psychms
replied to your post “Are some species pokemon more prone to certain illnesses or conditions…”

Huh, it seems cruel that despite the fact that Audino tend to have anxiety due to an inborn aversion to humanity, they are so often seen in Unovan Pokemon Centers. Don’t they have to deal with a lot of human contact there? What’s the deal with that?

Very astute of you to point out, @psychms!

In truth, anxiety in pokémon, particularly the more human-like ones such as clefairy or audino, can possibly be managed the same way human anxiety is with proper care and patience from their human partners. In other words, it’s entirely possible to work with these species in order to maintain or even lessen their symptoms so that they may lead functional lives alongside humans. However, the younger such care begins, the easier it is to acclimate one of these pokémon to a human-based environment, and many Unovan audino nurses are actually specifically bred for the job from carefully selected parents who do not exhibit anxiety at all towards human kind. (Not all audino have this aversion, strangely enough. The ones that appear in what local Unovans call “shaking grass” are of particular note for this behavior.)

Of course, the inborn aversion is related to these species’ sensitivity to noise, and particularly loud noises may cause these pokémon to panic. That’s why nurse audino undergo special training to minimize the likelihood of this occurring.

Admittedly, it’s true that it seems a little odd to go to these sorts of lengths just to groom an audino to be a nurse, but in truth, issues with noise aside, audino are actually the third best suited pokémon for medical work in existence due to their other abilities, including an inclination to help others, ability to hear another’s physical state, and actual healing techniques. (The first and second best nurse pokémon are, of course, chansey and blissey, respectively.) Once trained to manage its sensitivity to noise and its shyness around humans, it can also be a highly dedicated worker and loyal companion to a Nurse Joy.

Bill, my friend and I have been debating whether Alolan Pokémon will receive individual entries in the Alolan National Pokédex! He thinks, for instance, the standard Vulpix and Alolan Vulpix should each have their own ‘dex entries, since they’re so wildly different. I think it’s redundant, especially when there’s a precedence for Pokémon with varying forms only having a single entry, such as Wormadam. What do you think?

It’s a bit of a tricky situation. On the one hand, you’re correct in saying we don’t normally give separate pokédex entries to alternative forms. Doing so tends to cause confusion, especially given the fact that all forms are technically still the same species, even if their traits are vastly different. Wormadam is an excellent example of this. The shellos line and vivillon are as well. Even mega-evolutions are not considered to be separate evolutions but the enhancement of a species, which is why mega charizard X and mega charizard Y are never listed separately from charizard.

On the other hand, the Alolan pokémon are not just cases of different traits but also of different environments, and your friend is astute in saying that they’re so wildly different thanks to adaptations that they’re almost completely new species. It’s also true that we’ve actually handled such a case in the past by giving both forms completely different pokédex entries. That case? Nidoran, a pokémon whose male and female forms are so different they’re actually genetically different species.

So it’s a bit difficult to say at the moment. To be honest, personally, I believe that Alola will create its own regional dex that will be added to the National Dex as subpages of each relevant pokémon. This is because each Alolan pokémon is still related to their off-island kin on a genetic level, so an Alolan vulpix and every other vulpix are considered the same thing, save for the adaptive traits Alolan vulpix have gained over time. But I suppose we’ll have to wait and see, @psychms.

Hi Bill, I’d love to hear about your research on the Espurr line, especially any notes you have on the differences between male and female Meowstic. Thank you!

Certainly!

Espurr
The Restraint Pokémon
Type: Psychic
Official Registration #: 677
Entry: Espurr release psychic waves from organs hidden beneath their ears. These psychic waves are incredibly potent and capable of destroying anything within a 300-foot radius of itself, yet curiously, the only thing stopping it from doing so is literally its ears. The fact that it is known as “the restraint pokémon” seems to be either a misunderstanding or a sardonic note on behalf of a particularly terrible researcher, although recent studies have shown that the expression on its face is not blank but rather a strained expression of raw panic. In short, handle with care.

Meowstic (male)
The Constraint Pokémon
Type: Psychic
Official Registration #: 678
Entry: The evolved form of male espurr, by battle experience. Although technically the same species, meowstic display a fascinating form of gender dimorphism. Whereas female meowstic are developed to be more noticeable and aggressive, male meowstic are armed with dark fur and several abilities capable of disabling or hindering its opponents. In other words, stray male meowstic are not meant to be seen whenever they rob you blind and leave you disarmed and incapable of defending yourself in the rougher neighborhoods of Lumiose City.

Meowstic (female)
The Constraint Pokémon
Type: Psychic
Official Registration #: 678
Entry: The evolved form of female espurr, by battle experience. Although technically the same species, meowstic display a fascinating form of gender dimorphism. The female meowstic in particular possess a bright, white coat and several showy, powerful offensive abilities, both of which make females highly visible and noticeable. In this writer’s opinion, this is a rather handy fact, as it’s nice to see the highly territorial female meowstic coming after you after their male counterparts rob you blind in a Lumiose back alley. This will not save you from taking a Charge Beam in the chest purely because you happen to be in what they consider to be their territory, but when you find yourself in a back alley, one less surprise is a certain comfort.