#me to one trainer when I tried opening up: I have epilepsy

[deancoded-deangirl]

my performance review was good but my boss said I should consider “opening up” to the team because I’m very reserved, but “they all want to get to know [me]” like. you want me to tell these people my trauma— that’s the example she used— but these are the same people who have made plans to go out with everyone on the team, except me, in front of me. i will not be socializing with them, thank you.

[prof-peach]

Hello professor! Recently I've gotten my own place, and miss the pokemon I grew up with in my childhood home. Problem is, I happen to be epileptic. I saw that you mentioned absol, but are there any others you might suggest? For context, I have to avoid deep water in case there's an episode. I also imagine an easily spooked mon wouldn't be a good choice in case they're with me if something happens. Would a pokemon be able to understand if I tried to explain my condition? Thanks, love the blog!

Epilepsy shall not stop you hon, theres a butt load of good pokemon to help you manage your condition, and to give you great company!

Now first things first I must say, you will need to find a rather intelligent pokemon for them to understand what you’re dealing with day to day. This is a given with ANY support pokemon, they must grasp what they need to do, and what you're going through at any given time. Because of this factor along side Epilepsy specifically, I always advise psychic types, they have heightened intelligence, an unusually high tolerance for human activity, and a 6th sense for their trainers thoughts and feelings. It’s not quite Telepathy, because psychic types cannot always read just anyone’s mind, they need prolonged time with you, living beside you to bond and eventually strengthen the mental link you will come to share. This link will be your emergency lifeline should you have an episode, and the reason I suggest psychic types with Epilepsy? They can lift you, hold you steady, shift you with no physical efforts into a safe position (many pokemon can learn and remember the recovery position), they can hold you off the hard floor, get you away from potential danger. 

The biggest issues I hear folks talk about when discussing this condition are based around the individuals safety. If you go down real hard all of a sudden, and you hit concrete? Not good. Having an episode and smacking your head on the floor, on furniture, on whatever’s close, can be hella dangerous, especially if you don’t feel the episode coming (some people say they can feel it coming on, others mention that it can be quite random, either way, this still applies for ya). With the right partner, this can become a very small issue, AND over time psychic types that have bonded to their trainers will learn to see an episode coming before it hits you. The activity in your brain is something they can track and read, and are able to alert you before an episode starts, so you can get into a safer position, and they can take on the role of helping you stay safe during the seizure itself.  Pokemon that i’ve seen others use for this vary widely, intelligence is the only necessary aspect,  but heres a few psychic types that you could find with relative ease, that over time will grow to be very helpful for you. 

Solosis - low care, high intelligence, very sweet and kind, you may need to work with them until their 2nd evolution before they’re able to fully assist you. Espeon - not effective as an eevee to help much, they grow to be very compassionate for their trainers, and can be a great help on through those rough weeks.

Muuna - the fog that this pokemon produces is actually very handy for folks with any conditions that induce seizures, as they shorten the length of them by around 30%, and give individuals a boost in recovery speed too. The chemicals within its mist are distilled and used in many modern medicines.

Indeedee- fantastic support pokemon, sturdy, adaptable, smart enough to help day to day, and varied in personality. They show great concern for their trainers and have the skills to back that up. 

These are just some ideas, Absol of course has been mentioned as a support pokemon for Epilepsy before, and while they can certainly alert you to oncoming episodes, they cannot then help you while you’re going through it all. It may be wise to get two pokemon in your life, small and functional, even a little Natu is enough, but having two makes the pokemon’s life much better. They both will need time off, and if you need support or have a lot of episodes close together, they could become tired alone. having two means you can sub one out and let them take a day off, while the other supports you, plus it gives them a friend to play with while you're busy working or hanging out with friends or family.

I’d suggest meeting each potential pokemon first, get to know them, you're looking for the right personality to match you, and of course you would want the pokemon to want to be with you too! this grace period at the start where you two just hang out is so important, you’ll know when the pokemon you’re with is the right fit, and from there you can start to grow a good bond with them. the stronger the bond, the better they can help you. You’d be right to not go for timid or jumpy pokemon, but thats a personality trait more than a species trait. 

I’d not for a second forget to suggest checking out your local adoption centres too, older pokemon can sometimes be more intelligent and really can hear the call to help when they find a human they bond with, you can also find older psychic types who have more developed skills, thus being more effective when helping you.

This is all just a guideline to help you, ghost and fairy types can also often levitate people well enough to provide you with help and safety during an episode, even if they don’t have that mental bond that psychic types gain with their trainers. keep an open mind, and hopefully this will lead you to finding the right partner for you!