I want a Gengar, but I’m nervous about trading him away and back in case he hates me! It would be to my best friend (who has a graveller as it turns out) I don’t know even how to approach it with him… he seems eager to evolve (and keeps drawing himself as a gengar with loads of hearts) but I don’t think he knows how? Is there anything else I can do? Do the trading machines have a way to be changed so the radiation makes him evolve without trading him? I don’t understand the process at all…

Unfortunately, it’s not just the radiation that triggers a trade evolution but also the act of modifying a pokémon’s “data” (in the process of changing its trainer information). The only other option is to wait a bit and perhaps your haunter will evolve naturally if it’s old enough to do so, but given the strength of his interest and your friend’s willingness to help (not to mention their partner’s willingness to evolve), it’s perhaps better to go through with the trade.

One way to make it easier on your haunter is by being upfront with him about it. Show him the trading machine and explain how it will work for him. Show him a few videos. Introduce him to your friend and their graveler and have him spend time with them. Haunter are fairly intelligent, so even if this sounds complicated, yours will understand more than you might think.

Also, tell him your exact plan. Emphasize how long the process will be, and make it clear that you’re not giving him up. When the time comes, try to keep him in his poké ball until he’s back in your possession to minimize his feeling of being abandoned. The evolution will take place once he’s released, even if you change his trainer’s data back to you. Afterwards, be sure to take him out for a treat, just in case you do have to apologize.

Best of luck!

I’ve adopted a Flechinder off another trainer that didn’t know how to raise a bird Pokémon and its since reinforced a lot of bad habits. He’s now a Talonflame, and I have a lot of problems with his habit of picking fights with my other Pokémon. Do ypu have any tips?

First and foremost, establish trust with your new talonflame. I realize that might be stating the obvious (especially given the fact that you’ve had him long enough for him to evolve), but the stronger a traded pokémon gets, the more likely their trainer will find them difficult to control. This is because even after a considerable amount of time, some pokémon are unwilling to “replace” one trainer with another—or, in other words, they grow less and less accepting of their new trainer, as they feel said new trainer has yet to establish that they’re as trustworthy and strong as their old one. That and some pokémon interpret being traded as being abandoned, and those feelings can fester if not immediately corrected.

I say this because trust is vital for undoing quite a lot of negative behavior. Once your talonflame fully trusts you, he will be more willing to listen to you, which in turn will help you reinforce good behaviors.

After that, a lot of what you’ll need to do will require much patience. Begin by introducing the concept of rewards to him by rewarding him for any good behavior he displays automatically. For an aggressive pokémon, rewards are of the utmost importance, as those have a wonderful tendency to appease tempers. Once he understands what a reward is, move on to teaching him, both verbally and through the use of positive reinforcement, good behaviors. Fail to reward him for the behaviors you wish to phase out. Rather, respond with a firm “no” whenever you see such behavior happening, and reward your talonflame only if he restrains himself. Keep your talonflame close by to effectively manage his behavior, and above all else, be consistent about what you do.

Finally, also try to mediate between your talonflame and the rest of your team. Try to introduce him to your other pokémon in a calm environment, and ensure that both sides are not engaging in provoking behavior. (Naturally, try to train your pokémon not to engage in any provoking behavior you see—and that goes for both your talonflame and the rest of your team.)

As I’ve said, it will take a lot of patience, but it’s surmountable if you’re consistent and vigilant, anonymous. Best of luck!

I recently evolved my haunter into a gengar and he’s become very cuddly since. He used to wander off and return after a certain distance but not he won’t leave my side unless it’s to battle. Is this normal?

I assume you evolved your gengar via trading, rather than by obtaining a particularly old haunter who was just about to evolve naturally. (That’s a possibility as well. A little-known one, as neither trainers nor the pokémon involved find waiting that long to be all that pleasant, but it’s still a method nonetheless, which is why you might come across wild steelix or gengar.)

That having been said, even if you receive your gengar back, the act of trading can sometimes shake a pokémon. Certainly, many who agree to the process do just fine afterwards, but there are those who can’t help but feel as if the act of trading trivializes their relationship with their trainers. Some of these cases feel indifferent to their trainers afterwards, and their partners must then work to rebuild their bonds and reassure their pokémon that trading did not affect how much they care.

Other cases are very much like your gengar: afraid that they can lose their trainers very easily. In these cases, it’s important for the trainer to reinforce the idea that their pokémon that they would never give them up and that the fact that they wanted them back means that those pokémon are still wanted. You can do this simply by making gengar an even more important part of your team. Spend more time with him. Give him a little more affection. Work with him through an extra hour of training. Do everything you can to make him feel wanted and loved, and this will allow him to understand that all you wanted was to help him evolve.

So in a sense, it’s normal, but it’s not usual. It’s rare that this happens. (Normally, either of the other two possibilities—in which a pokémon isn’t affected by trading at all and in which a pokémon grows distant—are far more common.) But it’s also reversible through a bit of extra care.

Of course, also don’t rule out the possibility that it could be something else. Communicate with your gengar and see if he just wants to be more affectionate or if he’s actually being protective due to a real and valid threat. It’s most likely simply a side-effect of the process, however.