When I first moved to Alola, I befriended a Mareanie with gigantism. Now, eight years later, he’s leaving with me as my starter. He’s a Toxapex now, and given his size I wondering, are there any health concerns if I use his bunker as a tent while we’re on the road? Also, are there rules against letting him hunt for Corsola whole we’re out? I know it’s a controversial topic, but… I mean, he’s my best friend and it’s his favorite food.

Allow me to answer your second question first. In regions where there are no corsola protection laws (such as in Alola, where the mareanie line is a native species, and Johto, which features a dense population of corsola), it’s fine to let your toxapex hunt, although Johto restricts how many pounds of corsola a day you can fish for this purpose to avoid decimating the native corsola population. On the other hand, despite corsola being abundant there, the entire nation of Australia strictly prohibits corsola hunting. In short there, it depends on the region you’re visiting. Remember to check local regulations at the start of your journey to determine specific policies. You can even simply ask a league representative when you register for that region’s league.

As for your first question, so long as he doesn’t mind and you’re careful, it should be fine. Just be sure to avoid his fragile body and his venomous spikes when you wake up in the morning.

Best of luck, and congratulations on your new journey!

Mareanie and Toxapex

Mareanie
The Brutal Star Pokémon
Type: Water/Poison
Official Registration #: 747
Entry: A starfish-like pokémon native to tropical seas. It actively hunts corsola across wide swaths of territory on the ocean floor. If a trainer were to ask some pokémon ethologists, once it locates corsola prey, it simply harasses them until the corsola sheds its horns, which it then consumes. However, let it be known that the author is not one of those pokémon ethologists, and he would like to clarify to all his younger readers that, no, a mareanie rips apart its prey and feasts on the tender, fleshy organs of the main body. The horns that you see are indeed shed, but they’re “shed” in the sense that mareanie rip them off and let them float to the surface of the ocean.

Toxapex
The Brutal Star Pokémon
Type: Water/Poison
Official Registration #: 748
Entry: The evolved form of mareanie, by battle experience. Wild toxapex possess an extremely potent toxin that, while not lethal to humans, can induce a minimum of three days and three nights of excruciating pain. And even then, the entire ordeal leaves lingering effects on the human body. Fortunately, one would assume this means lingering pain or numbness, but in actuality, it just means one of the absolutely fantastic-looking scars that can possibly result from a pokémon encounter. The author may or may not know this from experience.

Hi Bill, I have a question regarding Toxapex. It is said through the Pokedex that Toxapex has dangerous poison that can incapacitate for 3 days with dangerous aftereffects. Does that make Toxapex a dangerous Pokemon to own and battle with? Could it fatally wound a small Pokemon or a human with poison? How would one go about safely owning and battling with a Toxapex?

While it’s true that toxapex can utilize poison that potent, it’s important to note that all poison-types have the ability to generate extremely dangerous toxins or harbor deadly microorganisms. For example, the toxic fluids that compose grimer and muk’s bodies are so potent that they can render an area virtually inhospitable to plants and any other wildlife for up to three years just by passing through it. The slightest scratch from a toxicroak’s claws, for another example, can outright kill an adult man in seconds. Dragalge’s poison is so acidic it can eat through three feet of solid steel, and koffing and weezing’s toxic gases are so volatile that they can ignite in a fiery explosion upon contact with open air. Poison-types by nature are extremely dangerous to handle, which is why they are one of the more difficult types to master.

However, the main thing to remember about them is that although they can kill, they won’t unless you pose a very real threat to them. Even grimer and muk, whose abilities you’d think would be passive, actually only secrete the fluids they’re known for as a last resort. During any other time outside of those dire circumstances, even a human can touch them without suffering any ill consequences whatsoever.

In other words, poison-types are fully capable of controlling how much poison they use at any given moment, and they understand that landing a lethal strike may do more harm than good when it comes to their own personal growth. That is, if they’re tame, and they kill their opponent, they know that means it may be a long while before they can battle again. If you encounter one in the wild, they know that if they kill you or your pokémon, then their chances of being caught and trained will decrease exponentially. They know they need you to either train them or to spar against them, so, in other words, they need you alive.

Of course, if you wander deep into a poison-type’s territory, then you may actually be in real danger, but with toxapex, that would mean diving into the ocean and intentionally touching one. While toxapex do indeed learn Venoshock (a distance attack) early on, they much prefer not attacking unless you come too close for comfort.

In short, anonymous, yes, toxapex can kill small pokémon or a human, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s dangerous to handle. So long as you make it clear to your toxapex that every battle is meant to be non-lethal, it will very likely understand and hold itself back. The only time you’ll need to worry is if your toxapex is scared for your life or its own life, but part of your job as its trainer is ensuring it always feels safe and comfortable, even on the battlefield.