Small Scale Researcher

Cedar | she/her | late 20s | Pokémon behavior and genetic specialist.

[goldensunset]

i know in my heart of hearts that within the pokémon universe it’s all the really cute popular marketable pokémon that have the most irresponsible trainers. small dog syndrome ramped up to a whole new level. that is not a toy that is a lifelong commitment. ma’am please keep your untrained sylveon in its pokéball inside the store. no that is not a service pokémon it wouldn’t be using moonblast on everything if it was

[goldensunset]

sir! sir!!! your pikachu is decimating the ducklett population at the pond and you aren’t even looking! you are NOT ash ketchum you are NOT gonna catch ‘em all because that involves trade evolutions and you have NO friends!!!

[goldensunset]

ok literally. that palafinstagram mom who posts pictures of her rowlet not understanding it’s displaying distress behaviors making fun of the cool person whose best friend is a solosis or rellor or unown letter f

[warrior-kitty]

if one more middle aged mom tells me that i should’ve kept my raichu a pikachu because ‘she’s much cuter that way’ i’m sending out my full team and throwing hands right there in the starbucks

[callingfromkalos]

When morning coffee doesn't work to wake you up, you can always count on getting an accidental burn from a feisty Charmander to do the job!

[callingfromkalos]

I have no particular reason to lament over this publically, but every day that I continue my research is a day that I wish shiny Pokémon were recognized as an official branch of study.

[harteofthehart-ayyy]

They really should be because it’s a really strange thing. A lot of my clients want shiny Pokémon from me and I still don’t know exactly how it works. What causes the sparkle effect?? Other color morphs can mimic shiny colors but DON’T have the signature sparkle. Shiny Pokémon also DON’T have color morphs like non-shinies do. It’s a legitimate branch of study!! What the hell

[callingfromkalos]

Exactly! But I guess it has something to do with how little they effect the Pokémon themselves.

Why give funding and effort to something so sporadic and "pointless" when "the possibility of finding a Mega Evolution for any species is so much more important?" <- A real quote from a former classmate.

[callingfromkalos]

I have no particular reason to lament over this publically, but every day that I continue my research is a day that I wish shiny Pokémon were recognized as an official branch of study.

[callingfromkalos]

What are your thoughts on the shiny breeding discourse??

Unfortunately I've been in earshot of some breeding busting. I've at some point been gifted a Popplio that was rescued from a mill entirely dedicated to breeding for the sake of hatching and selling shiny Pokémon.

It can also drastically alter the populations of wild Pokémon or improperly introduce a new species to a place it never occupied.

There's a slew of problems that arise from unregulated breeding, and as much as it's my passion to seek out and understand shiny Pokémon, this is perhaps the biggest issue directly tied to them.

I feel that makes my stance clear, at least.

[callingfromkalos]

heyo- thought you blog looked cool

Saw you were a pokemon behavouralist- are their any pokemon you specialise in or 's it more general than that

Hello! And thank you!

I do not specialize in any Pokémon in particular! I mean, I do focus on "shiny" Pokémon, and the behavior specialty comes partially from that!

In the wild, the way a settled group of wild Pokémon treat an off-colored, somewhat sparkly resident differs from species to species! I've recorded some who promptly excommunicate the newborn, some families that hide them away, some that make them an instant leader... there was also some odd in-fighting I've witnessed in more prickly-natured Pokémon like Pawniard!

The list goes on and on!

So yeah, if I specialized in one single species, I wouldn't be able to really see this wide range of behaviors!

...But if I had to choose, it would be nice to somehow record the behavior of a legend.

[callingfromkalos]

While I didn't think to snap a photo of her while I was checking to make sure she wasn't sick or carrying anything, I did doodle her a little. I don't think I captured the fur properly, though.

[callingfromkalos]

I've made a horrible lapse in judgement over my free time, apparently I cannot even update a blog while tackling work.

The Munchlax situation was handled more or less two weeks after it started—given that a Pokémon daycare is right up the road, I simply brought her to them when I managed to safely capture her. I mean, if I contacted a ranger, that's what they would have done as well, so I felt like taking out the middle man (I also was admittedly too proud to get help... can't be that rusty from my trainer days...)

Anyway, I've learned a few things from this experience:

other wild Pokémon seem to be much less aggressive towards ones that we consider "baby" Pokémon (eg. Munchlax, Riolu, Smoochum, etc.) and don't put up a fight if their food source is getting stolen from

Munchlax may be fluffier when they're younger? I have no way to verify ages with my technology as it's not conducive to my field of study, but this one was very, very furry

they are very easy to capture without a Pokéball. Actually, no fighting was needed.. or anything. In short: box with a stick, a rope, and a single sitrus berry accomplished this

So... yeah.

[callingfromkalos]

Alright, this Munchlax has been evading me for days but still sneaking enough to pluck my berry trees empty. I have no idea how this keeps happening... I need to catch it(not in a Pokéball) and drop it off at the nearby daycare.

[callingfromkalos]

Went outside to try and tend to the berry trees, but every single one of them has been stripped of all contents. That's a great thing to have to investigate at 9 AM.

[callingfromkalos]

Munchlax.

[callingfromkalos]

Went outside to try and tend to the berry trees, but every single one of them has been stripped of all contents. That's a great thing to have to investigate at 9 AM.

[callingfromkalos]

I've just come to realize that I've never put any thought into why in the world shiny Pokèmon glisten.

Is it a light refraction thing? Like how Chatot's blue feathers aren't actually... blue? But that doesn't seem too directly related...

[callingfromkalos]

Hm. As I was doing some minor fieldwork, ai happened across a thought...

"Shiny" Pokémon genetics are still hard to really pin down—I've been working at it for a bit with not amazing results—but Komala and Mimikyu are two I cannot get out of my mind.

Mimikyu is a Pokémon cited to "mimic" Pikachu for various reasons... It's interesting that the Pokémon itself is known to do this somewhat naturally, and that its true form is elusive (or deadly?). But the color variant—or shiny—isn't similar to Pikachu's at all.

Since Mimikyu have never been caught creating its disguise as far as I'm aware, there's no study behind why it may decide to use a grey fabric over a yellow. There also isn't any proof that the being beneath the disguise is a different color in any way as it's... again, deadly to check.

Komala is a similar case in which the fur itself has no variation as far as I'm aware (maybe in pigment? It still has the glistening effect of other shinies), but the log it holds takes on a different color... and an unnatural one. Does this give credence to the thought that the log itself is its own cognizant being separate from Komala?

Much to think about...

[callingfromkalos]

It just did not sit right going through all the steps to make this account and not properly show at least ONE team member. So, here's an odd bathroom picture I got my very patient and kind Gardevoir, Pavel, to help me take. It shows us both... so that's lucky!

Getting ready for work bright and early!

[callingfromkalos]

I realize that this gives the impression that I enjoy waking up at 6 AM on most days! I do not!

[callingfromkalos]

It just did not sit right going through all the steps to make this account and not properly show at least ONE team member. So, here's an odd bathroom picture I got my very patient and kind Gardevoir, Pavel, to help me take. It shows us both... so that's lucky!

Getting ready for work bright and early!

[callingfromkalos]

Hello! I've noticed a trend of trainers engaging on this platform, so I decided to attempt to make an account as well!

I'm Cedar, I specialize in Pokémon genetics, primarily in the branch of off-colored variants. The popular term for these would be shiny Pokémon! Behavioral studies also come into this, so I dabble in that as well.

I'm not an official Pokémon Professor, so there's no need to refer to me with such a title!

... Can't think of anything else that's interesting, so I'll leave it there.