I’ll answer the simplest question first: unlike the animal sort of sheep, yes, mareep can live with just a trainer (although it’s better off in a team—which, incidentally, doesn’t necessarily have to include another member of the mareep line).

What they can’t entirely do is live indoors. Or, more accurately, they can’t really live in human living quarters. Human spaces are often too small or too crowded to suit a mareep’s needs. Instead, they often need a yard at minimum (a field preferably) with fresh grass or plants for them to eat. Furthermore, they’ll also need a barn (a small one with just enough room for a single mareep to move about without bumping into walls will do) lined with hay for resting at night and when the weather is too cold/wet for a mareep to be outside. It’s a good idea to include some sort of heating system for this barn, but in that case, space is of the utmost importance. For a single mareep, you may need to build a barn roughly the size of an average living room or larger. (The actual, specific recommendation is about sixteen to twenty feet. That would be per pen, if you plan on keeping multiple mareep. Every mareep needs its own pen within the barn you construct, and don’t forget a walkway for mareep to safely travel down as well.) Keep hay away from the heater, and keep the barn itself well stocked with water and food. And of course, try to avoid letting your mareep evolve inside the barn, as the initial shock of changing forms may cause it to bump into walls (or the heater).

Beyond that, mareep are strictly vegetarians, but they can essentially self-feed so long as they have access to fresh grass. Hay will do during the winter months, and if you’d really like to pamper your mareep, salad greens will work as well. Alternatively, there’s always mareep kibble if you’re a trainer traveling through areas where there isn’t much greenery to eat. If you feed your mareep kibble, it’s important to offer plenty of water, as kibble really isn’t as hydrating as greens are.

In terms of grooming, while you can safely bathe an ampharos and while you can use a showerhead and a washcloth with warm soap to handle a flaaffy, it’s not recommended that you groom mareep in the same manner. A washcloth to the face, ears, and legs to clean off dirt is fine, but the wool stores quite a bit of electricity and shouldn’t be soaked for this reason. (If your mareep is caught in the rain, herd it into its barn and turn on the heater to let it dry off naturally. Don’t worry about dirt or mold; these tend to be burned off via electric current eventually.) However, mareep absolutely need to be sheared every so often, as the wool will continuously grow until it interferes with a mareep’s wellbeing. Thus, mareep should be sheared twice a year. Most mareep trainers tend to do it either just before winter (as that will be right when mareep are herded into barns on a long-term basis, so the shearing gives them a little more space to move) or early spring (just before mating season) or both.

There are two ways to shear a mareep, though. The first way is to do it the way it’s done in the wild, and that’s through engaging in regular pokémon battles to burn off extra wool via mareep’s electric moves. If you’d prefer to keep the wool or if you’d simply prefer a quicker shearing, there’s the second way: shave it off. Many less confident trainers hire breeders to do it for them, but if you have a steady hand, a calming voice, and a pair of heavy-duty rubber gloves, it’s not that bad of a task. It’s just that the rubber is important. Wear not only rubber gloves but also rubber overalls—essentially rubber on anything you think might come in contact with your mareep’s wool.

Additionally, use mareep shears, not a regular set of shears. This is a device that collects electricity directly from your mareep’s wool and channels it through a set of combs and blades in order to essentially shave your sheep. (It’s also cased in a protective rubber coating to prevent that electricity from going anywhere other than the motor.) This device should help discharge your mareep wool and make it safer for handling.

To prepare, be sure to keep your mareep dry for ten hours prior to shearing, and don’t feed or water it either, not only to ensure that they’re comfortable during the shearing but also to avoid any nervous … mishaps. Thus, it’s a good idea to shear it first thing in the morning, then give it a proper breakfast as a reward for good behavior. Beyond that, shearing is a rather easy process for mareep because they’re actually more obedient and a bit more sentient than their animal “cousins,” and thus, you can simply tell yours how to sit and what you’re doing. Communicate frequently throughout the process, but hold your mareep steady. Firmly, not harshly. Yes, you will need to pull its skin to shear the wool off as closely and cleanly as possible, but couple everything you do with soothing words of encouragement. Shear as closely to the skin as your mareep can tolerate but don’t dig. Let the shearer do the work, then give your mareep a few oran berries and keep it inside for the next two days to heal.

Leave the wool out on the ground for a few hours after shearing if you plan on using it for electronics. Alternatively, leave it out for a day if you plan on spinning it into a sort of yarn that can glow in the dark for a few months. (The yarn also has a slight metallic effect, even after it loses its glow.) Whatever you do, do not wash clothing you’ve made with mareep wool in a washer until a couple months after it’s lost its glow. Hand-wash it, as you could risk frying the inside of your washing machine.

The shearing process can be done in about thirty minutes per mareep. Some trainers like to keep their flocks close (mareep somehow find entertainment in watching the process), but if you choose to do it with the flock out to field, it’s a good idea to keep a growlithe or other dog-like pokémon nearby to make sure they don’t wander. Sheep growlithe aren’t exactly mandatory for mareep care, but they’re very handy.

And of course, the shearing process becomes completely unnecessary as a mareep advances in stages. The wool stops growing in the flaaffy stage, and it falls out altogether when the pokémon becomes an ampharos. However, once they reach their ampharos stage, you’ll instead want to maintain their skin health. Bathe them regularly and apply moisturizers afterwards. Avoid their jewels, as these are actually electrified. (Don’t worry. They’ll shine just the same, even without needing to be polished. Ampharos will generally care for these jewels themselves.)

Beyond that, as always, be sure to train for at least an hour a day if you plan on competing in battles, tournaments, and so forth, but it (and playtime in general) isn’t entirely necessary if you plan on letting your mareep out into a field. They’ll generally amuse themselves (although it’s still recommended that you give them daily affection and care). If your mareep lives in a yard, though, yes, it’s a good idea to walk it. It won’t need a leash (mareep will generally follow you wherever you go), but they seem happier with a growlithe or other dog-like pokémon for companionship.

Best of luck!