[Theory] Scientific names of Pokémon

[Arjay]

Apologies if this has been discussed before. As well as a lifelong Pokémon fan, I'm also a biologist and palaeontologist and lately I've been fascinated with the idea of coming up with a complete list of binomial nomenclature for every Pokémon species.

But there are many things to consider when compiling such a list. For example, do multiple Pokémon in the same evolutionary line count as the same species? So would they have the same name? Also, do I look to the real world animal kingdom for inspiration?

E.g. Wailmer and Wailord. They're based on the blue whale, so I was thinking of something like Balaenoptera sphera for Wailmer, and Balaenoptera dirigiblis for Wailord. Balaenoptera being a genus of baleen whales which includes the blue whale.

So basically, should they have the genus Balaenoptera in the first place, the same as the animals upon which they're based, or should they have a genus all of their own considering they're Pokémon and not real animals? And secondly, should they both have the same name? Obviously they would share a genus I think, but what about the full name? Are they the same Pokémon, given that Pokémon evolution appears to function basically like metamorphosis in real animals, or should they be considered two different species and thus have their own names? And then of course these questions obviously apply to all Pokémon.

Has anyone else ever thought about this, and if so what names have you come up with for certain Pokémon?

 

[Dastr95]

I'm in the same field, but I postponed my studies, so I may be a bit rusty. But I'd argue that each Pokémon in an evolutionary chain is the same Pokémon. One argument is that you can breed a Wailmer with a Wailord and get fertile offspring. That isn't a great argument since there are egg groups. But the best argument is that they ARE the same individual, and so they have to be the same species haha. Evolution isn't the right term for what's happening to them, and every parent shares species with its offspring. In Pokémon at least this is true for the female. But there isn't enough of a time span to justify calling Wailmer and Wailord separate species. You'd have to argue that Weedle and Beedrill are separate species and that is clearly wrong.

Not creative enough for my own names.

 

[icycatelf]

Most Pokémon lines and even many individuals pull inspiration from multiple species, which makes pulling inspiration from real-world species difficult.

Oddish actually has a canon scientific name: Oddium wanderus. Pokémon of the same evolutionary line are still considered different species, hence them being classified as different Pokémon (this is a fantasy game, so we can look at Pokémon evolution as a cross between maturing and actual evolution), so I think it's fair for each to get their own species name but share the same genus. I could see Gloom being called something like Oddium olidus (smelly Oddish), Vileplume Oddium putriflora (putrid-flowered Oddish) or Oddium rafflesii (Rafflesia Oddish), and Bellossom Oddium belliflora (beautiful-flowered Oddish). Kabutops also has a scientific name, but only in the anime: Kabutops maximus. I guess that would make Kabuto Kabutops minumus.

Regional variants are obviously subspecies.

If we were to think of it strictly in real-world terms, then all Pokémon belonging to the same evolutionary line would be considered the same species.

 

[Dastr95]

Most Pokémon lines and even many individuals pull inspiration from multiple species, which makes pulling inspiration from real-world species difficult.

Oddish actually has a canon scientific name: Oddium wanderus. Pokémon of the same evolutionary line are still considered different species, hence them being classified as different Pokémon (this is a fantasy game, so we can look at Pokémon evolution as a cross between maturing and actual evolution), so I think it's fair for each to get their own species name but share the same genus. I could see Gloom being called something like Oddium olidus (smelly Oddish), Vileplume Oddium putriflora (putrid-flowered Oddish) or Oddium rafflesii (Rafflesia Oddish), and Bellossom Oddium belliflora (beautiful-flowered Oddish). Kabutops also has a scientific name, but only in the anime: Kabutops maximus. I guess that would make Kabuto Kabutops minumus.

Regional variants are obviously subspecies.

If we were to think of it strictly in real-world terms, then all Pokémon belonging to the same evolutionary line would be considered the same species.

I don't really buy your first argument. Yes, they're based on real-life species, but we're bending the rules in the first place here by assuming that the Pokémon world is real and doing our best to apply the species rules like we would in the real world. In no situation in the real world do we call an individual undergoing metamorphosis a different species.