Petilil Report

Petilil (the Bulb Pokémon) is a relatively common Grass-type Pokémon found among forests, swamps and well-tended flower fields within the Unova, Alola, Galar, Hisui, Paldea and Kitakami regions and possibly the Hoenn region. Though seemingly harmless in comparison to other native plants, Petilil are vibrant fighters that can certainly put their vast array of Grass-type offenses to great use in battle. If anything else, you could at least use them to gauge how healthy your soil is; if they refuse to plant themselves in your garden, it might be time to add some fertilizer!

Petilil and Lilligant are strikingly close in relation to traditional plants, perhaps more so than any other Grass-type family; as such, there is little to say about them in terms of behavior and abilities. Aside from being unable to normally utilize any physical attacks (aside from the Petal Blizzard attack learned by Lilligant fairly late in life), Petilil and Lilligant are completely dependent upon photosynthesis and ground soil for nutrition, making them relatively difficult to take care of without gardening experience. These creatures are inherently drawn to moist, fertile ground with clean water and soil and will strongly refuse to live in anything they deem to be less than satisfactory, often times remaining in a bad mood until they can find a patch of satisfactory soil. If the entire surrounding environment around them turns bad for some reason, these creatures will get up in droves and move to a new location that suits their needs. For gardeners, this makes Petilil and Lilligant a mixed blessing; while they might not be easily pleased nor easily bred, as for some reason they have lost all male reproductive structures and are thus considered completely female, they do make excellent indicators of soil potential and can thus help you save some money (or at least time) when trying to locate the best growing-soil available.

Obtaining a plump shape when their leaves are pruned regularly, Petilil are relatively immobile because of a lack of limbs, forcing them wriggle their entire bodies in order to move around; not surprisingly, all of their attacks are designed to allow them to strike from a distance and/or immobilize their opponents (as seen with their Stun Spore technique). They normally refuse to allow humans near them and are quite skittish around other Pokémon as well; this is because, as odd as it may seem, these creatures are walking pharmaceuticals. The leaves on the heads of Petilil, whose color deepens the healthier the plant is and are bitter enough to cause dizziness, act as both natural refreshers to the bodies of other life forms and as a useful bug repellent and rejuvenator when dried, boiled down and drank as an infusion, and are often used as chief ingredients in a wide variety of restorative elixirs favored in particular by the elderly. Unfortunately, because they are almost identical to normal plants, these leaves physically hurt these creatures when removed, though they grow back almost instantly if they just naturally fall off; if too many are removed too quickly, Petilil will become very sick and perhaps even die. The only thing that can truly help these creatures recover quickly is extensive exposure to sunlight; otherwise, it usually takes a few days for a single leaf to regenerate. Trainers that wish to use their Petilil for such purposes should be especially careful about how often they pull leaves from their heads and, most importantly, should make sure that they have a strong bond with their Petilil.

Though they certainly might not be able to do much in the way of physical damage, Petilil are interesting creatures that can give beginning trainers some trouble if they don't have a type advantage. While they certainly might have their own little niche in the world of pharmaceuticals, trainers shouldn't be afraid to evolve their Petilil if presented the chance. Just make sure that you're prepared for a tough task afterwards; they might be decently strong, but Lilligant aren't worth anything if you can't get them to bloom!

Professor Wormwood