Pokémon Nicknames: Sword and Shield Suggestions — Wooloo

Of course I am psyched to play the new Pokémon Sword and Shield this fall! There has been a limited release of what the new Galar Region (Generation VIII) Pokémon will be, but one that seems to very popular already is Wooloo, the “Sheep Pokémon”.

Name him ” FW Woolworth “

Wooloo (in Japanese: ウールー  “Ūrū” ) will be a NORMAL-Type, and according to leaks (official and otherwise) this sheep will be encountered in the early game play of the new region. Its abilities will be either Fluffy or Run Away. Right now, It is not known if Wooloo will evolve into or from any other form — although it can be used in Dynamax form. Bulbapedia will add updates as updated information on the new game becomes available. Wooloo is a cute, round lamb. it appears to be able to roll.

Perhaps “Rollout” will be one of the moves that it can learn. Wooloo also has two woolen braids or pigtails. The sheep must be yound, as its horns are just small nubs right now. If this Pokémon evolves, perhaps it will have larger ram-like horns in the final form.

Wooloo is popular, and has stimulated early cosplay even though the game is not out for months! (Credit goes to these artists.)

There are plenty of cool Wooloo memes as well. Please enjoy this short set. (Credit goes to the original artists.)

I have two favorite nicknames already planned! I will use “Imbolc” for a female Wooloo, and “Woolworth” for a male. Allow me to explain … Woolworth is the name of a famous American department store chain of the “five and dime” variety. The company is no longer in business. Everyone in my age-group remembers shopping at Woolworth’s. They even had a lunch counter.

Imbolc is the name of a Celtic holiday, midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It is also known as Saint Brigid’s Day. You Americans know this date as Groundhog Day. One meaning of Imbolc is “in the belly” and it refers to ewe’s milk. Imbolc was originally a pagan celebration (and is still celebrated by modern day Druids and Wiccans). One tale says that Brigid saved lives by providing ewe’s milk.

The pagan goddess became the Catholic saint after Christianity spread to the Celtic regions of the British Isles. Indeed, a cute name for this ewe might be “Brigid” — as it is certainly appropriate for Sword and Shield’s British “Galar” Region. You can find your own way to celebrate it. It might be fun to use names and words from Celtic languages for many of your Galar Pokémon! The Welsh word for wool is “Gwlân”.  The English phrase “dyed in the wool” is “Daiteiolann” in Irish Gaelic.

I will probably catch many of these sheep, so here are some other names, and some of the cultural references. (You can come up with your own variations and derivations.)

“Normie” – because it is a normal type. I have used the name for various normal while playing past games. I don’t expect the normies to understand. Ha.

“Pipi” or “Longsocks” – after the book and movie “Pipi Longstockings”. For that matter, you could just name some of these sheep Pokémon “Socks” or “Undies” if you have those garments made out of wool. Wooloo’s braids look like the character.

“Yodle-A-eHoo” – because Switzerland has a lot of sheep too! Plus the braids on Wooloo look like the “Swiss Miss” brand cocoa label.

“Slaughter” – is a last name. Also I was thinking of “The Slaughtered Lamb” tavern from the movie “An American Werewolf in London”.

“Haggis” – would be great for a male. Named after the famous Scottish dish.

“Pet-Me-Peta” – after the animal-rights organization.

“Sheppy“– because sheep need a shephard. From there you can go with “Shemp” the name of  Curly’s replacement. In fact — “Curly” might be a good name for this sheep. 

“Flock-N-Roll” – as a take on the name of the musical genre rock-and-roll.

“Woolio” – after the rapper Coolio, who had similar-looking pigtails. Or maybe I am thinking of Snoopdog. Shoot I don’t know — I can’t tell the difference between those bigoted idiots. I don’t listen to that awful stuff anyway.

“Wooly Bully” after the Pharaos hit song from the early-1960s.

“Ewe B Forty” – after the British reggae-pup group UB40. There are probable other “Ewe” names you could play with. “Ewe Turn” might be good for this rolling sheep.

“Sheepdip” — after the process.

“Virgin Wool” – if it is important to you that you are the first to dye and weave the sheerings by yourself. Is that really a big deal?

“Shear-Luck” – because my mind is wandering …

“Ewes Woolite” — is laundry advice to use the detergent especially formulated for wool.

“Dolly” — after the name of the sheep which was the first cloned mammal. Cloning … that’s pretty wild. It is hard to believe that there could be a big herd of sheep someplace that all look alike.

“Fleece This!” – what you could say when someone tries to steal your fleece, and you kick them in the down-under. Speaking of “down under” could there be a lot of lonely shepherd memes from Australia and New Zealand?

Recycled Names: I have some sheep-names on my old post about Mareep. How does a sheep say the name Barbara? “Baa Bara“. You could also consider goat-names I used for Gogoat — because sheep and goats are similar herd animals, and both species can be milked. The British food delicacies “Headcheese” or “Head Jam” are suggestions.

Yup, someone needs a good milking alright!

What will you name your little ball of wool? Please comment!

Check back with me after November 15 — I will have more nicknames for you to evaluate. Counting sheep until then : )