Scientific Names for Pokémon

[RichestAirPirate]

Hey hey hey!
So, as someone who frequents the Pokédex fairly often, I've noticed something.
Oddish's Pokédex entry from FireRed, Y, and Scarlet.
"Its scientific name is “Oddium Wanderus.” At night, it is said to walk nearly 1,000 feet on its two roots."
According to the anime episode Fossil Fools, Kabutops's scientific name is "Kabutops maximus."

So this got ya boy thinking... What would be each Pokémon's scientific name?

 

[NumberOneSpinelApologist]

I wonder if the pokemon world even would have a unified naming system other than the pokedex at all. Did they have their own version of Carolus Linneaus?

What if every branch of pokemon science spcecialists has their own naming system and no one actually agrees on what the names are, other from the "common" pokedex names?

I think it would be hilarious to imagine a mailing list war between the fossil guys and the plant guys. Intense pokemon battles at conferences, over who gets to name that pokemon, that would be always unresolved because the scientists are mostly nerds, not actual battlers.
And the poor guys who are just trying to research historic grass pokemon having a problem with publishing their papers because their reviewers from each side of the divide would have a problem with which naming convention they are using

 

[ninazrdl]

I like how in the English pokedex there is a scientific name for them, while in Japanese they are literally named "strange grass"(ナゾノクサ, can be translated to mysterious grass too, but strange or weird is closer to the impression the word gives), and they used アルキメンデス, which literally said "walking noodle 'ere", instead of Oddium Wanderus.
Classic culture difference between the English speaking/European academic and Asian academic.

 

[RichestAirPirate]

What if every branch of pokemon science spcecialists has their own naming system and no one actually agrees on what the names are, other from the "common" pokedex names?

That sounds really funny, actually. I guess we, the ones speculating, are like the scientists trying to come up with scientific names for Pokémon lol.

 

[RichestAirPirate]

One must wonder if the genus and specific names in the Pokémon world are the same as the ones seen in the real world. Based on the scientific names we know, um... sorta? At least, that's what I think. I'm no scientist. I'm just a Pokémon that did a lil Googling lol.

Kabutops is not a genus in the real world. However, maximus very much is a species name in the real world. For example, Limax Maximus, Elephas maximus, etc.

So, what about Oddium? Is that a genus in the real world? Um... sorta but not really. The exact genus, "Oddium" is completely fictional and made for Oddish. However, the name is very similar to "Oidium", which is the formerly accepted genus name for a lot of Fungi. And while Oidium is not accepted anymore as a genus name, it did become the name of a powdery mildew fungal disease that can affect plants, most commonly showing up as a white powder of sorts. Perhaps "Oidium" inspired the genus name "Oddium"? And wanderus is a completely made up species name.

Anyways, what does this mean for us? Do we have to make our own genus and species names in order to come up with scientific names for Pokémon? Look, we aren't scientists. This franchise is fictional and made for kids. We're all gonna come up with our own scientific names in the end. That's how discussions work, yeah? Basically, let's just have fun here.

 

[RichestAirPirate]

I started thinking of the scientific name for Pikachu. I felt like it would be a good start and provide a decent template. Also, it's the mascot. So yeah. Plus, it helps that we know that the Pikachu family does have relatives outside of others of its kind.

Pachirisu's Legends Arceus entry
"A species related to the Pikachu line. Though Pachirisu is a calm Pokémon, it still presents a danger should one touch its electrified tail or cheeks."

If Pachirisu is related to the Pikachu family, they likely share a genus. And considering Pachirisu's status as a Pikaclone, it is likely that other Pikaclones are related to Pikachu as well! So with that knowledge, let's focus on the mascot rat for now.

The scientific name for Pikachu I came up with is Elepodemus pikala. Elepodemus comes from "Apodemus", which is the irl genus of rodents. And "electricity", obviously. Basically, "Elepodemus" is for electric rodents. "Pikala" specifies that it is a Pikachu you're talking about.

So what about Pichu and Raichu? For Pichu, I came up with Elepodemus tinius. Tinius from "Tiny." Makes sense cuz this is the "Tiny Mouse Pokémon." For Raichu, I came up with Elepodemus Raichulae. Raichulae from "Raichu" and "peninsulae," a common epithet.

So I came up with
Elepodemus pikala (Pikachu)
Elepodemus tinius (Pichu)
and Elepodemus raichulae (Raichu)

 

[RichestAirPirate]

I started thinking of the scientific name for Pikachu. I felt like it would be a good start and provide a decent template. Also, it's the mascot. So yeah. Plus, it helps that we know that the Pikachu family does have relatives outside of others of its kind.

Pachirisu's Legends Arceus entry
"A species related to the Pikachu line. Though Pachirisu is a calm Pokémon, it still presents a danger should one touch its electrified tail or cheeks."

If Pachirisu is related to the Pikachu family, they likely share a genus. And considering Pachirisu's status as a Pikaclone, it is likely that other Pikaclones are related to Pikachu as well! So with that knowledge, let's focus on the mascot rat for now.

The scientific name for Pikachu I came up with is Elepodemus pikala. Elepodemus comes from "Apodemus", which is the irl genus of rodents. And "electricity", obviously. Basically, "Elepodemus" is for electric rodents. "Pikala" specifies that it is a Pikachu you're talking about.

So what about Pichu and Raichu? For Pichu, I came up with Elepodemus tinius. Tinius from "Tiny." Makes sense cuz this is the "Tiny Mouse Pokémon." For Raichu, I came up with Elepodemus Raichulae. Raichulae from "Raichu" and "peninsulae," a common epithet.

So I came up with
Elepodemus pikala (Pikachu)
Elepodemus tinius (Pichu)
and Elepodemus raichulae (Raichu)

Based on this, I've been able to come up with scientific names for other Pikaclones. They share the elepodemus genus, but their epithet would be different.

Plusle and Minun are Elepodemus plus and minus respectively. Because obviously.
Pachirisu: Elepodemus parkus. Some scientific names are named after people, so why not name Pachirisu's after the man that made it a champion?
Emolga: Elepodemus soarus. From soar.
Dedenne: Elepodemus pixia. From pixie, since its a fairy type.
Togedemaru: Elepodemus togastum. From toge (Japanese for thorn or spike) and dorastum, the epithet for the North American porcupine.
Morpeko: Elepodemus gluttonus. From gluttonous, because it eats a lot.
Pawmi, Pawmo, and Pawmot: Elepodemus smallus, marmota, palmus. From small, marmota (irl species name for marmots), and palm.

 

[Mothmallow]

I started thinking of the scientific name for Pikachu. I felt like it would be a good start and provide a decent template. Also, it's the mascot. So yeah. Plus, it helps that we know that the Pikachu family does have relatives outside of others of its kind.

Pachirisu's Legends Arceus entry
"A species related to the Pikachu line. Though Pachirisu is a calm Pokémon, it still presents a danger should one touch its electrified tail or cheeks."

If Pachirisu is related to the Pikachu family, they likely share a genus. And considering Pachirisu's status as a Pikaclone, it is likely that other Pikaclones are related to Pikachu as well! So with that knowledge, let's focus on the mascot rat for now.

The scientific name for Pikachu I came up with is Elepodemus pikala. Elepodemus comes from "Apodemus", which is the irl genus of rodents. And "electricity", obviously. Basically, "Elepodemus" is for electric rodents. "Pikala" specifies that it is a Pikachu you're talking about.

So what about Pichu and Raichu? For Pichu, I came up with Elepodemus tinius. Tinius from "Tiny." Makes sense cuz this is the "Tiny Mouse Pokémon." For Raichu, I came up with Elepodemus Raichulae. Raichulae from "Raichu" and "peninsulae," a common epithet.

So I came up with
Elepodemus pikala (Pikachu)
Elepodemus tinius (Pichu)
and Elepodemus raichulae (Raichu)

Based on this, I've been able to come up with scientific names for other Pikaclones. They share the elepodemus genus, but their epithet would be different.

Plusle and Minun are Elepodemus plus and minus respectively. Because obviously.
Pachirisu: Elepodemus parkus. Some scientific names are named after people, so why not name Pachirisu's after the man that made it a champion?
Emolga: Elepodemus soarus. From soar.
Dedenne: Elepodemus pixia. From pixie, since its a fairy type.
Togedemaru: Elepodemus togastum. From toge (Japanese for thorn or spike) and dorastum, the epithet for the North American porcupine.
Morpeko: Elepodemus gluttonus. From gluttonous, because it eats a lot.
Pawmi, Pawmo, and Pawmot: Elepodemus smallus, marmota, palmus. From small, marmota (irl species name for marmots), and palm.

These are really neat! Though you seem to misunderstand the irl taxonomy; Apodemus is one genus in the order Rodentia, it refers specifically to 'old world' mice.
I would disagree that being 'related' implies specifically sharing a genus. I always took that dex entry to imply that pikachu is simply more sciurine (squirrel-like) than murine (mouse-like). Which would make sense since it resembles a Japanese dormouse, dormice being sciuromorphs despite the name.
My own scientific name HCs cheat a bit since they're from a pseudo 'real world' au where normal animals also exist, so most of them are just placed in existing genera. The only genus names I think I've made up so far have been for dragons, since I can't base them off real ones haha. But my pika + pikaclones would be the following;
Pichu, Pikachu, Raichu - Glirulus fulminis. Irl genus of the Japanese dormouse, and fulminis means lightning.
Pachirisu - Sciurus caerulius. Genus of typical tree squirrels and the word blue. Not very creative, I know...
Emolga - Petaurista cucullata. Genus of giant Asian flying squirrels and 'hooded', refering to its markings. I think I forgot what region it was from when I named it, it would probably make more sense to be an American flying squirrel.
Dedenne - Apodemus antennarius. Dedenne seems the most likely candidate to be an actual European field mouse, and antennarius obviously refers to its antennae.
Togedemaru - Chinchilla hystrix. Idk just strikes me as a chinchilla, hystrix means spiny and is actually also the genus name for crested porcupines.
Morpeko - Cricetus janus. Resembles a European hamster imo, and janus as a mythological reference for two-facedness. Gluttonus is really damn cute, tho, haha.
Those are the only ones I have. As you can see I also simplified evolutionary lines to be one species for the sake of my sanity, but it's really interesting to see other people take them being referred to in game as seperate species and running with it. The main focus of the au is on invertebrates since that's where most of my zoological knowledge lies, but I'll cut this before I go on a huge rant about why malamar is glass squid and not a vampire squid lol
(That kabutops tidbit is new to me by the way. Gonna have to chew on it for a bit...)

 

[RichestAirPirate]

These are really neat! Though you seem to misunderstand the irl taxonomy; Apodemus is one genus in the order Rodentia, it refers specifically to 'old world' mice.

My own scientific name HCs cheat a bit since they're from a pseudo 'real world' au where normal animals also exist, so most of them are just placed in existing genera. The only genus names I think I've made up so far have been for dragons, since I can't base them off real ones haha.

Ah! Thank you for the catch! Learning about the animal kingdom with orders, genuses, and all that is a lot more complicated than I thought it would be. I like your scientific names! Very clever, I'd say. And way more varied and accurate to irl naming schemes than my own lol.

 

[RichestAirPirate]

Oh man. This chat is dead. Let's think of more scientific names.

How about Kabuto? Well, we know Kabutops's scientific name, but what about Kabuto's?

Well, how about Kabutops Minimus?

 

[NucleoWolf]

I'm actually working on a spreadsheet of scientific names for Pokémon (right now I'm only focusing on my favorites, since each scientific name takes a lot of research to formulate and I just don't have the time or energy to do them all right now). The basis of these scientific names are the Pokémon's categories translated into Latin and/or Greek; I research both the English and Japanese category names, and if there is a major difference between them, then I'll use the Japanese category as the basis (since Pokémon is a Japanese franchise that is translated into English). If the translated categories do not form a complete scientific name, then I'll also add terms that are related to the Pokémon's characteristics. The scientific names of animals (and other real-life organisms) are used as inspiration for the scientific names I create for Pokémon.

I headcanon Pokémon as a Kingdom-level clade of eukaryotes (which I'm also working on a name for; all I've determined so far is that it's going to end in "zoa") that coexist with animals (and other real-life organisms), so genera names of animals (and other real-life organisms) are avoided; I check to make sure that no animal (or other real-life organism) holds the genus name that I consider for a Pokémon before formalizing it. Since Pokémon "evolution" is actually metamorphosis and each Pokémon "species" in an "evolutionary line" is a life stage, I deem the "evolutionary line" to be the biological species that is assigned a scientific name. The scientific names of regional variants are determined on a case-by-case basis: either the regional variant is classified as a different species in the same genus as the original variant, or the original variant and the regional variant are classified as subspecies of the same biological species (with the original variant being the nominal subspecies), depending on which scenario fits better with what is known about the Pokémon. I'm still figuring out how to approach Paradox Pokémon, but right now I'm leaning towards also classifying them as a different species in the same genus as the "Holocene version" of the Pokémon.

For example, the scientific name I created for the Hoennian variant of Zigzagoon and Linoone is Dromaeogale microprocyonoides. Hoennian Zigzagoon is known as the "Tiny Raccoon" Pokémon in English and as the "Tiny Raccoon Dog" Pokémon in Japanese, while Hoennian Linoone is known as the "Rushing" Pokémon in both languages. Since raccoons (Procyon spp.) and raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes spp.) are different organisms, I used Hoennian Zigzagoon's Japanese category for determining its scientific name. "Micro" is Greek for "small," while "procyonoides" is the species name of the Asian raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides). "Dromaeo" is Greek for "running," which is similar enough to "rushing" and is used in the scientific names of animals associated with running (ex. Dromaeosaurus). "Gale" is Greek for weasel, and it is used in the genus name of ferret-badgers (Melogale spp.). "Dromaeo microprocyonoides" felt incomplete, so I added "gale" to the genus name; I chose this specific addition since Hoennian Linoone has traits of both badgers and weasels, and I think it somewhat resembles a ferret-badger.

The Galarian variant of Zigzagoon and Linoone - plus Obstagoon - are isolated on an island, and they are thought to be older than the Hoennian variant. Since there is no canonical information that would only make sense if the Galarian variant is classified as a subspecies, I decided to classify it as a distinct species from the Hoennian variant. Galarian Zigzagoon and Galarian Linoone have the same categories as their Hoennian variants, while Obstagoon is known as the "Blocking" Pokémon in both English and Japanese. Thus, Dromaeogale brachiopelta is the scientific name I created for the Galarian variant. "Brachio" is Latin for "arms" and "pelta" is Greek for "shield," which felt appropriate given that Obstagoon uses its arms to block like a shield.

In contrast, I decided to classify the Alolan variant of Vulpix and Ninetales as a subspecies rather than a species distinct from the Kantonian variant. While the Alolan variant is also isolated on an island, it was thought to be introduced to Alola by humans. Assuming the human settlement of Alola occurred within the same timeline as the human settlement of Hawaii, the introduction of Vulpix and Ninetales would have happened 1000 years ago at maximum. Unless there is an unknown third variant of Vulpix and Ninetales, the Alolan variant would have descended from the Kantonian variant. Thus, classifying the Alolan variant as a distinct species would make the Kantonian variant a paraphyletic species. With all of that in mind, I decided on the scientific names of Pyralopex polycaudatus polycaudatus and Pyralopex polycaudatus keokeo for the Kantonian and Alolan variants, respectively ("Pyralopex polycaudatus" translates to "multi-tailed fire fox," while "keokeo" is the Alolan variant's indigenous name). The history of the Alolan variant reminded me of the dingo (Canis dingo or Canis familiaris dingo or Canis lupus dingo), so the taxonomic debate over this canid influenced how I approached the taxonomy of Vulpix and Ninetales.

Apologies for the essay, I am a genetics student who is highly fascinated with taxonomy and evolution, so of course I've thought about these topics in the context of Pokémon a lot. I'll be more than happy to share the scientific names I've created for other species (and higher-level clades) once I finish my spreadsheet.

 

[RichestAirPirate]

I'm actually working on a spreadsheet of scientific names for Pokémon (right now I'm only focusing on my favorites, since each scientific name takes a lot of research to formulate and I just don't have the time or energy to do them all right now). The basis of these scientific names are the Pokémon's categories translated into Latin and/or Greek; I research both the English and Japanese category names, and if there is a major difference between them, then I'll use the Japanese category as the basis (since Pokémon is a Japanese franchise that is translated into English). If the translated categories do not form a complete scientific name, then I'll also add terms that are related to the Pokémon's characteristics. The scientific names of animals (and other real-life organisms) are used as inspiration for the scientific names I create for Pokémon.

I headcanon Pokémon as a Kingdom-level clade of eukaryotes (which I'm also working on a name for; all I've determined so far is that it's going to end in "zoa") that coexist with animals (and other real-life organisms), so genera names of animals (and other real-life organisms) are avoided; I check to make sure that no animal (or other real-life organism) holds the genus name that I consider for a Pokémon before formalizing it. Since Pokémon "evolution" is actually metamorphosis and each Pokémon "species" in an "evolutionary line" is a life stage, I deem the "evolutionary line" to be the biological species that is assigned a scientific name. The scientific names of regional variants are determined on a case-by-case basis: either the regional variant is classified as a different species in the same genus as the original variant, or the original variant and the regional variant are classified as subspecies of the same biological species (with the original variant being the nominal subspecies), depending on which scenario fits better with what is known about the Pokémon. I'm still figuring out how to approach Paradox Pokémon, but right now I'm leaning towards also classifying them as a different species in the same genus as the "Holocene version" of the Pokémon.

For example, the scientific name I created for the Hoennian variant of Zigzagoon and Linoone is Dromaeogale microprocyonoides. Hoennian Zigzagoon is known as the "Tiny Raccoon" Pokémon in English and as the "Tiny Raccoon Dog" Pokémon in Japanese, while Hoennian Linoone is known as the "Rushing" Pokémon in both languages. Since raccoons (Procyon spp.) and raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes spp.) are different organisms, I used Hoennian Zigzagoon's Japanese category for determining its scientific name. "Micro" is Greek for "small," while "procyonoides" is the species name of the Asian raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides). "Dromaeo" is Greek for "running," which is similar enough to "rushing" and is used in the scientific names of animals associated with running (ex. Dromaeosaurus). "Gale" is Greek for weasel, and it is used in the genus name of ferret-badgers (Melogale spp.). "Dromaeo microprocyonoides" felt incomplete, so I added "gale" to the genus name; I chose this specific addition since Hoennian Linoone has traits of both badgers and weasels, and I think it somewhat resembles a ferret-badger.

The Galarian variant of Zigzagoon and Linoone - plus Obstagoon - are isolated on an island, and they are thought to be older than the Hoennian variant. Since there is no canonical information that would only make sense if the Galarian variant is classified as a subspecies, I decided to classify it as a distinct species from the Hoennian variant. Galarian Zigzagoon and Galarian Linoone have the same categories as their Hoennian variants, while Obstagoon is known as the "Blocking" Pokémon in both English and Japanese. Thus, Dromaeogale brachiopelta is the scientific name I created for the Galarian variant. "Brachio" is Latin for "arms" and "pelta" is Greek for "shield," which felt appropriate given that Obstagoon uses its arms to block like a shield.

In contrast, I decided to classify the Alolan variant of Vulpix and Ninetales as a subspecies rather than a species distinct from the Kantonian variant. While the Alolan variant is also isolated on an island, it was thought to be introduced to Alola by humans. Assuming the human settlement of Alola occurred within the same timeline as the human settlement of Hawaii, the introduction of Vulpix and Ninetales would have happened 1000 years ago at maximum. Unless there is an unknown third variant of Vulpix and Ninetales, the Alolan variant would have descended from the Kantonian variant. Thus, classifying the Alolan variant as a distinct species would make the Kantonian variant a paraphyletic species. With all of that in mind, I decided on the scientific names of Pyralopex polycaudatus polycaudatus and Pyralopex polycaudatus keokeo for the Kantonian and Alolan variants, respectively ("Pyralopex polycaudatus" translates to "multi-tailed fire fox," while "keokeo" is the Alolan variant's indigenous name). The history of the Alolan variant reminded me of the dingo (Canis dingo or Canis familiaris dingo or Canis lupus dingo), so the taxonomic debate over this canid influenced how I approached the taxonomy of Vulpix and Ninetales.

Apologies for the essay, I am a genetics student who is highly fascinated with taxonomy and evolution, so of course I've thought about these topics in the context of Pokémon a lot. I'll be more than happy to share the scientific names I've created for other species (and higher-level clades) once I finish my spreadsheet.

Holy mother of Arceus.
You certainly are doing your homework!

 

[NucleoWolf]

Holy mother of Arceus.
You certainly are doing your homework!

Yep, and scientific names are just a part of it. I love headcanoning "Pokéology" (current working name, but subject to change once clade names are created) based on real-life biology, so I'm also planning on:

• Creating a phylogenetic tree of Pokémon species and determining how long ago they diverged from each other. Both real-life phylogenetics and relevant Pokédex information are being utilized to create this tree. Egg Groups will serve as the basis of clades above the genus level, and additional characters will be analyzed to further determine the relations between and within Egg Group clades. Mew was selected as the outgroup since it is thought to be the ancestor of all Pokémon, and thus it would not have any derived characters (relative to other Pokémon).
• Placing Pokémon into the tree of life and determining how long ago they diverged from their closest living relative(s). This part of the project is so far the hardest, since modern phylogenies of eukaryotes are based on molecular data (which is obviously unavailable for fictional creatures) and there is some uncertainty over when the first complex multicellular organisms evolved.
• Creating "stem-Pokémon," identifying which character(s) distinguish crown group Pokémon from "stem-Pokémon," and determining the geological ages of both the first Mew population and "stem-Pokémon." The powers of Pokémon is the most obvious answer for the second subject, but this character would not be preserved in the fossil record (unless crown group Pokémon have some morphological character that is associated with their powers, which is a route I could consider taking).
• Chronologizing the evolution of Pokémon and how their diversity changed over time. This includes determining how Pokémon were affected by mass extinction events (plus the event that created the Paldean Crater; I'm headcanoning it as an asteroid impact unless/until canonical information states/indicates otherwise).
• Hypothesizing the ecological interactions between Pokémon and other organisms, including the affects that humanity has had on Pokémon biodiversity and conservation.

I'm not very far with any parts of my "Pokéology" project, and progress on it has been slow. Admittedly, I've been a little hesitant to work on it (besides the scientific names, since I'm going to use them as the basis of re-nicknaming my Pokémon) because I didn't think that there would be much interest if I shared it. This thread is starting to make me think otherwise, so I might try progressing enough to where I can create the first post of a thread about "Pokéology" around the 30th anniversary of Pokémon.

 

[Mothmallow]

I'm actually working on a spreadsheet of scientific names for Pokémon (right now I'm only focusing on my favorites, since each scientific name takes a lot of research to formulate and I just don't have the time or energy to do them all right now). The basis of these scientific names are the Pokémon's categories translated into Latin and/or Greek; I research both the English and Japanese category names, and if there is a major difference between them, then I'll use the Japanese category as the basis (since Pokémon is a Japanese franchise that is translated into English). If the translated categories do not form a complete scientific name, then I'll also add terms that are related to the Pokémon's characteristics. The scientific names of animals (and other real-life organisms) are used as inspiration for the scientific names I create for Pokémon.

I headcanon Pokémon as a Kingdom-level clade of eukaryotes (which I'm also working on a name for; all I've determined so far is that it's going to end in "zoa") that coexist with animals (and other real-life organisms), so genera names of animals (and other real-life organisms) are avoided; I check to make sure that no animal (or other real-life organism) holds the genus name that I consider for a Pokémon before formalizing it. Since Pokémon "evolution" is actually metamorphosis and each Pokémon "species" in an "evolutionary line" is a life stage, I deem the "evolutionary line" to be the biological species that is assigned a scientific name. The scientific names of regional variants are determined on a case-by-case basis: either the regional variant is classified as a different species in the same genus as the original variant, or the original variant and the regional variant are classified as subspecies of the same biological species (with the original variant being the nominal subspecies), depending on which scenario fits better with what is known about the Pokémon. I'm still figuring out how to approach Paradox Pokémon, but right now I'm leaning towards also classifying them as a different species in the same genus as the "Holocene version" of the Pokémon.

For example, the scientific name I created for the Hoennian variant of Zigzagoon and Linoone is Dromaeogale microprocyonoides. Hoennian Zigzagoon is known as the "Tiny Raccoon" Pokémon in English and as the "Tiny Raccoon Dog" Pokémon in Japanese, while Hoennian Linoone is known as the "Rushing" Pokémon in both languages. Since raccoons (Procyon spp.) and raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes spp.) are different organisms, I used Hoennian Zigzagoon's Japanese category for determining its scientific name. "Micro" is Greek for "small," while "procyonoides" is the species name of the Asian raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides). "Dromaeo" is Greek for "running," which is similar enough to "rushing" and is used in the scientific names of animals associated with running (ex. Dromaeosaurus). "Gale" is Greek for weasel, and it is used in the genus name of ferret-badgers (Melogale spp.). "Dromaeo microprocyonoides" felt incomplete, so I added "gale" to the genus name; I chose this specific addition since Hoennian Linoone has traits of both badgers and weasels, and I think it somewhat resembles a ferret-badger.

The Galarian variant of Zigzagoon and Linoone - plus Obstagoon - are isolated on an island, and they are thought to be older than the Hoennian variant. Since there is no canonical information that would only make sense if the Galarian variant is classified as a subspecies, I decided to classify it as a distinct species from the Hoennian variant. Galarian Zigzagoon and Galarian Linoone have the same categories as their Hoennian variants, while Obstagoon is known as the "Blocking" Pokémon in both English and Japanese. Thus, Dromaeogale brachiopelta is the scientific name I created for the Galarian variant. "Brachio" is Latin for "arms" and "pelta" is Greek for "shield," which felt appropriate given that Obstagoon uses its arms to block like a shield.

In contrast, I decided to classify the Alolan variant of Vulpix and Ninetales as a subspecies rather than a species distinct from the Kantonian variant. While the Alolan variant is also isolated on an island, it was thought to be introduced to Alola by humans. Assuming the human settlement of Alola occurred within the same timeline as the human settlement of Hawaii, the introduction of Vulpix and Ninetales would have happened 1000 years ago at maximum. Unless there is an unknown third variant of Vulpix and Ninetales, the Alolan variant would have descended from the Kantonian variant. Thus, classifying the Alolan variant as a distinct species would make the Kantonian variant a paraphyletic species. With all of that in mind, I decided on the scientific names of Pyralopex polycaudatus polycaudatus and Pyralopex polycaudatus keokeo for the Kantonian and Alolan variants, respectively ("Pyralopex polycaudatus" translates to "multi-tailed fire fox," while "keokeo" is the Alolan variant's indigenous name). The history of the Alolan variant reminded me of the dingo (Canis dingo or Canis familiaris dingo or Canis lupus dingo), so the taxonomic debate over this canid influenced how I approached the taxonomy of Vulpix and Ninetales.

Apologies for the essay, I am a genetics student who is highly fascinated with taxonomy and evolution, so of course I've thought about these topics in the context of Pokémon a lot. I'll be more than happy to share the scientific names I've created for other species (and higher-level clades) once I finish my spreadsheet.

THIS IS SO COOL!!! I love seeing that other people have put as much thought into this as I have, and where interpretations both match and diverge. My name for the zigzagoon line is Meles procyonoides, also from looking at the name of the asian raccoon dog.

 

[Mothmallow]

My analysis of regional variants is highly contextual, I think pokemon that can be born as a regional variant like Galarian zigzagoon make sense to categorize as a different species or subspecies but with some cases like Alolan raichu, where any pikachu can evolve into one if it happens to be in Alola, it makes more sense to count that as the same species. Just weirdness caused by elemental energy or something.
Also, I have been given the idea to start tracking my own name headcannons via spreadsheet... God I really am the pointless spreadsheet guy

 

[NucleoWolf]

THIS IS SO COOL!!! I love seeing that other people have put as much thought into this as I have, and where interpretations both match and diverge. My name for the zigzagoon line is Meles procyonoides, also from looking at the name of the asian raccoon dog.

Thank you, and same!

My analysis of regional variants is highly contextual, I think pokemon that can be born as a regional variant like Galarian zigzagoon make sense to categorize as a different species or subspecies but with some cases like Alolan raichu, where any pikachu can evolve into one if it happens to be in Alola, it makes more sense to count that as the same species. Just weirdness caused by elemental energy or something.

I forgot to mention this in my comment (blame post-COVID brain fog), but my headcanon for regional variants that only occur in evolved forms (e.g. Alolan Raichu) is that they are caused by epigenetics rather than taxonomic differences.