Now that is very adorable. If you’d like a recommendation for documentaries you can show your ditto, I highly recommend any of Professor Birch’s, which are available for free on his personal channel. Professor Oak also does regular Pokémon Talks, although these are always filmed in his lab, whereas Birch films pokémon in the wild. (Both are very informative for a trainer, however!)
Tag: our world
Actually i’ve met a few bipedal pokemon that use computers regularly. They never have microphones.
Fascinating! I wonder if they have any difficulty in typing. Granted, I didn’t have much trouble (other than reaching my keyboard in the first place and adjusting for the fact that I had shorter and fewer fingers), but one must admit that the keyboard is awkwardly designed for human use only.
…
Huh. That gives me an idea…!
I’d stop him, but this sounds like an innocent project that will keep him busy for a while. Unless he decides to test it on himself … again. —LH
Hey Bill, I’m a bush pilot and want to find a Pokémon to keep me company on my longer flights. I need something that can deal with cold well but is small enough to fit in the cockpit of a prop plane. A flying type has obvious advantages but is by no means a requirement. Can you make any recommendations?
Marill is likely your best bet. They’re small and light, and above all else, many of them have a special ability that allows them to resist the cold. Moreover, even if yours evolves, it won’t get that much bigger, so you won’t even need an everstone. The line is also fairly easy-going (and thus can be trained for heights), and their sensitive hearing is a bonus for detecting mechanical problems. Just be sure to ask specifically for a marill with Thick Fat, and you’ll be fine.
Other than that, there are the standard flying-types, such as (and especially) the partially ice delibird. However, keep in mind that some of these evolve, so you may need an everstone to keep them at the right size. Additionally, be careful and don’t let them take flight while you’re in the air unless you’ve trained it to give you a warning when you do (and to not open the doors or mid-flight). Certain ice-types such as cubchoo or fighting-types such as the machop line may also work so long as you give them an everstone—the former because of their ability to withstand the cold and the latter due to their bravery.
Just about the only types I wouldn’t recommend are psychic-types (whose powers may interfere with your instruments), fire-types (unless you can train them to control their abilities), electric-types (same), rock-types (due to weight), or steel-types (except for mawile and lucario—also due to weight). Some poison-types might not be a great idea unless you can control their fumes, and while ghost-types aren’t actually dangerous, they’re generally seen as bad omens, so keep that in mind if you’re ever hired by someone else to fly.
How are new Eeveelutions first discovered?
By accident, mostly.
You might think that’s a joke, but I’m actually dead serious. Eevee are fascinatingly adaptive, and as such, they respond to stimuli we never would have imagined would trigger evolution. For example, who knew that feeding your eevee poképuffs from a Lumiose bakery and spoiling it to ridiculous degrees via daily grooming would cause it to evolve into sylveon? Or training it in a specific forest or icy cave would help it evolve into leafeon or glaceon? (I mean, granted, yes, it’s adaptive, so one would assume training it in specific locations would trigger those evolutions, but the point is that not every forest triggers an evolution into leafeon, for example.)
The funny truth is that the harder researchers work to discover new evolutions of eevee, the less likely we’ll actually find them. It’s far more likely that one of us will simply accidentally dump a metal coat on an eevee and wind up with a steel-type eeveelution.
Incidentally, no, that doesn’t work. I might have tried. The eevee in question was not amused.
(But then again, maybe it’s dump a metal coat onto your eevee and then do something else with it. Hmm. That … that might need a follow-up there.)
How come not all pokemon can learn moves like Bite, Crunch, Headbutt, etc.? Barring pokemon that don’t have traditional mouths or heads, it seems like anyone should be able to learn those. Same with Rock Throw. Pick up rock, throw it. Seems simple for anyone with arms, yeah?
Although this is a new ask, I’d like to answer it right now nonetheless because it bears strong similarities to this recent ask: http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/post/174926370417/why-are-bite-and-crunch-dark-type-moves-biting
The short of it is that although it’s true many pokémon can bite, there’s a difference between that and the technique Bite. The latter resonates with a certain type of energy that not all pokémon know how to channel (or channel in that particular way), not to mention the subtle differences that separate how Bite is executed from the simple act of biting. (The official Pokémon League rulebook concerning what each move looks like is very specific on all matters.)
Incidentally, this also answers the question of why moves like Tackle don’t affect tangible ghost-types like mimikyu. Of course any pokémon can tackle a mimikyu; it’s just that the actual technique Tackle uses a specific type of energy that ghost-types strongly resist. Because a pokémon is leaning on these energies to do damage, of course a ghost-type’s body would respond by shrugging it off, as it were. And this seems irrelevant, but the point I’m making is that in all matters concerning moves, it’s more about the energy and specific technique, not about how simple it sounds. A Tackle (or a Bite or a Rock Throw) is not the same thing as a tackle (or a bite or a rock throw) until the subtle details are present.
Why is it that Gym Leaders and Elite Four members almost always train a single type of Pokemon? Is it coincidence, tradition, mandated by the Pokemon League, or what?
For the most part, it’s tradition. While there are indeed general league rules about gym types (mostly to avoid having multiple gyms of the same type in the same league), most gym leaders choose their types or themes, based on preference, family obligations, or other personal factors.
The inclination to do so has a lot to do with how the original leagues were established. Back in the feudal days, warlords of Kanto and Johto represented themselves with an element and a crest. In order to settle minor conflicts, clans sometimes sent representatives to battle high-ranking officials of each other’s armies using pokémon of their clans’ respective types. This way, disputes can be settled with very little bloodshed. These battles became the foundation of gym matches, crests became badges, and once the League was established and feudalism fell, anyone can become a gym leader (although some leaders, like Falkner, are indeed descendants of those old warlords).
As for the Elite Four and champion … similar principle, but they often represent the emperor and the imperial guard, whose battles were more for recreation than conflict resolution.
I’m a new trainer and I’m curious about gym battling. I used to play Pokémon trainer simulators and they would allowme to use as many Pokémon as I want to fight gym leaders. But in the real world, are there rules? Example, if a gym leader uses 3 Pokémon, am I limited to 3 as well? Are there any other general rules I need to know, such as the kinds of Pokémon I’m allowed to use or what stage of evolution my Pokémon are at?
Excellent question!
The rules generally depend on the gym. They all need to be approved by the Association, of course, but whether the challenger is allowed up to six pokémon (i.e., League limits) or only as many as the gym leader will use (leader limits) is entirely up to the gym leader’s preference. Some gym leaders work with types or within arenas that are difficult to tackle with just a handful of pokémon; others believe that it’s a far better challenge to place additional limits on the challenger.
The same thing can be said for time and switch limits, actually. If you listen closely to a referee at the start of a match, they’ll usually announce whether or not you or the gym leader can switch pokémon and whether or not you’ll battle under a specific time limit. (If it’s timed, then the goal is to knock out as many of your opponent’s pokémon as possible within that time frame while avoiding losing many of yours. Whichever side has more pokémon standing or pokémon in better condition wins.)
Generally, the most common rules are as follows:
- Leader limit
- Skill matched (Meaning, the gym leader is using a team that matches your experience level as a trainer. When you walk into a gym and ask for a battle, you’re usually also asked for the number of badges you already have so the gym leader can put together a team that won’t immediately murder yours.)
- No time limit
- The challenger is free to switch pokémon; the gym leader cannot.
- The gym leader may only use up to two items, and neither of these can be revive or any derivative thereof. The challenger may use any item they wish.
Technically, battles within a gym must also take place within a sanctioned battlefield, of a certain length and width determined by the League and Association. If a battle takes place on such a field, then there are usually rules about TKOs, or instances in which a pokémon is thrown out of bounds. This is especially true for battles that take place in stadium arenas or arenas with spectator seats, as these rules confine the battle to a certain area and prevent bystander injury. As such, boundary rules are actually mandatory … if a gym battle is taking place inside a gym. (In truth, a gym battle can take place just about anywhere so long as a gym leader is present and states clearly that it’s a gym battle. Also technically, a League-licensed referee should also be present, but certain gym leaders from certain hometowns of people writing this post have managed to convince certain branches of the Association that a dairy farm and her farmer uncle are sufficient enough requirements for a gym battle. And because there was a precedent in one league, things just went downhill from there. Not that I’m bitter about the disorganization or anything.)
As for your questions concerning team limits, there are surprisingly few of them, thanks to the entire concept of skill matching. Even if you’re a seasoned veteran, a gym leader likely has a team that can match yours unless they’re extremely new to the job. If that’s the case, then they’re required to inform you and give you the option of taking them on as-is, finding another gym that suits your skill level, or compiling a team that would match their highest levels. If you do take on their team with your strongest, then the badge is still legitimate according to league rules, but it’s frowned upon within trainer culture to accept such a win, as essentially wiping out a gym team effortlessly defeats the purpose of a gym challenge. For this reason, it’s usually common courtesy—not a hard rule, mind you—to use weaker gyms to help train your younger or newer pokémon.
Finally, there is actually one main rule: no legendary or mythical pokémon. It’s not because you shouldn’t own them in the first place (there are, strangely, no rules against that—although, yes, it’s still a taboo to do so); it’s more because using a legendary or mythical within a gym against gym pokémon can not only injure the entire gym team but also potentially cause severe structural damage to the gym itself. Using them in the final league tournament, however, tends to be okay so long as you’re in the finals. And possibly an idiot.
Bill. —LH
What? It’s true. —Bill
Why are Bite and Crunch Dark-type moves? Biting seems like a pretty basic attack, so why aren’t they Normal type?
To put it in short, for the same reason Twineedle is a bug-type move, despite the fact that it’s just the act of stabbing something with a stinger: it’s not just about how basic a move is but also with which element is incorporated into its use. Bite may look like an ordinary bite, but it’s only truly the Bite technique if it also involves imbuing the user’s teeth with dark-type energy. Crunch is the same way but in larger, easier to see doses. (This, plus the fact that the dark type was discovered after Bite’s registration as an officially recognized technique, is why it was originally classified as a normal-type move, by the way.)
What kinds of pokemon safe paints and dyes are there? Sometimes my pokemon like to dress up (and on occasion rubbing berry pulp on themselves as body paint LOL!) But id like a… non-sticky alternative for them that wont make other pokemon lick them like a tasty treat
Actually, there are multiple lines of pokémon-safe cosmetics for this purpose. You can thank the popularity of contests and performances for both, but suffice to say, painting or putting makeup on your pokémon is actually more common of an occurrence than you’d think.
That having been said, I don’t exactly have first-hand experience with any particular brand, but supposedly, Sweet Pecha is the one that many of the topmost coordinators swear by. According to the editor of this blog, anyway. If you’re into more of a punk/goth line, Rash Bash is also fairly popular, especially when it comes to pokémon dyes.
I’ve been wondering about this, but how does the organ of a fire or electric type able to produce said fire or elctricity?
Magic.
On a serious note, for pokémon that have them (because not all fire- or electric-types have specialized organs that generate their elements), it’s really all about physics and chemistry. Fire organs contain chemicals that react to oxygen rather explosively, so the pokémon essentially functions as a literal flamethrower, spraying and spreading fluids that combust in the air and douse a target with fire. Stronger attacks simply involve more of this fluid or a combination of that and other flammable chemicals in the body.
Electrical organs, like a pikachu’s cheek sacs, meanwhile, are modified nerves or muscle tissue composed of thousands of cells known as electrocytes. Think of these like countless miniature batteries, stacked on top of each other. Or if it’s even easier, think of them like regular nerve cells. The difference is that unlike nerve cells (which operate by transmitting minute electrical pulses from one cell to the next), these electrocytes generate an electrical field outward and in larger doses. If you’ve ever noticed your pikachu or other electric-type seem absolutely exhausted at the end of a battle, that’s essentially why: because it actually does take quite a lot of energy (and, no pun intended, electrolytes) to generate the electricity needed for a full-on attack. On the other hand, it’s also why a number of pokémon that have electrical organs also have the ability Static: because it’s not something they can simply turn off.
As a fun fact, while a pokémon’s fire organ has no real analog in the animal kingdom (although many, many animals can spray acid that induces burns comparable to being set on fire), electrocytes aren’t that difficult to find, particularly in fish. The electric eel, for example. It’s just that pokémon have much higher energy reserves and resilience to boot, so they can generate electricity that’s generally more powerful than what you might find among animals. I still wouldn’t recommend picking up an electric eel, though. It’s about as pleasant as picking up a pichu (not that I would know).
The Pokédex According to Bill 