First and foremost, congratulations on your impending evolution, anonymous.
Second, although it’s not unusual for a pokémon’s personality to undergo a shift during evolution, remember that above everything else, your magikarp will still be your magikarp inside. So long as you’ve given it the best care as possible and so long as you make it clear you’ll continue to do so after evolution, your gyarados will have no reason to hurt you.
In fact, in many cases, although wild gyarados are ferocious and violent, tame gyarados, particularly those you’ve raised as magikarp, only act out if you make it known that you’re afraid of them or if you make it clear that you’re about to hurt their owners. Otherwise, they tend to be rather docile and incredibly loyal. This is true for practically any “ferocious” pokémon. The quicker you establish the idea that you’re both willing and capable to meet their needs as a caretaker and a trainer, the quicker they are at bonding with you. If you find it difficult to remind yourself of this, take a moment to ground and center yourself (meditate, in other words) in order to achieve a calm mental state before approaching your gyarados.
As for care, the most important thing to remember is gyarados are both carnivorous and far, far bigger than magikarp. You’ll need a large body of water (a lake or olympic-sized swimming pool) to give it plenty of room to exercise. Feed it at least sixty pounds of raw meat and fat at least every twelve days. (Tamed gyarados can have their meals broken down into five pounds once a day daily, but some gyarados prefer larger chunks. This should also be reassurance that if you’re unable to feed your gyarados on a particular day, it can survive. Doubly so if it’s an outdoor gyarados, as they tend to supplement their own meals with birds that happen to fly over their habitats.)
Gyarados also tend to roar and snap at random, but these aren’t normally displays of aggression towards their trainers. Rather, it’s often a gyarados’s way of playing—or hunting, if it happens to spot something flying overhead. These acts are perfectly harmless, so it’s recommended that you don’t prevent your gyarados from engaging in them. However, if you absolutely must, do so in a reassuring tone but explain things clearly to it. Contrary to popular belief, gyarados are highly intelligent pokémon and understand the meaning of the word “no” if told by a trainer they’re already loyal to.
Lastly, never keep a gyarados of the opposite sex in the same habitat as this one. Gyarados become difficult to reason with when mating, and their rituals are highly aggressive, loud, and violent.
At the risk of being somewhat unprofessional (and inciting the ire of my editor), in response to the act of breeding pokémon without knowing much about how to raise them:
I do hope you either intend on raising the other hatchlings or have already rehomed them to a certifiable no-kill pokémon shelter or to respectable homes, reader. If not, sorting that out is your first priority.
That having been said, many of the basics to raising baby pokémon are the same as raising adult pokémon. That is to say, eventually, you’ll need the proper types of food for your igglybuff and togepi, the proper spaces, the proper bedding, and even the proper waste disposal bins.
However, at first, they should be left with their parents for a few weeks. During this time, the parents will be the ones to feed the hatchlings, and many of the basic skills your togepi and igglybuff need to survive will be taught during this period. You’ll know when your togepi and igglybuff are ready for independent care when the parents spend less and less time away from the nests they’ve made for them. Give it another week and then approach the nest (to avoid being attacked by the parents).
As a note, if you’ve received these eggs from a breeder or otherwise do not have the parents on hand, allow one of your other pokémon to care for them. Most pokémon, as noted in an earlier ask, are instinctually equipped to take care of newborns, even if they’re not of the same species.
Once the hatchlings are ready for you, note that baby pokémon also need a lot more affection than their adult forms. Luckily, as igglybuff and togepi tend to be interested in the same things, this may be less of a challenge for you. Get plenty of soft, chewable toys, preferably ones that can hold their attention. Both igglybuff and togepi like dangling toys they can bat at, and igglybuff adores musical toys or toys that make sounds. (Togepi will play with these as well, but it doesn’t get quite as excited over them as igglybuff.) The only real challenge in keeping them engaged will likely be giving them equal amounts of affection. Some togepi can be quite possessive and will cry if not handled enough or if it believes you’re handling another pokémon more than it. The ability to multitask will be essential to you.
As for feeding, as mentioned above, the newborns will be fed by the parents (or caretakers). After that, togepi feed mostly on soft berries and foods at first. As they get older, they can consume things like vegetables, harder fruits, sprouts, beans, and occasionally eggs. (Obviously, do not feed your togepi eggs from its own line. Pidgey eggs, animal eggs, or any other eggs in general are fine.) Igglybuff are strictly herbivorous and should be fed leafy greens when not fed kibble. Contrary to popular belief, root vegetables should be treats, not mainstays, as the high sugar content may be harmful to it. Berries are fine to give on a daily basis, but limit your igglybuff’s intake to only one or two berries a day, also due to the high sugar content.
Regarding wastes, Togepi, which evolve into more bird-like species, will need a litter cage, or a birdcage-like apparatus lined at the bottom with shredded paper. (Always be sure to use uncoated paper. Never use magazine pages or the glossy, color pages of a newspaper. These may contain chemicals that will be harmful to your togepi.) You can save money and effort by buying cages specifically for togekiss. Many of these will also have the perches togetic and togekiss will need pre-installed, although customizable models are available. Change the bedding every day—twice daily for hatchlings who are still getting used to their cages. Finally, yes, you will have to train your togepi to use the cage at first. When you notice your togepi getting quiet and still, fidgeting, or actually in the act, immediately pick it up and place it in the cage. Do not yell at your togepi if it relieves itself on your floor; rather, tell it in a firm voice that this is not acceptable and let it watch you clean up its mess. Also, use positive reinforcement by rewarding it whenever it successfully uses its cage. Eventually, it will begin to figure out what the cage is for on its own.
Igglybuff, meanwhile, are like many fairies in that they use a litter box. Unlike its cousin, clefairy, you should not use cat litter to fill it. Rather, use hay or paper. The igglybuff line tends to inhale deeply shortly before eliminating wastes (as it uses the pressure of the air it traps to help evacuation), and cat litter tends to be easier to inhale. Simply place the litter box in a place your igglybuff can easily see and access, and it will figure out the rest. If you still have its jigglypuff or wigglytuff parents, have them teach it how to use the box. Be sure to change this daily as well.
As for bedding, both species typically enjoy small, soft pokémon beds, but at first, they may insist on sleeping with you. It’s fine to do this at first, but as they get older, you may need to train them to sleep in their own. Allowing them to continue to sleep with you may disrupt their ability to perform on the battlefield, as they will develop the tendency to seek you whenever they perceive that they’re in danger.
Finally, as noted earlier, baby pokémon require a lot more attention than their adult selves. Igglybuff generally engage in vocal exercises to develop their voices, which means they may use Sing at random. They also tend to bounce when bored or excited, and as their bodies are very soft and pliable, they can continue bouncing until they build up enough momentum to do actual property damage. Togepi, meanwhile, are far less likely to injure you, but they are highly curious pokémon that have a tendency to wander off on their own and place themselves in danger. It is of the utmost importance that you keep as much of an eye on both of them until they either evolve or outgrow these tendencies.
But if you can do all of this and survive largely intact, you’ll find that it will be easy to bond with your pokémon and fulfill the requirements they need to evolve.
Ah, sylveon. They’re wonderful pokémon, to be honest, and I congratulate you for obtaining one!
First, a warning. People will tell you that sylveon subsist on baked goods, and this perception is likely not helped by the fact that its evolutionary requirement involves whether or not it feels loved—a state most people achieve by feeding their pokémon poké puffs. However, while sylveon enjoy sweets, they should only be fed these sparingly. Their diet should consist of either sylveon kibble or, should you wish to give them a more varied diet, sylveon wet food, meat, and berries. Feed them more meat than berries, and you’ll have a healthy sylveon.
Other than that, many of the things you needed to give your eevee should also be given to your sylveon. This includes the same sorts of toys, chew bones for their teeth (which itself is a supplement to brushing)—even the same sorts of shampoo, conditioner, and brushes. (Just be gentler with maintaining your sylveon’s fur than you were with your eevee’s, as sylveon generally have finer fur than its preevolutions.)
The only other thing you’ll need is a ribbon clip. These are soft binds that can be put on a sylveon at night to keep their feelers from moving. Newly evolved sylveon are still getting used to manipulating their feelers, so in the early months, there is a risk that they may try to move their ribbons in their sleep. Clipping them together prevents your sylveon from wrapping them around its own neck—or yours.
In terms of non-material objects, sylveon are among the fairy-types who actually enjoy human company (largely due to its evolutionary requirements—sylveon literally cannot exist unless the bond it has with its trainer is strong), so you’ll very likely have little trouble bonding with them or getting them to follow your orders. If anything, you may need to be aware that your sylveon might just become possessive, jealous of your other pokémon, or overly affectionate. If any of these behaviors happen, be sure to establish boundaries with your sylveon and continue to help them bond with their teammates.
I wish you the best of luck with your new evolution, @artist-dreams. May the journey you take with your sylveon be a happy one.
As with all grass- or water-types, members of the lotad line need clean water—a lot of it, in fact. An outdoor pond would be ideal, but if this isn’t an option for you, be sure to get a shallow tank that’s wide enough for your lotad to move. Many trainers make the mistake of either getting a tank that’s too small or assuming that a lotad tank is the same as a fish tank, so be sure that you’re buying a tank that’s specifically marketed to surface-dwelling water-types. Either way, lotad will need a lot of space, so they’re not actually ideal urban pokémon unless you have convenient access to a park with a clean pond.
Also note that your lotad will need to spend plenty of time in water and sunlight. Ideally, this means six to eight hours of floating during the day, but it’s possible to separate its sunning times from its soaking times (such as in the case of indoor lotad). If you do this, you will still need to give it at least six hours of each, but if you need to leave your lotad unattended, simply allow it to float in its tank while you’re gone. While lotad generally need plenty of space, many of them won’t move too far from their tanks by themselves, so you can be sure that your lotad will still be there when you get back.
Standard lotad kibble is fine to give your new pokémon, but should you wish to feed yours something other than dry food, lotad are omnivorous and primarily eat berries and insects. Freeze-dried insects are fine, especially because lotad can’t generally tell the difference. Do not feed them anything large or hard (such as larger fruits or pieces of meat) as lotad don’t actually have teeth and rely on what their beaks can mash up to eat.
Upon evolution, lombre is a little less active than lotad and will thus be easier to handle; once you leave your lombre someplace, it will generally stay put without moving. Doubly so if you leave it in direct sunlight. However, ludicolo are extremely difficult to maintain in smaller, urban environments, as evolution increases their energy and stamina and causes them to experience uncontrollable urges to dance, especially around festive music. If you live in an urban environment, it’s highly recommended that you avoid allowing your lombre to come in contact with water stone. Should this happen anyway, clear an area specifically for your ludicolo. A completely empty bedroom should be sufficient. Soundproof this room (for the sake of your neighbors) and usher your ludicolo into it as soon as it looks like it’s about to dance.
First and foremost, the idea that all fire-type pokémon like spicy food is a myth. Only a select few individuals do; there are no species that, as a whole, enjoy spicy food. I only say this because there have been rather nasty incidents in which a new fire-type specialist made this mistake and wound up taking Flamethrowers to the face as a result of a charmeleon reacting badly to meals heavy in tamato berries.
That having been said, always be aware of your pokémon’s species. Some fire-types have different dietary requirements than others. For example, the growlithe, vulpix, and houndour lines should be fed primarily meat or meals heavy in proteins. The litten and litleo lines require a largely carnivorous diet, as they need the taurine from raw meat to avoid going blind. However, by contrast, numel and camerupt are strictly vegetarian and cannot be fed the same thing as any of the aforementioned lines. In fact, it’s important to ensure that your litten or litleo do not eat whatever you give your numel, as although plants are not toxic to those lines, some can actually cause dietary or longterm health problems (including obesity). And then you have the slugma lines, which despite being slug- and snail-like, eat mineral-rich rocks.
Not only that, but in some cases, your pokémon’s condition may affect what their diets need. For example, it’s actually possible for litten and litleo to develop diabetes, at which point they must be put on a diet low in carbohydrates to manage their condition. They can also develop severe lactose intolerance, which means a number of popular recipes for litten or litleo kibble should be avoided.
In short, my advice to anyone who wishes to make their own pokéfood is to tailor your dietary plans to your pokémon’s specific species. Do some research into what your pokémon eat in the wild and try emulating that for your tamed specimens. If you need specific guidance (especially if your pokémon have health conditions), be sure to consult your local Nurse Joy. Consulting breeders would also help, as reputable ones will have an in-depth understanding of pokémon nutrition as well.
The Pokédex According to Bill 