Hey Bill, Diabetic Gardevoir Anon again. Thank you for your advice. Me and my Gardevoir have recently gone on a new Diet and Exercise plan (I’m doing it with her to support her). She certainly seems happier and isn’t being too fussy about her Insulin shots. Do you know any good Restaurants/Fitness Centers in the Celadon City Area i can take her to to help keep up this healthy lifestyle? ALso, any suggestions on Ice Cream substitutes? SHe really misses it.

You’re welcome, anonymous.

To answer your first question, you may wish to try the Celadon Gym. They may specialize in grass-types, but they’re willing to work with any trainer and pokémon who needs help. They may also recommend other fitness centers in the area that specialize in physical fitness for delicate psychic pokémon such as gardevoir. (My own knowledge is unfortunately limited, not only because I’m not local but also because, when I had been … I wasn’t exactly familiar with local fitness centers, to put it lightly.)

As for restaurants, most are generally diabetic-friendly. Just be sure to choose lighter options and skip dessert.

Finally, regarding ice cream, you may not have to skip the real thing. Pay attention to nutritional labels and choose ice creams with lower total carbohydrates. This translates into lower sugars, so the lower your carbs, the better. Additionally, you’ll still need to be aware of her blood sugar levels and what she’s already eaten before giving her ice cream. Of course, don’t forget the portion size. Let your gardevoir enjoy ice cream, but don’t let her overdo it. After all, just because you have a dietary restriction doesn’t mean you have to give up the things you love; you just have to do a bit more self-checking and a lot of label reading before you jump in and indulge. And believe me: as much of an annoyance as that sounds, all of that is actually not that bad once you get used to doing it.

Best of luck!

my flygon and i were traveling around through the sky and we came to a little village to relax and regroup as we hadnt found any pokemon centers for a while. Well, this village had never seen a pokeball before… nor a flygon but thats a different story. they were mystified that i had 6 pokemon with me, and even more so by the device that kept them carryable at my side. are villages like this common?

arsonist-catnip:

bills-pokedex:

They’re not exactly common, but they’re not unheard of, either. This world is a vast place, and while humans have been fairly ambitious in the past, in recent years, one could say we’ve done an excellent job at not colonizing every strip of land we’ve ever come across. That is to say, these sorts of villages do indeed exist in the plural, in the most remote parts of the world. These are places such as the Amazon rainforest or some parts of the Orange Islands that are typically too difficult for a person to reach, even with the assistance of a pokémon.

That is to say, it’s rather impressive that you’ve found these people, anonymous.

Actually bill, there’s an entire region of these people, known as Ransei. As far as I know, they remain undisturbed, and the industrial revolution, for some reason, is only restricted to a single part of the region. Very odd indeed.

Ransei is actually one of the ancient regions of Japan. It hasn’t existed for a number of centuries now, since its borders were redrawn during one of the last imperial ages. The inhabitants of its modern-day counterparts actually do have plenty of access to pokémon centers and poké balls, and some of the former are actually among the most advanced in the world.

To be fair, though, Ransei texts and histories have become rather popular as of late in Unova, and I’m told it’s led to some … rather unfortunate misconceptions about how we live today. (For starters, no, not many of us walk about in kimono, nor do many of us actually own samurai swords … not that a number of us belonged to the right class to own one. But that’s all a different story.)

{Edit: Post edits brought to you by … the mun finding the Ransei post, haha. It’s here, for those curious about the world of this blog. Really need to do a full write up. http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/post/149066503306/hey-bill-ive-been-doing-a-lot-of-reading-on-the#notes }

Hey Bill, is Whitney still training normal types after the discovery of Fairy types? Or did she change type specialty like Jasmine did when Steel types were discovered and her Onix evolved into a Steelix?

Actually, no. According to interviews, she says it’s because she still finds normal-types cute and criminally underrated, but if you ask me, it’s probably because switching types would mean she’d be forced to give up her ungodly signature pokémon.

Now I’m morbidly intrigued – what horror stories regarding brown bouffalant are we speaking of, and has anything been done about it?

Well…

For starters, I’m not even sure if the materials used to make Brown Bouffalant is entirely edible. For one thing, as recently as earlier this month, it was found that they use pidove feathers as filler. To give you an idea of why that’s bad, that would be very much akin to humans eating cardboard … which, according to one recall, was also used in their dry foods at one point.

Granted, the cardboard was more of an accidental contaminant, which leads us to the next point that is the fact that Brown Bouffalant frequently recalls batches of its product due to contaminants of one sort or another. Last year, an entire line of wet food was recalled due to contamination with heightened levels of miltank hormones (which trigger dehydration and frequent urination in some species of canine pokémon), but there were also the three separate occasions in the past five years in which one particular type of food or another was recalled due to contamination with listeria, salmonella, and for reasons I would love to know myself, formaldehyde. Even the foods that pass inspection (somehow) aren’t always safe, as people who feed their products to their pokémon have also reported everything from mold in the bottom of dry food bags to unexplained kidney failure.

That is, of course, during and after production (although it perhaps says something about the way it treats its workers if standards had been set that low). When it comes to sourcing its materials, well, let’s just say that if your food is contaminated with pidove feathers or salmonella, those aren’t signs that your food sources are treated well.

Of course, Brown Bouffalant has been in and out of the courtroom over these incidents for at least a decade, which in turn has led to the stricter regulations you might have heard about when it comes to pokémon food production. Still, even with these regulations in place and even with the government’s reassurance that Brown Bouffalant’s production methods are completely up to both health and sustainability standards, you still hear about Brown Bouffalant in the news far too often for that brand to be worth it.

The main reason why it’s still around, though, is in part due to the fact that, ultimately, they’re the cheapest pokémon food brand on the market. The other part is frankly a complete mystery, but I have a sneaking suspicion it has something to do with its parent corporation, Rocket Corp.

Speaking like a true pedestrian, do you recommend any brands of Pokémon-based products that source their goods ethically?

That depends on what you’re looking for, anonymous. “Pokémon-based products” is a term that spans quite a lot of categories, from food and other basic essentials to cosmetics. In some cases, it even covers things you would never think involve pokémon at all, including building materials and electronics.

So allow me to offer a few tips that can help you choose better in general:

For cosmetics and other hygiene products, look for a buneary face on the label. This is a logo that indicates the product is either guaranteed to contain ethically sourced pokémon materials or guaranteed to have never been tested on pokémon (or both). If you’d like a few suggestions for brands to look at in particular, both Flower Veil and Persim carry products that don’t use pokémon at all in their production, and Flower Veil has a commitment to using ecofriendly methods (that it actually upholds).

When it comes to clothing, avoid leather, including faux leather. While actual leather comes from either miltank or cows (and is thus highly controversial for obvious reasons), faux leather is terrible for the environment, so it’s not worth it. Instead, choose ecofriendly fabrics such as hemp or wool. Mareep wool, contrary to what Plasma may have you believe, is perfectly fine as a material. It’s gathered by trimming mareep, not by cutting off their skins, and the mareep are typically treated well throughout the process (as mareep wool must be gathered by hand while keeping the mareep calm and happy to avoid accidentally charging the wool with dangerous levels of electricity). Shearing a mareep is also necessary for its overall health (as it is with the mundane sort of sheep), so buying wool supports not only ethical farmers but also the actual care of a flock of mareep. The same could be said for whimsicott cotton, actually.

However, if you’re looking for a simpler solution than looking at the materials tag, anything that calls itself fair trade is usually a good bet. Offhand, Valerie Aino is perhaps the most well-known designer brand that commits itself to sourcing its materials ethically and using sustainable and humane (that is, to its human workers) practices.

For food, look for anything labeled with “free range,” “organic,” or “soft gathered.” The latter term refers to the practice of soft-gathering, or keeping a pokémon calm and gathering products or materials from it with its permission. This is particularly important for tropius fruit, but it’s also often used in reference to combee honey and moo moo milk too. Surprisingly, ShuppepsiCo is among the brands on this list, as is, of course, Moo Moo Farms.

For items for pokémon, you’ll want to look, yet again, for a logo. In this case, a togepi stamp usually indicates that the product meets the standards for ethical production. This is particularly important for pokémon shampoos (to indicate they weren’t tested on pokémon or use ethically sourced berries) and pokémon food (to indicate that any pokémon-based ingredients was collected humanely). Staryu & Charmander and Leppa Brand are both among the larger brands out there, but there is quite a list. Just about the only one I would never recommend is Brown Bouffalant, which has quite a few horror stories attached to where its materials come from.

As for the more … obscure categories under the “ethically sourced pokémon-based products” category, standard labels vary from country to country, but generally speaking, if it says “inspected by [insert your government body of product inspections here” followed by “cleared [date],” that means it met the standards of production.

Why do all species of pokemon lay eggs?

There’s actually a simple answer, anonymous: it’s a lot more energy efficient in the long run. Giving live birth is not only a far more exhausting process, but also, it consumes a lot of energy to nourish and protect a developing fetus. Doubly so because battling itself consumes a lot of energy as well. It’s simply easier and safer for both the mother and the young to lay eggs and allow the fetus to develop outside of the womb.

Hello! I’m moving to Alola very soon with my Pokémon. It’ll be a long trip and I’m very anxious to board the plane alone. The airline allows one companion Pokémon to ride along with the passenger. I chose my Raichu, Thor, since he can ride on my lap. (The plane has size restrictions for Pokémon and those who are too large must travel inside their Pokéballs). Any tips or advice for air-traveling with Pokémon? How can I keep Thor safe and comfortable during the flight? How can I prepare better?

Generally speaking, when traveling with a pokémon, always, always keep it as calm as possible. A baby crying is one thing. A raichu consuming all of the oxygen in a closed cabin and frying the electrical system with a single Thunderbolt is something entirely different. The best way to do this is to keep your poké ball on hand and be ready to recall your pokémon at the first sign of panic. In addition to that, bring plenty of distractions in the form of your pokémon’s favorite snacks and toys. Most importantly, interact with your pokémon throughout the ride. Show it signs of affection, talk to it, and play with it—anything you can do in a limited amount of space. The more you can distract your pokémon and show it that you’re calm, the calmer it will be.

Also, when the seatbelt sign is off, don’t be afraid to get up and walk your pokémon up and down the aisle (whenever possible, anyway). The exercise will likewise keep them calm and steady. However, try to avoid letting your pokémon roam without you, and never let your pokémon out of your sight. If you need to use the lavatory and your pokémon can’t fit in the cubicle with you, put it in its ball.

On that note, while takeoff isn’t so bad, landing can be rather alarming to a pokémon, especially due to the jarring bump at the end. Some pokémon can be calmed if they’re able to look out the window and watch the plane landing, but others would very, very much prefer an aisle seat. Usually, it’s easy to predict which your pokémon will be just by how they react to both heights and stress in general. The calmer a pokémon is, the more likely they won’t be affected by the view.

And of course, leading up to the trip, be sure to explain to your raichu as clearly as possible what the trip will entail. You might wish to consider showing him clips of planes in flight or images of the inside of an airplane, just so he can familiarize himself with what it means to travel.

Good luck and safe travels, anonymous!

Hiya Bill! Did you hear about the little wind-up Pokemon Toys? I think their called Rumble Toys, and they’re so cute! I finally got my first Starter Set (The Oshawott line) for my birthday, and I absolutely love them! Do you collect any? Also, how do they make toys of rare ‘Mons so accurately? Like, my friend has a Zekrom (He spent so long trying to get one, its crazy) and it looks just like the ‘Dex says the real Zekrom would. It has Teravolt and Dragonbreath, too! Isn’t that awesome?

I have indeed heard of those! My partner and editor collects them, actually.

[[HEY, BILL. WHY DON’T WE TALK ABOUT YOUR EXTENSIVE COMIC BOOK COLLECTION IN PUBLIC? —LH

Oh, could we? I never get a chance to do that! —Bill]]

Strangely, although one would think I’d be enthusiastic about collecting pokémon merchandise, I … actually don’t. I only really buy or otherwise acquire them if I think one of my friends who are avid collectors would like them.

From what I understand, though, the company that makes them, Wonderko, prides itself in creating extremely realistic depictions of pokémon with built-in mechanisms designed to create a limited number of scaled-down replica moves. For example, the Zekrom toy is programmed to use “Teravolt,” which is really just an electric shock delivered by a tiny battery and channeled through its surface.

If anyone’s wondering why a toy would be capable of this, the power of each of these “moves” is scaled down enough to be relatively harmless to humans, but really, the toys are simply inactive figurines without the accompanying Wonder Key. Most parents know better than to give their children said key, but on the off-chance that they do, collectors of these toys argue that the resulting shock (or what-have-you) would be an educational experience for a child who might wish to handle real pokémon in their future.

In my personal opinion, that sounds like a lie, but seeing as I know nothing about raising human children, I can’t really dispute it.

Hi Bill! Hows it going? I had a question beside the one I asked already, which is: Can you split the badges you get in both Johto and Kanto as in get badges any combination (1 and 7, 2, and 6, 3, and 5, 4 and 4) from either region and still participate in the league since the two regions are connected, or do you have to get strictly 8 badges from either region?

Unfortunately … no. Although Kanto and Johto share an Elite Four and champion (but not conference), they’re considered entirely separate leagues (…partly because of the conference). As such, you must earn a minimum number of badges from the gyms sanctioned for the league you want to challenge.

Of course, you can earn badges within a league in any order you’d like, so if you’d like to earn the traditionally first badge, followed by the seventh, second, sixth, and so forth, you’re absolutely free. It’s just that some gyms are easier to access in a certain order than others.

What happens when you defeat the champion of a region, aside from winning the title? Do you assume the previous champion’s role? Also, I know of someone from Hoenn who beat Steven Stone at the league once and… Steven was still the final trainer you needed to battle after the Elite Four , whilst the trainer I knew went and continued their journey. Is it a choice to take the champion’s spot, or is there more to being champion than just beating the strongest trainer?

Actually, that first half of your question is spot-on. Beating the champion is a prerequisite. After that, as part of your registration into the Hall of Fame, you’re given the option to become the next champion. You could forfeit the title and continue onward, but as the title tends to be the end goal for many trainers, most will end their journeys there.

A champion can also use these rules to retire or take a break from their duties as champion. Red from Kanto, for example, retired by issuing a challenge for his title and being defeated by Lance. Steven Stone, meanwhile, did something of the same to take a sabbatical for several months before challenging and defeating his own successor, Wallace.

The latter was quite dramatic, although the former sparked quite a lot of outrage among the Kanto gym leaders. Or, well. Mostly Blue.