Bill I need help with a female Croagunk I got from my dad. He wont say how he got it but it was shady I’m sure. Nature Adamant. She’s a bit distant but she seems to accept me ok, but she seems to bully my cleffa, and standoffish with any other females on my team. But will go nuts on anything she sees has bullying or abusive. Which has helped me with my father problems but that’s something else. I’m concerned for her and scared for the team. Is she showing dominance or something? Help me please!!

Hmm. This is a bit complicated, I’m afraid, and I think the biggest question I have before answering this is whether or not your croagunk displays this aggressive behavior towards just your father or towards bullying or abusive behavior in general.

If the former, then what you’re seeing may actually be anger towards her own treatment. She may see the fact that she now belongs to you instead of your father as protection; she doesn’t have to face your father’s treatment if she acts out towards him, as you’ll pull her away before your father can punish her.

On the other hand, if it’s the latter and it’s a general response, then it may be tied into her bullying tendencies. There is always a reason why anyone—human or pokémon—treat others the way they do. The simplest and most common explanation, though, is that bullies have faced abuse of some sort themselves from a very young age. In many cases, bullies seek out weaker targets than themselves in order to either release their own frustrations or treat them terribly out of the idea that this is just normal interaction. It’s possible, given that you’re not entirely sure what your croagunk’s past was like, that she was on the receiving end of a heavy amount of abuse, perhaps since she was a hatchling.

However, bullying can be corrected. It starts with establishing that your croagunk’s in a safe environment. Provide for her and give her affection whenever you can until she understands that you’re there for her and will care for her. Of course, pay attention to her body language at all times and give her space if it seems like she’s distressed or about to become aggressive. This will also help her understand that you know her boundaries, which will make it easier to reason with her and win her over.

Once she begins to feel safe, you can work on training the more aggressive behaviors out of her. Pokémon are far more malleable in this regard. (That is to say, don’t attempt to shower a human with affection if they’re abusive towards you, and certainly don’t try to “fix” a human’s aggressive behavior. If you find yourself in an abusive relationship, please use whatever resources you have to get out of it.)

With pokémon, meanwhile, respond well to simple Pavlovian training. That is, when your croagunk shows good behavior you wish to reinforce, reward her. When she shows aggressive behavior, don’t use aggression yourself to correct it; rather, tell her that this behavior is not proper. When she realizes she can be rewarded for certain types of behavior, she will begin to learn that following similar behaviors will result in more rewards. You can even use this technique to teach your croagunk the difference between aggressive and peaceful resolutions. Whenever she does something gently, reward her. Whenever she interacts with one of your pokémon in a positive manner, reward her then too. If she doesn’t, then simply scold her verbally (with a calm but firm tone).

Additionally, yes, some of her bullying behavior is dominance-based, as of course, your croagunk likely sees the rest of your team as weaker and therefore acceptable targets. You may need to establish her order in your “pack” as it were through establishing that she isn’t the dominant pokémon. For example, dominant pokémon in a wild herd are fed first, so by feeding your croagunk slightly behind the other members of your team (that is, giving your other pokémon their bowls first and then giving your croagunk hers), this will help her understand that, if anything, you are the herd (or army, in her case) leader. This will also help you train that aggressive behavior out of her, as it will also establish that she needs to follow you to be rewarded and to move within her team.

Finally, you may need to reintroduce your croagunk to the rest of your pokémon after her behavior reaches an acceptable level. This doesn’t mean separate her from the others as you’re training her (in fact, she should be allowed to freely interact, although yes, you should separate her from the others if she’s bullying them again); rather, it means gradually introducing her to individual members of her team and helping her establish healthy relationships with each member. In other words, serve as a mediator between your croagunk and your other pokémon. Have them work together on tasks. Encourage your croagunk to interact with your team in a positive manner.

Best of luck!

I have a Purugly and a Delcatty that have been living with me for years. recently i adopted a young lillipup from a rescue agency, and the mon’s don’t get along with him at all. he likes to chase Delcatty into hiding, and Purugly likes to stalk and and smack him whenever she can. i’m starting to believe that these kinds of pokemon really CAN’T get along after all

Oh no, it’s possible that they all can get along, but they have to have a particular chemistry, just like humans do with each other. Sometimes, cat pokémon and dog pokémon adore one another, and sometimes, they go at it like, well, cats and dogs. And sometimes, the latter occurs for no good reason at all.

Of course, other times, there may be a particular reason, so it would be worth it to observe your pokémon and see if there is a behavior that causes them to interact this way. It’s likely that your lillipup simply needs to be trained to not chase your delcatty, while your purugly needs to be trained to use better problem resolution skills.

I have kind of a big problem. I raised these twin Wurmple brothers. They were an inseparable duo, those two. However, they’re fully evolved now. The elder became a Dustox, and the younger became a Beautifly. It seems like Dustox is jealous of his younger sibling, however. He attacks him without provocation and steals almost all his food. My beautifly is very timid and just let’s it happen, however. I feel like it’s partially my fault since I always told them they’d both be Beautifly. Any advice?

Well, to be perfectly honest, it might also have something to do with the fact that dustox are naturally more aggressive than beautifly (which isn’t to say that beautifly aren’t more vicious, but that’s another story). So that should at the very least explain the attacks.

That having been said, the best thing to do is to help your dustox acclimate to his new form. It wouldn’t hurt to apologize for promising that he would evolve into a beautifly, but your main focus should otherwise be on convincing him that dustox aren’t so bad. While you can teach him the positive aspects of being a dustox, your lessons will definitely stick if you train with him. Set aside an extra hour to work with him one-on-one on abilities only he can learn (Light Screen, Moonlight, Psybeam, and Venoshock, for a few examples). Devise a battle style that suits him, and make your training revolve around that. Highlight his importance on your team and power as an individual until he understands how his body and abilities actually work. The closer he gets to this point, the more he’ll become proud of what he can do.

All you’ll need to do from there is keep him from attacking your beautifly out of pride, but the secret there is having the two team up and work together through battles against other trainers or team building exercises. Or through sheer positive reinforcement by bribing him not to attack your beautifly. Whichever you prefer.

Best of luck!

I’m a trainer working at a Foster Center, (We help abandoned/unadopted Pokemon find people who will care for them) and its my job to tend to Pokemon we receive. Recently, a very timid Abra appeared at our Center, and I’ve been helping take care of it for a while. It’s very sweet, but anytime anything unpredictable happens- I drop something, a new Pokemon shows up, etc- it teleports to me. Even when I’m not at work. I was hoping you might have some advice, so I could help it get comfortable.

When it comes to new pokémon, as a separate tip, you may wish to introduce this abra to them in the same way you would with any skittish pokémon: slowly, in a comfortable environment, and individually or alongside pokémon she’s already comfortable with. You may also wish to introduce her to the other handlers in the same manner, for that matter, as that may help minimize her tendency to make such a jump to you, as opposed to anyone else in the immediate area.

Beyond that, you’ll need to work on her confidence. That is to say … train her. It may be challenging due to the fact that most abra start off knowing only Teleport, but if you’re creative with using just that, you may help her gain enough battle experience to accept moves taught to her via the TM/HM system, move tutoring system, or even by herself after evolution. The stronger you can get her, the more confident in herself and her abilities she may become, which in turn will help her feel less scared of her surroundings.

However, that’s not enough. If you only do that, you’ll simply arm a scared pokémon, rather than teach her how to be comfortable with everything around her as well as herself. If her surroundings aren’t comfortable enough for her, you’ll need to figure out what could be improved. Perhaps it’s not the right temperature, or maybe she doesn’t have enough bedding. Maybe she needs a few adjustments to her diet.

Once you figure out the right balance for her surroundings, train her to be comfortable. If it helps, try this method: have her touch your hand, either with her nose or her psychic abilities. Then, feed her a treat. Do this a few times until she understands that touching things leads to a treat…

…and then introduce the rest of the shelter in this method.

Now, when I say “the rest of the shelter,” I actually do mean that, so this may be a time-consuming thing that can’t be done in a single day. Start with your coworkers and inanimate objects (cleaning supplies, dishes, anything that could be dropped or that might make a startling noise). Have her touch or interact with each, and when she does so in a positive way, give her a treat. When she feels comfortable with that, move on to the other pokémon in the shelter. Do this even if she feels comfortable with them already. Eventually, she should begin to associate each person, object, and pokémon in her immediate surroundings with a positive experience, and that, in conjunction with the confidence fostered by the battling, should help her grow less scared of her surroundings and thus less likely to be startled by them. Once that happens, you should notice a sharp decrease in teleportations.

Best of luck!

Hi Bill! I’ve been having trouble with my Charizard and Feraligatr for a while now. They were both my starters of sorts, the former having hatched from an egg and the latter a gift for the start of my journey but they’ve always been incredibly competitive. First it was because charmander evolved first which caused a fight and then when croconaw evolved to Feraligatr first they went at it again. I’d love to use them for double battles but they constantly attack or trip each other up. Any advice?

Encouraging your pokémon to work out their differences peacefully is, at the risk of offering fantastically unhelpful advice, perhaps the best policy here. Start by trying to mediate their conversations and offering compromises to their differences. Point out ways that their abilities complement each other (Charizard’s flying abilities versus Feraligatr’s swiftness in the water) and offer fair solutions for whatever it is that triggered their competition in the first place. (If they were competing with one another to determine who gets to sleep in a certain spot, for example, suggest that they take turns sleeping in that particular spot.)

Additionally, encouraging them to compete tasks together off the field could potentially strengthen the bonds between them. Have them perform day-to-day tasks such as chores or certain exercises together. Always train them together, and be firm and consistent if you see hints of competitive behaviors. Give them clear goals that they can only complete when working together, rather than ones that develop their strengths separately.

In other words, cooperation can very much be a trained behavior, but you’ll need to be very consistent and firm about teaching them how to interact with one another. That and it may take quite a bit of patience and a lot of sternness on your part to keep them from simply going at it every time you try to teach them cooperation.

Best of luck!

As a ralts and kirlia and early stages of Gallade, Psythe was very shy and timid, to the point where other Pokémon would pick in him. but now that he’s learned low kick and psycho cut he’s become a lot more aggressive, even to his own team mates. How can I curb this bad behavior?

Simple, anonymous. As his trainer, it’s up to you to teach him not only techniques but also discipline. Teach him that there are times and places to use his attacks and that, outside of a battle under your command, his attacks are only to be used against another pokémon only as a last resort. Provide him with other outlets to relieve stress and anger, and be sure that you’ve trained the rest of your team to treat him like, well, a teammate (that is, someone to help when they ask for it).

Best of luck, anonymous!

I have an albino pichu that was rescued from drowning, possibly by a very horrid previous owner. He’s very shy and now that I’ve had him for while (3 months) and he’s comfortable with me I want to introduce him to my team more. I have a sylveon, a pikachu, a gardivor, and a flygon. How should I go about introducing them?

It may be easier than you think, anonymous. Unless your team would have any reason to lash out at your pichu or unless they show any hostility towards him, it’s likely they’ll accept him with open arms, especially if you establish the fact that he’s their latest teammate. Also, don’t forget to inform them that your pichu is shy and came from an abusive trainer, and tell them that as such, they should treat your pichu gently until he becomes more comfortable with them.

That said, the tricky part is figuring out how to keep your pichu calm. It may be best to introduce your team members one at a time to him so he doesn’t become overwhelmed. It would be best to introduce your pikachu to him first, as it is a member of the same evolutionary family and is thus the most familiar pokémon to him that you have. Wait until your pichu seems comfortable interacting with your pikachu, then follow with your sylveon (an affectionate mammalian pokémon and thus most likely to be gentle with him) and your gardevoir (an empath and thus a pokémon ready to adapt to his moods), in that order. Hold off on introducing your flygon until your pichu has grown accustomed to your other pokémon—and you, for that matter. Then introduce them to one another in a very comfortable environment stocked with food and toys that may put your pokémon at ease. It may be a good idea to let the pokémon your pichu trusts the most (out of pikachu, gardevoir, and sylveon) to help keep him calm and to assist in facilitating his interactions with your flygon.

In short, it’s likely that your team will accept your pichu; it’s just that you should introduce your pichu slowly and with plenty of patience to make sure he’s comfortable at all times.

Best of luck, anonymous!

Pokémon prey on each other in the wild. Would it be a problem if I had both predator and prey Pokémon within the same team? They seem to display certain levels of animosity.

So long as they’re well-trained and well-fed, no, not at all. Predator and prey pokémon typically have no trouble getting along on the same team so long as they understand that their minimum needs will be met and that they’re meant to work together as a team.

Of course, keep in mind that you will need to actively teach your pokémon both of these things, as we’re talking about a behavior modification. You will essentially need to train your pokémon to understand that they’re no longer in the wild, and this can be as easy as establishing and following a routine. Feed your pokémon every day at the exact same time so they can know that they have a daily source of food, and the rest should be easy.

Granted, should your pokémon display animosity towards each other anyway, even after you train them to know when they’ll be fed, you’ll need to consider it a form of interpersonal hostility, determine the exact source of your pokémon’s disagreements, and work towards making both sides feel more relaxed towards one another. The tips outlined in this post should provide further help in that matter: http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/post/165308388176/my-umbreon-and-charizard-will-not-stop-arguing

Question (Askbox doesn’t work for some reason)

One of my friends recently died, and I’m trying to take care of her Pokemon for her. However, not all of them have met me before, and some of them were very close to her. Do you have any advice for how I should deal with the Pokemon that won’t know me, and how to help them handle this in general?

Bill: Remember first and foremost that these pokémon are grieving, just as a human would if one lost someone very close to them. So before anything else, you must establish yourself as both loyal and reliable. The quickest way to do this is to be flexible for them. Listen to them and pay very close attention to their needs. If one is aloof or refuses to communicate, don’t ignore them. Rather, tell them that you want to give them space, but you’re available if they need anything.

Moreover, try to find out what their routine had been with their late trainer. Routines mean stability as well as communication. To some pokémon, going through the same motions as always will give them something familiar to help ease the transition into your care. For other, more intelligent pokémon, it at least opens up a dialogue if they believe you’re trying to be their trainer. (That may sound negative, but it happens with pokémon who possess advanced intelligence and bond strongly with humans. The gardevoir line, for example.) Either way, the busier they are and the more they stick to routine, the easier it will be for time to pass and for them to move on.

And of course, it doesn’t hurt to learn more about them. Figure out their likes and dislikes and provide plenty of either to help ease the pain and to reward them for positive behavior (as opposed to negative behavior, such as excessively marking territory or howling).

Finally, always keep an eye on their health. Grieving pokémon sometimes refuse to eat, but you must be persistent on getting them to take care of basic needs. Offering the food they like might make things easier, but if this behavior goes on for too long or if your pokémon absolutely refuses to eat no matter what you do, see your local pokémon center. Your Nurse Joy will help with grief counseling.

Best of luck, anonymous, and I’m very sorry for your loss.

Do Pokémon in similar animal groups (like foxes and cats) get along? I ask cuz I recently acquired a butterfree and I’m worried about its interactions with my beautifly

For the most part, yes—when caught and introduced to a team, anyway. Of course, in the wild, the general answer is no, as pokémon often compete for resources or space. Or, well, eat each other, as nature is wont to do.

However, pokémon actually understand that being with humans means they no longer have to worry about their own survival. This is quite literally half the reason why pokémon are very fond of befriending and bonding with us humans: to them, we represent a plentiful source of everything they need. Hence, once caught and tamed, pokémon that may be bitter rivals in the wild—such as butterfree and beautifly, meowth and growlithe, and so forth—have no problem setting aside their differences and considering each other as partners, friends, or even family.

For the most part, anyway. It’s also not uncommon for two pokémon to fight for personal reasons (jealousy, anxiety over the possibility of being replaced, prejudice against a species or type, or simply a dislike for someone). If this occurs, however, it’s important that you address those issues as soon as possible. Check the team building tag (http://bills-pokedex.tumblr.com/tagged/team-building) for tips on how to handle this.

Best of luck, anonymous!