Readers: I have been very slow about posting new Pokémon Nicknames recently. I wanted to take-on a partner, and who better than my “niece” Lucy Sinnoh.
Lucy and her Mum are originally from Valor Lakefront, SR. I knew (cough) Lucy’s Mum when she worked as a cocktail waitress at the Seven Stars Restaurant at Hotel Grand Lake, I tried to help out the struggling single mum and her pretty young daughter as much as I could. Times were tough. We stayed home and played Diamond and Pearl a lot.They moved to Galar a few years ago. Good that they did, as Lucy has become the new Galar Champion! Here is her trainer card:
I’m so proud of her and how well she grew up. She’s a Pokémon Champ, plus the little lady can cook up a great curry!
I also like teaming up with Lucy for new Pokémon Nicknames, because many of names are from cultural references from decades past. Many younger players in search of nicknames might not “get” or appreciate my generation’s names. Many of the nicknames you will be reading about on this blog will be Lucy’s idea.
Denny: Lucy – I will still help you with the naming Lucy …
Lucy: OK Boomer. (giggles)
Denny: “OK Boomer” … What? … that quip again? Wait … “OK Boomer” might just be a great name for a Drampa!
Sword and Shield has made a few changes to the nicknaming system. There is an important change for users who choose to view/use nicknames. As the Name-Rater in any Pokécenter will tell you — trainers may change the name of a Pokémon already nicknamed by its previous trainer. You do only get one chance. Once you change the name of a traded Pokémon it has to stick forever. The 12 letter space format continues. However, I have noticed that the various symbols available in previous generations are no longer available. Darn it! No “Heart” symbol anymore? Also, I have noticed that if a Pokémon comes in from the Surprise Trade in of another language, the name cannot be changed. (Please leave a note in the comment section if you know otherwise.)
His cosplay is so accurate that he looks like the “Real Macaw”!
Chatot (in Japanese: ペラップ “Perap”) is a NORMAL and FLYING dual-type, introduced in the Sinnoh Region (Gen 4: Diamond-Pearl-Platinum). It is the “Music Note” Pokémon. Chatot does not evolve into any other Pokémon. (Source: Bulbapedia). There is not a “Mega-Evolution” form yet, however the bird can learn a Normal or Flying Z-move.
Chatot appears to us as a musical note combined with a chatty bird such as a parrot or parakeet. I tend to give this bird music or singer themed names. My favorite name for (male) Chatot is “Gershwin” after the great American composer George Gershwin. Along those lines I also like to name them “Rhapsody” after Gershwin’s famous Rhapsody in Blue. I think that this name works well for female Chatot.
Chatot is probably NOT for trainers like me who mostly play by the attack-attack-attack method. The bird is not all that strong. Chatot appeals to players who like to use “tricky” moves. Also, in games where there are double or triple battles, Chatot may be part of a tricky team.
There must have been a lot of “chatter” on the island that day!
People who like Parrots, or have macaws or other exotic bird pets would identify with Chatot. Perhaps Jimmy Buffet fans a.k.a. “Parrot Heads” would enjoy this Pokémon.
An entire PC BOX of “Polly Wanna Crackers!”
When I was in high school, my teachers would always yell at girls who would not stop talking in class. They often used the name “Chatty Cathy“. The term also refers to the famous talking doll that were popular long ago with girls my age. TheRealMacaw is a take on the American expression “The Real McCoy“:
I also like these musical note related names. The St. Louis Blues NHL team has a great looking jersey with a blue note on them. “The Blue Note” is also the name of a famous New York jazz club. You might use CB Radiotype names like “Breaker-One” or “Good Buddy”
A great name for female Chatot is “Soprano” after the lady singers with the high vocal ranges. “Caruso” is after Enrico Caruso the famous opera singer. Some regard him as the greatest singer of all time. Speaking of singers, consider “Alvy Singer” after the character Woody Allen played in his best movie — Annie Hall.
Twelve letters will allow you to use the name “SingSingSing” after the Louis Prima song made most famous by Benny Goodman. There was a noted New York State Prison named “Sing-Sing“. You would be singing the blues there.
You kids are way too young to remember 900 Numbers. Way back in the 1980s when there was no Internet, late night TV commercials and seedy magazines used to advertise these various “chat lines” that lonely men could call. Basically, you could call up one of these numbers and a woman would talk dirty to you while you masturbate. Thank you Alexander Graham Bell. Get this – these phone calls would charge your credit card or phone provider $4.99 per MINUTE! I know, it is hard for you kids to believe, because there is so much free porn here in the future.
I know what you are thinking: “Denny you must have spent a fortune on 900 numbers when you were in your 20s.” Ha. NO. I never ever would call one of those rip off chat lines. It might seem like a good idea at 3:00 in the morning after having a productive evening drinking beer … but NO. No way. I would rather have my money thank you.
The way I looked at it, there was absolutely nothing that one of these telephone Chat-thots could ever tell me that would be worth 5 bucks per minute. What … Stock tips? Lottery numbers? Plenty of suckers must have wasted their money, because these chat number were big business all the way into the 1990s. Think about that … 5 bucks per minute. Now how many minutes would they need? … but I digress once more …
Here is some cute Chatot cosplay from cosplayer Lilacwire TWEET TWEET!
Stunky (in Japanese: スカンプー “Skunpuu”) is a POISON and DARK dual-type introduced in Generation IV (Sinnoh Region). Stunky evolves into Skuntank (in Japanese: スカタンク “Skutank”) at level 34, where it is still a dual Poison and Dark type. Stunky and Stuntank are in the “Skunk Pokémon” category. (Reference: Bulbapedia.)
Skunk nicknames?… You have to think for a moment about “what kind of things stink?” then go from there.
“Pew-Research” is after the Pew Research Center. A well documented source of information.
If you want to name a skunk, then a good name is “Pepé” or “Le Pew” as in “Pepé Le Pew” the famous French skunk from the old Looney Tunes cartoons. I remember watching a number of these shorts when I was eight years old. The storyline was always the same. Pepé would arrive in a town, and at the same time a female black cat would encounter some type of accident involving white paint. The paint would drip or get rubbed down her back, so that the cat would look like a skunk. Then Pepé would see the lady “skunk” … rush over to her and start hugging and kissing her. The cat would resist the unwanted kisses, and then she would get a wiff of Pepé’s skunk-stink cloud. Then she would really, really struggle to get away. Pepé would continue kissing her, and telling her that he wanted to “take her away to the Casbah” with his French accent. That’s how my generation learned our stereotypes — from Mel Blanc in Warner Bros. cartoons. When I was eight years old, we didn’t see Pepé as a predator. We just thought it was funny that the cat smelled stinky-stink and wanted to get away. I don’t think they could make these cartoons today, as sexual harassment is not funny. The poor kitty. Hashtag Me Too.
Why the hell did he always want to take her away to the Casbah? I don’t think it would smell any better there.
I used “PooPooPeDoop” as a variant of the old “Betty Boop” phrase. Great in black and white. She sings a song with the “Boop Oop A Doop” line. This has been switched up and covered by many campy singers.
My eight-year old cartoon-watching friends and I always thought that she was signing about poop. That’s the thing about kids. Unlike sophisticated adults, little kids think that fart and poop jokes are hilariously funny. “PooPooPeeDo” is also the name of a kitty litter disposal system. “PullMyFinger” may result in a funny name. I have heard the term “Stinkfinger” — but I had to look what it meant. In The Urban Dictionary, “Stinkfinger” is defined as “The (usually) surreptitious action of savoring the pheromone laden evidence of digital exploration of the magical female orifice.” Ahem … well that led me to think of “Badfinger” — an early 1970s rock group.
What else might stink? I’m not laughing at “Vagisil“. It is an important product, and it is used in the world’s greatest real estate. The cream has inspired a number of funny memes however.
Some ladies like a black and white stripped hair color scheme. Not sure why it is popular — doesn’t it look like a skunk stripe? So maybe a name like “Stripes” or “Lucky Stripe” would fit? A good name for a female Stunky might be “Alexandra”. If you are a fan of “Archie” comics, you may know that Josie (of Josie and The PussyCats”) had a rival named Alexandra Cabot – who had one of those black and white skunk-striped hairdos. She was always stinking up the place for Josie.
My favorite nickname for Stunky is “Lil’Stinker”. If it evolves into Skuntank, then it could be “A-Big-Stink” as in the phrase: “they made a big stink about it”, meaning excessive complaining over something trivial. Unexpectedly smelling something stinky is not trivial however. “P.U.” … as in “StinkyCheese“. “Limburger” might be a good stink name.
When I was eight years old, my classmates and rarely used the word “fart”. It was always “stinker”. We would say “someone let a stinker” when someone passed gas. I never really thought about it too deeply, but a stinker had to be LET … as in it was allowed. The self and the stinker are perhaps one. The stinker has to be contained, and one chooses to “let” it loose. One has to have some understanding of the stinker coexisting, and building inside oneself. Eventually, the stinker surpasses the self, you come to accept the stinker – you let the stinker. Kind of Zen-Like when I think about it that way.
Skuntank could be re-worded to “Stun-Tank” because the little critter will certainly stun anything that gets shot by its stream of smelly spray. On that note I thought “FunkySpunk” would be a good name for Skuntank, after the Sex-and-the-City episode.
Yeah, I would think this was funny when I was eight. This Sinnoh Region skunk can learn “Flamethrower, so it should also be able to light the fart, then burn up the gas. Maybe it could use lighted farts as a special attack? One question: Why would the other Poison-types faint though? Back then you could not poison a poison type.
What do you call your little stinker? Please comment.
So if I grab then hold on — Drifloon will carry me away someplace?
Ahem. I have a lot of name suggestions and a lot of cosplay to share this week, so clear the hanger …
Drifloon and Drifblim were introduced in Generation IV (Diamond and Pearl.) These Sinnoh Region Pokémon are both Ghost-and-Flying types. From Bulbapedia:
Drifloon (in Japanese: フワンテ “Fuwante”) is known as being one of the more “creepy” Pokémon because it supposedly captures unaware children.
From Pokémon HeartGold: “It is whispered that any child who mistakes Drifloon for a balloon and holds on to it could wind up missing.”
From Pokémon Black 2: “These Pokémon are called the Signpost for Wandering Spirits. Children holding them sometimes vanish.”
Drifloon evolves into Drifblim (in Japanese: フワライド “Fuwaride”) beginning at level 28.
I like to make my balloon a flying advertisement. I like to name a Drifloon “YOUR-AD-HERE” then send it out on the Wondertrade. Ha … because your fellow players want to know if they are missing out on advertising opportunities. ”Eat-At-Joes” is an old Looney Tunes running-joke reference.
Hey! You might even name your crazy balloon “Looney”!
Now some balloons are made of rubber. Some are made of latex. Go and have fun with those types of names. “Rubber Baby” is from the tongue twister: “rubber baby buggy bumpers“.
Drifblim is more of a hot air balloon rather than a blimp, but I have used “blimp” type names such “Goodrich” or “NotAGoodyear”. Speaking of blimps, please enjoy this balloon cosplay:
My favorite name for Drifblim is “Zep Leddelin” as a play on the name of the famous rock band Led Zeppelin. Yes, zeppelins may be shaped differently than hot air balloons, but it is still fun.
“Hindenburg” might be another example. Maybe “Branson” after the Virgin Co. CEO who is always trying to set hot air ballooning records.
“PaperBalloon” might be a good historic reference to the Japanese Paper Balloon Bombs which were used in World War II. Japanese scientists figured out a way to launch a balloon from Japan which would be carried by the westerly jet stream winds to North America. This resulted in the only civilian casualties on the mainland United States in WWII. A Sunday school teacher and his family were on an outing in the Oregon woods when his children – not knowing what it was –touched it, and the explosion killed them all. In this case a balloon did take children away.
I also imagine that Drifloon may work as a weather balloon, so I name it “Radiosonde” after the instrument package carried aloft in a weather balloon. Of course, most UFO sightings are merely stray weather balloons.
I also suggest the names “Nadir” and “Nadar” as references in the history of remote sensing. Balloons were once used for military reconnaissance. In 1858, Gaspard Felix Tournachon (later dubbed “Nadar”) captured the first recorded aerial photograph from a manned balloon.
The word “nadir” is a photogrammetry term referring to the line to the ground directly below the remote sensing platform, and the center of the Earth. This term means that your balloon is right on top of things when you take your photo.
“Blim” and “loon” remind me of “Bloom“, so one name might be “Bloomers” as in … ahem …a ladies unmentionables. “Buys -Ballots” is another meteorology term (despite how it sounds, it does not have anything to do with George Soros).
Then I thought of “Bloomberg” after the former mayor of New York City who – I am not making this up — tried to ban 32-ounce sodas from being sold in NY. The idea there is that consumers suck up too much of the liquid candy. Thus they need a government nanny to stop New Yorkers from becoming a bunch of fat, lazy, government dependent, entitled welfare cheats. Really, drinking too much sugary soda can really make one balloon up – ha ha – balloon up! …get it?
You might us “99 Balloons” or some variation, after that German commie’s hit single from the 1980s: “99 Luft Balloons“.
Others? How about “Blimpie” — as in the name of a submarine sandwich company. “Up and Away” is a reference to the famous song by “The Fifth Dimension”.
Readers: This may be my last post for some time. I hope that I have provided something for everyone here!
What do you like to name your big purple balloons? Please comment!
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