Do You Nickname Your Pokémon?

[Gigarchomp]

I'm just curious how many people (who aren't doing Nuzlockes and suchlike) nickname their Pokémon.

I remember the very first time I played Pokémon (LeafGreen), I was a dumb 8 y/o who thought "nicknaming" something meant just adding a "-y" at the end, so I literally had a "Squirty" and a "Rattaty" lol. I distinctly remember when I came across a Krabby, I was stumped what to nickname it because it already had that "y". xD

Then I played Gen4, and my nicknames evolved just a teeny bit: my Water-type starters were "Bubbles" now, my Luxray was "Bolt" and my Weavile was "Frosti".

Now I think I can say I put even more thought into nicknaming. My (female) Cinderace is named "Axela" after Axel Blaze (remember Inazuma Eleven? lol) and my friend whom I call "Ax", my (male) Roserade is "Rosario" after Rosario Dawson, and my (female) Corviknight is "Stella" because I feel like it's a nice name for a Steel-type.

In contrast, my brother, when he used to be into Pokémon, was staunchly against nicknames for whatever reason. He was like 7, so he never articulated it, but he never nicknamed a single Pokémon in his FireRed playthroughs. I guess some people just don't like it?

So I'd love to hear you guys' thoughts on it. Do you nickname your Pokémon? And how do you choose their nicknames?

 

[Zed]

When I was younger I didn't nickname my Pokemon because I watched the anime a lot and pretty much nobody in the anime nicknames their Pokemon so it felt weird to me to call my Pokemon anything that wasn't their official name. This aversion towards nicknaming my Pokemon stuck with me long after I stopped watching the anime but then when Gen 6 came out I finally decided to try and nickname my Pokemon for the first time and I actually liked doing it a lot.

I finally understood that nicknaming my Pokemon makes them more special to me because for example there are thousands of Tyrantrums out there but there is only one Leonidas the Tyrantrum and because of his name he will always stand out among other Tyrantrums because I'll know that he is THE Tyrantrum that was one of the MVPs of my first Y playthrough. Because of this I kept nicknaming every Pokemon that I planned to use on my team(s) as well as some other to me special Pokemon and I can't ever see myself going back to not nicknaming my Pokemon again.

 

[AndyBananny]

Like most, I was staunch anti-nickname until the introduction of Nuzlocke. After a playthrough it revolutionized my approach to the game, adding a whole new depth of personal touch.

I nickname everything now; even random catches I'll never use. I just like to make it personal and have the names make sense.

I've always had a Stoutland with Fire Fang named Benjamin as a tribute to an old friend I used to roleplay with. His name was Ben, and his signature Pokemon was a Growlithe named Growlie.

So in my imagination Growlie met a lovely Lillipup and produced my dear Benjamin.

Other mentionables...

Don Juan the Swoobat, the charming lover.

Louis the Superior named after King Louis the Fourteenth also known as "The Sun King". Photosynthesis. Regality.

Oliver the Decidueye. Rowlett is an owl and just looked like an Oliver.

Lucy the Cincinno. I used to have a pet chincilla named Lucy.

Ramses the Cofagrigus.

Woodrow the Sudowoodo.

Tina the Bewear. This is another nod to my old roleplay. There was an overpowered Tyrantitar named Tina and when I first played Sun and Moon. I was like, you know what, Bewear totally fits that mold. You are now Tina.

James for Intellion after James Bond.

George for Rillaboom. George. George. George of the Jungle.

Peter for Cinderace after Peter Cottontail.

I could go on for days, but I'll save you guys the reading. For me, what's most important is making sure the name not only fits, but makes sense.

 

[Dragonite]

Er... sometimes?

Sometimes I'll play a Pokémon game and just try to burn through it as quickly as possible and in those games I usually don't bother to name things. Most of the times I'll play Pokémon like a "normal" person and nickname most of the things. Most of the time they'll just be a dumb pun or something equally memeworthy. example

Yes I had an Abomasnow named Obamasnow. Don't lie, I know 90% of all of you people had one too.

 

[Gigarchomp]

When I was younger I didn't nickname my Pokemon because I watched the anime a lot and pretty much nobody in the anime nicknames their Pokemon so it felt weird to me to call my Pokemon anything that wasn't their official name. This aversion towards nicknaming my Pokemon stuck with me long after I stopped watching the anime but then when Gen 6 came out I finally decided to try and nickname my Pokemon for the first time and I actually liked doing it a lot.

I finally understood that nicknaming my Pokemon makes them more special to me because for example there are thousands of Tyrantrums out there but there is only one Leonidas the Tyrantrum and because of his name he will always stand out among other Tyrantrums because I'll know that he is THE Tyrantrum that was one of the MVPs of my first Y playthrough. Because of this I kept nicknaming every Pokemon that I planned to use on my team(s) as well as some other to me special Pokemon and I can't ever see myself going back to not nicknaming my Pokemon again.

Never watched the anime, but I also actually felt a little weird naming my Pokemon at first because none of the trainers you battle in the games name theirs. But then, some of the NPCs you trade with do give you Pokemon with nicknames, so now I like to believe that most other trainers in the game also nickname their Pokemon, you just only get to see the species names because that's more familiar/easier for you during battle.

The Tyrantrum thing is such a good example! The Scorbunny I started with is now a Cinderace named "Skip", but then I bred a good-IVs HA one and named her "Axela". I love them both dearly, but the names do make it easier for me to have separate feelings for them.

Like most, I was staunch anti-nickname until the introduction of Nuzlocke. After a playthrough it revolutionized my approach to the game, adding a whole new depth of personal touch.

I nickname everything now; even random catches I'll never use. I just like to make it personal and have the names make sense.

I've always had a Stoutland with Fire Fang named Benjamin as a tribute to an old friend I used to roleplay with. His name was Ben, and his signature Pokemon was a Growlithe named Growlie.

So in my imagination Growlie met a lovely Lillipup and produced my dear Benjamin.

Other mentionables...

Don Juan the Swoobat, the charming lover.

Louis the Superior named after King Louis the Fourteenth also known as "The Sun King". Photosynthesis. Regality.

Oliver the Decidueye. Rowlett is an owl and just looked like an Oliver.

Lucy the Cincinno. I used to have a pet chincilla named Lucy.

Ramses the Cofagrigus.

Woodrow the Sudowoodo.

Tina the Bewear. This is another nod to my old roleplay. There was an overpowered Tyrantitar named Tina and when I first played Sun and Moon. I was like, you know what, Bewear totally fits that mold. You are now Tina.

James for Intellion after James Bond.

George for Rillaboom. George. George. George of the Jungle.

Peter for Cinderace after Peter Cottontail.

I could go on for days, but I'll save you guys the reading. For me, what's most important is making sure the name not only fits, but makes sense.

I love the amount of thought you put into your nicknames. But me myself? I don't really like giving my Pokemon real-person names because... I dunno, I feel like it'll be like ordering around an intern or something haha. Something like John the Pikachu would also probably take away from the cuteness. But that's just me, I guess.

That said, I do name some of my Pokemon after my real-life friends, especially if said friend really likes that Pokemon. So a few of my Pokemon have very Indian names haha.

Er... sometimes?

Sometimes I'll play a Pokémon game and just try to burn through it as quickly as possible and in those games I usually don't bother to name things. Most of the times I'll play Pokémon like a "normal" person and nickname most of the things. Most of the time they'll just be a dumb pun or something equally memeworthy. example

Yes I had an Abomasnow named Obamasnow. Don't lie, I know 90% of all of you people had one too.

I love punny nicknames! When I watched Marriland's playthrough on YouTube (he doesn't nickname his Pokemon in the main one, but when he shows the Shield-exclusive stuff, those Pokemon are nicknamed), I thought his names were hilarious - "Tuffstuff" the Bewear, "Burndoggo" the Arcanine, and "Landmover" the Mudsdale. I think someone on the Marriland Discord did a Nuzlocke with a Vanilluxe called "Coldslaw", and I completely lost it at that one.

Steve the Wooloo reminds me of @AndyBananny 's Steve the Silicobra. I think it's growing on me.

 

[Typhlosion]

I'm the same as most of you. I didn't nickname any of my Pokemon for a very long time because I preferred to see the species name. I'm not the artsy type, so it made a lot more sense to me that a Pokemon should be called what it is rather than what I thought of it.

The exception is Shiny Pokemon. I figure, they're already really special, why not make them even more special? I give them nicknames based on their Shiny colors, so for example, Blue Flare the Ponyta and Evil Eye the Aggron.

In my challenges, of course, I've always nicknamed my Pokemon, and that has been a lot of fun. I enjoyed coming up with meaningful nicknames and then using them throughout the run.

 

[gylfie]

I've always nicknamed my mons. The game asked me if I wanted to nickname my new friend and I thought that sounded delightful. To me, not using a nickname was like not giving your pet a name.

Now that I think of it, I can't really remember some of my early naming patterns though I feel like they were generally related to the design or type (for example: my shinx named electrico). Nowadays I tend to do word association until I come up with something that I like.

Some of your early nicknaming conventions remind me of the pokespe trainers :'D

 

[Gigarchomp]

I've always nicknamed my mons. The game asked me if I wanted to nickname my new friend and I thought that sounded delightful. To me, not using a nickname was like not giving your pet a name.

Some of your early nicknaming conventions remind me of the pokespe trainers :'D

I may or may not have started naming my pets kind of the same way I name my Pokemon

Wait, who are Pokespe trainers and why have I never heard of them?

 

[gylfie]

@Gigarchomp99 They're the trainers from the Pokemon Adventures manga by Hidenori Kusaka! A lot of them have a pattern to nicknaming their pokemon, for example, Yellow takes the first syllable and adds -y at the end so doduo -> dody and rattata -> ratty. chuchu the pikachu is an exception though, can't remember if there's a reason for it or not.

 

[Anthrix]

I rarely nickname my Pokémon. I just can't be bothered.

It's not that I don't like it, it's just to me, a Gyarados is a Gyarados, and Gyarados is an awesome name.

That said, I did in Red and Blue, purely because I liked changing the colours of them in Pokemon Stadium. 9 year old me thought that was cool.

 

[Cynical Toast]

I like to nickname my Pokemon. I went a few years where all the experience I had with the series was constantly starting and stopping challenge runs: so I got pretty used to nicknaming stuff. Some of my names I'd like to think are pretty clever, but some of them are just wack. Like I'm pretty sure I named a Swinub "Boar" one time, and honestly that's pretty embarrassing.

 

[Gigarchomp]

@Gigarchomp99 They're the trainers from the Pokemon Adventures manga by Hidenori Kusaka! A lot of them have a pattern to nicknaming their pokemon, for example, Yellow takes the first syllable and adds -y at the end so doduo -> dody and rattata -> ratty. chuchu the pikachu is an exception though, can't remember if there's a reason for it or not.

Oh I see, I wouldn't know anything about that since I've never read any Pokemon manga. For that matter, I've never watched any anime either. But I'm sure 8 y/o me would feel super reassured that she wasn't the only one doing that! :P

I rarely nickname my Pokémon. I just can't be bothered.

It's not that I don't like it, it's just to me, a Gyarados is a Gyarados, and Gyarados is an awesome name.

That said, I did in Red and Blue, purely because I liked changing the colours of them in Pokemon Stadium. 9 year old me thought that was cool.

Wait what? You could change your Pokemon's colors depending on the nickname?! I'm too young to have played Red/Blue/Stadium I guess, but even 20 year old me now thinks that sounds cool.

I like to nickname my Pokemon. I went a few years where all the experience I had with the series was constantly starting and stopping challenge runs: so I got pretty used to nicknaming stuff. Some of my names I'd like to think are pretty clever, but some of them are just wack. Like I'm pretty sure I named a Swinub "Boar" one time, and honestly that's pretty embarrassing.

The either-very-clever-nicknames or absolutely-wack-ones and there's-no-in-between thing sounds very relatable. :P I love clever, punny, wordplay nicknames -- guess I'm destined to because I study English literature and I'm a nerd in general.

 

[Vaporeon]

In the past I didn't, but I do now. My latest team in Sword was:

• Striker the Cinderace.
• Swiper the Thievul.
• Garrison the Sirfetch'd.
• Hazel the Hatterene.
• Bob Ross the Eldegoss.
• Bloop the Polteageist.

 

[Slix]

I remember the very first time I played Pokémon (LeafGreen), I was a dumb 8 y/o who thought "nicknaming" something meant just adding a "-y" at the end, so I literally had a "Squirty" and a "Rattaty" lol. I distinctly remember when I came across a Krabby, I was stumped what to nickname it because it already had that "y". xD

I definitely did this when I was playing Blue for the first time too. BULBY, CATTY, and RATTY were among my first Pokémon. :P Later in my first time playing Blue, I went to name my Magikarp "Magic", but I accidentally pressed the "PK" button, and I didn't know that the B button allowed you to delete a character, so it was named "MagPkPkPk" for a few weeks until I saw my older cousin and he showed me the Name Rater. XD

Nowadays I do nickname most of the Pokémon I train. I try to come up with clever names using inside jokes among my friends, wordplay or clever phrases, song lyrics, or just other names that sound pleasant for most of my names. Though, every once in a while you just have to name a Beheeyem "Jim" just because it fits him.

 

[Diarkia124]

I don't nickname my pokemon at all and the fact that most my battling these days is in showdown gives me less incentive to do so. No one in the game when you battle nicknames so i don't bother.

 

[Gigarchomp]

In the past I didn't, but I do now. My latest team in Sword was:

• Striker the Cinderace.
• Swiper the Thievul.
• Garrison the Sirfetch'd.
• Hazel the Hatterene.
• Bob Ross the Eldegoss.
• Bloop the Polteageist.

'Swiper the Thievul' takes me back to my childhood, and 'Bob Ross the Eldegoss' has such good vibes in general. Precious. I love them all, but Bloop a little teeny bit more, maybe.

I definitely did this when I was playing Blue for the first time too. BULBY, CATTY, and RATTY were among my first Pokémon. :P Later in my first time playing Blue, I went to name my Magikarp "Magic", but I accidentally pressed the "PK" button, and I didn't know that the B button allowed you to delete a character, so it was named "MagPkPkPk" for a few weeks until I saw my older cousin and he showed me the Name Rater. XD

Nowadays I do nickname most of the Pokémon I train. I try to come up with clever names using inside jokes among my friends, wordplay or clever phrases, song lyrics, or just other names that sound pleasant for most of my names. Though, every once in a while you just have to name a Beheeyem "Jim" just because it fits him.

Out of curiosity, who's the lucky 'mon that was named "Catty"? Also I unironically love "MagPkPkPk" for some reason, it's like, it's a name only a Magikarp could rock.

Okay, who wants to look me in the eye and tell me that this man here isn't a Jim?

I don't nickname my pokemon at all and the fact that most my battling these days is in showdown gives me less incentive to do so. No one in the game when you battle nicknames so i don't bother.

Oh, I get that. I never nickname my Pokemon on Showdown either, since it's just a simulator and I don't feel like those are my "friends" on my journey with me. However, this person I came across on Showdown who had a Celebi named "OnionBoi" would probably beg to differ. :P

 

[Slix]

I definitely did this when I was playing Blue for the first time too. BULBY, CATTY, and RATTY were among my first Pokémon. :P Later in my first time playing Blue, I went to name my Magikarp "Magic", but I accidentally pressed the "PK" button, and I didn't know that the B button allowed you to delete a character, so it was named "MagPkPkPk" for a few weeks until I saw my older cousin and he showed me the Name Rater. XD

Nowadays I do nickname most of the Pokémon I train. I try to come up with clever names using inside jokes among my friends, wordplay or clever phrases, song lyrics, or just other names that sound pleasant for most of my names. Though, every once in a while you just have to name a Beheeyem "Jim" just because it fits him.

Out of curiosity, who's the lucky 'mon that was named "Catty"? Also I unironically love "MagPkPkPk" for some reason, it's like, it's a name only a Magikarp could rock.

Okay, who wants to look me in the eye and tell me that this man here isn't a Jim?

Jim, indeed! Catty was a Caterpie, of course. :P

 

[Gokudera]

For most Pokémon in game, I'll nickname them if I think if something I like in the moment. (Like my Copperajah I named Packysherm, or the Magnezone I once called Krusty because of the Insane Clown Posse), but I dont have many consistent nicknames outside of always calling my starter Buddy because of memories and such.
I do have a few consistent nicknames for Pokémon I use competitively, though.

• Squishy for Quagsire
• Pinky for Shiny Cradilly
• Brobalt for Cobalion
• Skrillix for Exploud
• Moustachio for Jellicent
• Thorne for Roserade
• Goldirocks for Shiny Steelix

 

[Anthrix]

I have nicknamed my first Pokemon on Shield, Marriland the Azumarril!

Hey, she might advertise the forums a bit.

 

[Bahamut]

I nickname my Pokemon all the time.