Is there only one spiritomb? Or are they just all made up of exactly 108 spirits?

Actually, there can be a wide number of spirits within one spiritomb. Many only contain one or a handful; others might contain ten, twenty, or more. There has even been a spiritomb on record that contained as many as 1000 spirits in it at once, although the keystone that held it together was barely holding itself together at that point. (The spiritomb unfortunately passed on shortly after its birth, but not without inflicting quite a bit of damage on the Sinnohan countryside.)

The “standard” 108 count is actually just a common number in folklore that just happened to coincide with the first spiritomb ever recorded. Mere coincidence, more or less.

is everything okay with my spirittomb? on most days, after a few battles and my team and I are relaxing, spirittomb seems to faze through my body, and remain in that position :s

Well, anonymous, the good news is that this is a form of affection for a spiritomb. It feels a deep connection with you, likely due to how well the two of you work together in a battle, and it wishes to show that connection through physical contact.

The bad news is that for a pokémon consisting of 108 malevolent spirits, this is not necessarily a thing you should encourage. You may wish to establish boundaries as gently as possible—or at least carry a cleanse tag on your person at all times.

Bill why is it that pokémon such as Rotom and Spiritomb are not considered legendary pokémon but the Cosmog line are? I used to think that a pre-requisite for legendary pokémon was not evolving, but you can’t say that there can be only one because two different Cosmogs have been identified. Is there even an official way of figuring it out?

Actual rarity and power levels, anonymous. While it’s true that it’s incredibly difficult to find spiritomb and rotom in the wild, neither are so rare that they’re considered mythical or actual cryptids. In fact, spiritomb alone is actually quite common, assuming you can find a an odd keystone (which is uncomfortably common in the highly spiritual Sinnoh).

Likewise, neither pokémon possess abilities on the same level as true legends or even mythical pokémon. While, yes, cosmog and cosmoem technically possess power levels much less potent than rotom or spiritomb on the battlefield, both members of that line possess unique, reality-warping abilities off the battlefield—abilities that rotom and spiritomb and other particularly rare species can only dream of possessing. And then, of course, there’s the fact that cosmog’s final evolutions possess power levels that are far more potent than that of most other pokémon species, so that, in combination with cosmog’s natural abilities, simply sets it apart from other pokémon.

In short, it’s not so much rarity alone, anonymous, but rather rarity and what a pokémon can do that form the litmus test of what is and isn’t a legendary.

A young relative of mine has recently informed me that she caught a spiritomb. She’s always been a bit of an odd girl but she and the spiritomb seem to get along pretty well. I’m still worried, since spiritomb’s reputation as a species is not the best. How much of this concern is valid?

While I can’t blame you for being concerned, anonymous, it may be amusing to know that as malevolent as spiritomb reportedly is, it’s actually quite harmless thanks to the odd keystone that seals its spirits together. Putting it another way, imagine a sitcom with a cast consisting of 108 people who hate each other, all of whom are trapped in the same apartment for eternity, and that is essentially spiritomb. If anything, it’s more of a danger to itself than to its trainer. And even if it had managed to coordinate together for a single attack, a pokémon’s natural compulsion to work with a human being (or else attempt an escape), which is further reinforced by the poké ball itself, will keep spiritomb from attacking your relative.

Still, your relative should be aware of any poltergeist activity that may occur around her spiritomb. It’s extremely rare—and especially unlikely in this case, given the fact that your relative and her spiritomb seem friendly with one another—but it’s still a possibility.

In short, I doubt you’ll have anything to worry about, anonymous, especially if your relative already knows the risks of training a spiritomb.

Spiritomb

Spiritomb
The Forbidden Pokémon
Type: Ghost/Dark
Official Registration #: 442
Entry: This pokémon consists of dark spirits bound to a strange stone. According to Sinnoh legend, spiritomb specifically consists of 108 spirits condemned to spend an eternity bound together in the aforementioned stone for misdeeds they collectively committed over 500 years ago. It is said that strange things happen in the presence of spiritomb and that even today, in its bound state, it does everything it can to curse nearby humans and wreak general havoc. To be fair, though, spiritomb’s behavior is perfectly understandable. If the reader was cursed to spend an eternity trapped in a body with 107 people you couldn’t stand, you, too, would very likely be just a little upset about it.