trainer would likely be the more desirable route, as a channeler’s methods can sometimes lead to unpredictable results, including more violent hauntings.

The third and possibly the hardest would be to acquire a pokémon that can use either Odor Sleuth or Keen Eye, both of which are techniques capable of locating or uncovering ghost-type pokémon, even when disguised. Use either of these techniques, then attempt to calm and reason with the pokémon (again, by having your gardevoir detect what it may want and then using a bit of verbal diplomacy to reach a compromise) or battle and capture it (by using either the pokémon who identified it or your mimikyu—or perhaps even both).

In short, the most important first step is to find a way to locate this pokémon and draw it out into the open. From there, what happens next may be a simple matter of befriending a pokémon, either by simply talking to it and helping it get what it needs or by battling it, depending on its preference or actual aggression levels. However, in my opinion, it seems that this ghost-type in question may simply be playing with you, which is why I say this part may be far, far easier than you would think—at least, compared to locating it in the first place.

Best of luck, anonymous!

how often do ghost types possess people? theres a group of girls near where i live who are ghost type users who the town has labeled “Hex Maniacs” and theyre so.. weird… they sometimes have weird jerky movements, when they enter a room it chills… and they have no pupils… ive seen them at night walking around and i hear laughing. its very scary and i dont know what to do about it

Actually, it’s very rare for ghost-types to possess people. It only really happens if the human invites a ghost to do so. (This is why channelers and hex maniacs tend to be more susceptible to it: they’re often working with ghosts to the point where they run at a risk of accidentally inviting such behavior.)

More often than naught, though, hex maniacs are simply eccentric people who are very fond of white contacts, not victims of possession. The behavior you’ve just described, for example, actually sounds pretty accurate for the average hex maniac.

Hello! My granddaughter is nearing the age where she’d begin her journey and given her interest in ghost types, the subject of her partner has been a difficult one. Where we’re from, people tend to be a bit wary of them to say the least, and while she assures me that she’ll be fine, I’d still appreciate some advice on the matter.

One of the most difficult things to fight against is cultural opinion. So I’ll begin by saying this: if your granddaughter is serious about her love for ghost-types, she’ll be fine. Despite their reputation, ghost-types are harmless when tamed; they’re simply mischievous and difficult to handle initially because of that. Your granddaughter may be aware of this, but if she isn’t, be sure to teach her to be clever and ever-alert in the presence of a ghost-type.

Wild ghosts, meanwhile, will let you know if they prefer not to be bothered. These are how violent hauntings come about—that is, hauntings that put humans in danger of physical harm. This is typically distinct from a mischievous haunting—the sort in which you may see objects floating about or in which ghosts pop up out of nowhere to scare you—in that when a violent haunting occurs, you may see anything from possession to ominous voices telling you to leave to a ghost physically attacking you (either through thrown objects or through an all-out battle). Often, even inexperienced ghost hunters are able to tell the difference; it’s when you grow to be an expert and thus a little overconfident that you let you guard down and come into harm’s way. Your granddaughter may already know this as well.

If your concern is more towards other people, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Your granddaughter may already be aware of the stigma ghosts have in many cultures, even if ghost-type pokémon are nowhere near the malevolent forces human ghosts apparently are according to folklore. She may encounter resistance from the people she meets. Others may judge her or even bully her or her pokémon. But if she shows confidence in handling her pokémon and kindness towards her team, she may convince at least a few people that she and her pokémon are harmless. I would say, for your part, that you should support your granddaughter whenever possible, to show her that at least you believe in the best in her.

As for starters, for the most part, starter distribution centers will never offer a starter considered to be too difficult to handle for a new trainer. (There was one exception involving a boy from Kanto and a pikachu, I’m told, but even then, that was a rather unusual circumstance.) For that reason, your granddaughter will likely not be given anything like litwick or drifloon, but if she is, rest assured that so long as she knows how to handle them (that is, if she knows not to touch a litwick’s flame or a drifloon’s strings), then she should be fine.

Best of luck to your granddaughter, anonymous!