Pokémon Biology: Urban Pests
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Art by Kiwi.
Introduction
The Pokémon world is home to incredible and marvelous beings, from majestic Kommo-o atop the Alolan canyons to the most elusive and rare Relicanth in the depths of the Hoenn Sea. However, what most of them have in common is that you certainly don't want them in your house. Thus, learning about the common house pests, their behaviors, and when to call the Pokémon Rangers is crucial for a healthy and pest-free house. Today in Pokémon Biology, we will be looking at Pokémon that live in cities, what problems they bring, and how to get rid of them.
A common sighting in the big cities are the Gastly— small pockets of poisonous gas. In order to not be blown away by the wind, these creatures hide in closed spaces; traditionally, that meant caves in the mountains, but they have found a new home: your home. They have migrated en masse to human settlements in order to protect themselves from the wind, finding shelter in abandoned homes, garages, and shops.
If your home gets invaded by Gastly, the solution is, usually, pretty simple: ventilation. Leave the windows open for longer and turn on electrical fans in your rooms while you're away in order to keep the wind circulating inside, which will cause these creatures to leave to keep their gaseous form. If the infested area is an apartment or commercial building, it might be worth calling a professional to check the ventilation shafts; clogged ventilation may cause air to not flow properly, creating a still-air environment perfect for Gastly.
If left to fester, the Gastly may evolve into Haunter, or even fully evolve into Gengar if left alone for too long. Such Pokemon require different measures in order to drive away compared to Gastly; they have a much more solid shape, no longer being scared of the wind. In exchange, they now hate being in direct exposure to light. This means Haunter can be driven away by spending a few days keeping the lights on while you're away or sleeping. However, do keep in mind that Gengar won't fall for such a tactic, as it can hide inside your own shadow to escape the light. In such cases, it's recommended to evacuate the area and call the authorities—both the Pokémon Rangers and your local exorcists may be needed to render the establishment safe to use again.
The most common pests in cities are the Electric-types—they are attracted to the telephone poles and power plants, where they steal electricity for sustenance. In addition, groups of Magnemite may even cause blackouts due to their high energy consumption. Outside of stealing energy, they can also be a direct hazard to citizens—Voltorb and Electrode have a tendency to violently explode, causing injuries and property damage.
Another problematic Pokémon is Elekid. These small little troublemakers like to sneak into houses in order to use the electric plugs for sustenance. If left to roam around, a large colony of Elekid may form, potentially even evolving into Electabuzz. Blackouts aren't uncommon in regions with Elekid problems due to Electabuzz's tendency to invade power plants, rendering them unusable until they're dealt with.
The most common way to ward off Electric-types is with Ground-types, due to being their only weakness. It's for this reason that Pokémon Rangers and Officers often have Mudsdale with them, even in megacities like Lumiose City. For the average person struggling with Magnemite around your wires, you can often find Baltoy being sold at DIY fairs as a ward against Electric-types.
Wild Aron live in the mountains and have a diet comprised of mostly iron ore. However, when they come down to the cities, they start tearing into the steel beams and objects of the local area, from loose change and park benches to whole cars and the foundation of bridges, causing massive property damage and risking structural collapse of bridges and buildings. Due to this immensely destructive potential, it is HIGHLY recommended to contact the Pokémon Rangers at the earliest signs of Aron to effectuate their removal.
Outside of seeing the little buggers themselves, there are other ways to discover an Aron infestation. The most common is finding acidic marks on steel structures; Aron, unlike many other Pokémon, don't bite and rip with their bite. Instead, they bite into the steel and start sucking on it; their acidic saliva slowly dissolves the iron, letting the Aron absorb it and compromising the structural integrity of whatever it's eating.
Another common sign is finding steel carapaces around. Aron have a rigid outer shell for protection, and as they grow bigger, their shells become tighter and tighter until they no longer fit. When this happens, they molt, leaving behind their carapaces. Due to being made of almost pure iron, they often eat them to not waste the iron that went into making them. Sometimes, however, when they're not too hungry or if they get scared during the process, they leave them behind, where humans can pick them up safely. If you find one of them or any other signs of Aron activity, it is highly recommended to contact the Pokémon Rangers immediately.
Drowzee and Hypno are mysterious Pokémon with unclear origins and a long history of conflict with the Pokémon Rangers. Their main source of sustenance is dreams, those of human and Pokémon alike. They prefer sweet and happy dreams over nightmares. This means that over the years they moved from the mountains and forests to the cities, where sweeter and happier dreams are made due to an overall better quality of life for both Pokémon and humans.
In particular, they prefer to live near theme parks, circuses, and other places that people make happy memories in, in order to eat dreams featuring those places. Due to their psychic powers and high intelligence, they are notoriously tricky to relocate: direct handling is a no-go due to them using Hypnosis to put the Rangers to sleep, and they're generally too smart to fall for tricks or traps.
Because of that, a more friendly option was found, allowing for coexistence with them. The coexistence option—pioneered by researchers in Alola—involves training the local Hypno and Drowzee population to stop breaking into homes and eating people's dreams. To do so, the local movie theaters offer reruns of popular horror movies to increase the amount of nightmares, and Komala were introduced to local parks, giving free and easy food for them. That way, the Drowzee stop going after the bad-tasting nightmare-having humans and start going after the Komala, which are by and large unbothered by them. After they learn to eat the Komala's dreams, the horror movies can be safely removed from the movie theaters, unless they become a local hit, of course.
Conclusion
Despite being man-made, the urban sprawls are as vibrant and biodiverse as many natural habitats, for better or for worse. Sometimes, Pokémon work with us and make our life better, and sometimes they get in our way. Regardless, this has been yet another edition of Pokémon Biology, and we look forward to seeing you next time!
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