When my Kommo-o was a jangmo-o it lost pretty badly to a golisopod… since then it’s been extremely aggressive with wimpod and golisopod, going as far to attack my friends unsuspecting wimpod when they came over. What should I do about Kommo-os anger?

It’s important to note that this isn’t simply anger but rather aggression born from fear. The importance of this distinction is simple: if it were simply anger, then all you would need is to teach your kommo-o calming techniques. However, because there is clearly an element of fear to its behavior—or at least I gather that there is, judging by its reason for being aggressive towards a particular species—then you would need to address that fear specifically.

Granted, yes, it’s also important to help your kommo-o deal with its aggression in a positive manner by training him to calm on command (Tip: Use positive reinforcement to teach your kommo-o to heel. Reward your kommo-o each time you tell it to heel and it sits or otherwise remains still. Combine this with extra training to let out pent-up aggression), but that’s simply step one of a longer process.

Once your kommo-o learns how to heel and calm itself in high-stress situations, you’ll need to begin exposure therapy. It may be worth it to catch or breed your own wimpod to give your kommo-o regular exposure and thus consistent training; otherwise, set up a regular schedule with your friend. Either way, have your kommo-o interact with a wimpod in a comfortable setting. Begin with a short time period (and have the wimpod’s poké ball in hand) and be firm and quick about heel commands. Also be sure to reward kommo-o every time it holds back instead of outright attacks wimpod to reinforce the idea that it can have positive interactions with members of the wimpod line.

You’ll notice that I avoid telling you to help your kommo-o train and defeat a golisopod. While some trainers prefer doing this, the truth is that this avenue carries a lot of risks. It could help your kommo-o get over their latent fear of the wimpod line, yes … but it could also teach your kommo-o that wimpod and golisopod are easy to bully. It’s far safer to promote positive interactions and to help your kommo-o master its aggression.

Best of luck, anonymous!

Hello bill, I was wondering if you could help me out. I just moved to the Alola region from hoenn and I brought my Kirlia with me. We’ve been doing fairly well so far… until I caught a wild Steene. I’m not sure what the problem is but my kirlia does not get along very well with her. It seems anytime the two are even near each other, she has no hesitation to keep her away from me, even with brute force if needed. I really need to fix this problem before any family visit. Any advice?

As always, start by trying to communicate with your kirlia. Kirlia are very sensitive psychic-types, and they can pick up on things that might be wrong—or transmit how they feel, for that matter. Sit down with your kirlia and ask her what’s on her mind, so to speak.

Only then can you proceed forward to resolve the issue, as it could be any number of things, from a fear of your new steenee to jealousy to even warning you about a potential latent allergy to grass-types you might not be aware of. Each possibility has its own solution, so in short, it’s best to narrow things down before trying anything with your kirlia and steenee.

As a note of reassurance, most possibilities may be resolved with a simple conversation with your kirlia and possibly by gradually introducing her to your steenee. If this is indeed the case, do so slowly and gradually, in a setting both your kirlia and steenee can be comfortable with. As both are human-like pokémon, they’ll be more active when it comes to vocal communication with each other, so be prepared to mediate any arguments or fights.

Best of luck, anonymous!

Ever since adopting a Rockruff (a week ago), my Growlithe (who I have owned for 5 years now) has started resource guarding, which she has never done before. I believe it’s because she is wary of the new addition, but she’s started growling at me as well when I go near her food or toys. How can I train her out of this without catching a Flamethrower in the face, as well as get her and Rockruff comfortable with each other?

Any change in a house growlithe’s living situation may cause stress, and any form of stress may manifest in a variety of negative behaviors. In short, what you’re observing is stress related to the new addition to your family, and it’s important that you treat this in order to get the hoarding behavior to stop.

Doing so may be easier said than done, however, as it will require you to exercise the utmost patience and skill with reading body language, even though what you’ll have to do is actually fairly simple. That is to say, what you need to do is set aside some time and a space for both of your pokémon to meet. And yes, they need to interact, although at first, it’s okay to have them do so at a distance. More specifically, you’ll need to set up a comfortable, relaxed environment stocked with enough toys, food, water, or comfortable bedding to keep both pokémon calm. Allow your growlithe into this space first and let her get comfortable, then introduce your rockruff. Remove one or the other and end the encounter as soon as one (or both) begin to show signs of stress.

The trick is to teach your growlithe (and your rockruff, for that matter) to stay in one place at a distance for a period of time. You may need to use positive reinforcement (perhaps by giving your growlithe treats whenever she stays or heels), but either way, you must be patient. Training out negative behaviors takes time, especially if a pokémon is responding to extreme stress (as your growlithe seems to be).

My beedrill and I have been together since he was a weedle, so I can usually read him pretty well. However, as of late, my friend has gotten a cutiefly, and my beedrill gets really agitated and aggressive when it’s around. Can you help explain this?

It could perhaps have something to do with the fact that beedrill eat cutiefly.

Contrary to popular belief, beedrill are not herbivores that feed off nectar or pollen. Rather, they’re carnivores that attack prey with the three stingers on its body, then drag the corpse off to their hives to feed themselves and their weedle hatchlings. While beedrill will generally attack and eat anything that’s both smaller than them and considered meat, they gravitate especially towards other bug-types pokémon. Cutiefly, being part-fairy, are a bit of a delicacy in particular.

In short, I would consider keeping your beedrill as far away from your friend’s cutiefly as possible.

my sylveon is currently the strongest member of my team (he was the “reject” of his batch so i got him in a trade, and i’m proud that he’s come so far!!), but he doesn’t like battling under pressure. on one hand i really need him and fairy types are rare where i live, but i don’t want him to feel super obligated to survive every attack just for me. what do i do?

If he still wants to battle, you’ll need to work on his trust in you. Remind him that he doesn’t have to make any split-second decisions in a battle and that you and he are meant to work as a team in perfect sync. You may consider trying some team building exercises between yourself and your sylveon, perhaps by exercising with him or by performing two-person tasks with his help. The more you build up his trust in you, the less pressure he will (hopefully) feel on the battlefield.

If, however, he doesn’t want to battle at all, you may wish to consider having other pokémon fill the same role as he would and allowing him to operate within your team as a mentor to your battling pokémon, rather than a battle-ready pokémon himself. A number of pokémon can use fairy-type moves, for example, or moves that can cover the same types a fairy attack would cover. Granted, you would be hard-pressed to find a pokémon whose type combination functions the same way defensively as a fairy-type would, but on the other hand, part of being an excellent trainer is being creative about that.

Ultimately, it comes down to whether or not your sylveon wishes to continue battling. If yes, reassure him that he can rely on you. If no, then it’s best not to force him to battle, even if he would be a valuable member of your team.

My boyfriend is really attached to his aerodactyl, which is fine, but she’s always attacking me when he’s not around! He was upset that I actually used my Whimsicott to put it asleep a few times, but what do I do about it? I’m male, if that helps any.

It’s very possible that your boyfriend’s aerodactyl is jealous of you or possessive towards your boyfriend, anonymous. Aerodactyl are extremely rare and highly aggressive pokémon, and as such, you only see them in the company of trainers and collectors who would prize them extremely highly. If your boyfriend had his aerodactyl for years prior to meeting you, it comes as no surprise that he’s attached to it, and more importantly, any change in attention his aerodactyl is receiving from him will be interpreted as a threat.

What I mean to say is that this problem is unfortunately one that only your boyfriend can solve. Your best hope is to try and explain to him what his aerodactyl is doing when he’s not around. Perhaps even show him any scars or injuries you’ve suffered. Emphasize that you’re not making him choose between you or his aerodactyl and that you wish to be friendly with his pokémon as well; it’s just that you’re afraid of what aerodactyl will do if you let things escalate. Hopefully, your boyfriend will begin to understand and work on training his aerodactyl to accept you.

If that doesn’t work, however, I’ve heard that dating apps have undergone wonderful advancements in the past few years.

my gabite and my alolan ninetales used to get along fine but now gabite’s scared of him once he evolved D: i really don’t know what happened, whether it was because of the type change or something, but now, she (gabite) won’t go near him! please help!!

It’s possible that it’s the type change, anonymous, although you shouldn’t rule out a number of other possibilities.

Luckily, there’s a handy way of figuring out whether or not it is because of your ninetales’s type change. Have your gabite enter the room shortly after your ninetales leaves it. If she shivers, then she’s reacting to either the cold or residual fairy aura, and thus, it is, without a doubt, a problem with your ninetales’s type. While, yes, your vulpix, as an ice-type, may have triggered a slight drop in temperature of the air immediately surrounding his body before he evolved, keep in mind that ninetales are far stronger and possess a far more intense command over their native elements. As such, it wouldn’t surprise me if your gabite is only just now feeling discomfort or even abject fear of being around your ninetales.

If this is the case, then resolving it may be as simple as sitting down to talk with your gabite and help her acclimate to your ninetales (all while reassuring her that he is, at his heart, still the vulpix she befriended, of course). If it’s the cold that’s bothering her, then you may consider giving her a sweater to help her tolerate his abilities. Many independent artists online knit wonderful sweaters for pokémon in a number of designs, but if you’d prefer something a bit easier to come by, you may be able to find sweaters in your gabite’s size at the local pokémart. The latter aren’t normally sized to fit gabite (whereas sweaters by artists can be custom-created), so be sure to get a sweater for “medium-sized” pokémon.

As I’ve said earlier, however, this is just one possibility, and it’s certainly important to take into consideration other potential causes. For example, if your gabite looks more irritated or panicked than physically uncomfortable, there may have been an argument or even a fight between your ninetales and gabite when you weren’t looking. If that’s the case, then it’s important to serve as a mediator between them. Sit them down and try to communicate with them. Try to figure out how their differences started and work with them to repair the relationship between them. (Alolan ninetales can sometimes be mischievous, so bear that in mind as well.) Have them engage in team building exercises such as double battles in order to get closer. Ensure that you’re treating them as equally as possible to avoid making one or the other jealous.

The main thing is that it’s never a good idea to jump to the conclusion that your pokémon are rejecting each other due to a change in type after evolution. While that’s certainly a common problem, it’s not the only one. Be absolutely sure that it is the reason behind your team’s differences (through testing and observation) before attempting to treat the issue.

Best of luck, anonymous!

So I live in a house converted to two apartments, and am friends with the upstairs neighbor, and we both have house Pokemon. We have a male Alolan Persian, they have a female Umbreon, and we were making progress at slowly introducing them (taking one into the other’s house but allowing a clear exit, letting both explore the stairs), until Umbreon just /looked/ at Persian (no vocalization that I could hear, neutral body language), and now Persian refuses to even go near the stairs. Any advice?

Sometimes, two pokémon’s personalities aren’t quite compatible enough to promote a healthy relationship between them, even if they share elements and are otherwise extremely sweet and kind.

You’re on the right track with taking it slowly and giving both enough space to explore on their own and grow accustomed to their environment. If this has been going on for months, you may wish to consider taking the next step, which is a supervised, formal introduction (rather than the perhaps unsupervised chance introduction your persian has just had). Set up a time to meet with your neighbors and bring along both your pokémon. Your neighbor should leash their umbreon if they have a leash, but if not, it will be important for the both of you to keep your poké balls close by. Be sure to bring along treats or water for your persian so it will be easier to tell when he’s relaxed. Have the umbreon and your persian stay in the same room until your neighbor’s umbreon relaxes and begins to ignore your persian and until your persian seems calm and accepts a snack or water. Continue with this type of meeting until your persian understands that your neighbor’s umbreon is not a threat. Then, try an unsupervised interaction (in which you both leave your pokémon in a room) to be sure they can get along well.

If, however, your persian still seems tense during the supervised interactions, continue to keep both pokémon separate, even when you’re not at home. Try a supervised interaction again after a few days. If your persian never feels comfortable with your neighbor’s umbreon, then it’s likely that his personality just isn’t compatible with hers, and this is unfortunate but perfectly normal. That scenario will simply require you to keep the two separate indefinitely.

Of course, his avoidance of the stairs might also stem from other factors. If, for example, your neighbor’s umbreon has marked the top of the stairs (or the stairs themselves) as her territory, then your persian may be avoiding them for that reason alone. There are products on the market that you may be able to use to remove those scent markers, but it will be up to your neighbor to train their umbreon to not mark public spaces.

Alternatively, the problem may be the stairs themselves as well, so be sure to test their integrity and make sure there’s no chance that there are exposed nails or splintering boards.

Best of luck!

Hi Bill, I have a lovely Sylveon who is really social, and that sometimes leads him to some trouble, particularly with my Bewear and Incineroar, both of whom nearly crush him in their attention, any way to help them not accidentally rip eachother to shreds?

In your case, strength training is of the utmost importance. This may sound odd—training your pokémon to get stronger and all—but in truth, strength training also involves a lot of discipline. By helping your incineroar and bewear to grow stronger, you also help them familiarize themselves with the way their bodies work, which in turn allows them to understand how to apply weaker amounts of pressure if needed. You may also wish to target precision specifically by having them attack specific targets, rather than use all of their force in order to achieve a particular goal. Either way, be vigilant during your training exercises and be sure to guide your pokémon into understanding that control, rather than pure strength, is the key to success both on and off the field.

Once they grasp this, having them show affection to your sylveon should be rather simple.

Your sylveon, meanwhile, might need to be taught a bit of restraint—especially if his charisma has anything to do with his fairy-type abilities, such as Baby Doll Eyes—but by and large, it may be more effective to target your bewear and incineroar’s levels of discipline, especially given the fact that this is their teammate.

Best of luck!

Hi Bill! I have a primarily fire-type team, which causes a lot of problems since everyone tends to be a little ‘hot-headed.’ I just adopted a quilava, and my vulpix, growlithe and flareon have been picking on him a lot. They’ve started a LOT of fires, and now they’re dragging the rest of the team into things… let’s just say a certain vaporeon got fed up with the bickering and I had to rush someone to the pokemon center last week. Any suggestions?

You may wish to consider spending a bit more time training each of them every day. For your vulpix, growlithe, and flareon, this is a great way to release pent-up aggression in a constructive manner, especially if you also train them to focus their negative energies into their attacks. You may also consider some team building exercises, such as double-battling or joint-training. This can be done either by pairing your other pokémon with your quilava (which will help him integrate into your team) or with each other (which will help reinforce what it means to be on a team in the first place). Finally, see if you can communicate how destructive behavior—including bullying and literally destroying your home with fire—is affecting not only your quilava but your family as a whole. It’s possible that if you speak clearly but firmly like a loving parent, your pokémon will understand.

If all else fails, training will of course help your quilava to get stronger, and it can learn the rock-type move Rollout naturally, just before evolution. Just as a thought.