Hi Bill! I have a Kangaskhan friend who’s child has grown into an adult kangaskhan and left her mother’s pouch to live her own life. She’s not had any new children since, and I’ve noticed that she’s feeling sadder and less motivated as of late. I’ve tried to be supportive, but what else can I do to help her? What other effects could there be on my friend’s health? Finally (out of medical curiosity), are there any differences in health if the baby is removed for an long time before it grows up?

To answer the first two questions at once, this is a common problem among kangaskhan, and could lead to a wide variety of health issues because it could progress into full-blown depression. Wild kangaskhan live in herds and thus circumvent this problem by taking care of younger mothers, so some trainers mimic this by adding younger kangaskhan or other young mother pokémon to their teams. Alternatively, kangaskhan can be given dolls to help alleviate the symptoms of empty pouch syndrome, but the herding technique is often a healthier option.

As for your last question, joeys can’t actually survive outside of their mother’s pouch for extended periods of time unless they’re close enough to independence anyway, so you could say so, yes. In less facetious terms, though, if a joey is close to old enough to live on its own but not yet old enough, it may be stunted in terms of growth and a little more aggressive (as it will have learned to fend for itself earlier), but other than that, there isn’t much of a difference between them and joeys that wait until complete maturity.

Kangaskhan

bills-pokedex:

Well. Now that that bit of unpleasantness has been cleared up, let’s continue with a pokémon that this writer has recently been reminded of for reasons that have nothing to do with the last actual entry.

Kangaskhan
The Parent Pokémon
Type: Normal
Official Registration #: 115
Entry: A kangaroo-like pokémon consisting of a mother creature and a separate, smaller baby, known within the pokémonology field as a “joey.” Much of the mother pokémon’s life revolves around caring for and violently defending her young, which she always carries in her front pouch. Curiously, this changes upon mega evolution, at which point the joey leaps from its mother’s pouch to be used as a partner in equally vicious hand-to-hand combat, which indicates that despite the fact that the mother kangaskhan will do anything to protect her joey, said child is actually fully capable of fighting and defending itself. Additionally, unlike other pokémon that are capable of mega evolution, kangaskhan does not undergo any physical transformations beyond the fact that her joey leaves her pouch to add its own power to her attacks. Thus, it is said by experts in evolutionary stones that kangaskhanite is not a true mega stone at all but rather a stone capable of shining a bright light that signals to the joey when to enter the fight. Despite this, kangaskhanite on the collectors’ market can fetch obscenely high prices, indicating the absolute brilliance of either human con artists or kangaskhan that know all too well that their trainers are gullible.

Mega Kangaskhan
The Parent Pokémon
Type: Normal
Official Registration #: 115+
Entry: The advanced form of kangaskhan, via kangaskhanite. Upon mega evolution, a kangaskhan joey leaps from its mother’s pouch to be used as a partner in equally vicious hand-to-hand combat, which indicates that despite the fact that the mother kangaskhan will do anything to protect her joey, said child is actually fully capable of fighting and defending itself. Additionally, unlike other pokémon that are capable of mega evolution, kangaskhan does not undergo any physical transformations beyond the fact that her joey leaves her pouch to add its own power to her attacks. Thus, it is said by experts in evolutionary stones that kangaskhanite is not a true mega stone at all but rather a stone capable of shining a bright light that signals to the joey when to enter the fight. Despite this, kangaskhanite on the collectors’ market can fetch obscenely high prices, indicating the absolute brilliance of either human con artists or kangaskhan that know all too well that their trainers are gullible.

You had a year off from these, Bill. A year. —LH

I know! Isn’t it impressive how much one’s sense of humor can improve with rest? —Bill

No. No to all of this. —LH

Does kangakhans baby need a separate pokeball?

No. As strange and uncomfortable as it may seem, think of a baby kangaskhan as a living hold item. Because of how close (physically speaking) a baby kangaskhan is to its mother and because of the near genetic match, a poké ball is capable of storing both mother and child in the same poké ball at the same time.

And before anyone asks, no, this does not result in the fusion of the two, nor does transporting this poké ball. Fusion occurs due to entirely different circumstances, none of which I will happily talk about on a public blog, regardless of what certain individuals may have you believe.

Occasionally trainers send out Pokémon who are actively caring for their young, e.g. Clamperl or Kangaskhan. I always forfeit for fear of harming the young or damaging the ability of the parent to care for them, but what is the legal status here?

One important thing to keep in mind concerning clamperl at the very least is that many people mistake the lumps inside its shell for children. In actuality, the pink sphere is its head, and the lumps surrounding it are merely its organs. Granted, all of these are soft tissues, but clamperl is fully capable of shutting its shell before any real damage is done to them.

As for kangaskhan, rest assured that if her joey is too young to battle, then the kangaskhan herself will refuse to battle except in life-threatening instances, and believe me, it is extremely difficult to convince a kangaskhan to battle otherwise. Any kangaskhan who wishes to battle with a joey in her pouch is actually attempting to teach her joey how to battle, and she will always keep a wary eye out for any attack that may do harm to her young or render her incapable of taking care of it. This sounds like a kangaskhan is therefore at a disadvantage, but in actuality, the species is infamous for its ability to multitask. A mother kangaskhan who’s teaching her joey how to battle is even more formidable and skilled than most pokémon who battle on their own.

All of this is really important to note because in these cases, the Pokémon Association and the regional governments see nothing wrong with allowing clamperl or kangaskhan to battle. In fact, in kangaskhan’s case, preventing her from doing so is considered detrimental to her mental health and the development of her young. Joeys, unfortunately, don’t learn how to battle on their own, so they need the observations they glean from watching their mothers battle up close to figure out how to do it themselves.

With regards to any other pokémon that has young, trainers are expected to exercise their better judgment. Most good trainers never use hatchlings immediately after birth as they lack proper battling skills, but their parents are usually ready (and frequently eager) to go. Obviously, if a hatchling is so weak it absolutely needs its parent (namely in the case of illness), then a trainer is required to let their pokémon care for their young, but most good trainers will allow the parent to do this. A trainer who refuses and insists on using the parent despite the failing health of the hatchling is quite possibly abusive. However, you’ll be able to tell the difference between the average pokémon-trainer relationship and a case of abuse by looking at the disposition of the pokémon. If it seems that the pokémon is at all unwilling to battle, then that’s a good sign that something is wrong. A pokémon with young to care for will put the young first, before even battling.

In short, that’s rather kind of you to be so concerned about hatchlings and their parents, dear reader, but rest assured, both clamperl and kangaskhan are more capable of battling than you would think, as are most other pokémon with young. So for that reason, there are only really laws in place regarding general pokémon abuse but not specifically bringing young onto the battlefield.

Another Kangaskhan question sorry it’s my favourite! Is it true that it is actually the baby that “mega evolves” and not the mom? I’ve heard this theory from a few different people and it got me curious.

Quite all right, anonymous. I thoroughly enjoy answering questions from curious readers.

That said, to answer yours, while I’ve jokingly said in the past that neither of them do (although it is true that kangaskhanite’s effects are questionable at best, as you give it to the mother, not the child), this is essentially how it works, yes. Researchers are not completely certain about the exact chronal mechanics behind it, but essentially, the joey temporarily ages to the point where it’s just short of the right age to leave its mother’s pouch permanently. Then, it leaps from the pouch and fights alongside her. The mother, meanwhile, remains unchanged throughout the entire process.

Is the baby in a Kangaskhan’s pouch a whole seperate pokemon? Is it a Kangaskhan and is it even safe for it to be there while its mom battles?

It is indeed a whole separate pokémon—a baby kangaskhan, in fact. Now, I know that there are certain simulations out there (some may even call it a “video game”) in which players who breed kangaskhan end up hatching adult-baby kangaskhan pairs straight from a single egg. I’d like to tell you that these simulations are, in fact, ridiculous. Basically, what actually happens is that an adult kangaskhan carries an egg within its pouch that eventually hatches into a joey. The joey remains in her mother’s pouch (I say “her,” as kangaskhan is an exclusively female species) for the next three years until she reaches maturity and develops her own pouch. After that point, she leaves and finds her own mate. In tamed situations, this means the mother of your kangaskhan egg will do the same. If you’ve obtained your egg from a breeder, then that means you’ll end up with a joey, and it’s important to keep that joey warm for the next three years (usually within an artificial pouch that you strap to yourself).

As for whether or not it’s safe for a kangaskhan to battle while carrying a joey, it depends on how old the joey is. Extremely young joeys (those a year old or younger) should be kept away from the battlefield, but their mothers will often refuse to battle, making this not as much of a challenge as it sounds. Older joeys are typically stronger and more resilient, and as such, their mother will begin to seek opportunities to battle so she can teach them how to do it on their own. She will usually go to great lengths to keep her joey safe, so on your end, it is considered safe because the mother will never enter any situation she thinks would put her young in danger. In fact, in some cases (such as in “mega evolution,” which is in quotes because of things I’ve mentioned in previous posts), the mother will push her joey to battle alongside her.

In other words, is it safe? For younger joeys, probably not. For older joeys, it’s not only safe; it’s also highly encouraged. Of course, either way, the mother kangaskhan will let you know fully well when her joey can battle and how intense of a battle she may have. It would be a good idea to listen to the mother kangaskhan, of course, as the mother kangaskhan may know Sucker Punch and definitely has fewer qualms about attacking her trainer than most other pokémon.

Kangaskhan

Well. Now that that bit of unpleasantness has been cleared up, let’s continue with a pokémon that this writer has recently been reminded of for reasons that have nothing to do with the last actual entry.

Kangaskhan
The Parent Pokémon
Type: Normal
Official Registration #: 115
Entry: A kangaroo-like pokémon consisting of a mother creature and a separate, smaller baby, known within the pokémonology field as a “joey.” Much of the mother pokémon’s life revolves around caring for and violently defending her young, which she always carries in her front pouch. Curiously, this changes upon mega evolution, at which point the joey leaps from its mother’s pouch to be used as a partner in equally vicious hand-to-hand combat, which indicates that despite the fact that the mother kangaskhan will do anything to protect her joey, said child is actually fully capable of fighting and defending itself. Additionally, unlike other pokémon that are capable of mega evolution, kangaskhan does not undergo any physical transformations beyond the fact that her joey leaves her pouch to add its own power to her attacks. Thus, it is said by experts in evolutionary stones that kangaskhanite is not a true mega stone at all but rather a stone capable of shining a bright light that signals to the joey when to enter the fight. Despite this, kangaskhanite on the collectors’ market can fetch obscenely high prices, indicating the absolute brilliance of either human con artists or kangaskhan that know all too well that their trainers are gullible.