[Log 002: Video]

[shadows_edge]

[Faize is in what appears to be a library, a small stack of books to his left and his Elgyem sitting on the table to his right. Said Elgyem has the look of somebody who's been giving an explanation that fell on deaf ears for a decent length of time. Which is basically exactly what happened in a non-verbal sense. Poor thing.]

[Faize, on the other hand, looks considerably less irritable than he did the last time he appeared on the network. This world still bothers him, but last month's trip to Nightmare Castle was enough to get him to start giving this world and the things it has to offer a try. And he's actually come to find that some of it is rather fascinating.]

[It's the green eggs and ham effect.]

It would seem that, thusfar, humans have been unable to translate Elgyem's communicative patterns. Which is understandable, translation is a rather difficult and complicated process, especially with the level of technology this world has at its disposal and given the fact that Elgyem communicates non-verbally. [He waves a hand somewhat dismissively.] But no matter, it gives me something to work towards, I suppose.

However, this does not help me in figuring out what my Elgyem's name is. He can communicate with me psychically, but seems to only be able to do so with pictures, which is little better than patterns of blinking lights in this case. Somehow it seems strange to just call him "Elgyem" when that's the name of his entire species.

[The Elgyem in question just puts his face in his hands. Master, plz. Why is this so hard. He appreciates the thought, he really does, but he doesn't have a name. He just wants you to give him a name, like he's been trying to tell you in a variety of ways for the past several hours.]

So I guess, put simply, my question is this: how did you go about learning the names of your Pokémon?

Comments

[Video]

[itsjustdust]

[He's not really trying not to laugh at you, it's a token effort at best.]

Okay, two questions here. First, did you hatch him from an egg? Two, did someone give him to you? If not, then he probably doesn't have one. I've had this talk with my Zoruark, trust me, they don't have ingrained 'names' any more than newborns do.

[Video]

[shadows_edge]

He was my starter so...in a sense, someone did give him to me, yes. Which is why I assumed he must already have one. Hmm... [He stares at the Elgyem, who stares back at him with a flat, sort of 'I fucking told you!' look on his face.]

I feel a bit silly now.

[Video]

[itsjustdust]

People from this world suck at naming things. That's why almost none of the pokemon seem to have nicknames and most of the police force share a name.

[Video]

[shadows_edge]

The police force all... [He looks incredulous, baffled by how utterly ridiculous this is. But then he just sighs and puts a hand to the side of his face.] Never mind. I'm not even going to ask the obvious question there because I have a feeling I already know the answer.

[pipers_son]

Ha ha, well, with me an' Angel- [And that would be the Mime Jr. curled up in Joker's only arm who gives a cheery little smile towards the screen.] -it was more a misunderstandin' than anything. Still, she seems to like it well enough.

'Course, I'd say what good are real names anyway? Best to make one for yerself, or take the ones in from yer friends.

[shadows_edge]

A name is an important part of a person's identity. [At least to his people. I mean we're talking about an alien race here where the fact that someone has 76 names isn't brow raising in the slightest. Oh yeah, that's just our Supreme Commander, nbd.]

It would be rude to call him something else if he already has one, much like it would be to do so to a human. And I'm afraid I've already been rude enough to him as is. [They...did not get off to the best start. Hence why Faize has been here a month and has only just NOW decided to worry about a name.]

Though, it would seem my worries on the name front were for nothing.

[pipers_son]

Ha, I think it's kinda cute! Worryin' for yer friend there and all.

Why not just pick a name an' ask if he likes it? Can't do much harm~.

[video]

[captainash]

I didn't learn their names so much as give them one I thought was fitting. It's been working well enough; even Hellspawn hasn't complained at all.

[If anything, she looks a little too proud of her name for his tastes.]

[video]

[shadows_edge]

That seems to be the general consensus. Somehow, it didn't even occur to me that that might be the case. Though I am a bit surprised to hear how easy going they are about it.

[Really? Hellspawn?]

[video]

[captainash]

Their easy acceptance of new names can be a little strange at first, but I certainly appreciate it. My naming skills are not the best; I wouldn't know what to do if they started complaining.

[Hellspawn is a very special cat. Very deserving of her name.]

[video]

[enjoymyatelier]

[...on some level, he feels like this is missing the point to a comedic extent...

...on the other hand, Pokemon seem relatively self-aware in other respects, so it is something worth actually talking about, maybe]

If Pokemon do take individual names for themselves, they don't seem to mind if you refer to them as something else. I've heard the natives refer to this practice as 'nicknaming' them, and even the Pokemon that I have been able to psychically communicate with have never given me the impression that they'd prefer to be called anything different... it could be that they don't take names for themselves unless they're named by a trainer, or perhaps their true names are simply impossible to translate into a human language.

Either way, you're better off simply giving your Pokemon a name than trying to ask him what it is.

[video]

[shadows_edge]

[No, Kayneth, you were right the first time. He's definitely missing the point here. It flew so high over his head that it was temporarily lost to the atmosphere.]

Both interesting theories. I had assumed that obviously newborns wouldn't have names, but my Elgyem was given to me by the Professor so I couldn't really be certain. [He smiles a little.] At least know I won't make the same mistake twice.

Though you've confirmed something I've been curious about, I had a feeling that different species which share the same type might be capable of telepathic communication, much like my Elgyem. Are they all only able to do so in pictures, though?

[video]

[enjoymyatelier]

[...sometimes you just want to be mildly charitable to that sort of person...]

Honestly, it's a bit difficult to tell where the Professor's getting them in the first place, so who even knows where yours originated?

As far as your question... I honestly can't give you a better answer than "it depends." All the Psychic Pokemon I have feel a bit... different, somehow, when I'm communicating with them. I'm not really sure if it's something that varies based on species or if it just comes down to the individuals, but I've noticed that mine seem like they've gotten better at communicating as they've gotten stronger.

( video )

[openturn]

I don't think it's nearly as complicated as you're making it out to be.

( video ) jsyk i laughed for like five straight minutes after reading your tag

[shadows_edge]

[Ding ding ding! We have a winner. Thank you, Rin. Thank you for pointing it out so bluntly simply.]

Perhaps. Though I still feel as thought it was a fair question, if a little silly in retrospect. I assume you wouldn't like it very much if someone assigned you a new name when you already had one.

( video ) aw, glad it could amuse :')

[openturn]

... You never had a pet when you were kid, did you?

[ Because that would pretty much explain everything, he thinks. ]

Anyway, personally I probably wouldn't care much, as long as they picked a name that wasn't openly disrespectful. There's not much helping it in this situation.

Video;

[tentacletrainer]

I'm glad I'm not the only one interested in trying to translate their language. [[Remember her, Faize?]] I don't suppose you would be willing to pool our notes together?

As for names, I merely conferred with them about names I could give them and waited for them to indicate one they liked. Every Pokemon I own that didn't come from someone else has a name that they and I chose together.

Video;

[shadows_edge]

[How could he forget...]

Certainly. Once I actually have notes to offer, that is. I've only just started in my attempts to understand him. Does this mean you have an Elgyem as well, Rose?

Video;

[tentacletrainer]

Splendid. [[Shaking her head, the blonde rests her chin in her hand.]]

No, not yet unfortunately. During our pass through Mt. Moon, however, I came across a small gathering of them. I enjoy sketching wild Pokemon I find, and when I sat down to do just that the curious little ones came over to investigate. I fell in love with them, but didn't have the space at the time to catch one for myself.

I plan on going back to get one though now that I do have the space to keep one. Maybe you and your Elgyem could join me!

[ video ]

[colorsofthewind]

I... don't think they have names. At least my team has shown no objections to my giving them names.

[ video ]

[shadows_edge]

[Faize smiles a little.]

Yes, that seems to be the general consensus from what I am hearing. It's somewhat surprising, admittedly, but I suppose it is what it is. Now it's just a matter of actually naming him.

[ video ]

[colorsofthewind]

I've mostly stuck with names of family and friends for my team, if that sort of thing works for you.

text;

[timelymaid]

well if they were owned by someone else the name should be information available to you via the gear
if not
as this seems to be the case
as i assume this is your partner...

thats sort of your job silly!
picking a name i mean

text;

[shadows_edge]

[WHAT GAVE HIM AWAY... Faize, please go catch some more Pokémon. Something. Anything.]

Hello, Aradia. It was a bit silly of me, wasn't it? It just didn't occur to me that he could have gone so long without any sort of moniker to claim as his own. But we are working towards fixing that now.

text;

[timelymaid]

hey faize!
i have wondered about that too
if pokemon have names for themselves
but it doesnt always seem to be the case!

what are your current ideas for names :o