• Ever thought it'd be cool to have your art, writing, or challenge runs featured on PokéCommunity? Click here for info - we'd love to spotlight your work!
  • Welcome to PokéCommunity! Register now and join one of the best fan communities on the 'net to talk Pokémon and more! We are not affiliated with The Pokémon Company or Nintendo.
    Register

What is it with people saying Pocket Monster?

Which do you prefer and say?

  • Pokemon

    Votes: 23 74.2%

  • Pocket Monsters

    Votes: 1 3.2%

  • Don't care

    Votes: 7 22.6%
  • Total voters
    31

walasaka

Dark-type Trainer
    • 56
    Posts
    16
    Years
    I know Pokémon is meant to be a fusion of both words, but there's a reason they're called that:

    It sounds less stupid. I know I haven't been on the forums for long so have no right to criticise, but a few people keep saying Pocket Monsters as if it were some sort of accepted form of saying it. To me it sounds like you're trying to come accross as more... educated I guess. Instead I always read it as condescending or arrogant.

    What do you think? Pokemon or Pocket Monsters?
     
    Pokemon is american way of saying and Pocket Monsters japan way :)
     
    Ash493 said:
    Pokemon is american way of saying and Pocket Monsters japan way :)
    Click to expand...
    Whatever you said is correct but I think that I read somewhere that another reason Pocket Monsters are called pokemon is that Pocket Monsters was somewhat of a big name and to make it short it was changed to Pokemon. But I really doubt whatever I said, so at the end:

    Pokemon -> American way
    Pocket Monsters-> japanese way

    as you said!
     
    "Pokemon" was chosen when shifting the franchise over to the West, namely America, to avoid copyright infringement on the similarly sounding "Monster in My Pocket" franchise. So, technically, "Pocket Monsters" is more correct and "Pokemon" is the next best thing Nintendo had to go with.

    To me, Pokemon is just the general term and an indication of the deterioration of language into contractions. People get lazy, or find something easier to say that carries far more meaning. Yes, "Pocket Monsters" is more intelligent, and, frankly, it also makes the franchise seem more mature. But "Pokemon" is an acceptable contraction, simply because we don't go around saying "Pocket Monster Mart" or "Pocket Monster League".
     
    Okay so it was because of the copyright laws! Now I get it! Even I read about the controversy regarding 'Monster in my Pocket' and it completely fits why nintendo changed Pocket Monsters to Pokemon.
     
    walasaka said:
    That's all well and good, but then...

    Why do Westerners then insist on saying Pocket Monsters anyway?
    Click to expand...
    They just have personal preferances! If one prefer to call it pokemon then its his personal choice and if he chooses to call it Pocket Monsters then too its their choice. Don't you think that way too?
     
    Pocket Monster = Pokemon

    Dont really care, It doesn't bother me that much like it does to you XP
     
    Crusher 1 said:
    If you said this for walasaka then its true but if said to me then its not true at all! Even I don't bother about it!
    Click to expand...
    Lol, its for walasaka dude...
    *high 5* for the 'i dont bother about it' XP
     
    Doesn't Japan call it Pokémon most of the time now too? 8| Lol I have NEVER seen the appeal in calling it Pocket Monsters if you're a Western fan. It just takes longer to both say AND type and half the time you just look pretentious when you use the longer name anyway. :(
     
    Lightning said:
    Doesn't Japan call it Pokémon most of the time now too? 8| Lol I have NEVER seen the appeal in calling it Pocket Monsters if you're a Western fan. It just takes longer to both say AND type and half the time you just look pretentious when you use the longer name anyway. :(
    Click to expand...

    I have heard them say 'Poketa Monsta' every time I saw any pokemon movie's trailer. I honestly have never heard them say Pokemon!
     
    Lightning said:
    It just takes longer to both say AND type and half the time you just look pretentious when you use the longer name anyway. :(
    Click to expand...
    Personally, I could care less about the length of a name for a preference I have. If it took me a minute more to write, that'd bother me, but an extra second or two? hah, that doesn't affect me at all.

    Really, I just dislike writing Pokémon or Pokemon, I don't know why, it just bothers me. So I've always called it Pocket Monsters. Am I American? Sure, should it matter? No, and frankly I'm surprised people get the vibe it's trying to achieve sense of being superior or as "more educated." It's just a preference I happen to like, nothing more.

    I just can't believe people judge others based on writing a word in another viable form. o_o I'll never understand that.
     
    Well, for me it's because a lot of the people I used to know in the fandom who used "Pocket Monsters" were elitists and considered themselves better for using original Japanese names and terms. Ever since (and most of this elitism was probably like... 5 years ago), it's been way, way too hard for me to shake the preconception and not for lack of trying. I can tell when someone genuinely uses the term and when they use it just to look cool but it still irks me either way. I don't call people out over it because I do know it comes down to preference but try as I might, it still just... bugs me, even to this day. It just sounds so, so unnatural in English.

    ...but I still don't understand the why people use the foreign name. To me it's only a minor step-up from saying Seera Muun instead of Sailor Moon. It's not like the name was dumbed down here which is the argument I see for a lot of people using original Japanese names in franchises--it was just shortened the natural Japanese way. o_O And I dunno, I've always found Pokémon to be a really catchy name and it IS used in Japanese, too (iirc the games use the short form? I just looked up the new Mystery Dungeon game and it uses "Pokemon" so...).

    I know I probably do offend when I say all that (not that I mean to) but I just... don't understand. XD;
     
    I've never called it Pocket Monsters in my life (to me it sounds stupid even though thats what they truly are). I just save my mouth energy by just saying Pokemon. But through out the years, Japanese people have been calling it Pokemon more often


    :t354:TG
     
    Its just their perference. Wether you call it pokemon or pocket monsters we all know what your talking about. It shouldn't really matter what its called.
     
    Autumn27 said:
    Its just their perference. Wether you call it pokemon or pocket monsters we all know what your talking about. It shouldn't really matter what its called.
    Click to expand...
    And that's exactly the way it should be, thank you Autumn27.
     
    Redstar said:
    "Pokemon" was chosen when shifting the franchise over to the West, namely America, to avoid copyright infringement on the similarly sounding "Monster in My Pocket" franchise. So, technically, "Pocket Monsters" is more correct and "Pokemon" is the next best thing Nintendo had to go with.

    To me, Pokemon is just the general term and an indication of the deterioration of language into contractions. People get lazy, or find something easier to say that carries far more meaning. Yes, "Pocket Monsters" is more intelligent, and, frankly, it also makes the franchise seem more mature. But "Pokemon" is an acceptable contraction, simply because we don't go around saying "Pocket Monster Mart" or "Pocket Monster League".
    Click to expand...
    Intreging, I always thought Pocket Monsters just didn't sound right. IE:
    "Hey, son, what are you gonna do today?"
    "Me and Billy are gonna play with our Pocket Monsters!"
    Yeah, I have a sick mind, but still.

    But, yeah, even though Pocket Monsters was the way it was introduced to me first (I lived in Japin at the time), I still used Pokemon just because I thought it sounded cooler.
     
    o_o The games said Pokemon in casual speech, the anime said Pokemon casual speech, and I got into Pokemon by playing the game and watching the anime.

    So in normal conversation I'd say Pokemon, not just because it's shorter, because it's like calling a band-aid an adhesive bandage to me. I'm not going to think someone is pretentious for saying it that way, but the way I've heard it called first or most people around me call it will be the normal way I say it.

    Hey, I didn't even know band-aids or Pokemon had a larger term when I was younger.
     
    You must log in or register to reply here.
    Back
    Top