I run a breeding facility and have a shiny eevee companion. This woman, clearly rich, came to my facility something and saw my eevee and decided to make offer upon offer for him. When I told her he wasn’t for sale she threw an absolute FIT saying that I was unreasonable and could just “make another”. I banned her from my facility. She was livid and said she’d never come to me again and that she’d tell her friends I was awful and blah blah blah. I don’t regret it but how do I save my reputation?

Be a reputable breeder.

While it’s a shame that a wealthy, supposedly influential terrible customer has been through your establishment and while it’s also a shame how common that is, reputable trainers and customers who are actually concerned about pokémon will care a lot more about the, well, care you put into breeding. If a bad customer spreads the word that you’re a terrible breeder because you won’t fulfill a request—as if a pokémon is an object and not a living being—then while that could damage your reputation a bit, it could also serve as a testament to your concern for quality care over the mass-production of certain traits.

Moreover, reputable trainers understand that breeding for shiny pokémon is not a guaranteed thing and that requests for shiny pokémon are not easy to fill and require enough breeding to tire out the parents and produce more hatchlings than one may be able to home. It’s only a thing that may be done with two mated pokémon that are extremely fond of each other, by a breeder with enough connections to rehome hatchlings humanely. Trainers who don’t recognize this and demand shinies anyway say more about themselves than the breeder, and a breeder who obliges says more about the way they care for their pokémon than their skills.

In short, anonymous, she was a bad customer, but no matter how she spins her story, if she convinces others to avoid your services, those others are not customers you would have wanted anyway.

I recently got a baby togepi and people keep getting very concerned because if rides on the back of my houndoom. Now my houndoom is nothing but loving and nurturing, having had a litter of her own and adopted a shinx and growlithe when they were rejected by their mothers. I’m just really frustrated with all the bias

Unfortunately, anonymous, I’m afraid that there is quite a lot of discrimination against dark-type pokémon and their users. This is largely in part due to long-standing folklore that states dark-types in general are ruthless, bloodthirsty, or dangerous tricksters. Houndoom in particular are victims of this, as their alarming appearances, pack habits, and notorious bites made them rather frightening creatures to the humans who lived near their territories. This is all despite the fact that members of the houndour line are among the most loyal and gentle fire-type pokémon (never mind the most loyal dark-types) one can own.

The best you can do is try your best to not let it affect you. If someone attempts to confront you about your houndoom, show them that yours is gentle and do your best to educate them while deescalating the situation. Don’t give in to your frustrations. The important thing is whether or not your houndoom and togepi are safe and happy.

Best of luck, anonymous, and hang in there!

Hey Bill, has the research community considered adding a sound type? There seems to be several techniques to justify the inclusion, and historically sound-based moves have caused different effects than the normal type they are generally classified as (see: St. Wulfric of Rovngalad).

Actually, yes, especially considering pokémon such as the whismur line, the jigglypuff line, and chatot, all of which are reliant on sound-based maneuvers or come with abilities that make them immune to sound-based techniques. We’ve certainly amended the registered type list with fewer on-hand examples, no less.

But the problem is that none of these pokémon display the physical attributes that would indicate any other type than the ones they already have. (Well, jigglypuff was recently discovered to be a fairy-type a well, but you get the idea.) In order to amend the type list, a proposed type must be present not only in techniques but also in pokémon examples—the latter of which tends to be more of a priority than the former. That is, without compelling evidence that a new type of pokémon exists, a researcher can’t amend the list at all, whereas nothing in the Symposium rules prevents us from registering a new type without examples of techniques.

In short, while sound-based moves such as Chatter and Uproar may hint at a new type, we can’t present evidence that a sound-type exists without first locating a pokémon that clearly is of the sound element.

What’s the best kind of Pokémon partner to use at a salon where you wash and trim and pretty up someone’s Pokémon?

This depends on what you need them to do specifically. If you’d simply looking for a pokémon capable of making precision cuts under strict guidance, the aipom family, kricketune, ninjask, the elemental monkeys, leavanny, the oshawott line, the pawniard family, sylveon, and scizor are all excellent choices. (Note: Contrary to popular belief, scyther is not recommended in such circumstances, due to its naturally aggressive nature. They may be better suited to gardening and topiary work, however.)

If you’d like a pokémon that can assist you with washing hair and fur, practically anything that can use Water Gun would be advisable, although the oshawott and panpour lines are both also capable of Cut to precise degrees.

Finally, if you’re looking for a pokémon that may offer some fashionable input, jynx, leavanny, and most fairy-types—particularly aromatisse and sylveon—quite frankly have the best tastes, objectively speaking.

Also, as a note, for assistance with dying pokémon fur or hair, never use a smeargle. Smeargle tend to take artistic liberties with their work, so they may do more harm than good. Instead, try jynx, as jynx are both careful and able to see color the way a human would.

Best of luck, anonymous!

Genetically is there a reason some shinies are less conspicuous than others? A shiny eevee has less ability to hide from predators due to silver coloring but a Pokémon like gabite does not change much when altered forms are involved. Moreover is the reason shinies are so rare due to their lack of ability to hide or hunt due to their coloring make them more of a target? I gave a hiding example with eevee but for hunting a shiny sharpedo is more likely to be spotted by prey, giving warning by hue

Actually, the reason why shinies are rarer than standard pokémon is because shininess is a genetic mutation. It’s very much the same as albinism in humans. Just as albinism is possible but extremely rare in humans (and is often tied to health problems and is, thus, not an ideal condition), shininess is likewise possible, rare, and may lead to issues for the individual. (In some cases, those issues may even be the same—that is, the issues may actually be tied to health problems in certain pokémon species, not simply conspicuousness.)

Granted, yes, in some cases, shiny populations of some species are low because the conspicuousness of a shiny-variant pokémon makes it difficult for individuals to hunt or hide from predators, but really, it’s just that shiny populations are low to begin with purely because shininess is a mutation.

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.

my daughter just became a pokemon trainer. she came home the other day excited to show me her first real capture, but… it’s a drowzee. i don’t want to discriminate, but i’ve heard some scary things about them. am i over reacting or can this pokemon be dangerous for an 8 year old?

I’ve heard about the rumors concerning members of the drowzee line and their penchant for leading children into dense woods for nefarious purposes, but rest assured that these are largely unfounded. (Most stories in which members of the drowzee line attack children are actually about the child wandering into a wild pokémon’s territory, prompting them to attack—if the story is true at all.)

When caught and tamed, most pokémon are relatively docile to their trainers. Even if they dislike being in captivity or if they dislike their specific trainer, pokémon rarely use force strong enough to kill, maim, or otherwise badly harm a human. This goes for psychics capable of hypnosis as well; there are very, very few stories of a tamed psychic pokémon turning their abilities onto their trainers without their consent. This is because most pokémon that allow themselves to be captured actually want to be captured, either because of curiosity, the need to be trained, or the want for companionship. Wild pokémon that don’t want to be captured are often too deep into the wilderness to be found, too strong to allow themselves to be captured, or will otherwise make their desires known before a poké ball touches them.

That having been said, it’s likely that the only thing you’ll want to worry about is your daughter’s drowzee occasionally putting her to sleep for fun, but so long as she isn’t in harm’s way when she does it (and her drowzee will likely also see to that), she should be fine.

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!

Opinions in the Gym leaders/ Elite four – Champion system?

In terms of the system in general or specific members thereof, anonymous?

If we’re referring to the system in general, I for one can’t entirely complain. While it’s true that a region can get by without any form of organized league (take Alola until recently, for example), leagues—and thus, the Elite Four/champion by extension—often function to bridge the gap between that region and the rest of the world. By offering an organized league, foreign trainers are more likely to explore the region, and in return, they bring revenue and push regional governments to improve infrastructure (among other things), particularly to gym-hosting towns and cities. Moreover, for researchers, it means trainers help us discover new pokémon, which brings us even closer to understanding their world—and ours, for that matter.

Of course, there are downsides to a league presence in a region. An increase in foreign trainers means an increase in human traffic in untouched wilderness. With an increase in human traffic to such areas comes the spread of disease, the accidental introduction of invasive species, poaching, population disturbances, and quite a number of other risks and dangers. Granted, yes, that would be what the Pokémon Association is for, but rules and regulations are only as good as the people who follow them. That is to say, unless both regulations and enforcement of such are equally strict, the concern of human traffic to previously untouched wilderness is still a valid one, given that organizations such as Team Rocket still exist.

That and, of course, in some cases, a region lacks a league for cultural reasons. Alola was far from the only region to resist the implementation of a league for so long; in some countries, it’s even seen as akin to imperialism. (It certainly doesn’t help that the concept originated in Kanto, which has had … quite an unfortunate history, I must say.) In those cases, I believe that the people’s concerns are just as valid as any towards human traffic, and their wishes should be respected. It just so happens that in some cases, a compromise is capable of being reached—as in the case of Alola. But I do recognize that’s not the case for every region in existence.

If, however, you mean to ask how I feel about the Elite Four and champion separate from the league, it’s absolutely possible to have one but not the other. Take the Orange Islands, for example, which lacks an Elite Four but has a champion who also technically serves as a fifth gym leader. For smaller regions, it’s absolutely possible to be creative with the setup for your league, and the Association is often accommodating for those cases. However, larger regions often need a more significant payoff, so to speak. After all, larger regions ask trainers to go through eight full gyms before even thinking about a final battle for a title. Of course, in these cases, regions often give registered trainers a choice between a tournament (the more popular method, as more people can participate in them) and the Elite Four gauntlet (far more challenging … but also far more difficult to arrange), but either way, the option for either challenging fellow trainers in a grand tournament or the best trainers in a region is often a fantastic incentive to push trainers forward from their first badge to their last.

In short, anonymous, it certainly depends on what you mean by your question, but generally speaking, I’m rather for a league—and, by extent, an Elite Four and champion.

Do the people of Alola consider the island guardians legendaries?

Actually no. Alolan lore considers the island guardians to be blessed by the legendaries. They are, in other words, the chosen ones, much akin to the Aura Guardians of Sinnohan legend and the chosen of Ho-oh of Johto’s … only, well, they’re pokémon. And also immortal apparently.

Strangely, though, unlike in other regions, the Alolan natives rank the guardians higher in terms of things to worship than legends; that is, they worship the guardians the way people from elsewhere may worship Ho-oh or Arceus or so forth. It’s possible this is because of a lack of named legendaries in Alolan tradition (legendaries to them are implied to be packages of primordial chaos) or because the story goes that the guardians are direct protectors of humanity, but regardless of the reason, almost all rituals are dedicated to the guardians, rather than the legendaries that blessed them.