Dear LH, Are there any Certified Pokemon Psychiatrists? I live in the town of Alto Mare. I’m sure you’ve heard of the disaster brought upon us by Team Rocket? Can you recommend anyone or give advice for consoling a Grieving Pokemon? I and the rest of the town Worry for our Guardian.

LH: I’m sorry, anonymous, but the truth is … trainers are therapists for most pokémon. We’re supposed to be the ones to help pokémon heal from their past traumas through a combination of emotional support and raw love and patience. When it happens to a wild pokémon, there isn’t much help. This all is because although pokémon are largely sentient, they’re still in many ways animals, so the resources available to take care of them are very similar if not the same as the resources available to take care of our animal pets.

There is one option you might try, though: Nurse Joy. Unlike a vet for animals, Nurse Joys receive training in a pretty wide variety of fields, including some emotional therapy, and they’re open to making house visits to wild pokémon too. If someone hasn’t already, maybe ask your local Nurse Joy to go out to your guardian and give them a check-up and maybe a consultation.

Hoping the best for your guardian!

Hey, Bill. When I was younger (and a lot smaller), I befriended a Latias, and we used to go flying a lot. I’m an adult now, and that not only leaves a lot less time to play with her, but also, I’m pretty sure she’s too small to carry a full-grown me! Any suggestions for activities or enrichment?

Well, I suppose if you befriend an extremely powerful guardian of nature, that’s better than catching it…

In any case, this is a bit difficult because you mention you have less time to devote to her. Nonetheless, latias are highly intelligent pokémon capable of disguise, so as such, if she’s a particularly curious pokémon, one thing you might be able to do is, well, take her to places as you would a human friend. If she isn’t particularly curious or if you would rather not risk having her disguise herself and taking her to highly populated areas, you could try sparring with her using your own pokémon, giving her toys or gifts, or participating in creative activities with her. It really depends on her preferences, so ask her what she would like to do (not only in relation to the above but also in general).

Best of luck!

How come shellos are considered the same species despite having different colors and traits depending on habitat, but latios and latias are considered different species? Is it just based on the sounds they make?

Unlike Latias and Latios (or male and female nidoran, for another example), every breed of shellos is genetically similar enough to be considered the same organism. The only reason why the two known varieties look like that is because they adapted to their respective waters to do so, but neither adapted so drastically that they created an entirely new species.

In other words, it really comes down to genetics, anonymous.

Dear Bill, I live about a mile outside Fortree city. Last night, I wake up to hear my Guard Lycanroc raising cain. I go out, thinking it’s some plusle and minun harassing them, but instead, i find a pair of Eon Chicks, no older than maybe a month. I hadn’t heard of Eon pokemon living in my area, so i worry they might be the victims of poachers. Any advice on how to care for them until i get a letter to the Fortree Nurse Joy? Also, another matter of concern that i’ll dedicate another ask to CONT.

Well, first and foremost, it’s perhaps a bad idea to seek help for emergencies through my ask box, as one reader unfortunately found out

That having been said, though, your first step should be to call the local center and the Fortree authorities, not send them a letter. It’s faster that way, and all pokémon centers have their own phone lines. Likewise, it’s rare these days for a home, even one on the edge of civilization, to have no means of communicating rapidly with the nearest hospital or center for emergencies, and most trainers in Hoenn should have a phone system built into their pokénavs. This isn’t an attempt to shame you, of course, anonymous. It’s simply to say that you are (or were, anyway) dealing with an emergency, so it’s quite honestly more appropriate to reach out to your emergency services.

With that having been said, allow me to address the eon hatchlings first. Take a good look at the surrounding area. If they’re alone, then it’s probably best to leave them alone unless one (or both) of them is(/are) injured. Poachers are unlikely to leave something as rare as a pair of eon hatchlings alone, even if a gardevoir is nearby. Not that I know this from personal experience (I quite frankly detest the entire practice of poaching, let alone the sale of pokémon outside of sanctioned breeders), but eon hatchlings can be highly profitable to certain types of individuals if sold on the pokémon black market. So if a pair of hatchlings are completely alone, it’s more likely that their parents are nearby, which can pose a threat to you, as they may likely attack in order to protect their young. (This might also have something to do with the gardevoir’s state.) Alternatively, if the eon hatchlings are fully feathered and capable of refracting light off their down, then they’re not actually hatchlings at all but instead a fledgling and are actually fully independent at this stage. Either way, it’s best to leave them alone.

If, however, you see humans nearby, contact your local authorities and keep an eye on the humans’ activity but keep your distance at the same time. Poachers are highly dangerous and quite often armed with more than just pokémon. It’s best to let the authorities handle this.

As for the gardevoir, while she’ll survive without her skirt, she’ll need immediate medical attention to avoid complications, especially if the skirt was severed close to its roots (that is, close to her major organs). Even if the wounds were cauterized, she’ll nonetheless need a thorough examination and quite possibly treatment for anything from blood poisoning to internal bleeding, never mind possible surgery to minimize pain. In short, please take this gardevoir to your nearest pokémon center immediately.

That having been said, as a reminder to readers, the ask box is not for immediate advice. If you’ve encountered an emergency, please seek help with your local authorities or emergency medical services, whichever is more appropriate.

Hoenn Legendaries, Part III

bills-pokedex:

Latias
The Eon Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Psychic
Official Registration #: 380
Entry: One of the legendary dragon guardians of the Soul Dew, an item of mystic power. Unlike most other legendaries, it’s known that latias live in small herds with multiple other latias and latios. Each latias is highly sensitive to human emotions, can understand human speech, communicates telepathically, and possesses coats of reflective down that can alter their appearance or render them invisible. Needless to say, these abilities in combination have caused much romantic confusion in the human race since the latias have first discovered us, and there is, indeed, an internet subculture dedicated to this exact breed of confusion.

Latios
The Eon Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Psychic
Official Registration #: 381
Entry: One of the legendary dragon guardians of the Soul Dew, an item of mystic power. Unlike most other legendaries, it’s known that latios live in small herds with multiple other latias and latios. These highly intelligent pokémon are capable of flying at mach speeds and telepathically coercing subjects into seeing whatever they see in their minds. Often born alongside a sister latias, latios are generally pacifist in nature … except when their twins “interact” with rather seedy-looking humans, at which point, they often use their considerable abilities to eliminate the perceived threat. Which, honestly, makes latios a pokémon the author can sympathize with greatly.

Mega Latios
The Eon Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Psychic
Official Registration #: 381+
Entry: The advanced form of latios, via latiosite. Contrary to popular belief, the change in this pokémon’s appearance does not indicate a significant boost in speed, nor does it lend any particular aerodynamic quality to the overall pokémon. Instead, it only boosts certain capabilities inherent in this pokémon’s genetic makeup, meaning it becomes even more capable of working in tandem with its sibling species. In other words, the physiological changes merely indicate the heightened ability to work as one unit with a mega latixs’s respective partner.

Bill… —LH

Hoenn Legendaries, Part III

bills-pokedex:

Latias
The Eon Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Psychic
Official Registration #: 380
Entry: One of the legendary dragon guardians of the Soul Dew, an item of mystic power. Unlike most other legendaries, it’s known that latias live in small herds with multiple other latias and latios. Each latias is highly sensitive to human emotions, can understand human speech, communicates telepathically, and possesses coats of reflective down that can alter their appearance or render them invisible. Needless to say, these abilities in combination have caused much romantic confusion in the human race since the latias have first discovered us, and there is, indeed, an internet subculture dedicated to this exact breed of confusion.

Latios
The Eon Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Psychic
Official Registration #: 381
Entry: One of the legendary dragon guardians of the Soul Dew, an item of mystic power. Unlike most other legendaries, it’s known that latios live in small herds with multiple other latias and latios. These highly intelligent pokémon are capable of flying at mach speeds and telepathically coercing subjects into seeing whatever they see in their minds. Often born alongside a sister latias, latios are generally pacifist in nature … except when their twins “interact” with rather seedy-looking humans, at which point, they often use their considerable abilities to eliminate the perceived threat. Which, honestly, makes latios a pokémon the author can sympathize with greatly.

Mega Latias
The Eon Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Psychic
Official Registration #: 380+
Entry: The advanced form of latias, via latiasite. Contrary to popular belief, the change in this pokémon’s appearance does not indicate a significant boost in speed, nor does it lend any particular aerodynamic quality to the overall pokémon. Instead, it only boosts certain capabilities inherent in this pokémon’s genetic makeup, meaning it becomes even more capable of working in tandem with its sibling species. In other words, the physiological changes merely indicate the heightened ability to work as one unit with a mega latixs’s respective partner.

Hoenn Legendaries, Part III

Latias
The Eon Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Psychic
Official Registration #: 380
Entry: One of the legendary dragon guardians of the Soul Dew, an item of mystic power. Unlike most other legendaries, it’s known that latias live in small herds with multiple other latias and latios. Each latias is highly sensitive to human emotions, can understand human speech, communicates telepathically, and possesses coats of reflective down that can alter their appearance or render them invisible. Needless to say, these abilities in combination have caused much romantic confusion in the human race since the latias have first discovered us, and there is, indeed, an internet subculture dedicated to this exact breed of confusion.

Latios
The Eon Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Psychic
Official Registration #: 381
Entry: One of the legendary dragon guardians of the Soul Dew, an item of mystic power. Unlike most other legendaries, it’s known that latios live in small herds with multiple other latias and latios. These highly intelligent pokémon are capable of flying at mach speeds and telepathically coercing subjects into seeing whatever they see in their minds. Often born alongside a sister latias, latios are generally pacifist in nature … except when their twins “interact” with rather seedy-looking humans, at which point, they often use their considerable abilities to eliminate the perceived threat. Which, honestly, makes latios a pokémon the author can sympathize with greatly.