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Besides capitalizing Pokémon species names because it's official (therefore, correct), I do think that it makes sense because in real life we capitalize the "scientific name" of any species... and Pokémon are only ever shown to have a single name whether it's in common use or scientific use so it might very well be correct capitalized.
Besides capitalizing Pokémon species names because it's official (therefore, correct), I do think that it makes sense because in real life we capitalize the "scientific name" of any species... and Pokémon are only ever shown to have a single name whether it's in common use or scientific use so it might very well be correct capitalized.
The thing is, though, we don't exactly. A housecat is a Felis domesticus, we are Homo sapiens, and a Western gorilla is a Gorilla gorilla (yes, really. There's even a subspecies called Gorilla gorilla gorilla). While the genus is capitalised, the actual species name of the creature itself is not. So we're kind of back where we started on that count.
Farla has a point, you know. You can't say that you ARE supposed to capitalise them because the only thing we have for precedent is the Pokemon series itself, which capitalises them because they're trademarked names. In-universe, they're not trademarked at all, so whether to capitalise them or not is really up to the individual authors. Just because someone doesn't subscribe to the same system you do isn't a reason to slag them off.Always. There's this person on ff.net who says you don't capitalize the names of Pokémon, but you do, so whenever I see that very harsh critic review, it makes me go 'Dammit, you ARE supposed to capitalize them!'
If you're going for a hard realistic fic, though, it'd be proper not to, because animal species names are not proper names, and thus are not capitalized.
Well, some allowances have to be made to establish that, yes, this is in fact a Pokemon story. In any case, some real-life species, like the hoatzin, have names that are quite fantastic.If you're going for a hard realistic fic, though, it'd be proper not to, because animal species names are not proper names, and thus are not capitalized.
If you're going hard realistic, you'd make up your own common names for the creatures based on already-existing nouns that then wouldn't be capitalized. Just sayin'
e.g. Skarmory = "steel-winged bird".
I'm not sure what you mean. The hoatzin is an actual species of bird; I was using its name as an example of a fantastic name in the real world. My point was, it isn't always necessary for a common name to be a description of the animal. Therefore, using the series names of Pokemon doesn't break realism too heavily.I prefer not establishing Pokémon in the setting a priori if that's the case, like I'm doing in The Rise of Silph (which I'm still rewriting heavily). In any case, if you do want to use names like "the hoatzin", at least make an effort to create your own words for such animals.
I find it grates a little to see attacks or items capitalised.
I find it grates a little to see attacks or items capitalised.
"Pikachu, use tackle!" I used to do this too, until I realized that tackle wasn't being used as a verb, and certainly not as a common noun.
Similarly, a Potion isn't quite what you'd call a potion.
I think it's more like a brand-name... like how you say "I need to use the Advil" and not "I need to use the advil."I'm not quite sure I follow your logic on potions/Potions. Is it not just a word for 'medicine'? I wouldn't say "I need to use a Painkiller" or anything. Care to elaborate?
That's a fair point regarding moves being proper nouns. You're certainly right that in that context, they should be capitalised. The thing is, must they be proper nouns in the first place? I've always treated them as common nouns, i.e. "used a thunderbolt". I also like the technique Misheard Whisper has drawn attention to, where the attack is not explicitly named; I find it does give a greater sense of realism, and is more dynamic than formulaic, inflexible moves. Treating attacks as proper nouns seems artificial, and I prefer to find way around needing to do so.
I'm not quite sure I follow your logic on potions/Potions. Is it not just a word for 'medicine'? I wouldn't say "I need to use a Painkiller" or anything. Care to elaborate?