Forum Thread

Why Do Pokemon Only Say Their Own Name?

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i dont know?

They are named after what they say.

they only do so in the anime which is pretty weird but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Its pretty weird

Probably like a parrot situation? There are Pokemon who talk in human language, though: Zoroark, Chatot or Meowth in the anime.

A better question is how did Meowth learn to speak english? I mean, I know the entire story, but he literally learned to speak just so he could get a girlfriend. This implies Pokemon can learn to speak human language, they’re just usually too lazy.

If they WERE actually named after what they say, it would be kinda stupid in my opinion. This would mean that the language in the Pokeverse actually came FROM Pokemon, or it’s some sort of giant coincidence that an electric type Pokemon says "ELECTROde" or a grass type says "IVYsaur".

It may just be anime logic I guess, because Pokemon don’t say their names in the games. Yeah, there are some cries that are turned into text that match Pokemon’s names, but then there are ones like Koraidon and Miraidon, both saying "Agias".

If we’re actually thinking Pokemon have a reason for saying their own names other than the lack of voice actors that would even attempt to recreate the Pokemon cries, I’d say it’s that Pokemon were named by people and learned their names by years of being called this way (still doesn’t explain wild Pokemon, but they could’ve been released), or if we’re talking more realistically, people just weren’t able to actually say the gen 1 complicated Pokemon cries in the anime, so they decided to use the names instead.

Sorry if the response was a bit too long and without any imagination, but… lack of imagination is my second name. I just like when things make sense.

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Actually, they don't only say their own name. For example, Pikachu has also been know to say "pikaa!", "pikapika!", "chuuUUU!", and other such variations.

Well, those are just parts of their name

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In the Pokemon Origins Anime and the Games they don't do that.

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Not actually true though.
It is in anime only (except pikachu on certain games). That depends on u if u see anime as canon.

In the mainline games, pokemons have their own unique sounds.

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Pokemon have their own language. Pokemon's language are their names. But, that's just what I think.

They don't own their names, lol.

their vocal cords are so simple but so complicated to be able to say part of and/or their own names.
And yes, only in the anime they say these.
In games like PKMNU they make sounds. I guess it would be awkward to hear disturbing Espeon noises all the time, especially in a moba game.

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I think it's because the creators of Pokemon were lazy and didn't want to make unique calls for over 300 Pokemon

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or if you think about it maybe people who study Pokemon named them after the sounds they make