Pokemon Categories

General
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HELLO

I am getting a little burnt out on all of the conversations about cards going up and down every few hours and who is and who is not a real collector based on the criteria of some lunatics fever dreams. If we could please get serious for a moment and talk about what is actually important, I would greatly appreciate it.

One of my favorite parts of pokemon in general is their categories, or what used to be referred to as species. More specifically, I enjoy the juxtaposition of terms that I do not bat an eye at to ones that stop me dead in my tracks and make me scratch my head.

Caterpie - Caterpillar Pokemon - Okay, got it.
Pidgeot - Bird Pokemon - Makes sense.
Vullaby - Diaper Pokemon - What? Does that imply someone is changing it’s diapers regularly? Does it grow new ones??

So my question to you is what are some of your favorite pokemon categories and why?

Also- if this topic already exists just ban me for not using the search function.

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Umbreon as the Moonlight Pokemon and Espeon as the Sun Pokemon are two of my favorites as well as many others, but I also love Absol, the Disaster Pokemon.

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Vullaby is past gen 2 so it’ snot considered a Pokemon. I like Blastoise category cos it’s a shellfish, like what? Also this thread is a strong sign of a not real collector

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Funnily enough the concept of the sun is not emphasized on Espeon, like when you think about the moon pokemon (besides Lunatone duh) Umbreon comes to mind almost instantly, but when you think about the Sun, probably think about several others but not Espeon.

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As a Pichu collector I find “Mouse PokĂ©mon” category quite interesting.

Some examples of “Mouse PokĂ©mon” are Pichu, Pikachu and Raichu - all of which make sense to me.

Rattata and Raticate despite their names are also “Mouse PokĂ©mon”.

Sandshrew and Sandslash are also “Mouse PokĂ©mon” despite Sandshrew having “Shrew” in the name - shrews are usually smaller than mice yet with 0.6m (2 ft) height and 12kg weight Sandshrew is taller and heavier than all but one other PokĂ©mon in the “Mouse PokĂ©mon” category by quite a margin.

Marill is an “Aqua Mouse PokĂ©mon” and Bidoof is a “Plump Mouse PokĂ©mon” (fatty here is heavier than Sandshrew) - both of which change species when evolving as Azumarill is an “Aqua Rabbit PokĂ©mon” and Bibarel is a “Beaver PokĂ©mon”.

The only other mouse is Cyndaquil, a “Fire Mouse PokĂ©mon”.

Minun and Plusle are “Cheering PokĂ©mon”; Pachirishu is an “EleSquirrel PokĂ©mon”; Emolga is a “Sky Squirrel PokĂ©mon”; Dedenne is an “Antenna PokĂ©mon”; Mincicino is a “Chincilla PokĂ©mon”; Togedemaru is a “Roly-Poly PokĂ©mon”; and finally Morpeko is a “Two-Sided PokĂ©mon” (which you’d think Girafarig would also be, but no, that’s a “Long Neck PokĂ©mon”).

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Drapion is the Ogre Scorpion Pokemon which has always sounded super intense to me. I also enjoy how Slowbro is classified as the Hermit Crab Pokémon. Great thread idea I love Pokémon Categories!

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@pichufan, Sandshrew’s name in Japanese is just Sand. Pretty sure it’s supposed to resemble an armadillo so the category still doesn’t really match. Makes me wonder if the Japanese categories are different than English or if they’re the same.

Regardless, I think Galarian Slowking’s category of Hexpert is rather amusing.

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Gyarados from “gyakusatsu” for “massacre” or “slaughter”. There are other name suggestions but that’s the one I like the most. Though I wouldn’t have minded it if they went with “Skullkraken” - the original English suggested name.

One of my favorite name translations is the French, “Leviator” which is based on Leviathan - the mythical serpent from the Bible. I find it funny because, prior to me ever knowing the French translation, I always named my Gyarados “Leviathan” in my games.

Both Cantonese “LĂ©ih’yĂčhlĂčhng” and Mandarin “BĂ olǐlĂłng” mean “Carp Dragon” and “Violent Carp Dragon” which adds to the Chinese celestial dragon myth regarding the carp that jumped over the dragon gate.

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Machop-the SuperPower Pokemon

You know, because no other Pokemon possesses abilities or powers
or strength.

However, his name WAS kara-tee before the English games released
so that’s cool.

cool thread btw

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I know this is a bit more broad than prior discussed categories but when I was a kid I was all about water Pokemon. The thing I liked about the TCG in particular is that ice Pokemon would be under the water energy type so there was an even bigger pool of Pokemon to draw from. Grass was interesting too since you could pick out some poison and bug types. Fighting would have some rock and ground types, psychic would have ghosts, and so on. Fire and electric definitely got the short end of the stick.

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Just a few after a quick skim:

Meowth: “Scratch Cat Pokemon.” What the heck is a “scratch cat?”

Horsea: “Dragon Pokemon.” Really? Instead of “Seahorse Pokemon?”

Starmie: “Mysterious Pokemon.” What makes Starmie more mysterious than, say, Mew?

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HAHAH “mysterious Pokemon” ? lol. i never noticed that. is there any info on what makes it mysterious?