(Assuming it’s domesticated from birth) Might an Eevee display different behaviors/talents depending on its parentage? For example, an Eevee hatchling from Espeon and Vaporeon making a good future Leafeon, or an Eevee coming from a long line of Flareon suddenly displaying pre-evolution behaviors for a Sylveon? Whatever the answer, does the same also apply to Eevee with an unevolved parent or with a non-Eevee parent, or other species with branching evolution lines like Oddish or Rockruff?

Certainly! An eevee’s preferred evolution is a conscious decision made by the eevee itself; it’s an expression of both its interests and its identity, both of which can vary vastly from those of its parents’.

Of course, if an eevee is born to a solid pack of one specific eeveelution, then they’re more likely to evolve into that eeveelution as well. This may be for two reasons: either the climate/terrain is better suited to that specific eeveelution (thus, evolution out of necessity for survival) or the eevee sees it as easier to evolve into a matching evolution so as to fit in with the rest of its pack and get along well enough to survive (thus, evolution out of social obligation … and also necessity for survival again). Thus, you’re less likely to see pre-evolutionary behaviors that don’t match the rest of an eevee’s pack, although that doesn’t necessarily mean that you will never see differing pre-evolutionary behavior.

(Incidentally, yes, the point still stands if the eevee were domesticated. Sometimes, multiple tame eevee will also form a pack of like eeveelutions in order to better withstand certain climates and areas they’re raised in. This is generally more common in regions with extreme temperatures, such as the Arctic, where eevee, even domesticated ones, will generally try to evolve into glaceon to better withstand the elements.)

If an eevee came from a pack of mixed eeveelutions, and especially if its own parents were two different evolutions themselves, it’s more likely for the eevee to pick whatever feels right to it, even if that eeveelution isn’t that of either of its parents. The same can be said for eevee whose parents consist of one eevee or eeveelution and a completely different pokémon. Because such mate pairings occur in situations where there isn’t a need to evolve into one specific eeveelution to survive (either through better socializing or simple adaptation to the environment), the eevee feel freer to explore their options and express themselves according to which eeveelution they would prefer.

As for other evolutionary families, it absolutely works in similar ways: if you have a pack or garden of solidly midday lycanroc or vileplume, hatchlings will be more likely to display pre-evolutionary behavior consistent with their group’s evolution of choice. A mixed pack, garden, herd, and so forth will yield more varied behavior.

There is only one exception to the above rule, and it’s slowpoke. A slowpoke’s pre-evolutionary behavior is that of … well, a slowpoke. They’re fascinating and wonderful creatures, but no, all slowpoke are like that, if you understand my meaning.

I was tending to my garden recently and found out that my patch of radishes had been replaced by a patch of Oddishes, right under my nose! It seems a pair of wild Bellossum found my soil right for nurturing their young. Should I just let them be, try to catch them and assist in raising them, or should I call my local Pokemon Breeder for assistance?

Unless they’re posing a danger to you, your pokémon, or your crops (as they might do, given that young oddish sometimes use Absorb on anything they can touch as a means of exploring), it would actually be best to leave them alone. Oddish parents know what’s best when it comes to raising their hatchlings, and attempting to interfere with wild pokémon parents could place yourself at risk.

Still, I must congratulate you: the oddish family normally makes their beds in secluded parts of the forest where they’re less likely to be picked off by predators. If they’re making a bed in a garden very close to a human, that must mean they feel safe in your presence. Excellent work at keeping a pokémon-friendly yard!

Do Torchic actually taste like spicy chicken?

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.

The Oddish Line

Oddish
The Weed Pokémon
Type: Grass/Poison
Official Registration #: 43
Entry: A short, raddish-like pokémon of the grass and poison types. Primarily nocturnal, oddish uproot themselves to wander at night and bury their heads in fertile soil during the day. Because oddish prefer well-watered, nutrient-rich soil to bury themselves in during the day, they sometimes wander into the gardens of humans, where they can sometimes be mistaken for weeds. However, it is very easy to tell the difference between a weed and an oddish if one observes carefully. For example, if the plant is shorter and does not move when you press your toe into the soil around it, then you have a weed. If, however, you pull it out and it screams with unholy shrieks not unlike those of demonic children, then you have found an oddish.

Gloom
The Weed Pokémon
Type: Grass/Poison
Official Registration #: 44
Entry: The evolved form of oddish, by battle experience. This flower-like pokémon is most known for its potent stench. Even a smaller, younger gloom can generate a smell capable of overwhelming a human up to two miles away. However, this smell is really a defense mechanism; gloom do not produce this stench if kept calm and in trusted company. If a gloom reaches this state, then the nectar within its bulbous flower may be gathered for a variety of purposes … most notably in the production of perfume, as the human cosmetic industry is very fond of irony, apparently.

Vileplume
The Flower Pokémon
Type: Grass/Poison
Official Registration #: 45
Entry: The evolved form of gloom, by exposure to leaf stone. Vileplume boast some of the largest and most beautiful flowers in the pokémon kingdom. However, these flowers bloom violently, with a boom and a cloud of extremely toxic pollen—the latter of which can cause severe allergic reactions in even humans who have had no prior history of pollen allergies. It should also be noted that this is the vileplume’s primary mode of reproduction and intercourse with fellow vileplume, so trainers should take caution, lest they wish to have possibly the least dignified methods of death possible for a trainer.

Bellossom
The Flower Pokémon
Type: Grass
Official Registration #: 182
Entry: The evolved form of gloom, by exposure to sun stone. When exposed to high amounts of sunlight, bellossom open their flowers and begin to dance, which causes their leaves to rub together and emit a pleasant ringing sound. Prior to the discovery of the sun stone, bellossom was thought to be a completely unrelated species to gloom—which, given the fact that it is, in actuality, smaller, vastly different in appearance, and not even a poison-type, is understandable. On that note, it is possibly best not to think too hard about why larger, smellier gloom produce smaller, more beautiful bellossom. This question has driven more than one researcher into ruin.