Okay, who else is upset about these names?

[Phoenixsong]

I assume that many of you have heard the English names of Sneasel's evolution and Mr. Mime's pre-evo; if not, they are named Weavile (weasel + vile) and Mime Jr. (guess, genius), respecitvely. I'm sorry, but do those names not make anyone else shiver? And not in a good way. I mean, Weavile is actually sort of clever and I suppose it's decent enough, but... it... just... sounds WAY too weird for me. And the spelling is not aesthetically pleasing... Weavile... ugh. Looking at it hurts my eyes. I suppose I'll get used to it eventually and it won't faze me anymore, but now... ugh. No other word for it.

Baby Mr. Mime, on the other hand... now, there are a ton of words to use for that. Stupid. Annoying. Unoriginal. Or my favorite... Nintendo-what-the-bloody-hell-were-you-thinking?! Mime Jr.?!?! How low has their creativity slipped?! They could have, at the very least, made it "Jr. Mime" so it sort of matches Mr. Mime. Or they could have used their brains and come up with something halfway imaginative. I guess the days of really clever Pokémon names are over... gone are the clever ploys behind Kyogre and Rayquaza, Latias and Latios, Nidorino, Umbreon and Xatu. No more interesting double-entendres like Mew or hidden significances like Ninetales... sniff.

Well, okay. Two bad names doesn't mean they've completely lost their creative spark. But I REALLY don't like where this is going, especially not if they make Manafi's name Manaphy and all of that. I'm sad, Ninty. I'm very sad.

So, whaddaya think? Do you agree--are these names total bunk? Or do you think I'm completely out of my tree and that Weavile and Mime Jr. *shudder* are the most awesome Pokémon names ever? And on that note, what other Pokémon do you think have really sucky names? What names do you wish were something else? I really hate Wynaut's name, for example. I don't know what I'd replace it with if I were in charge, but it really irks me. Meh. And Nosepass... how lame is that? I hate Nosepass in general, but the name's not helping anyway. Who on earth wants a nose compass?

...On a happier note, I have come up with a spiffy nickname for the Sneasel/Weavile I'll be catching in DP... I'm gonna get a male and call him Underwood. Hooray, inside YGO jokes!

[The Blue Avenger]

Mime Jr.'s not as far out as you might think. It does still match up with Mr. Mime. Think about it - if you have Mr. John Smith, and he has a kid he names John, is the son named Jr. John Smith? No. He's John Smith Jr.

Besides, every generation has bad/unimaginative names. Take, for example, Manectric. I personally don't mind it, but it's gotten a lot of flak for being unimaginative, horrible compared to its perfectly good romanization, and so on. Yet Gen. 3 had good names, as you pointed out. Also, Gen. 4 has clever names anyway - take Bonsly. It's a fairly clever, in my opinion, pun.

Long story short, I believe you're overreacting.

[+conspiracy+]

yup.. i dont think its that big a deal, but I can see where you're coming from. But if anything, Mr. Mime should have an evolution instead because it needs it. As for TBA... little too technical man, but at least you made sense.

There have been some very good names that reflect the poke as well as sound good... like the Charizard fam and the Tyranitar fam... but ekans and arbok are the most clever names imo

[Phoenixsong]

I understand what you're saying about the whole John Smith Jr. thing, but Mime Jr. just sounds REALLY wrong to me. And like I said, there have been imaginative names and unimaginative ones (for example, Combusken is good, Muk is too simplistic. Girafarig is awesome, Swellow is meh.)... it's just that when something bothers me it bothers me for a LONG time, and Mime Jr. gets under my skin and pokes my nerves with a cattle prod. It makes sense, but it's still jarring. I really think they would have been better off giving the entire line different names from the start... especially because of the whole gender mixup. At least Mime Jr. won't have that problem... but what I want to know is what they're doing giving Pokémon--which are more or less animals--species names that have human prefixes and suffixes. It's one thing to name your cat Mrs. Murphy but another entirely to name the entire species "Mrs. Cat" and start calling all kittens "Cat Jr.". That's way too awkward, you have to admit. What I'm saying is that they should have at least attempted to give the nasty little thing a name that made sense as a Pokémon before pandering to its evolution's awkward name. Plenty of Pokémon have names that don't match their families', such as Wynaut. I just really think they could have done better.

Personally I think Raibolt is just as unoriginal as Manectric. There's no real juxtaposition, no wordplay... it does sound better and I suppose I would have preferred it, but I don't think it's any less lame.

Perhaps I was overreacting a bit, but the names really do annoy me and sometimes I just have to rant even though I don't care quite as much afterward. Mime Jr. DOES make sense but IMO "Jr. Mime" just SOUNDS like it matches better in a purely auditory way, but the best plan would have been to ditch the name altogether. Or else scrap the entire idea of a baby Mr. Mime and go with an evolution like conspiracy said. Then again, what might they have called that? Uncle Mime? Grandpa Mime? Dr. Mime? That last one's really bad but at least it would be funny.

[The Blue Avenger]

Eh, don't get me wrong, it's certainly not the best name out there; I was just saying that Mime Jr. makes more sense. I guess they think they have to finish what they started with Mr. Mime, though.

Wynaut actually does kinda match with its family, but it has to do with a Japanese play on words that somehow only got translated for Wynaut.

On a side note, Dr. Mime is awesome. Mr. Mime as a species reminds me, name-wise, of Mr. Saturn, and Dr. Saturn was cool.

[Magmar]

Weavile sounds like a decent name. Almost sounds like it could be weave + exile or anything! It's not that ugly. That's like saying that "Crescent" is a bad name for the shape, because you can't smell a "scent" and you can't spend the "cent".

As for that mime, I love my female Mr. Mimes.
They should be Mimettes!

[Blademaster]

Weavile is not too bad, in all honesty, but I think Bueasel or however you spelled it was better; Mime Jr., on the other hand, is just bad... I don't like clowns like Mr. Mime to begin with, and giving any Pokemon a 2-part name just sounds bad to me, especially since the other 400-something all have one-word names - even the Legendaries.

However, I may be biased, because I've never really like Mr. Mime - it looks bad, its attacks aren't that great, its history/Dex entries are pretty weak, its name is completely uncreative (And screwed-up gender-wise - they could've at least made the Mimes all-male Pokemon, like Tauros and Nidoking, for God's sake!), and its most prominent role in the anime was as a housekeeper... IMO, the only time Mr. Mime was ever good was in the TCG, which I played very infrequently. But it was still pretty tough...And irritating.

Mime Jr. ---> Mr. Mime... Nothing to brag about. At all. I can come up with better off the top of my head:

Mime Jr. is a baby clown that evolves into a mime and is quite pink... How about naming it Lavester (pronounced lav-ESS-ter)? Or maybe Pantoddler? Or perhaps Juvimime?

Mr. Mime is the Master Pokemon of pantomime and looks much like a clown... I'm thinking Marcea (pronounced mar-SEE-uh). Or possibly Jesture? Or even something a bit more thoughtful, like Popovo?

Anyway, those are my thoughts; I'm waititng to see the rest of the DP Pokemon; then, the real fun can begin...

-Blade

[Phoenixsong]

That's not why I said I disliked the name, Magmar. I think, knowledge-wise, that the words weasel and vile fit nicely together. I just think it looks weird aesthetically. I love English, I stare at words all frickin' day, and even though you get used to them some of them just look weird to your eyes. Not weird to your brain, but your eyes.

Uh, Blademaster... you mean Buoysel?

*shifty eyes*

That, Blade... uh... that was sort of... a completely different Pokémon. Buoysel is the suspected English name for the orange otter-like Water-type, Buizeru, that as of now appears to be a standalone single stage line. Everyone else was just using the Japanese name for the Sneasel evo, Manyula or Manyuura... no one ever called it Buoysel or Bueasel or anything.

I suppose I've gotten used to Weavile (the idea of one day owning a "Weavile Underwood" appeals to me)... it does sound okay, and it's clever like I said, but I just don't like the way it LOOKS. Again, to me it's simply one of those words, like mischievous or sarsparilla or Wednesday or February or something, that just looks funny from a visual point of view. You know it's spelled right, you know what it means and why it's spelled that way, it's just... funny looking.

[Crazy Elf Boy]

I don't like the Mime Jr. Personally I thought that Mr Mime was a bit to un original. I mean the fisrt installment of the pokemon had great names like Pikachu and Mew and Kanghaskhan but now the names are getting stupid. They pretty much get two different elements and put them together like Shuppet and Pelliper (oh i wonder what they are) they just don't have that kick they used to.

[Magmar]

I think Mr. Mime, regardless of his name, is quite an original Pokemon.

I mean come on.

Almost all Pokemon are clearly variants of regular animals. And then we have a mime.

It's a frickin' mime and it's a Pokemon.
I think that in and of itself is pretty funny.

[Blademaster]

Uh, Blademaster... you mean Buoysel?

*shifty eyes*

That, Blade... uh... that was sort of... a completely different Pokémon. Buoysel is the suspected English name for the orange otter-like Water-type, Buizeru, that as of now appears to be a standalone single stage line. Everyone else was just using the Japanese name for the Sneasel evo, Manyula or Manyuura... no one ever called it Buoysel or Bueasel or anything.

Whatever - Weavile and Buoysel... Wait, we have 2 weasels? That's... kind of odd...

Anyway, I looked around for more info on those 9 DP Pokemon: Munchlax, Mime Jr., Weavile, Lucario, and Bonsly have all been translated, but Perappu, Buizeru, Tamanta, and Manafi are still unknown... Hmmmmmmm... This calls for more research...

...Also, when you think about it, Munchlax is a pretty sucky name, too - it's not even a combo of words anymore! It's just 2 words next to each other! What's up with that?

[Phoenixsong]

What's up with Munchy's name? Laziness, my friend, pure laziness. That sounds less annoying than Mime Jr. but is worse as far as construction goes, I agree. And there are four weasels total, counting Sneasel and Zangoose.

I don't have that much of a problem with Mr. Mime as a Pokémon. Even though in essence they are all animals of some sort, I don't dislike most of the "humanoid" ones; I've created several myself. If I had the patience to breed for a Mr. Mime that I could name myself and that I could ensure was male I'd probably even use one; it's not bad at all as far as its Speed and Special stats go. I just don't like the NAME. It doesn't sound natural (how the heck does a wild animal start using a human prefix as part of its natural cry?) and it creates issues for female Pokémon- that's why I'd only use a male. Otherwise it'd just disturb me. I just dislike the name Mr. Mime and I do not see Mime Jr. as any sort of improvement, is all.

[Blademaster]

It doesn't sound natural (how the heck does a wild animal start using a human prefix as part of its natural cry?) and it creates issues for female Pokémon- that's why I'd only use a male. Otherwise it'd just disturb me.

Heh, you think that's bad? Try having one of your star RSE fighters be a male Gardevoir!

[Heald]

Why can't they just give them names that people actually give to animals. Look at zebras and salmon - nothing fancy or clever about those names, they're just names of animals. If you don't like the name you can always change the name with the nickname changer.

Or, alternatively, get bent.

[Phoenixsong]

That's what I was saying, Heald- I'd only use a Mr. Mime if I could name it. And just because I gave it a name doesn't mean the name is different for all the ones I battle, so I'd still have to deal with that. And they give them "clever" names because Pokémon is, first and foremost, here to make Nintendo money. Clever names make them more marketable, and they need to remember to make sure that their "clever name marketing ploys" actually sound good.

Male Gardevoirs... I don't like those, either. Or female Alakazams. Either make the dang Pokémon gender specific or else don't make its name/appearance lean one way or the other.

[Magmar]

I think Gardevoir could pass off for a male. It just doesn't have to be posed as gracefully. Plenty of males with long hair and a long cape that flows with the wind adorn anime in general.

Most Pokemon names seem ridiculous when you think of wild Pokemon naturally saying them, especially when they're lame English puns. For example, Scyther. Or Pinsir. Or Magmar -_-

But Mr. Mime takes the cake. Mime mime mime mister mister mime! Mistress Mime?
...Mistress Nine? O_o;

[Crazy Elf Boy]

Thats not very nice i do actually have as level 50 Male Gardevior which is one of my star fighters for the Batlle Frontier and a Female Mr Mime and i really don't think there is nothing wrong with it at all. And to answer Heald's question the reason we have good names for our animals is because we had nothing to base them on or they were words from different languages. While the people that made pokemon had things to base the names on.

eg
Pidgey (pigeon)
Shuppet (Shadow & Puppet)
and
Bellsprout (Its head is shaped like a bell and it is a plant)

[Heald]

That wasn't what I was asking, here, lets use an example :

Say while searching on a far-off island scientists found a horse-like mammal that could breath fire, they wouldn't call it 'Infernopony' or 'Burnhorse' or anything equally stupid. Likewise, if we are meant to believe that in the Pokemon world, Pokemon are real animals, it is stupid to call a water turtle 'Squirtle'.

[The Blue Avenger]

That actually raises an interesting question. Where -do- they get names like 'zebra' and 'salmon'?

[Magmar]

christians think adam named every animal at once.

...that musta taken a while

[Phoenixsong]

I never said that male Gardevoirs or female Mr. Mimes are bad or anything. It's just that the fact that the appearance doesn't lend itself to the gender bothers me. Nothing against crossdressing or alternative sexuality or anything, just... the idea of a male Gardy gives me the shivers. It could be the best battler in the world and that's great and all, it's just a creepy idea to me.

A lot of animal names come from words in other languages, even though I don't know where the originating languages came up with the names. For example, "alligator" is a misunderstanding of the Spanish "el lagarto", or "the lizard". Maybe humans don't juxtapose words like burning and pony together, but the names generally do have some significance. The Latin/scientific names are all based on the same principle; they're just harder to pronounce.

[Crazy Elf Boy]

Sorry guys the fact of the male gardevoir is pretty creepy (shiver) and thats true most animals are named after word in different languages like the tyrannosarus Rex which in latin (I think) means terrible lizard.

[Elec Man EXE]

I love the name Weavile. Just sounds cool. And I pronounce it "Wee-Vile" (Same sounds as the words Weasel and Vile), not like the YGO name Weevil.

And whats wrong with Manectric (aside from the fact that it sounds wierd to put the first C in there)?

[Blademaster]

Actually Elf, tyrannosaurus rex is Latin for 'king tyrant lizard.' 'Terrible lizard' is the literal translation of dinosaur itself.

But I do agree with TBA: Manectric isn't the most original name ever, but it could be way worse... :-/

[Phoenixsong]

I pronounce it "wee-vile" as well, as "vill" is not the correct pronunciation of the word that means "nasty, evil and disgusting". The nickname I want is a pun. "Wee-vile Underwood"... oh, never mind. I'm easily amused.

[Magmar]

But I do agree with TBA: Manectric isn't the most original name ever, but it could be way worse... :-/

Yeah. Like Mr. Mime.

I think RBY Pokemon in general were so much more original than the others as it is that the names were more quippy and punny than they were direct identifications. Like Exeggcute/Exeggcutor, yeah they're eggs, but the names just have the word "egg" in it, they aren't executioners...

I don't know, party of me feels that the RBY Pokemon seemed more like something you could randomly find in the wild somewhere obscure. These other ones are just... stupid?

[+conspiracy+]

I don't know, party of me feels that the RBY Pokemon seemed more like something you could randomly find in the wild somewhere obscure. These other ones are just... stupid?

I agree with this point, but i think the reason for this is because thats probably exactly what the creators were going for when they made the game... basing most of the creatures on animals and such, but because the game was such a hit, they had to stretch their imaginations and come up with more creatures.

Personally, when I was 10 years old or whatever and I bought RBY games, I thought the most creative names were Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam... well, not the most creative, but... well, you know what I mean.

[Magmar]

Yeah... kinda on that note, what I'm trying to say is I could picture myself battling with a Venonat more easily than I could imagine myself with a Mareep... just didn't seem as convincingly A/U.

[Crazy Elf Boy]

Yeh there are some pokemon you could see as being real like rattata and pidgey but the one that couldn't be real would have to be ditto though it would be very very cool. hehehe