Pokémon Nicknames: Ducklett and Swanna

Ducklett (in Japanese: コアルヒー ” Koaruhie”) is a Water and Flying dual type Pokémon. It was introduced in the Unova Region (Pokémon Black and White, or Generation V) in 2011. It evolves into  Swanna (in Japanese: スワンナ “Swanna” ) at level 35 where it remains a Water/Flying dual-type. Reference: Bulbapedia.

I envision that these two Unova waterfowl would like the lake environments of northeastern North America, the Unova Region being New York. I like to give male Ducklett names like “St. Lawrence” or “Hudson Bay”.  Any of the names of the Great Lakes would be a good name.  “Ontario” is my favorite male Ducklett name.  I also like Canadian references, “Toronto” for example.

I’m am not sure if I could ever get down from this duck! 

Ha! Other duck jokes are linked here. “Quebec” or “Quebec Quack” are good sounding duck names. (I can almost hear in my mind’s ear those quacking sounds. Make that — French quacking sounds.) These names are based on “Quebecois” or Québécois — the name for French Canadian nationalists who want Quebec Province to gain independence from Canada. “Le Duc” or “Frenchie” may be interesting names. “Niagara” is named after the famous waterfalls American newlyweds go to. “Adirondack” after the mountain and lake region in upstate New York which is a great source of drinking water for NY.

A Pokémon duck could be named “Duck-Duck-Go“, after the search engine. Users are moving to Duck-Duck-Go because they are tired of Google’s censoring of ideas, and the burying of articles which are counter to Google’s corporate narrative. Just ask James Damore .

You may think of your own “lake” names for these waterfowl.  Famous lake names like “Titicaca” are amusing. I wanted to name one after the “Lady of the Lake” from the King Author legend, but there are not enough spaces.

Everyone know the tale of the “Ugly Duckling” who grew up to be a beautiful swan. So that means the duck in the story was really not a duck. A young Swan somehow got mixed in with duck eggs? Or maybe a mother Swan on somebody’s farm died, and a farmer put the Swan egg in with a mother Duck’s eggs. The poor bird, thought it was abnormal, grew up a troubled youth, when in fact it was actually superior to the other fowl. Lesson learned. Some people do better as adults.

I can see how there is a 50-50 ratio of Male-Female Ducklett, but I think that Swanna looks female by default. I prefer a female Swanna, as it has those two blue breast plates. They look like bra cups … which would not look right on male waterfowl. I like a Swanna to have a high Special Attack stat, and teach it moves like Air Cutter, Scald or   Ice Beam. The animation kinda looks like the beam is coming out of the breast plates. This reminds me that maybe a male could shoot out a beam, if he were using special “Power Pasties”.  What are power pasties you ask? Well obviously you are not familiar with the famous scene from the cult film “Flesh Gordon”. Oh, the seventies … and I digress.

“Swanee” could be a name after the song “Way Down Upon The Swanee River” which was often sung in minstrel shows. You have to take that in a historical context. The actual name of the real river is spelled “Suwanee” after the American Indians who lived there.

Of course, “Swan Lake” is a great name, after the famous Tchaikovsky ballet.

You might think of “Black Swan” after the movie.

The shiny version of Swanna is purple, not black however.

You may also want to consider other “duck” names I have used for waterfowl Pokémon. Please see my links here for Psyduck and Farfetch’d.

What is the name for your lucky-duck-turns-into-swan transformation? Please comment!

Pokémon Nicknames: Cottonee and Whimsicott

Oh Fujie, you are so whimsical!

Cottonee (in Japanese: モンメン “Monmen”) is a dual-type Grass/Fairy Pokémon introduced in Pokémon Black and White (Generation V). Prior to Pokémon X -Y (Generation VI), it was a pure Grass-type Pokémon. Cottonee  only evolves when exposed to a Sun Stone.  When it  evolves into Whimsicott (in Japanese: エルフーン “Elfuun”) it remains a Grass/Fairy dual type. Prior to X-YI, it was a pure Grass-type. (Source: Bulbapedia.)

Cottonee is basically a very enthusiastic boll of cotton, thus I like to give it antebellum themed names like “Eli” (for males) or “Whitney” (for females). “Cotton Gin” or “Ginny” are all appropriate names based on Eli Whitney’s invention. Names like “AuntieBellum” , “Mississippi” or “Delta” are also names keeping with the Cotton Belt of the Old South theme.

“Keep your Cotton Pickin’ hands off my Schwinn!”

The “Cotton Bowl” (not boll) is an important college football event in Texas. Dances called “Cotillion” are also characteristic of America’s deep south. These are important social events, and are associated with sorority women’s “coming out”. These formal dance socials are racially segregated of course, as black sororities have traditionally held their own debutante balls.

“Your Debutante knows what you NEED .. but I know what you WANT…”

Thus “Debutante” is another interesting Cottonee name. Of course cotton is “the fabric of our lives”. Somehow that has to be a name if you can get it down to twelve letters. “FabricOfLife” maybe?

You know who wrote the commercial jingle? The very underrated (as a songwriter) Zooey Deschanel. No one understands retro like me and Zooey. Ha! Now it will be stuck in your head all day!

I use completely different names for Whimsicott. My favorite is “Fujita” after the late Japanese tornado meteorologist Theodore Fujita. We owe the “Fujita scale”  of tornadoes to him. It is also appropriate because Whimsicott can use the move “Hurricane” which graphically is NOT a hurricane, as the game animation resembles a tornado. The name “Fuji” (after the apple) or “Fujie” might also be cute. Whimsicott’s Japanese name “Elfuun” — as in Elf Fun — would be a good name for a fairy-type.

What is the name for your whimsical ball of cotton fairy? Please comment.

Pokémon Nicknames: Golett and Golurk

Golett ( ゴビット  Gobit) is a dual-type Ground and Ghost Pokémon.  It levels up to Golurk ( ゴルーグ Goloog) at level 43.

Golurk can have some pretty nifty moves — it can even learn “Fly”!

I nicknamed Golett/ Golurk “Robert” after the late legendary singer and Las Vegas icon Robert Goulet.  Now that the Kalos region allows 12 LETTERS I can name it “RobertGoulet”, or “RobertGolett”.

Golett and Golurk can learn the move “Round” if you want to teach it a “singing” move.  Mr. Goulet was one cool cross-generational dude. Here is a medley of “old songs” from when he was young.  He made those ladies squirm in their seats!

Pop culture addicts are probably most familiar with his various cameo roles in TV and movies (Beetlejuice, Naked Gun, etc), often just playing himself.  He was not afraid to parody himself in his later career, and probably connected with the hipster audience that way.  He really was a talented man however. There was a famous bit on The Simpsons where he sang “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells”.  That YouTube song link is here.

The Pokemon are based on something completely different however.

A Golem from Prauge Czech Republic

These two Pokemon are based on the Central European Jewish legend of “The Golem”.  In the German language version of the game, Golett is named “Golbit” derived from “Golem” and “bit” while Golurk is named “Golgantes” after a combination of “Golem” and “gigantic”.  There are many variations of the Golem story.  Some are based on Jewish legend.

A figure used in the film “The Emperor and the Golem”

A golem is an anthromorphic being created out of mud or clay, reanimated by sacred Hebrew incantations. This explains why the Pokemon is a Ghost and Ground type.

Golett and Golurk are actually the second time that a Golem has been referenced in Pokemon.  The Pokemon that is final evolution of  Geodude is of course Golem.

Oh, and Mr. Robert Goulet?  He was not Jewish, although it was often assumed and reported that he was.  The “Stanley Applebaum”  rumors followed him his entire career.

Update and Edit: Another name I like is “IronRiceBowl“. This is a phrase from the People’s Republic of China.

If one has an “iron rice bowl” it means that if you have a state job, then you have a job for life.

Other names:

I generally do not like quickballs, unless the Pokémon’s colors match it! Golurk I do not mind in a blue-and-golden ball.

What is the name for your Ground-Ghost robot? Please comment.