Since it’s almost Halloween, I decided to give my female Pikachu a bunch of cute costumes to possibly wear! But a strange thing I notice is that she seem to get “too” into character and even learn a random move that she didn’t have originally. For example, she just suddenly learned flying press in her wrestling costume (and tries to get me into a sleeper hold but that besides the point) and in her rockstar outfit, she gets Metor Mash instead. Is this normal for female Pikachus or what?

Yes, and it’s an interesting phenomenon, really. My partner first observed it in the contest halls in Hoenn, but apparently, female pikachu adore performing so much that certain costumes allow them to adopt certain personas and unlock specific dormant abilities. She theorizes that it’s similar to how all pikachu can learn Fly or Surf but can only do so under very specific circumstances.

In any case, it only seems to happen with five specific costumes, typically available in contest halls under the Angelic Beauty label—or, well, knock-offs thereof. No other costume combination seems to trigger latent moves, I’m afraid, although most pikachu will enjoy dressing up all the same.

Hey Bill, I just recently caught a dratini and while it gets along fine with my pikachu, it is absolutely terrified of my sylveon! My pikachu and sylveon are pokemon I always have out with me and I’m not sure how to curb my dratinis fear! Help please!

In general, whenever one of your pokémon is terrified of another, it’s best to start slowly. It’s good that your pikachu and dratini get along well, as it may be the key to your dratini’s predicament. Have your pikachu mediate interactions between your dratini and sylveon. Whenever dratini shows any level of discomfort, have pikachu be there to ground it and reassure it that sylveon is a friend who would never hurt it.

Moreover, have them start with short interactions and work up to longer conversations. Think of it like exposure therapy to humans: you want to begin with only a little bit of exposure to avoid trauma, and as your dratini adjusts to that level of interaction, increase the amount of time it spends with your sylveon, bit by bit, until it can tolerate long-term exposure. Eventually, when your dratini can tolerate conversations with sylveon, begin having them fight alongside each other in double-battles to reinforce your dratini’s progress. If you’re not a trainer, have them perform tasks together around the house.

Also, be sure your sylveon is in agreement with whatever you do. That is to say, ensure that your sylveon hasn’t done anything to warrant dratini’s fear, and be absolutely sure sylveon wants to interact with your dratini. If your sylveon is just as uncomfortable with the idea of being on the same team as a dratini, this is something you’ll also need to resolve using similar gradual introduction methods as mentioned above. Your pikachu should be able to help as well. If, however, your sylveon is very eager to make a new friend, allow it to be involved in the efforts to calm dratini down. Ensure your sylveon takes things slow and avoids showing affection through touch at first. At the same time, be sure that your sylveon extends friendly, welcoming gestures—just from afar. As dratini begins to warm up to your sylveon, then your sylveon may show physical forms of affection, but it should still be careful and wary for any signs of discomfort from your dratini.

In other words, some relationships should start slowly and work up to a certain level of closeness, and that goes for pokémon too. Be cautious and careful, show your dratini that your sylveon won’t hurt it, and allow dratini to grow comfortable around your sylveon in its own time.

Best of luck, anonymous.

{This is not a missing ask. I just accidentally deleted it because my inbox was showing it twice when only one copy existed. Or in other words, the mun is an idiot, and I apologize. D:}

Hm. First off, determine whether or not your pichu is incapable of evolving or if he simply refuses to evolve. I suspect, given the fact that the two of you have been together for a long time, the latter is the case here. If that’s so, this may be a sign of the opposite: your pichu cares about you so deeply he may be afraid that evolving will change his relationship with you or his ability to help you. Evolution brings about a shift in personality, after all, so if you’ve reached a deep bond with him as a pichu, that may change once he undergoes the evolutionary process. I must say, though, that while wild pikachu can be ornery, tamed ones are very quick to bond with humans. His fear is valid, but he shouldn’t worry as much.

If this is the case, it’s important to reassure him that you will still be his friend and still try your hardest to maintain your friendship after he changes form. Also bring up the fact that pikachu are a little more expressive than pichu (they have, for example, more digits with which to sign, as well as a full tail and ears to add to their signals), so his evolution shouldn’t hinder his ability to communicate with you. If anything, it should help you, as pikachu with close bonds with their trainers can also adopt their emotional reactions, which may aid him in his attempts in communicating your thoughts to others.

Of course, this isn’t the only reason why he may be resisting evolution. The other reason may be a personal one: he may simply prefer to be a pichu because he feels more comfortable that way. If that’s the case, then let him know you support him wholeheartedly and that if he ever changes his mind, you will still stand by him. This will allow him to be a bit more comfortable and feel more in control of who he is, which will only help his emotional health.

If, however, he’s incapable of evolving, I would open up a conversation with him to at least eliminate the possibility that something about your relationship is bothering him. If he’s happy, then I would take him to Nurse Joy for a checkup. There are a few very rare conditions that prevent pichu from evolving, even if their evolutionary requirements are met. Some, such as spike-ear syndrome or pikachu-color syndrome (both of which are marked by self-explanatory physical traits) are actually genetic mutations that result in a pichu being locked in a single form for different reasons. Scientists aren’t entirely sure why spike-ear syndrome are incapable of evolving, but those with pikachu-color syndrome are born with a blend of pikachu and pichu genetics. In other words, their bodies think they’re both pikachu and pichu at the same time and blocks evolution because they can’t tell on a genetic level what evolutionary requirements are necessary to evolve. Thus, all of the requirements for the pichu line cancel each other out and render the resulting pichu stagnant.

In other words, @terra-bunny-collector-edition, don’t worry too much! If you’ve treated your pokémon with love and care, then even if happiness with their trainer is an evolutionary requirement for them, the outright refusal to evolve (rather than the inability to do so) is only a sign that they’re comfortable with you and their forms. And if it’s a genetic condition instead, it’s very likely not an issue that will harm your pichu in the long run.

Why is Pikachu so popular? It’s almost like it has become a sort of “mascot” for Pokémon.

As someone who prefers eevee, I’m just as baffled as you are, anonymous.

Very likely because it’s cute, it can stand on its hind legs (and can therefore be put in tiny costumes), it’s bright yellow (and therefore highly visible), and human beings have an unfortunate tendency to perceive small, rodent-like creatures that invade their homes and destroy private property as lovable.

Although really, eevee are adorable, and they can be taught to do more tricks than pikachu. I just don’t understand it, to be perfectly honest.

Inspired by one of your recent asks where you mention how some pokemon may inherit traits from their parents, I decided to breed one of my female Pikachu with an Eevee and a Meowth (no cruelty involved!) to see what the results would be. The newborn Pichu did not have any dramatic changes, but when I evolved both of them into Pikachu, the changes showed through a lot more. What do you think?

Bill: This is a perfect example of the concept at work. It’s very true that newborn pokémon may not exhibit characteristics at that early of an age, but as you’ve seen with your pikachu, those traits eventually become pronounced as the pokémon grow. Congratulations on both of the new additions to your family.

(I must also compliment you on the pikachu fathered by an eevee. It looks like it has a wondrously luxurious coat!)

Is it just me or have Pikachu been becoming thinner over the years? I think I remember old images in the Pokedex having Pikachu being pumper and now its not?

Hmm. Is it possible that you’re from the Kanto region? Kanto pikachu are rather curious specimens, actually. The ones native to Viridian Forest and the surrounding area—as far south as Pallet Town, actually—seem a little meatier than any other pikachu in any other region.

There is, of course, a very reasonable explanation to this: the pikachu of western Kanto congregate in urban populations and are considered to be both wily and adorable. Thus, they have learned on their own that running up to humans and standing on their hind paws will yield positive results in the form of pokémon treats, peanuts, halves of sandwiches, and other edibles.

In other words, pikachu may seem fatter to you if you’ve lived in Kanto and have since left for other regions because only in Kanto has the human population managed to allow itself to be tamed by electric rodents.

Pikachu?

Plusle
The Cheering Pokémon
Type: Electric
Official Registration #: 311
Entry: Contrary to popular belief, not a long-eared pikachu. Its abilities are best used in tandem with minun; otherwise, you have a very cheerful rabbit with the electrical strength of a battery.

Minun
The Cheering Pokémon
Type: Electric
Official Registration #: 312
Entry: Contrary to popular belief, also not a long-eared pikachu. Its abilities are best used in tandem with plusle; otherwise, you have a very cheerful rabbit with the electrical strength of a battery.

Pachirisu
The EleSquirrel Pokémon
Type: Electric
Official Registration #: 417
Entry: Contrary to popular belief, not a long-tailed pikachu. Not to be underestimated. Although its electrical strength by no means rivals the aforementioned pikachu, its tenacity and energy render it intensely difficult to defeat in the hands of the right trainer. Which has made at least one tournament against a certain dragon trainer hilarious to watch. (On the negative side, this also makes pachirisu infestations difficult to control, which is, to be fair, not entirely an issue except for that one time when one noteworthy specimen was responsible for a major blackout in Castelia City.)

Emolga
The Sky Squirrel Pokémon
Type: Electric/Flying
Official Registration #: 587
Entry: Contrary to popular belief, not a flying pikachu. However, just as potentially destructive as one. Fortunately, as buildings provide inadequate surfaces from which to jump off and land, emolga generally prefer sticking to forested areas, as trees are far easier to glide between. Unfortunately, this is of no comfort to anyone who happens to be traveling through the wooded areas of Unova—which is to say, everyone.

Dedenne
The Antenna Pokémon
Type: Electric/Fairy
Official Registration #: 702
Entry: Actually, this one probably is a close relative to pikachu. We’re still doing research into that.

Pikachu

Pichu
The Tiny Mouse Pokémon
Type: Electric
Official Registration #: 172
Entry: Trainers take caution—although cute and the first stage in a line of formidable battlers, pichu do not have a full mastery over their electrical powers until evolution. This is not to say that they aren’t that strong. On the contrary: they have the ability to generate voltages on par with their evolved forms. What they cannot do is avoid releasing said voltage when startled, happy, or simply standing in an empty room doing absolutely nothing, and suffice to say, this is why many of the reports of electrocution among Johtonians have to do with this very pokémon.

Pikachu
The Mouse Pokémon
Type: Electric
Official Registration #: 25
Entry: The evolved form of pichu, in response to closeness with its trainer. Due to its adorable appearance, its intelligence, and its penchant for doing tricks for treats, pikachu has become an extremely popular choice for a pet. However, should you wish to keep one, never forget that pikachu are still potentially dangerous electric rodents. This is not just a note concerning its ability to generate thousands of volts of electricity, nor is it simply a warning concerning its tendency to release electricity during thunderstorms or upon waking up each morning. It is also a note that this rodent can and will chew through wires if left unattended, and chargers compatible with Leppa-brand laptops run anywhere from ¥3500 to ¥9400 each.

Raichu
The Mouse Pokémon
Type: Electric
Official Registration #: 26
Entry: The evolved form of pikachu, by exposure to thunder stone. A raichu’s tail acts as its grounding wire. When a raichu stores too much electricity in its electrical sacs, it plants its tail and discharges electricity directly into the ground. This is vital to the well-being of an individual raichu, as not only do they gather electricity from their surroundings, but they also grow increasingly aggressive as their electrical stores grow. In that sense, a raichu is much like a drunken relative on Christmas, the sort who gets increasingly offensive the more alcohol he consumes until he needs to be escorted to a safe room to discharge a long and barely intelligible rant. …Not that this writer has seen his father do any of this at any point in his life.