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Ten Learning Experiences to Avoid


by alphachicky

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Since the title speaks for itself, I'll begin the list right away, so you and your pets won't fall victim to these mistakes, sometimes referred to as 'learning experiences'.

1. Buying your pet a meepit

This should really go without saying. There are multiple Neopedia articles warning us of meepits. Some shopkeepers in the Haunted Woods will warn you "watch out for meepits" as you leave the safety of their shops. If Dr. Sloth saw a meepit, he would probably run screaming. Despite all these warning signs, some pets are captivated by meepits and want one of their own. My Kacheek went through this phase after playing Meepit Juice Break for the first time. She found their pink-ness and big eyes endearing and 'cute'. Turning to me, she asked if she could have a meepit. Luckily, I couldn't afford a meepit, and thus had an excuse not to get her one. If your pet requests a meepit, you can try to deter them by giving them a petpet that is cute and cuddly, and not diabolical. I gave my Kacheek a miamouse, which delighted her. She quickly forgot all about meepits. Her miamouse now thinks it's a drackonack, but you can't be prepared for everything.

2. Playing Coconut Shy

My Kacheek and I were exploring the Deserted Fairground when she asked what the Coconut Shy was. I explained that the goal was to knock the coconuts off the pegs, for one hundred neopoints a throw. She told me it sounded 'easy' and that I should give it a try. I handed over the neopoints to the Quiggle manning the shy and threw a ball at a coconut. The ball hit the coconut with a pleasing 'clunk' and bounced off. I excitedly gave the Quiggle one hundred more neopoints. If I could hit the coconut on my first try, knocking one down should be easy! I played until I was out of neopoints, and didn't knock the coconut down even once. I'm beginning to suspect the coconuts really are nailed to the pegs.

3. Boochi 'hunting'

I don't mean owners that go looking for Boochi with their Sword of Skardsen because he zapped their desert painted pet. I'm talking about owners that have read Boochi's Neopedia article and decide to go looking for Boochi, and have him zap their pet. This happened to me a while ago. I dragged my Kacheek around while calling, "Boochi! Come zap my pet, Boochi!" This plan didn't work. Ironically, my Kacheek was zapped by Boochi a couple weeks later. From this I gathered that Boochi has a weird sense of humor. Concluding, Boochi is a random event. You can't look for random events, so you probably should just buy the paint brush if you want a baby pet.

3. Visiting Kelp if you aren't incredibly rich

If you are incredibly rich, I congratulate you. You can skip this section. Most of us, on the other hand, are not incredibly rich, but that doesn't stop us from wanting to pamper our neopets. Once, my Kacheek caught a breadfish on a fishing trip. To celebrate, I took her to Kelp and said she could order anything she wanted. Naturally, she picked the most expensive dish. The friendly waitress complimented her choice and asked me if I'd like anything. I couldn't afford the meal without digging deeply into my lab map fund, so I told my Kacheek we'd go to Kelp "some other time" and we went to Pizzaroo instead. "Some other time" will probably never happen, with Kelp's prices. My Kacheek, who didn't see the prices, doesn't understand why we haven't gone back yet. If you want to pamper your pet on a budget, don't go to Kelp, go to Pizzaroo.

4. Feeding your pet a rotten omelette or poisonous jelly

Visiting the Giant Omelette is easy and cheap. You get daily free food, which everyone enjoys. It isn't hard on your budget, and your pets get a tasty snack. Imagine you and your pets walking up to this massive omelette and taking a piece. Your pets are about to begin eating their tasty snack, except you notice that the omelette has a large rotten spot on it. You have two choices- take the omelette away or let your pets eat it and hope they don't get sick. The correct choice is 'take the omelette away'. If your pets eat a rotten omelette, they will almost certainly get sick. However, don't confuse rotten food with gross food or spooky food. Gross and Spooky foods probably won't lead to diseases with expensive cures. All the same, you might want to stay on the safe side and avoid feeding your pets anything with the words 'toenail' or 'maggot' in the title.

5. Stealing from the Snowager while it's asleep

I added the 'while it's asleep' because no one sensible would ever try to steal from the Snowager while it's awake. Even when it's asleep, the giant ice worm is scary. Seeing it twitch in its sleep makes most Neopians run for their lives. If it wakes up, then you'll be lucky if you limp away. Why do so many Neopians risk an icy blast? The treasure hoard. Any well educated neopet knows the Snowager sits on a huge pile of amazing riches. Unfortunately, this treasure hoard may not be as spectacular as it is made out to be. The few times I did manage to grab a treasure and run, the 'treasure' was a plushie or keychain. When I thought about it later, I wondered if a keychain was worth risking my life for. I'll let you come to your own conclusions, but I'll be avoiding the Snowager's lair from now on.

6. Buying your pets expensive clothes

I'm sure this doesn't apply to all pets. Some pets proudly wear their most decorative outfits all the time. My Kacheek, on the other hand, does not. If I bought her the most expensive necklace I could find, she would still opt to wear her inexpensive brown scarf. This has happened multiple times. When I bought my Kacheek a fancy pair of shoes, she wore rain boots instead. The main thing to remember when shopping for your neopets is what they like to wear. My Kacheek is a scientist; a lab coat suits her better than a fancy dress. Likewise, your girly Usul might not be thrilled with a Darigan Altador Cup jersey (unless, of course, you have a Darigan Usul, but there are always exceptions). If you aren't sure about how much your pet would like an outfit, ask them, preferably before you spend two hundred thousand neopoints on it.

7. Not letting your pets pick their petpets

The only exception here is if your pet wants a meepit. Do not let your pet get a meepit. Reread section one if you are still considering getting your pet a meepit. Any other petpet, you can let your pet choose. You can give your pet a budget and let them pick a petpet. Don't assume that just because you have a Tyrannian Grarrl, it won't want a snowbunny. Sometimes the most unlikely matches work out the best. Even if your pet realizes after a while it doesn't really like its petpet so much, you won't have lost too many neopoints (because you set a budget, remember?). My Kacheek's first non-cardboard petpet was a magaral I found for her. I thought the two would be so cute together since my Kacheek was a baby at the time and magarals are cute and fluffy. After my Kacheek realized that she couldn't use her petpet as a pillow, it wasn't of any interest to her. So the magaral went to a new home, and my Kacheek didn't have a petpet for a while. Later, she asked me for a meepit. I gave her a thirty-thousand neopoint price limit and told her she could pick any petpet she wanted (other than a meepit). My Kacheek found an attack plushie miamouse, who quickly became her best friend. My Kacheek is much happier with the petpet she found than she was with the petpet I found for her.

8. Adopting/creating several neopets at the same time

I only have one neopet (which is why I never make references to any pets other than my Kacheek, in case you're curious) so I haven't experienced this first-hand. A neofriend of mine has experienced this firsthand. If you're in the pound looking for a neopet to adopt, you'll notice that there are lots of adorable neopets. Before you adopt them all, ask yourself this: will you be able to care for another neopet? What about two? Three? Don't adopt more neopets than you can care for. If you do, then you'll probably end up abandoning some, which nobody enjoys. Once you adopt/create a neopet, don't rush to get more. Take some time to meet your new pet, play with it, read to it. Chances are, you won't feel the need to instantly get another pet.

9. Pet names that require no creativity whatsoever

There are lots of neopets, which require lots of names. If you're creating a neopet, it may take a while to find a name that hasn't been taken. That doesn't mean that you have to resort to uncreative names like 'neopet999999992'. My Kacheek almost had a name with that much creativity. I had a long list of names, anticipating that many would be taken. All of the names on my list were taken. I resorted to pounding out randomized strings of letters, many of which were taken as well. Then I was hit by a good idea (which doesn't happen as often as I'd like.) I looked up some descriptive words in other languages. I now have a wonderful Kacheek named Etterret, which is Norwegian for 'intelligence' (that may be a misspelling, I don't speak Norwegian.). You can also find good pet names by combining sounds and letters you like. Of course, it's possible you like the name 'neopet999999992'. That's fine also.

10. Checking your pet into a Neolodge hotel with a name like 'Cockroach Towers', or 'Fleapit Motel'

A while ago my Kacheek wanted to go on a vacation. I offered to check her into a Neolodge hotel for a few nights. My Kacheek was delighted, and quickly packed her bags in preparation. We arrived at the Neolodge main building and were handed a form to fill out. Soon I realized that in order for us to stick to budget, my Kacheek would have to check into 'Cockroach Towers' or 'Fleapit Motel.'. I told my Kacheek this, and she happily selected Fleapit Motel. We both innocently assumed that 'Fleapit' was a misspelling for 'Feepit'. We were wrong. When my Kacheek arrived back from her 'vacation', her fur was teeming with unpleasant petpetpets. Of course, my Kacheek's miamouse was delighted to see her and ran to welcome her home. She picked up a few petpetpets, and spread them everywhere. Now, whenever I sit on my couch, vernax scuttle across the floor. As it turns out, petpetpets are extremely hard to exterminate. On the bright side, at least I didn't send my Kacheek to Cockroach Towers.

 
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