How long does it normaly take for a wild bunnelby to settle down with a new trainer?

Generally speaking, a few weeks, but it depends on how well you care for your bunnelby and your bunnelby’s personality. Skittish bunnelby will obviously take a little more time to acclimate than those that are more relaxed, and the more you handle your bunnelby in its earliest days, the more skittish it will be (ironically enough).

When you first obtain your bunnelby, take it easy for the first three days. Allow it to become used to its poké ball and, if you’ve given it one, its hutch. Once it seems comfortable in both, begin the gradual process of allowing it to get used to both your home and you. Always let it make the first move; never reach out to grab it unless it’s in danger. Likewise, supply it with plenty of food, water, and distractions as usual, but be present (first at a distance, then gradually closer) as it interacts with these things. With enough care in this manner, it will be easier and quicker for your bunnelby to get used to you.

Of course, spaying and neutering your bunnelby helps too.

Recently my brother brought home a young Pidgey and my two Swellow (both male) are both very protective over it. They’re not fighting with each other, I mean they are working together, almost like parents, to look after this Pidgey. They take turns trying to feed or guard it and are occasionally becoming aggressive towards anyone who goes near. Why could they be doing this, and is it a common thing?

Out of all the common, bird-like pokémon in any region, taillow and swellow are actually the most social. They commonly organize themselves in massive flocks that are much, much larger than even typical pidgey flocks, especially when it comes time to lay eggs and raise their young. In fact, the reason why tamed taillow vocalize so much is simply because they’re running on instinct: young taillow vocalize to call other members of its species to it so it can seek comfort in numbers.

Upon evolution, swellow tend to be a little more independent (much like other evolved bird-like pokémon), but their flocking instincts never really go away. Even as swellow, they’ll respond to young taillow and swoop in to protect and care for those that seem to be abandoned.

That’s basically what your swellow are doing with your brother’s pidgey. To your swellow, that pidgey is simply an odd-looking but abandoned pidgey, so they’ve accepted it into their “flock” and are attempting to raise it until it’s strong enough to find a mate and hunt on its own. Very likely, though, your swellow will stick very close to your brother’s pidgey throughout its life, as even when it reaches maturity, they will see it as another member of its flock and will engage in typical taillow flocking tendencies as your brother’s pidgey seeks out a mate, lays eggs, and hatches its own young.

In short, it’s so common that this is textbook swellow behavior. I wouldn’t worry about it too much unless it’s particularly disruptive to your or your brother’s lives.

Why does my manectric refuse to listen to commands? To clarify, yes, he was traded to me and I do only have 3 gym badges. As soon as we get into battle, he suddenly does his own thing and thinks his decisions are better than mine, but other than that, we get along great and it’s almost like we’ve never been apart. What causes this?

This behavior tends to present itself in stronger pokémon, which in turn are typically pokémon that have been with a single trainer for a long while. As such, when one finds itself traded to a completely new trainer—especially if they haven’t been given much of a warning and definitely if the trainer is a complete stranger—it can be difficult for that pokémon to adjust. Even if the two of you get along great socially, on the battlefield, it’s a different story, as the act of battling is far more demanding than simply socializing. For you to battle effectively, the two of you need to be in sync. Your trust in each other must be at its peak, and that’s not something that can simply happen. Imagine, if you will, attempting to work with a complete stranger on an extremely delicate and important project. You may want to be nice to the stranger outside of that situation, but inside, you need to know that your partner knows what they’re doing. Disobeying orders is your manectric’s way of saying he’s not entirely sure you do—not to put too fine a point on it, of course.

That having been said, the solution to this conundrum is rather simple: build your relationship with your manectric. Work together with him off the battlefield and treat him as well as you can. Allow him to watch you battle using other members of your team so he can understand the way you work. Most importantly, understand that it may take time for your manectric to build up enough trust in you to let you command him during battle. He is, after all, working through the fact that his last trainer had left him—in his eyes, anyway.

I have (or rather, had) two Luxio – a male and a female – and the male just recently evolved into Luxray. The two have been mates for years, since they were Shinx, but since the evolution, Luxio seems to be rejecting Luxray. Though physically he has changed, he is acting no different than he used to and is still interested in Luxio, however, she doesn’t appear to want anything to do with him with is upsetting us both. Why is this happening?

While not a perfect equivalence, think of evolutionary stages like human stages of life. The most basic stage is usually a pokémon’s childhood, the middle stage is adolescence, and the final stage is adulthood. Now, granted, this isn’t a literal comparison. Pokémon in their final stages never see mating with basic-stage forms as the same thing as pedophilia, and breeders generally don’t, either. But in some cases, pokémon understand that there is some difference between their form and another form, even if that difference is vague and difficult for the pokémon themselves to define.

That having been said, it’s very likely that your luxio has been put off your luxray because there is a bit of a physical difference. Your luxray is about as mature as he will ever get, and thus, his body chemistry is slightly different. Perhaps his maturity is too, and neither you nor he can perceive that. Your luxio, meanwhile, does see a difference and may be experiencing uneasiness towards your luxray or even jealousy over his evolution.

At this point, it’s important to establish communication with your luxio to determine which it might be. Ask your luxray to wait in another room or as far from your luxio as possible, then sit down with your luxio and ask her what’s on her mind. If she looks agitated or restless, ask her if she’d like to evolve and gauge her reaction. If she seems interested in that question, form a plan to give her extra training and establish a consistent and daily routine until she evolves. Then reintroduce her to your luxray and see what happens.

If she looks a little more sullen, however, it’s very possible that she simply sees your luxray as a completely different pokémon. Do your best to reassure her that your luxray is still the same as always. If possible, after speaking with her, reintroduce her to your luxray gradually, as if introducing her to a new member of your team. Have your luxray give her a bit of space at first and have them work towards building a new relationship from the ground up. Starting basically from scratch allows her to approach the relationship while feeling less pressure to connect immediately with a pokémon she basically considers to be a stranger, which in turn means she’ll be far less on-edge around your luxray.

If all else fails, however, inform your luxray that she’s letting him down gently and perhaps get a breeding partner for them both. (It’s also possible that your luxio has already taken care of that part or that she has already laid an egg with either your luxray or another pokémon. I would observe her a bit before sitting down with her as well.)

Good luck, anonymous.

Is it unusual that my zangoose and seviper are being friends despite what pokedex says?

Not at all, actually! While it’s true that wild zangoose and seviper are blood enemies, once tamed and given proper homes (with properly established feeding routines), you can actually eliminate any need for either of them to fight. It’s much like how most people believe that growlithe, meowth, and marill are all mortal enemies, but in actuality, all three lines can get along just fine if introduced to a loving home … and, well, taught not to attack each other.

It’s wonderful to hear that your pokémon are getting along splendidly, though, anonymous, so may their relationship thrive for years to come!

My Charmeleon and my friends Gabite used to have a sort of friendly rivalry going on, but recently they have been fighting, not simple battling, actually fighting to the point that they must be separated to prevent them seriously injuring each other. We don’t know why or when this started, could you maybe give us clues on what the problem might be and how to solve it? (My Charlie is female and the Gabite is male, so we’ve ruled out show-offy masculinity contests)

Conveniently, another reader had a similar issue with their lucario and zoroark not that long ago! The answer here is similar, although with reptilian pokémon such as charmeleon and gabite, also keep in mind that their mating rituals may be just as aggressive as their actual in-fighting. If your friend’s gabite is the instigator or if your charmeleon turns her back on him and lifts her tail shortly before the battle begins, then it’s most certainly a mating ritual. There’s not much you can do to stop them, so it would be best to take them to a place that can offer them plenty of room to mate. Once she lays an egg, their behavior should subside until the egg hatches. Consider spaying or neutering one or the other for a more long-term resolution.

Otherwise, take very similar actions as the other reader. Team up with your friend to observe your pokémon’s behavior. When you see a fight just about to start, separate them and mediate. If one of your pokémon hasn’t done anything wrong, then it may be that the other one needs an outlet for their aggression, so increase the amount of time you or your friend spend training it. And if it’s boredom, clearly establish that fighting for that sake is not acceptable.

Alternatively, given that one has evolved and the other has not, the increase in aggression may be an attempt to push your friend’s gabite into evolving. This is especially true if your charmeleon generally starts the fights or if your friend’s gabite struggles harder against being separated. If this is the case, then you’ll want to establish to your charmeleon that while it’s noble of her to help out a friend, this is not a productive way to do it. At the same time, if gabite wants to evolve, then your friend may want to consider options in getting him enough experience to do so.

Finally, there really is only one other thing that I can add to the other post, and it has to do with the fact that the pokémon in this case are owned by two different people. Sometimes, pokémon fight if they perceive that their trainers aren’t getting along well or that their relationship can be improved. By increasing the aggression of their fighting, the pokémon are essentially forcing you and your friend to work together. You’ll be able to determine whether or not this is the issue if your pokémon look at either of you at any point during their fights. If this is the case, then establish very clearly to both of your pokémon that playing matchmaker is also not acceptable behavior (but that you appreciate their efforts all the same).

{Note from the mun: This is one of two asks that for some reason won’t show up in my inbox unless I view via mobile. Not sure why, but sorry, @miathegeek!}

As with all unusual behavior, there is always a root cause or reason why a pokémon is acting the way it is. Thus, it’s vital that you first determine why your lucario and zoroark are at odds with each other.

I can assure you, though, that if they got along before now, it’s unlikely to be due to type; many trainers raise pokémon of differing types without much of a problem.

Eliminating that, start by determining what sort of fighting they’re engaging in. There is a difference between sparring and attacking. If your pokémon are sparring, the fighting may be due to any of the following reasons:

Your pokémon are acknowledging each other’s strength, and thus, they’ve increased the intensity of their matches to push each other to battle at their full potential.
If one is male and the other is female, then the sparring may be a mating ritual. Zoroark and lucario are part of the same egg group, and seeing as yours have known each other for years, they may have grown fond of one another. Lucario in particular are more likely to choose a mate that can hold their own in a match, and many pokémon that wish to choose one as a mate will push themselves to meet this expectation. Thus, lucario and anything wishing to pair with one will engage in heated battles in order to impress their potential mate.
They’re bored and using excessive force in their attempts to alleviate this.

If any one of these is the reason why your lucario and zoroark are fighting, it’s important to sit down with them and explain that this is not acceptable behavior. Both species are intelligent, so talking to them is usually sufficient. If it isn’t, it would be a wise idea to obtain a pokémon capable of separating and soothing them. Grass-types equipped with Sweet Scent (which can calm pokémon when used off the field) or a sleep-inducing move may be effective, as are naturally soothing pokémon such as blissey or chimecho. Once calmed, approach your pokémon and explain in a firm but clear tone of voice that they are not to fight.

However, if your pokémon are attacking each other out of anger and spite, the following may be potential reasons:

They’ve gotten into a disagreement. To fix this, determine what the disagreement is over, whether it’s food, a potential mate, toys, space, or so forth. Observe both of their behavior carefully and try to see what triggers the battling. Once you find the trigger, immediately separate your pokémon and mediate. Establish that you wish to resolve things peacefully and calmly. If one pokémon has clearly wronged the other, state that that pokémon’s behavior was not right but also state to the other pokémon that retaliating with force is equally unacceptable. Be as firm as possible in establishing that both are in the wrong for different reasons and that you’re not going to be treating one more preferably than the other in this situation, but also propose solutions and ways to resolve the conflict productively.
One of your pokémon is taking out its anger on the other, and the other is retaliating. If this is the case, determine the reason for the instigator’s behavior and work to resolve it. It’s best to do this directly, by establishing to your pokémon that you wish to help them. Remember that both lucario and zoroark are intelligent, practically sapient pokémon, but they’re proud at the same time. Be respectful in your approach, and they will respect your attempts to assist them. Alternatively, offer solutions in redirecting their anger. Use them more often in battle or create a sparring space, complete with a sturdy, inanimate object they can strike so they’re less likely to use their teammate as a target.
Their territorial instincts are flaring, likely due to the mating season. If this is the case, take the instigator (or both, if both are exhibiting aggression on equal levels) to a breeder to have it (or them) mate with other lucario or zoroark. This will relieve tension and restore peace. Also consider spaying or neutering your pokémon for a more long-term solution. Your Nurse Joy will be able to go over your options if you choose to take that route.
They’re bored. If this is the case, again, establish that their behavior is unacceptable but then consider battling to relieve their frustration. If you live near a gym, try contacting your local gym leader to arrange for weekly battles (either with the leader themselves or their gym trainers). If you don’t live near a gym, try to take your pokémon out to find opponents—wild or trained—at least once a week. Alternatively, set up a sparring room for them, as mentioned above.

In any case, the point of the matter is that there are several possible solutions to your dilemma. Determining which one you need to take requires patience and keen observation, but with anything you do, be firm but compassionate to your lucario and zoroark.

Good luck, reader!