Do Misdreavus also learn spells and chants if they're in a coven with a Mismagius or does that only come if they evolve? :)
Oh, this is really fascinating actually! Thank you for giving me an opportunity to talk about this, ghost magic is my favorite topic!
So I'm going to start by broadening some definitions here. When most people think of "spells", they think of rituals or ceremonial magic, where the caster does a particular set of actions to enact a particular intended effect. The thing is, there are lots of different ways to cast spells! Even without any external tools. Thoughts, voice, energy manipulation, visualization, prayer, I mean, lots.
Ghost Pokemon have a sort of "magic" all their own, loosely speaking. They have abilities that humans don't, they have senses and the ability to travel places we can't imagine, they just live differently. They experience the world and act upon it differently. In this way, every ghost Pokemon has a form of magic. They can do things that one can call magical.
"Chants", when referring to a Mismagius' vocal spells, are usually based on the pitch, rhythm, and cadence of their voice when casting these spells. It's a spoken auditory magic.
But this is far from the only kind of spells they can cast, and while a Mismagius certainly has a broader range of powers at their disposal, Misdreavus can have quite a few magical talents, too!
From what Mistress has told me, different specific groups have slightly different... "traditions", so to speak. There's no universal rule dictating what a Misdreavus may or may not learn in the wild.
That said, there are certainly limits based on their power and capabilities alone. Misdreavus "magics" are more like... the psychopompic, sensory, defensive, and psychic kinds. More subtle, less unique. They can naturally learn Confuse Ray (which is a form of psychism acting on the mind to confuse the senses), Shadow Ball (which is ghostly energy manipulation), and moves like Spite and Mean Look and Grudge that almost magically affect their opponent's abilities. Pain Split was once thought to be unique to Misdreavus, and it's borderline empathic. Misdreavus can even learn Perish Song when they're strong enough! In this way, they also have a sort of vocal magic.
But when they evolve, they gain a much wider range of power! Their spells are more powerful, their skills more diverse. All of my Mismagius have their own specialties, but they simultaneously become more individualized and more generalized. They can choose which specific magical paths to pursue, or they can pursue them all to the greatest extent of their abilities. (Or they can choose not to, but I've yet to meet a Mismagius that doesn't want to do SOME kind of magic! They always have to, at the very least, learn to CONTROL their new level of power.)
tl;dr Basically, YES, Misdreavus can learn certain "spells" before they evolve! But Mismagius can do a whole lot more.
Jess this is urgent you're a breeder right. How do you spay a ghost. CAN you spay a ghost. If she ever lays an egg again I might strangle her and consider she doesn't breath that might take a long time and I don't want to have to do that
Oh. Arc, you're frantic over this, huh? (Understandably; unwanted babies are stressful when you LIKE the parents!)
Well, to answer your core question, yes, you… can spay a ghost. But here's the thing: It's hard to do.
Without getting into the… anatomical particulars that would scare off the kids… you have to be able to do the operation on their physical anatomy when they're physically tangible. I mean, they DO have the physical……. equipment. Sometimes it's tangible, but that's a variable state, just like with the rest of their bodies. They create physical, tangible eggs, don't they? Can't really create physical, solid matter out of only intangible stuff.
So, concern #1: You usually you have the ghost put under. Asleep or otherwise. For ethical reasons, sure, that shit HURTS otherwise, and for the surgeon's safety of course, but also because they have to be completely corporeal (or as close as any given species can get, anyways). They need to STAY that way for the duration of the procedure.
Concern #2: The tricky part comes in where you have to get them physically tangible BEFORE they fall asleep, and KEEP them that way.
I mean, a young ghost would lose their intangibility upon falling asleep. Their most solid state is their resting state. A lot of people leverage this for battling ghosts; when they fall asleep, unless they passed out in the part of Phantom Force where they're in the spirit world, they become kinda-solid and visible and thus much easier to hit. Spaying a younger ghost is much the same. Give them general anesthesia, and you have access to their physical bodies.
But a more experienced ghost could make themselves intangible before they fall asleep. Some can feel sleep coming on and use the last of their control to go defense mode. And Skorna… well, I don't know how old she is, but she seems able to use English, which usually takes a ghost anywhere from three years to a decade to learn. She can probably control her tangibility and set herself to "auto-phase" mode while she's falling asleep, thus making the operation VERY hard.
So you'd have to get her as tangible as you can, and THEN get her to sleep. It's possible, but it's especially tricky.
This is part of why gentrified cities are so frustrated that they can't quell the wild ghost population, because it's very, very hard to TNR them! Especially by people who consider them pests and don't put in the time to understand how they work. Population control based on providing nest areas and culling eggs when they're already laid works a lot better… But that's probably a rant for another time.
I wish I knew the breeder networks in Unova better, usually this is the part where I make recommendations for a ghost-savvy surgeon. Doesn't Unova have a ghost specialist Elite Four member? Could be wrong, but maybe see if (her?) administrative team can give you any direction. Sometimes you can bribe a friendly ghost into going tangible for pets and putting them under in that state, but I have a sneaking suspicion That Will Not Work On Skorna. She might be one of the ones you practically have to battle into submission.
Do you got any advice for someone who trying to be a ghost type trainer?
Thanks for the ask!
"Trying", huh? I think I can help with that.
So, this got really long. I'll give the bullet-point list, and more details after!
1.) Research and consider what kind is best for you! Not every ghost is suitable for every situation.
2.) Ghost types take work. They take time to trust you, they need patience and behavioral work, and they need to be kept entertained.
3.) Meet their needs; make sure you keep them fed AND entertained! A bored ghost is a mischievous ghost. Acclimate them slowly to daylight and physical food.
5.) Ghosts are, well, ghosts. They do ghostly things sometimes and you have to be ready to handle the spook factor.
Bonus: A lot of people are going to judge you, but it's not THEIR choice to make, it's yours!
First off, if you already have a ghost Pokemon, congratulations, you're a ghost trainer! For you, the devil is in the details. Your main concern is how you're going to raise it.
If you're still considering obtaining one: There are two ways to do so, and you don't always choose which one happens to you, but ideally you'll go into it prepared!
The first way is what most aspiring ghost trainers do: You go out and you find a wild ghost to catch.
The second way is kinda... letting them come to you. But depending on your situation, that might not be viable. You have to live somewhere with ghosts, have an environment they find appealing (usually fairly dark and quiet)... or make a good target.
Either way, I can't advocate research enough! We don't know much about how ghost Pokemon work, but we have a good idea of their temperament. Read what it's like from trainers that have them. Consider which species would work best in your situation. Can you handle a high-maintenance species, or would it be better to have a more independent one?
You should definitely consider what species you, specifically, can handle! Keep in mind that a Pokemon born from a human soul will have extra concerns. Something like a Yamask or a Spiritomb could come with a lot of emotional pain you'd have to work through. Make sure you're ready to handle that before bringing one into your life.
If you're going out to catch one: be prepared to work for their obedience. Ghost Pokemon aren't easy to tame from the wild. They're often unruly, they might be too weak to have good control of their powers or be too strong-willed to let you command them, and they need to be taught boundaries early in your relationship or they won't understand why you're so upset.
Listen, I know they're cute, especially something that's friendly like a Mimikyu or a Greavard! But you NEED to be able to tell them "No". Trust me on this. Let them get away with it once and they'll think they can get away with it every time. You want to be consistent with what's allowed and what's not.
To prevent them from acting out intentionally: You need to make sure you can meet their needs! Lots of ghosts are surprisingly social. They should have plenty of time to play and they need enrichment now and again. (A bored ghost is more likely to "haunt" your neighbors than one you're keeping entertained!)
This includes their need for time to trust you. This goes for all Pokemon, but ghosts especially can be standoffish. Let them get used to you!
As far as feeding them: Some species eat more physical food and some feed more on energy. Honestly I've never met a ghost that didn't want their favorite kind of berry, but if you plan on feeding a purely physical diet, make sure if's meant for ghosts and make sure you adjust them slowly! They can get really lethargic and malnourished if you try to switch them over too quickly. It's fine to just feed them Poke-pellets, I promise! You just need to sort of wean them off the energy stuff.
Let them get used to daylight, too, if you plan to acclimate them to a diurnal sleep schedule! Most of them have very sensitive eyes and are naturally nocturnal. Don't expect them to be alert and ready to battle at 2pm the first day you have them. Give them time to adjust!
And bear in mind that ghosts... do some strange things sometimes. They might vanish for a few days. They can interact with the spirit realms way more easily than humans. They might "protect" you by eating your dreams. They might possess the unsuspecting owner to pull pranks or help them access treats they can't get on their own. You might hear them laughing and you can't figure out why, because they're playing with a human's ghost they found. It is exceedingly rare that a trained ghost will hurt someone, but just be prepared for a little weirdness in your life.
And once you have your ghost(s), just... be prepared for other people to judge you for it. But it's your Pokemon, it's your choice to make. Not theirs. You will know better than anyone else what you can train! If your heart is in it and you know what you're getting into, then by all means, go get some ghosts!
"so I need some advice on Caring misdreavus since as ya know, the water bucket lives in a haunted beach house in galar (I guess they got used to dealing with this sort of thing given their weird fuckin nature) one of their Pokemon teammates is basically an overgrown one that's apparently the big cheese of those Lil guys. As of right now it seems they ain't here and I'm stuck with the big one and a Geodude and a few of the wild ones" -Roya
@wyrdo01
Oh, hey Roya! So THAT'S Magic's role in the Misdreavus group. I hope Wyrdo's doing okay...
I spent awhile trying to take like 15 years of knowledge built on research and obsession and experience, and answer this without making a collegiate-length essay.
Honestly, Misdreavus are pretty self-sufficient, especially wild ones, and especially if they already have a social hierarchy established! There's not a lot you'll need to do for them.
Are they still nocturnal? Most wild Misdreavus (and all the wild ones I've met) don't want to be awake in the day. You don't want to shine bright lights on them while they're sleeping, they can get very grumpy and will probably try to run you out.
You should probably expect some unruly behavior. Wild Misdreavus (usually) aren't outright aggressive, but they do love playing tricks. (From what I understand, Wyrdo was subjected to this.) They won't hurt you! But it might be inconveniencing. If you can distract them, or entertain them otherwise, they might stop? They're independent, but also social enough that if you keep things interesting, they might even start to enjoy your company.
As for the ones in this particular situation: It's going to be... interesting. I don't know if Wyrdo's AI is advanced enough to create actual fear for the Misdreavus to feed on? Or energies to mimic it? If they haven't had any in awhile, they might be especially eager to spook you. They eat fear, you know? Misdreavus can feed off other Pokemon, but the ones I've discussed it with said human fear "tastes" better.
Then again, it's a rare ghost that will refuse free treats. They can eat normal food too, fear is just more entertaining. Wyrdo... probably doesn't eat? But I'm sure there should be food around for their other Pokemon, right? You could always offer treats as a peace offering. If they won't take it straight from you, make sure they see you leaving it out. They'll probably eat it eventually.
Is Magic still the "big cheese", even after joining Wyrdo's team? You could leverage that! If you gain Magic's trust and respect (which takes more work with Misdreavus than a lot of other species), the others might follow. Their social structures are really loose so it's not guaranteed they'll follow their leader, but at the very least, I'm sure Magic can communicate that you're not a threat. That should reduce the hassles.
Jess sweetie! What’s the most difficult part of raising misdreavus and mismagius? You’ve talked a lot about how they need to spook people to feed, but do their cloth bodies or gems or anything else require any special attention? What about regional variants?
@ladyzee-oddityhunter
Oh gosh, thank you so much for asking about them! I spend so much time doing this in my daily life... Where do I even begin?!
Edit: okay, this got pretty long! So basically, their bodies are easy to clean, their gems DO need special care, especially in the developemental stage when they're babies and if they get injured (they're very important!), behavioral training is a delicate thing, and the hardest part for me is saying goodbye when they find a new home.
So, first, this is interesting. I think you're the third person I've seen describe their bodies as "cloth"... I thought it was a weird metaphor, but now I'm not so sure. Are Misdreavus and Mismagius really made of cloth for you? Mine are a very smooth cool-feeling sort of skin! Sure, looser in some places than others, , and often they're smoky or misty instead of physical, but... They're never cloth. Banette are the only ghosts I can think of that feel like cloth. Huh.
Anyways, that is SUCH a tangent! They do need careful care of their gems, particularly nutritionally when they're babies to make sure they develope well, kind of like how human kids need fluoride to develope healthy teeth. Those gems are a primary organ for metabolizing fear, an essential part of their diet, and it has a high ghostly equivalent of energy "vascularity" and sensitivity, so if the gems get cracked or broken, besides being very painful for them, they can't metabolize fear!
Now, the gems do function independently of each other, so one being cracked won't completely prevent them from absorbing fear. But it DOES require medical attention. I've never heard of a Misdreavus getting an infection from that, not a microbial one anyways (energy infections are another problem altogether), but mostly it means taking careful care of it until it heals. It might also mean helping them obtain more fear and feeding a more calorie-dense diet, if you supplement their nutrition with physical food. Extra calcium especially helps in this case because it helps them remineralize the physical part of the pearl!
Regular maintenance of the pearls is a lot easier. You just want to wipe them down with a non-abrasive cloth and MAYBE some mild, energetically-neutral soap every once in awhile. You don't want to scratch or weaken it with strong cleaners! The pearls typically have a Moh's hardness of 5, so they're not SUPER easy to damage, but it's still possible, especially if you use a brush with steel bristles or a material that can weaken minerals like vinegar or baking soda.
(I would not recommend cleaning them with cursed or blessed soap unless you know EXACTLY what you're doing. That can get very messy with a ghost type very fast.)
Their bodies are a lot easier to clean! Their intangibility can be used to get sticky berry paste or poffin crumbs out of their "hair", thank goodness! Some like baths more than others. Most of them will at least tolerate it begrudgingly in my experience, but that might be the personality and behavioral training of my own coven more than representative of the entire species...
Behavioral training is something to pay attention to, while I'm on the subject! Ghosts are mischievous. They're smart, they know how to push a human's buttons, especially a species that's as hard-wired to mess with human emotions as Misdreavus!
But you can teach them boundaries and train them in preferred behaviors the same as any other creature. It might take more time with a ghost (it's hard to punish a creature that can go invisible and slip away through a wall any time they want), but they do respond well to positive reinforcement and making the training More Fun! Redirection works SO much better with them than punishment.
I don't believe training should extinguish any natural behaviors. That causes undue stress. Unfortunately, with a Misdreavus, you can't train them out of needing fear. Like I said, it is ESSENTIAL for them. But you can redirect their startling behavior to wild pokemon, find fear sources that are more fun for you like amusement parks and horror movies, and work WITH the behavior instead of working AGAINST it!
The same goes for Mismagius casting curses; you can train them WHEN to do it, WHERE to aim, it, and, if you're particularly prickly, WHO to aim it AT. Mistress (my ace Mismagius!) used to sleep-talk and give me awful nightmares, but we trained her into the habit of chanting for pleasant dreams instead, and now if she sleep-talks, it's usually a nice chant instead of a curse.
Regional variants are usually a lot less dramatic in Misdreavus than you see in certain other species! A lot of the differences are in the subtle differences of individuals' personalities (Johtoan Misdreavus are more stern loners and Alolan Misdreavus are SO carefree and social), the subtle differences in their hue (Sinnohan Misdreavus tend to have more green and mottled hues to blend in with the forest than dusty-gray Paldean Misdreavus, which rely more on invisibility to blend in), and you get some instinctive behavioral quirks like where they prefer to sleep during the day or how expressive their "hair" tendrils are. Paldean Mismagius wander a lot more than I've heard Unovan ones do!
The overall care for their gems and such is all the same though, there don't seem to be many drastic differences in their physiology.
Except... Well. I once saw the evolution of a Galarian Misdreavus, which... Arc, I didn't even know there WERE Misdreavus in Galar. But it was quite an old individual, so maybe there USED to be...? Anyways, when they evolved, they took a dramatically different form, still a Mismagius but they were mostly white and red, and fed on LAUGHTER! That's the only one I've ever seen though. It completely blew my mind.
But the care, all that's pretty easy to manage with preventative treatment. The hardest part of raising them isn't the nutrition, or medical care, or even behavior training.
It's really having to say goodbye. <:} The thing about being a breeder is, once I match a ghost in my care with someone else to take home forever, I have to say goodbye. That's the hardest part for me. I miss them. I always request my client keeps me updated on how they're growing, but unfortunately it's kind of rare for them to actually follow through...
What is it like raising misdreavus? Is it true that misdreavus like to yank people hair?
Hi, thank you for the question!
Oh my gosh, it's a dream come true! I've loved them since I was 13 years old, I always wanted to work with ghost pokemon and Misdreavus just stole my heart from the minute I found out what they are.
It gets a little chaotic around here... (Okay. It gets a LOT chaotic around here.) And it can get noisy. Definitely spooky. And they can't always resolve their spats; they're KIND of social, but they don't really establish hierarchies or leaders, so when a couple of them get into a disagreement, they usually need someone to mediate, but other Misdreavus aren't naturally inclined to do that, so I need to keep a close eye on them. (Or one of the Mismagius, or Ninetales.)
And sometimes they're a little bit... mean. They're not a species that instinctually bonds to a human on sight. You have to work a bit to earn their trust, and work even more to earn their respect. You have to try to meet them where they are, appreciate them for what they are. You can't train a Misdreavus and expect it to be as cuddly as an Eevee. And in the case of those that have been spurned before (a lot of people dislike ghost Pokemon and mistreat wild ones): you have to help them understand that you trust them, too!
They're a handful, honestly. But when you get six ghosts collaborating on pranking a Murkrow and you've spent a week noticing Something Weird Is Going On, and then you see them pull it off, it's absolutely delightful.
And their laugh? Oh my gosh, it sets my heart aglow! They're so joyful when they're happy! They're not for everyone, they need a tactful hand and they need someone who can "socialize" on their level and engage in their "play" and laugh with them, and they need to be able to express their natural behaviors, which are undesirable for some people, but they're perfect for me.
As for yanking hair: The short answer is Yes, to a degree!
The long answer is that it kind of depends on the individual, and the region they're from seems to affect their preferred methods of harvesting fear. (I rambled a bit, so here's a cut!)
It's a more common behavior in Misdreavus than other species, that's for sure. Misdreavus don't have... hands, exactly. They have sort of prehensile and expressive capabilities with the front two strands of their "hair", but a good amount of their physical interactions with the world are through their mouth. If they want to get a human's attention and haven't been taught how to communicate gently, they're more likely to pull hair, yeah.
I've noticed that Sinnoh Misdreavus pull hair mostly to create the shocked reaction, whether that's to snack on the fear or simply to amuse themselves. Johto Misdreavus seem to do it more for territorial reasons. And the Misdreavus I brought home from Alola is... well. He's on the far side of the serious scale and uses intimidation to create fear, I've never seen him pull ANYONE'S hair.
Now, bear in mind that I really only got to be around Johto Misdreavus for one night. (The circumstances were... shhhh. I had help.) But in that ONE NIGHT, a wild Misdreavus pulled my hair so hard it took my Murkrow and Ninetales tag-teaming to get it to let go!
But the thing is, different individuals have different "scare tactics" they'll employ! Not ALL of them pull hair. Trick pulled my hair (playfully) when I first met him, but then: I have one named Screech who likes to startle folks by shouting as loud as he can, Thorn uses Mean Look a lot, Sheera uses the psychological angle by going invisible and mimicking a human crying. They all have a favorite method.
As a fun little aside, I was able to "modify" this behavior with my first Misdreavus, Missie, to help me brush my hair! I have really long hair, and I have a very scattered brain some days. Sometimes I forget to brush it, and sometimes it gets very tangled. So imagine trying to use one hand to run a brush through it, another to detangle the knots. Now, imagine all of that while my skin is really sensitive, so I wince when it pulls too hard, so I also try to hold the hair near the roots so it doesn't pull as much, but I can't do that and get at the knots at the same time AND brush through it... Basically I trained Missie to bite on my hair gently near the scalp, and rather than pulling it, just hold it where it is!
But she's more of a friendly Misdreavus. With a more mischievous one, this could lead to a lot more yanking pranks. Like I keep saying, it just goes back to their individual personalities.
Are there any Pokémon that are good omens? Signed @ladycorella
Oh, absolutely! Heh, growing up in Sinnoh, you hear a lot of legends about what to look out for.
If we're talking according to folklore, a lot of them are Fairy types, or Grass types (particularly the ones with flowers). The Togepi line is almost universally adored as a good luck charm. White Pidoves are considered good omens for peace or love, encountering a wild Luvdisc is believed to mean you will soon meet your true love, and traditionally different varieties of Roserade have different meanings, many of them positive. Many dragon types are also symbols of wealth, power, or luck, and a spotted Meowth is believed to bring good fortune in some parts of the world. Sinnoh in particular holds Buneary, Kricketune, and Goldeen in high esteem.
Of course, obligatory reminder that it's all superstition anyways, and even a "good omen" Pokemon can be bad news if it's a protective mother with babies, or doesn't get along with your team, or the one that crosses your path happens to be feeling territorial. Every individual has their own personality, even in a species thought of as good luck.
(And it's worth noting that some species with the Super Luck ability are often thought of as signs of misfortune, like Murkrow and Absol! That never fails to amuse me. Murky has never been anything short of a delight!)
Mimikyu are very Lonely Pokemon, and all they want is a friend. But why don’t they band together and befriend other Mimikyu? The case for an individual might be that it’s too shy, it’s lost, or it’s not sure where to find them.
There aren’t a whole lot of them out there, anyways. But making friends would be a lot easier if Mimikyu weren’t so viciously territorial. While they’re rarely aggressive and would rather settle a dispute peacefully, disputes pop up quite often and Mimikyu aren’t very well equipped for handling them. They would often rather run form the conflict than resolve it, and this makes for a very hard time making friends.
Mimikyu absolutely adore the attention their trainers give them, but they rarely bond with other Pokemon, even the rest of their team, and grow jealous and sometimes even aggressive towards other Pokemon unless boundaries are set and acknowledged. They can become quite possessive towards their trainers if the whole team isn’t careful.
Studies are still pending (it’s always hard to study rare and elusive Ghost types in the wild), but a theory suggests that Mimikyu are naturally prone to neurosis and behavioral quirks that make them quite a handful for the unprepared. Lamarkian Genetics likely played a powerful role in this developement, as being a creature so horrifying that it has to cover itself to interact with another being leaves a powerful mark on a species (especially a species as long-lived as a Ghost+Fairy dual type). If this theory proves true, a trainer will have to learn and embrace their individual’s quirks to get the very most out of their bond with a Mimikyu, and not just a co-dependent or desperately clingy partner.
Lucky for trainers, Mimikyu are rarely withdrawn, and are very expressive of their needs and desires. Whether it’s dysthymic tendancies, compulsive repetitive behavior, or intense separation anxiety, a Mimikyu is very good at expressing itself and getting a trainer’s attention when it’s needed. They’re even known to be one of the hardest Pokemon to keep in a Pokeball. They’re quite clever too, and once they figure out how to escape the Pokeball when they want your attention, the trick will stay with them for life. Oftentimes they learn how to escape when they’re still on battlefield, before the trainer can claim them.
On the other hand, when worked with and appropriately bonded, a Mimikyu’s rapt attention and total dedication to protecting their trainer can be quite a benefit. Mimikyu are willing to do anything for their trainer, even if it means learning how to watch for seizures, intruders, offer comforting chirps and cuddles, retrieve items, and sit watch over their bedside for eternity. The only thing they have trouble doing is leaving your side.
They may be dressed as Pikachu, but there are good reasons you will never hear a Professor suggesting a Mimiyku as a starting Pokemon unless the circumstances are very, very special.
Especially with all these special considerations, Mimikyu trainers will gladly tell you that a Mimikyu is one of the most unique, affectionate, dedicated partner you could have.
