Pokemon Palabras! Words, Words, and More Words...

[fenyx4]

Sorry about the title if it's corny, I just wanted some alliteration in the title. :nervous: Anyway, I know this is kind of weird/really sad coming from the Pokemon franchise (which is mostly aimed at kids), but I was wondering:
Has anyone brushed up their vocabulary by using any Pokemon media? Here are the following terms I've learned so far using one of the best franchises ever :P:

Adamant - learned from the natures in RSE. Heard it again from Dialga's Adamant Orb item and InuYasha's Adamant Barrage attack from Tessaiga.
Means "unwavering, unshakable, insistent especially in maintaining a position or opinion."

Affliction/Afflicted/Afflict - Every time E4 Phoebe's darn Dusclops kept on using Curse in RSE... :(
Afflict means "to trouble or to distress so severely as to cause persistent suffering or anguish." That pretty much matches what I (and my Pokemon) felt in the E4!

Arcane - learned from Bulbapedia's trivia on Arcanine.
Means "mysterious."

Avant-Garde - selectable text in RSE's text list, I think.I can't access it myself, but a certain girl says it during her Battle Frontier remarks after a battle, talking about an avant-garde Pokedex. Means " an intelligentsia that develops new or experimental concepts especially in the arts." Originates from the French language.

Batonnage - learned from the Japanese name of Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia.
(Supposed to be the "stirring of the lees which is employed to impart body and flavor to the wine" according to Google and noblegrapewines.com, but I think it is supposed to relate to the player using a "baton"/Capture Styler in the Shadows of Almia game.) Originates from the French language.

Fissure - first learned from the move in RSE, appears in other games, too.
Means "a narrow opening or crack of considerable length and depth, usually occuring from some breaking or parting."

Frivolous - learned from Serebii.net's speculation on new Gen. IV natures.
Means "lacking in seriousness; irresponsible."

Girasol - from Bulbapedia, possible origin of Giratina's name.
It can either be a gemstone (AKA "blue opal") or a type of sunflower (Google "girasol" and "girasol stone".)

Griseous - learned from Bulbapedia when it revealed the English name of the Platinum Orb in Platinum. I previously knew about gris from my AP Spanish class, etc. One of my top three favorite words ever!
Means "of a light color or white mottled with black or brown; grizzled." (Lol, even the Spell-Check tool for posting messages doesn't even recognize "griseous" :laugh:)

Hasty - learned from RSE's natures.
Means "rapid in action or movement; fast/speedy; done/made in a hurry." Can also mean "eager; impatient; irritable."

Immolated - On Youtube, I heard that the announcer says this when Magma Storm is used on Pokemon Battle Revolution.
Means "to offer in sacrifice/to kill as a sacrificial victim; to kill or destroy often by fire." (But killing's a no-no in Pokemon, only KO-ing is allowed! :rambo:)

(So that's in the Spell-Check tool for posting, while griseous isn't? I've at least heard the gris part before...weird. And after Googling it for the meaning just now, I just learned there's an "m" in it, not a "n" as the comment displayed on YT. Such a cool word, and all this time (since I saw the comment) I've been spelling it wrong...)

Impassioned - I think I recently learned about it in the TV Show that airs after you win a Master? Rank contest in Lilycove City (in Emerald, at least).
Means "filled with passion or zeal"; to impassion means "to arouse the feelings or passions of."

Indefatigable - Luckily, learned from the karate man "clerk" in Emerald's Battle Arena. Now one of my top three favorite words ever (my third is revolution, especially the Spanish form revolucion)! :)
Means "incapable of being fatigued."

Infatuation/Infatuated/Infatuate - descriptive text when a Pokemon uses Attract. Learned in RSE.
Infatuate means to "to inspire with a foolish or extravagant love or admiration"

Kurai - Possible origin of Darkrai's name (from Bulbapedia.)
Means "dark" in Japanese. Heh, at first I thought Darkrai meant "Dark Thunder" (rai = thunder in Japanese). Sounds cooler than "Darkdark (reminds me of Dexter's Lab's Mandark)," that's for sure (though saying Darkrai quickly in a low voice is fun, too. :)).

Lax - learned from the natures in RSE. I knew about the word "relax(-ed,-ing)", but it was just the usage of "lax" that surprised me.
Can mean "negligent" or "loose; not rigid" or "deficient in firmness, not stringent." Eww...most of its definitions are relating to bodily functions... :x And it's from Merriam-Webster, too...

Meticulous - learned from Serebii.net's speculation on new Gen. IV natures.
Means "marked by extreme or excessive care in the consideration of treatment of details; careful."

Rash - learned from RSE's natures. Means "marked by or proceeding from undue haste or deliberation or caution."

Rend - learned from Palkia's signature move, Spacial Rend.
Means "to split or tear (apart); to remove from place by violence; wrest." Which leads me to:

Subspace - learned this from both Super Smash Bros. Brawl's 1-Player mode and saw it again in Subspace Tear, Spacial Rend's Japanese name, which also sounds awesome.
Means "a subset of a space." Don't know how better to explain it... :/

Stricken - Hail's descriptive text. I knew about "strike" and "struck", but I first encountered "stricken" in RSE.
Means "hit or wounded by or as if hit by a missile."

Tenacious/Tenacity - Learned about it in the "Previously on your adventures" screens in FireRed when describing how well you beat a Trainer.
Means "persistent in maintaining or adhering to something valued as habitual."
Torrent - learned from the Mudkip family's ability. Means "a violent stream of liquid; tumultuous outpouring; flood."


*On a side-note, I learned from Google that Thunderstone and Moonstone are real items, though I first encountered them in Pokemon! (the thunderstone is actually mythical, but it at least has a Wikipedia article and defintions elsewhere) Also, I learned the phrase "for all intents and purposes" from a Bulbapedia edit on the elemental Hyperbeams!

These are all the Pokemon-learned vocab words I can remember right now.
Has anyone else learned new words from the Pokemon games, anime, manga, Learning League, books, etc....? This can include words that seem to be the origin of a Pokemon's name (i.e.,Arcanine :t059: and arcane & canine) as well as non-English words like kurai. List them here!

And they say Pokemon is for kids...! Ha! :) :P

(Incidentally, I used some of these words on my AP Language and Composition exam yesterday! I hope they help...)

Majority of definitions credited to Merriam-Webster.
*I was hooked back into Pokemon via the Ru/Sa games in 5th Grade which was around 2002-2003, I think, so I began learning the words from then onward. Emerald-specific words came between 2007-2008 when I got the game. So cut me some slack! :cer_smile: I have not played any pre-Gen.III games yet, by the way.

 

[Spearow]

Immolmated - On Youtube, I heard that the announcer says this when Magma Storm is used on Pokemon Battle Revolution.
Means "to offer in sacrifice/to kill as a sacrificial victim; to kill or destroy often by fire." (But killing's a no-no in Pokemon, only KO-ing is allowed! )

I believe you mean "immolated". ;)

But anyway. Cool thread, although I can't think of any word I've ever seen in Pokémon that I haven't seen anywhere else. Sometimes they can choose pretty obscure words for the translations, though...

Lax - learned from the natures in RSE. I knew about the word "relax(-ed,-ing)", but it was just the usage of "lax" that surprised me.
Can mean "negligent" or "loose; not rigid" or "deficient in firmness, not stringent." Eww...most of its definitions are relating to bodily functions... :x And it's from Merriam-Webster, too...

Well... you've heard of Ex-Lax, haven't you? XD

 

[Feign]

Off hand from the game, when I was much younger, I found out what a metronome was, because of the one move XD (you received the TM from the scientist in the same building where you would resurrect your Pokemon, in red and blue). It was new to me because I had never played an instrument, such as a piano, whereas I would have probably needed one.

Your list is cool :) Though I've learned those words in other sources XD

 

[fenyx4]

I believe you mean "immolated". ;)

But anyway. Cool thread, although I can't think of any word I've ever seen in Pokémon that I haven't seen anywhere else. Sometimes they can choose pretty obscure words for the translations, though...



Well... you've heard of Ex-Lax, haven't you? XD

Thanks for noticing the typo and commenting! Arrgh...WHY is that word so hard to spell every time I write/type it? :cer_confused: And it's such a cool word, too...

I haven't heard of Ex-Lax before, but I have heard of "laxatives" before. But I didn't know lax and laxative had that much in common with each other! :cer_eek: :cer_disbelief: I thought lax was more akin to relaxed instead. I guess the Pokemon games use it to roughly mean "relaxed" or "negligent," though they already have a Relaxed Nature...

 

[iTzKaizer]

Since I speak Spanish, English version pokemon games were usefull to learn English. I just thought the Spanish names were a little, dumb, and.... well I like the english ones better.

I wouldn't be talking in this forum if it wasn't for them, and wouldn't be that good in English either.

Well, really I can't list all the words I've learned since it would a HUGE list. Remember, it's a new language.

 

[Spearow]

I haven't heard of Ex-Lax before, but I have heard of "laxatives" before. But I didn't know lax and laxative had that much in common with each other! I thought lax was more akin to relaxed instead. I guess the Pokemon games use it to roughly mean "relaxed" or "negligent," though they already have a Relaxed Nature...

Yeah, Ex-Lax is just a brand of laxative. And I guess that word is sort of related to "relaxed" because it relaxes your bowels. Cool how lots of words are connected at the roots, huh? I think in the games "lax" is supposed to have the connotation of being lazy or careless, rather than simply laid-back. Or maybe they just got tired of thinking up one-word adjectives to describe personalities, I dunno.

 

[fenyx4]

Yeah, Ex-Lax is just a brand of laxative. And I guess that word is sort of related to "relaxed" because it relaxes your bowels. Cool how lots of words are connected at the roots, huh? I think in the games "lax" is supposed to have the connotation of being lazy or careless, rather than simply laid-back. Or maybe they just got tired of thinking up one-word adjectives to describe personalities, I dunno.

:cer_nod: Yeah, but some words are a bit too connected...

Wonder why Nintendo/Game Freak just didn't use a Lazy or Careless nature... I mean, the definition of Lax they seem to be going for in the games isn't even one of the top meanings listed! (in Merriam Webster's list of definitions) Sheesh...they're causing so much confusion with just one word with various meanings...! @o

 

[Gymnotide]

Er, no. Pokemon words are like 8th grade to me.
edit But that Fantina made me start speaking French in my sentences.

 

[DarthWaffles]

I learned a bit from Pokemon.

Obtained - Yes I didn't know what this ment before pokemon.

Lax

Fissure

Guillotine

I reckon theres more, but I can't really remember whether I learned it from Pokemon or not.

 

[fenyx4]

Er, no. Pokemon words are like 8th grade to me.
edit But that Fantina made me start speaking French in my sentences.

I know, most of us older players should breeze through the game with no problems in reading the text. But occasionally, Nintendo/Game Freak slip in an advanced word or two here or there. (i.e., "indefatigable" and "griseous" really caught me off-guard when I first saw it. I was like: those words? In a Pokemon game???) 0_o

You don't see something like that in Super Smash Bros. Melee or Brawl, though, and those are Teen-rated games (so shouldn't the choice of words be more advanced than 8th Grade to aim toward a teenage audience?).

The term "indefatigable" even fits well in the games' context, as competitive players could have a indefatigable fighting spirit, which drives them to win at all costs during a match... It's just weird that I've learned more words from fantasy-violent E-rated games than cartoon-violent T-rated ones... :\