In honor of Halloween, what Pokémon are typically the ones who are regarded as bad luck? You know how black cats are typically looked at with superstition, but what about Pokémon/pokemon typings?

Well, there is, of course, absol, although that’s based on a misconception. Absol predict unlucky events, but they don’t actually cause them. Nonetheless, in certain areas of Hoenn, they’re considered to be extremely unlucky, as the appearance of one surely means bad luck is to follow.

Meanwhile, in Johto (as well as some parts of Kalos and Unova), murkrow tend to be unlucky symbols, especially when seen at night, as their general presence will bring about misfortune and loss. In Unova, meanwhile, people tend to believe purrloin are unlucky, especially if they cross your path.

Some pokémon are thought to produce unlucky events under very specific circumstances. For example, when in the vicinity of electronic devices, kadabra are said to cause shadows to appear on TV and computer screens. Seeing these shadows is an omen of death, and thus, keeping kadabra in the house is considered to be unlucky. (It’s not true, though, just for the record.)

If you can hear wild mismagius or misdreavus, then that’s an omen of death as well, and both pokémon are also unlucky. However, not being able to hear either pokémon is perfectly fine, and tamed pokémon are generally safe—even lucky in some cultures. In a similar manner, seeing wild trevenant, litwick, or sneasel in their native habitats are extremely unlucky, and it’s thought that if you see either of these, you need to immediately turn around and go back the way you came, as proceeding the way you’re going may result in you disappearing forever.

And then you have vivillon. I’m not sure why a lot of people believe vivillon to be unlucky, but some people believe you shouldn’t keep your pokédex open to its National Dex entry.

As for general classes of pokémon, as one might imagine, most people shy away from dark- and ghost-types, as many of these either lead travelers astray or steal their life forces (or both). Some cultures consider psychics and fairies to be equally unlucky—fairies especially when it comes to small children.

Is it ethical to bring fossils back to life? (Ecologically and for the sake of the pokemon’s sanity)

First, it’s important to keep in mind that when we say fossils are revived, what we really mean is a specimen was built using a copy of a genetic sample. It doesn’t mean that the pokémon is literally revived from the dead, memories and all. The pokémon’s sanity is typically fine, as it was born in this time period and has no memory of its species’ prehistoric lives or habitats.

The problem, of course, is in the ecological side of things. Fossil pokémon can’t be reintroduced into the wild, for example, because time has progressed to the point where the ecosystem has stabilized without them. Thus, reintroduction would actually be considered the introduction of an invasive species, which could be disastrous for some regions. (Hoenn, for example, as one of its registered fossil pokémon was an apex predator.)

That and a fossil’s survival rate may be questionable at best, given that it may be difficult to find adequate habitats or alternative food sources for them. For example, the archen line lived in the jungles of Unova and fed primarily on the fruit of the archen tree. However, due to climate changes and tectonic shift, Unova is no longer blanketed with tropical rain forest expanses, and the archen tree itself is completely extinct. While it may be possible for archen to at least survive in a comparable climate (the Amazon, for example), the question is whether or not it will adapt to modern local fruits on its own, what with the fact that archen fruit supposedly comprised much of its diet. (This can be a bit of a challenge, even in domesticated settings.)

Thus, if fossils are revived en masse, rather than occasionally for research purposes, the resulting pokémon can only be kept in captivity—except for kabuto, which can be introduced to wild kabuto populations, but that’s a different story. In all other cases, it’s a bit too risky.

In light of all of this, you could say that the question of whether or not it’s ethical at all is still up for debate. Naturally, scientists would take the best possible care of captive fossil pokémon, and contrary to popular belief, most respectable scientists are concerned enough about ethics to revitalize fossils responsibly. (The idea that we would create a specimen capable of thought, study it, and then cull it without a second thought is a gross misrepresentation of modern pokémonology.) Still, whether or not we should revitalize fossils is a bit problematic, as a life in captivity, or for the sole purpose of captivity, is not much of a life at all, according to some people.

I suppose this is one of the rare instances where I leave the question up to you, readers. Officially, there are rules that ensure the process is done responsibly, but there really is no word on whether or not creating life is truly ethical. It’s a problem scientists have faced with artificially created pokémon—such as porygon and voltorb—as well.

My boyfriend just recently got a job at a casino, and I was wondering what kind of Pokémon would be allowed out by patrons? I figure ghost and psychic types would be considered a no go due to cheating. And would blackjack or other card dealers have pokemon with them to ensure cheating wasn’t occurring?

Psychics and ghosts, as well as any pokémon with precognitive abilities (namely absol, which can predict when their owners will lose disastrously and thus warn them from placing certain bets) are the ones that are typically banned from most establishments, yes. However, there are other pokémon that are barred, depending on the game and region in question. For example, chatot’s exemplary memory means it’s generally banned from blackjack tables due to their ability to count cards. Likewise, anything capable of learning Psychic (or telekinetic moves in general), regardless of whether or not they actually are psychic-types are also barred from roulette tables, slot machines, and pachinko parlors. Because that last quality covers an extensive list of pokémon due to the TM system, pokémon in general are barred from Sinnohan casinos, many of which rely on slot machines.

Additionally, most regions prohibit trainers from releasing members of the chansey line, members of the togepi line, and anything that evolves by happiness or affection, as these may attack game machines or dealers if they sense any sort of unhappiness in their trainer, including mild forms stemming from particularly long losing streaks.

Also, wailord, onix and steelix, and any large or lethal-to-the-touch pokémon are barred, but this is less because of casino rules and more because releasing any of these pokémon indoors, within crowded places, is generally considered to be rude.

Most other pokémon are perfectly fine to keep with you, however.

As for your question concerning what blackjack owners may be given, many casinos employ telepaths to ensure that no one is even thinking about cheating, yes. However, other houses may prefer to use intimidation tactics by employing tyranitar, aggron, machamp, or other large pokémon capable of reaching over the table and breaking a player’s arm at a moment’s notice. You’ll especially see these pokémon in the Johto region, where many casinos are quite literally run by the yakuza.

Of course, cheating can sometimes be a difficult thing to prevent, even with these precautions, as some players can be tenacious and clever enough to figure out how to do so with practically any pokémon in existence. And on that note, if anyone is curious as to why I know any of this, it’s because a wise man once told me that one must know the customs thoroughly in order to break the rules, and I’m pretty sure the reason why the Goldenrod yakuza has not broken this wise man’s legs yet or banned him from their game corner is because they’re still thoroughly impressed that he had figured out how to cheat a card flip table using only a metapod.

My mother, however, has always been somewhat less impressed.

Hey bill, i have a lot of anxiety and depression problems and wondered what the best Pokémon to help me through panic attacks and depressive episodes are?

Well, that may depend on what you need, and it may perhaps be a good idea to work with your therapist if you have one to determine the perfect pokémon for your situation.

If you’d like to know about what options you have before meeting with your doctor, some of the ones for anxiety are outlined here and here. It’s worth it to pay particularly close attention to the second link, as that describes in detail the way empathic resonance (or the act of “sharing an emotion” with another being) works in a therapeutic environment, which may be better suited to helping you through depressive episodes than aromatherapy, but really, many of the pokémon outlined in either post would work just as well.

Alternatively, for depression specifically, some people prefer to work with a pokémon known for empathy or affection, such as audino, the chansey line, or sylveon. Audino and chansey in particular are also typically medically trained (that is to say, they’re often frequently retired nurse pokémon), which means that not only are they capable of helping you through an episode, but they can also look after you in a medical sense as well. Other patients, meanwhile, prefer the company of popular pet pokémon such as growlithe, houndour, or clefairy, or pokémon that can be trained to hold conversations (either vocal or signed), such as chatot or jynx. All of these species are known to reduce stress through playtime or simple, straightforward interaction, so they’re ideal for more high-functioning individuals.

However, while it’s not exactly unheard of to have more than one service pokémon, you may find it easier to work with a single pokémon that can be empathic and help you through anxiety attacks, such as gardevoir or meowstic. As I’ve mentioned in the earlier posts, these pokémon are not only capable of giving off “comforting vibes,” as it were, but they’re also capable of foreseeing when an attack might happen, which allows them to be better prepared to step in than most other pokémon. Combine that with the aforementioned empathic resonance (or simply that some of the pokémon in this category are highly affectionate in a physical sense), and it’s easy to see why psychics tend to be rather popular as service pokémon.

Of course, I must emphasize that I can only mention options to you, and this should in no way be taken as medical advice, psychologically speaking or otherwise, as I’m possibly … not the least qualified individual to dispense medical advice but not exactly one who can legally offer any. Check with your doctor first (if you can) to go through these options or to find others I might not even be aware of. If you can’t get a doctor, most regions have their own social programs set up to connect individuals with social workers who can, in turn, help them find a suitable companion pokémon.

Best of luck, anonymous!

Hello, I was traveling through Floaroma Town recently (I’ll be staying a while) and the PC in the Pokemon Center is down since a Rotom has taken it over. The Nurse Joy there said that the Rotom’s trouble has just been taking over the PC and preventing trainers from using it, no pokemon have been released from it, and that someone has been contacted about the problem. I was wondering how long will getting the Rotom out take and is this a common problem?

Rest assured, anonymous, it’s not a common problem. It should be resolved in a few hours.

Or it will be once someone stops letting the rotom get away by taking selfies with her possessed computer instead of doing her job.

To be fair, Bill, do you remember what happened when you found the giant slowpoke? —LH

That was an anomalous slowpoke! That’s different! —Bill

Are pokemon with Sweet Scent, such as Bulbasaur, a good partner for someone with anxiety, specifically social anxiety? Also, what others are out there that can help deal with it?

Before anything else, you may benefit from reading my earlier post on service pokémon, as any pokémon that is kept primarily to help humans with either physical or psychological limitations through their day-to-day activities is considered to be a service pokémon. (In this sense, pokémon are a bit more flexible than animals.) This includes those pokémon that assist those who have anxiety disorders or those who simply need a pokémon to help them focus on the present. I’m throwing a link to that post in this one not to simply say “read that post” and leave it at that; that would be rather rude of me. Rather, there may possibly be information in that post that I’ve simply forgotten to include in this one.

That having been said, to answer your question, absolutely. They tend to be preferable to many other service pokémon trained to handle forms of anxiety, social or otherwise. Most Sweet Scent users have the passive ability to emit pleasant aromas with or without Sweet Scent’s assistance, and as such, they’re a bit more subtle in their approach than an empath, a Singer, or a member of the chansey line. That and this passive ability also has the added benefit of affecting all parties within its range of effect, which means the pokémon’s human companion has the added reassurance that there’s a very good chance any conversation held upwind of their partner will be pleasant.

Of course, as I’ve mentioned above, those aren’t the only pokémon that are used, and although they’re the most popular for anxiety specifically, other humans may have different preferences or needs that require the services of other pokémon. For example, some people may prefer the services of a psychic pokémon, such as ralts, to influence their emotional states. Now, keep in mind this does not mean that the psychic pokémon forcibly enters their human partner’s mind and “erases” their anxiety. That would actually be highly unethical, after all. Rather, psychic pokémon—particularly those with empathic powers (so, again, such as ralts)—have the ability to project certain auras. Think of it like feeling a rush of adrenaline when you hear a fast-paced song or feeling uneasy when you hear a low, vibrating tone. In a similar way, an empathic pokémon influences the psychic energies around itself so that it projects a certain emotion outward that your mind can sense and, subconsciously, adjust itself to. In other words, a ralts may project a feeling of extreme happiness, and your mind would pick up on it and decide for itself to feel at ease because the atmosphere simply feels safe. Thus, the process isn’t quite as invasive as it sounds. Rather, the most invasive a pokémon will ever be is to break into your mind and stop you from doing something dangerous, but obviously, those are in extreme circumstances that may not entirely be relevant to the question at hand.

Back to the point, the reason why grass-types are more preferred than psychic-types is that the passive psychic method really only works for one person. While this is fine in severe cases wherein it’s necessary to focus only on the person with anxiety specifically, it doesn’t quite have the added reassurance of guaranteeing that all human participants are essentially on the same emotional plane.

The same, of course, could be said for the less subtle pokémon, such as those with Heal Pulse (which can be soothing for some people), those who can emit soothing sounds (such as the chimecho and jigglypuff lines), and so forth, although these are seen as less desirable options than either Sweet Scent users or psychic pokémon. While some people find healer or auditory pokémon to be the most effective for their needs because they (the humans) simply respond better to healing waves or soothing melodies, these pokémon may also call attention to one’s social anxiety, which some feel defeats the purpose of having a service pokémon specifically to help them in social situations.

In short, there are a wide variety of different pokémon that may suit your needs. It depends on the specific effect you’re looking for and what your needs specifically are. After all, while it’s true that social anxiety is something specific, there are many different ways to approach it, depending on how severe it is and what a person’s situation may be.

So Toxicroak sounds dangerous to even be around, how is it that people are allowed to catch and own them? In fact, are there any pokemon you need special permission or a licence to own, due to risks like this?

As much as I joke about pokémon being highly dangerous, in actuality … all of them do have the potential for being highly dangerous to humans. All of them. Even magikarp, anonymous. Keep in mind that all pokémon have the ability to wield the elements of nature itself (although as I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, only legendaries can bend reality to do so), and for the most part, the only reason why they haven’t yet used those powers to kill off our entire kind is because they like us far too much to do so.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean they are dangerous, especially when tamed. In the hands of a capable trainer, a pokémon as seemingly hazardous as toxicroak—or worse, muk or weezing—can become fairly harmless. I would still not be as audacious enough as to hug any of these pokémon, of course, but it’s very unlikely that one would lash out at a human and make a conscious effort to harm them if trained well. (Granted, there is absolutely such a thing as a disobedient pokémon, but a disobedient pokémon is vastly different from a vicious one. Even if a charizard turns its Flamethrower on its trainer, it never really aims to kill. Should anyone be curious as to why that is, ask yourselves whether or not you, as a current or former rebellious teen, would actually want to do serious harm to the figures of responsibility in your life.)

In short, certainly all pokémon have the potential to be dangerous in the wild, but that goes without saying. Once in the hands of a trainer, they’re much, much safer, and there really aren’t any regulations on what you can and cannot train. Obviously, however, it’s highly discouraged that one trains a pokémon far beyond their capabilities. For example, it’s not a particularly good idea to train a tyranitar if you’re starting out unless that tyranitar has been with your family for a while, simply because the trainer may not understand how to handle that sort of power. However, that’s why new trainers are typically given more docile pokémon to handle, usually the first stage in an evolutionary line, and that’s why trainers are often encouraged to stick to parts of a route that harbor pokémon that match their skill levels.

Rather, in even shorter terms, no, there are no regulations for what species you can and cannot train. So long as you catch them legally (as opposed to poaching them or catching ones from a preserve) and so long as you treat them well, all of them are fine to handle, as all of them, with proper training, are perfectly safe, regardless of how dangerous their wild counterparts are.

Or, well, almost all of them. Honestly, just about the only pokémon you can’t train (other than one that doesn’t wish to be trained in the first place) would likely be the legendaries, but that’s largely because catching them is considered to be a cultural taboo unless you happen to be an incredibly strong trainer. This goes especially for the cornerstones of a region’s culture. For example, it’s unlikely that anyone would mind if you caught Latias, but from what my editor has told me, it would be considered impolite to catch Rayquaza.

“Impolite.” That’s … that’s a great way of putting that, Bill. So I suppose this would mean that it would be “impolite” to catch Ho-oh? —LH

Oh, downright rude. The kimono girls would be absolutely chafed if you even tried. —Bill

This is a dumb question but…how do you give a Pokemon an item to “hold”? I’m just starting to train and my dad gave me a Persian to take on my journey, and I want to give him a quick claw. Does he hold it in his mouth?

For the most part, how a hold item is held depends on the actual item, but rest assured that none of them require the pokémon to hold it in its mouth. That’s a good way to end up in the emergency ward of the nearest pokémon center, watching your pokémon’s stomach get pumped.

On a less graphic note, how a hold item is held depends on the item in question. For example, many items, the quick claw included, are usually tied to a cord which is then tied around a pokémon’s neck like a collar. Some pokémon centers also sell special collars that have sewn-on satchels specifically for items to make this easier. Other items, such as the king’s rock, may be worn right away, just like an item of clothing. Then you have other items, such as metal coat, which are not actually items themselves but rather a coat of paint or a thing you otherwise apply temporarily to your pokémon. (Yes, metal coat is literally a metallic film. You remove it by using the polish remover kept in the top half of the jar.)

In very few cases, the item is literally held, but the circumstances for this are extremely specific. For example, if given a twisted spoon, members of the abra line will simply hold it in one of their claws (with alakazam choosing which claw will be holding two spoons), but for many other pokémon, the twisted spoon is simply carried in the aforementioned satchel and/or collar.

How common is mating between pokemon of different egg groups?

It depends on what you mean by “mating.” If you simply mean “going through the motions of mating,” it’s not particularly uncommon. Some pokémon will attempt to mate with, quite literally, anything that is also a pokémon.

However, if you mean “produce a viable offspring,” this simply doesn’t happen. Egg groups are actual designations that indicate a pokémon’s genetic compatibility with another pokémon. What that means is that all pokémon within a single egg group are just genetically similar enough to breed. Anything outside of a pokémon’s egg group are too distant in terms of genetic similarities to produce anything at all. It would be like a dog attempting to breed with a cat. There’s technically nothing that would stop one from trying, but nothing would come out of it because the two aren’t compatible enough to produce offspring.

What exactly are pseudo-legendary pokemon (Dragonite, Tyranitar, etc.)? What does the term ‘pseudo-legendary’ mean, and what makes them different from “regular” pokemon?

Before I can answer this, it’s important to establish what legendaries are. For the most part, legendary pokémon are thought to be myths. They’re extremely rare to the point where it’s commonly thought that there are only one of each species in the world. Many of them are fantastically powerful, capable of manipulating the forces of nature themselves, if they aren’t simply embodiments of their respective elements. They are, in essence, kami—or, for lack of a better term in translation, what many would consider gods or simply spirits of nature themselves. Or in other words, the legendary pokémon transcend all other definitions of existence in terms of power and rarity.

Pseudo-legendaries are a step below that. These are the rarest pokémon from each region that we know are not unique. They are each able to evolve, and at the height of their evolutionary lines, pseudo-legendaries are capable of immense destructive force. This is in comparison to legendaries, who maintain a consistent level of power from birth (and thus do not need to evolve) and who aren’t simply strong but rather control nature. As strong as pseudo-legendaries may be, they can’t simply command nature on the level that legendaries can. Thus, a dragonite may be able to generate hurricane-force winds, but it can’t literally generate hurricanes the way lugia does.

On the other hand, as I’ve mentioned in above, legendaries are far rarer than ordinary pokémon. For example, up until recently, wild dratini colonies were thought to be a myth. If someone was lucky, maybe they might find a single dratini in their lifetime, but that was it. Then it was discovered that dratini colonies do exist, but they’re so rare and difficult to reach that only exceptional trainers can find them. Dratini otherwise breed only once in a decade (in the wild, anyway), which drastically limits their numbers. In short, a dratini is not something you simply stumble upon in the wild like you would an ekans. And dratini are one of the more common pseudo-legendaries. Beldum are even more ridiculous to find.

Of course, rarity isn’t the only thing that defines a pseudo-legendary, although it’s certainly one of the requirements. Again, power is another factor. While a Rock Slide may be devastating in the hands of an aggron, it’s far more devastating in the hands of a tyranitar. Likewise, metagross and goodra both can withstand far more damage than most ordinary pokémon, and salamence and garchomp are far faster. In short, the pseudo-legendaries are collectively stronger across the board—that is to say, offensively, defensively, and in terms of speed—than most ordinary pokémon.

Granted, yes, it’s true that there are pokémon that are a bit stronger than even the pseudo-legendaries—slaking, for a noteworthy example—but that’s why there is a list of criteria, rather than just one or two requirements. While, yes, slaking is indeed stronger (offensively, anyway) than all of the pseudo-legendaries under normal circumstances, slakoth are rather easy to find. Thus, they don’t exactly have that mythical element necessary to be considered a pseudo-legendary.

Putting it another way, if legendaries are the gods of a story, then pseudo-legendaries are like the mythical heroes. Just as heroes were designed to be better than ordinary humans due to their cleverness, their strength, and the general uniqueness of their being, the pseudo-legendaries are considered a step above ordinary pokémon for very similar reasons.

It’s not a particularly academic term, I must admit.