Thread: Capitalization Rules for Pokemon? (Discussion Topic)

It's not so much that I fear calling her out by name (outside of a possible superstitious Beetlejuice-inspired outcome) that I'd just rather avoid any possible conflict, because those debates on FFN really are a nightmare. And this is coming from someone who's never interacted with her before. I was considering blocking her already as a precautionary measure before, and after hearing this I think I kinda want to seriously consider doing it now. Just to spare myself the grief, because the last thing I want to do is try to communicate with someone who will only bother responding with multiple emoticons or otherwise just not take anyone seriously, because evidently in a debate it's all about her and absolutely every point of view is invalid except for hers.

People like that are just completely a waste of time trying to get through to. Doesn't matter if she's "right" and a competent writer herself. Like I said, the capitalization thing should be a "to each his/her own" thing since there are perfectly logical reasons to use either or. As long as your general grammar/spelling is in check, to me this is more an issue of style than it is accuracy. While it screws with me visually to see Pokemon terminology not capitalized, it's not something that completely impedes my ability to read a story. I like to think it's the same the other way around, too. There's really no need for a right/wrong in this subject at all... just preference.

That said, I don't really have any ideas at this time about settling on a name for the term. Some kind of word that collectively covers how all official Pokemon media use this convention for fictional species, items, and other Pokemon-related lingo... trickier than it looks.

In French, however, I use the Common Noun method. A lot of things that are capitalized in English aren't in French.

Also, in French, when referring to the species as a whole, it's proper to put an article before it. (This might be moot already, but just in case.)

For example:

"Buoysel is my favourite species of Pokemon."
"Le mustébouée est mon espèce favorite de pokémon."

I imagine that in German, the point is moot that you should use the "German method"/Bulbapedia method.

Context-Dependant 'till I die! i couldn't imagine capitalising 'bicycle' etc. It just looks terrible!

Do you capitalise the names of Pokemon species' in your fics? Personally, I think it makes more sense not too, seeing as Pokemon are basically the Pokemon world's equivalent of animals, and we don't capitalize the names of them.

Personally, I always capitalize them. They're capitalized in all official works so I think that's big enough of a clue that that's how it's meant to be. Pokémon and all various species aren't really a natural part of any language so it isn't mandatory that they should conform to the grammar norms.

I've seen arguments from both camps, and they both make some kind of sense. I just go with always capitalising them, simply because it feels right to me. By the same token, though, I won't jump on someone for failing to capitalise the names. As long as they're consistent with what they do, I don't mind. It feels a bit weird reading a fic without the Pokemon names capitalised, but I won't mention it in my review because that's just how they've decided to do it. And I won't get into an argument over why one should use one form or the other, because neither side is necessarily right or wrong.

I think it's probably correct not to because species names aren't proper nouns (names of things) and only proper nouns get capitalised, but I still do because that is what I am used to through the series.

I do capitalise them, and only because they are capitalised in the canon of Pokémon; besides it is their names, not the species names, indicated by the game asking you to give them a nickname as opposed to an entire new name.

Yeah, I capitalise the names too, I simply got used to writing that way.

I always capitalize the names of Pokémon because they are always capitalized in the PokéDex entries and other things Nintendo related.

I also like to put the accented "e" in Pokémon, too. =P

When used as names: Yes, I capitalize them (f.ex. when Ash's Pikachu, I always refer to Pikachu with a large P. Same with all owned pokemon, generally)
When used as the species: No, I don't capitalize them.

I typically don't capitalize the word pokemon either, except when I'm referring to the Pokemon franchise itself. I don't capitalize pokeball either (but I generally refer to Great Balls, Master Balls etc. as brands, thus I capitalize them). And so on, that train of thought.

I always capitalize Pokémon names. That's how it's done in the games, so that's how I do it.

I also tend to capitalize the word "Champion", but I flip-flop on the words "trainer", "gym", "gym leader", "coordinator" and "master". In those cases, "a trainer", "a gym", "a gym leader", "a coordinator" and "a master" can be generic descriptions, whereas "the Champion" is an official title and can be considered a proper noun. I do capitalize "gym" when it's used as part of the full name, as in "Pewter Gym".

And, of course, I prefer to capitalize the names of in-game items. Man-made items like Poké Balls and Super Repels probably have their names trademarked with capital letters by their manufacturers, and things like the Adamant Orb, Lustrous Orb and Griseous Orb are probably capitalized in whatever legends refer to them. Probably the only thing I'm sketchy on is the names of berry types and herbs. (Real-world items like water, soda, lemonade, bicycles, etc. don't count as in-game items, unless they're specific kinds like the Mach Bike or Acro Bike.)

Nintendo capitalizes them, and so then do I.

If you're going for a hard realistic fic, though, it'd be proper not to, because animal species names are not proper names, and thus are not capitalized.

They're proper nouns in the context of the series, and should therefore be capitalized. Real-world species aren't capitalized, though there are some exceptions. I can sort of understand the logic of not wanting to capitalize their names, but I would always go with what's been established in canon.

Always. That's how it's done in canon.