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POPULAR: Need a Name Thread

Region One: Skaya, from "russkaya zemlya" an old name for the country. 'Ski and 'sky' are also common elements of surname from russian, czech and slavic areas.

Region Two: Cadis, from Arcadia, Arcadia being a hellenistic concept for paradise, as well as a real place in Greece.

I really like these region names, like, a lot. "Skaya" has an appealing ring and cadence to it, with that slavic/russian slant to the word. Similarly with "Cadis". I think I will actually use these two names for the regions as wholes. Thank you!

1. Slovo/Slova ("people who understand each other")
Location Names: czars, states, bodies of water, mountains, military arms/vehicles

The naming conventions here for locations I'd have to think more about. More at the end of the post.

2. Romita (rome + italia)
Location Names: the Pantheon, heroes, monsters, emperors, philosophers, real city-states, Greek letters

A lot of these location names are pretty interesting. It gives me an idea for one city name in Cadis (location 2), but just one.

Taking a cue from Kalos in X/Y, which named the equivalent of Paris "Lumiose" driving it from the French language, named after Paris' unofficial nickname "city of light". The city of Rome, Italy is likewise known as "the eternal city", and gives me a similar idea for at least this one city: "Aeternus", derived from Latin for "eternal"

That's only one city though. But being a region that I plan to have an extensive, well-documented and popularized history, taking names derived from classical mythology and folklore is definitely a idea I can run with.

Very cheap and easy naming. If you want anything better I'm gonna need more info.

As for more info which might help, a few months back I did this huge, infodump/brainstorm of a couple posts about the Russo-Slavic region )which will now be known as Skaya).

Big wall of text warning:
I have a few incomplete/unrefined worldbuilding/setting/plot ideas, or rather, one really really big one:

For one, I am very curious about the implied war that (allegedly) took place in the Pokemon setting's recent history, and the possible impact it may have had on the setting. That's the kind of stuff I feel would make excellent fanfiction fodder, so I'll unload the thoughts here.

We know the gym leader Lieutenant Surge in the games outright refers to a war in which he directly fought. However, in the regions in which the games take place thus far, there is no discernible direct evidence of a war having being fought right there.

There are also plenty of hints of other regions in the setting that haven't been explored. Particularly in the X/Y games, there is an NPC who refers to another region, and cuts himself off. There's another NPC that speaks in untranslated German. There is also a major train line with a tunnel heading east out of Kalos from Couriway Town, but no indication or hint as to where it goes. There is further in-game evidence of a long history of warfare within Kalos itself.

Point is, there's a whole lot of empty holes around this subject (probably intentionally so, but still). Something that could fill these holes is a region to the east of Kalos, which would have been involved in the old wars with Kalos, and potentially the recent war Lt. Surge fought in. I know, old news, and others may have figured so, but bear with me.

Ever since I got back into Pokemon, I've also been utterly fascinated by the historical/cultural analogs that exist in the Pokemon setting, the inspirations they take from, and how they fit into the new setting. Of course Kanto/Johto/Hoenn/Sinnoh is Japan, Unova is the USA, Kalos is France (and also Belgium/Netherlands/some of Germany). The setting however also draws large and diverse historical inspirations, regardless of the geography/culture of the region.

In any case, back to the hypothetical east-of-Kalos region. Culturally, and at least partially historically, I think such a place could very well have inspirational roots in Russia and the Slavic/eastern European region. I also think such a place could have really gotten the short end of the stick in a war. Point being: if I were to write for this region, I would be very interested in a setting undergoing major reconstruction, healing from the wounds, and possibly getting help doing so.

From a historical prospective, this particular idea is drawn more from postwar Japan than Russia, but more on that later. (History lesson time!) After WWII, Japan was pretty much in economic shambles, and remained so until Tokyo was chosen to host the 1964 Olympic Games. When Tokyo was chosen to host the Olympics, Japan seriously got its act together, pulled up its bootstraps, and built a new infrastructure itself in preparation for the Olympics (the Shinkansen/Bullet Train network among the projects). That effort to clean the country up and get it running again for the Olympics was a huge turning point in the modern history of Japan, and paved the way for the economic boon Japan experienced later in the 80s.

(More history lesson!) At the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia and most of Eastern Europe was not at all prepared to suddenly shift to the Democratic-Capitalist model of the US and Western Europe, and so were left in similar Economic shambles that are only now starting to significantly improve after two decades. This combination of economic shambles and a just-collapsed heavily militarized state was the perfect breeding ground for serious organized crime, which ran (and in some cases, still runs) rampant across Russia and Eastern Europe.

Enough history, back to Pokemon!

Instead of Olympic games to be a catalyst/motivation for this hypothetical east-of-Kalos region, my thoughts were that the Pokemon League would be opening a brand new Region-League in this run-down, war-torn region in desperate need of stimulation. That means new gyms, new leaders, new Elite Four and Champ. The villainous organizations that most Pokemon Regions seems to have would also have plenty of inspiration, in the form of the "Ruthless Russian Mob" flavor that once was widespread/ubiquitous to Eastern Europe. I think a socioeconomic/political situation like this would be very intriguing backdrop on which a story could be told, and would pay inspirational homage to both postwar Japan, and post-Soviet Russia/Slavic states.


I'm generally of the opinion that when it comes to invented regions based on real places, going for a flavour of the region is better than trying to do a straight-up poké-copy. This is what Game Freak do, for a start - take Kalos. First of all, the name is Greek. The geography and general aesthetic is French, but very much a clean sort of France (Lumiose City is mostly cafés and everyone is lovely and friendly and fashionable). French history is quietly ignored, and for good reason since it could well become very inconvenient for a cheerful game like Pokémon to try and deal with Le Terreur.

Of course, it does depend on whether you want to follow a similar tone to the games and anime, or whether you want to go darker. Even so, with a darker fic, getting too worried about the details is likely to hamper you. It's a still a fantasy setting - details should be the inspiration, the mine for ideas rather than the rules. If some aspect of the real world's history or geography is too inconvenient, ignore it

Of course! The Pokemon world has its own history, with its own subtleties. The real-world inspirations for the Pokemon setting have always been just that: inspirations, from which the designers pick, choose, and recombine aspects they feel would be aesthetically appropriate. Most all of the details are done away with, but the inspirations and the cultural impact they have on the setting can be and often are still a viable source.

That is in-fact another reason why I felt like using Russo-Slavic inspirations for a war-scarred Pokemon region that's trying to rebuild. Though for one, it's kind of hard to draw significant Russo-Slavic cultural inspiration without delving at least a little into darker themes, since darker themes have pretty much defined much of Russo-Slavic history.

Russian history is riddled with fleeting successes, squandered opportunities, and an enduring stubbornness to get through it in spite of it all: the great reformations and sociopolitical advancements of one pivotal figure in Russian history are so often dashed shortly after the figure's reign ends. It always seems like Russia in its history is on the very cusp of doing something truly world-changing-scale great, and then unceremoniously stumbles over itself, landing right back in similar desperate straits it had been in before.

This, among other factors I'm sure, has produced an intriguing, jokingly cynical, almost gallows-humor outlook that is extremely pervasive and ubiquitous in Russia: almost everything printed in modern Russia is accompanied by a joke, even the TV guide. Making a Pokemon region based on Russo-Slavic inspirations without this particular aspect I feel would be disingenuous to the source, and miss out on so much. Plus, a region that was on the losing end of a war (and possibly wars of the past) could very well have developed a similar cultural aesthetic.

In the end, it is inspiration material, and nothing at all has to be copy-pasted. Even so, I feel it is a rich enough history and culture that much can be gleaned and effectively made pastiche in a Pokemon setting.
okay, that's a huge thing of text.

Needless to say, I've got a little more cultural thinkings about to do to pull out a name or seven, but even these two responses have been helpful to nail down a few things. Thanks!
 
For the Stunfisk, I'd name it André or Andrea as a play on the San Andreas Fault. Because Fissure. Also, remember that Stunfisk is part Electric. You could also name it with that type in mind.
 
Needless to say, I've got a little more cultural thinkings about to do to pull out a name or seven, but even these two responses have been helpful to nail down a few things. Thanks!

Happy to help!

Further discussing the naming scheme for locations my favorites are definitely Russian bodies of water and the Pantheon. It's kind of impressive just how many important rivers, lakes, and seas there are in Russia. Naming characters after Greeco-Roman gods and heroes in a similar setting is a bit played out imo so I feel that using them for locations is a somewhat refreshing.
 
For the Stunfisk, I'd name it André or Andrea as a play on the San Andreas Fault. Because Fissure. Also, remember that Stunfisk is part Electric. You could also name it with that type in mind.
Seconding this, for no obvious reason.
 
The big problem with "Aeternus" is... Eterna City is a thing.

Perhaps something like Perpetuus?
 
I need a snappy, catchy and memorable name for a convenience store chain. Sort of like "Stop and Shop", but not Stop and Shop, because I'm trying to avoid copyrighted names. This isn't for any of my current writing projects, but something else I'm working on.
 
I need a snappy, catchy and memorable name for a convenience store chain. Sort of like "Stop and Shop", but not Stop and Shop, because I'm trying to avoid copyrighted names. This isn't for any of my current writing projects, but something else I'm working on.

A google search tells me that "Quick Fix" is only used as a copyrighted name for drug testing, but I imagine it could be used if you want to get something to solve your problems quickly? idk man names aren't my strong suit; that's why I'm here

...speaking of which, I'm trying to think of a superhero name. It can be really cheesy, actually, because the person who picked it is fourteen, but the gist behind their (her? Maybe? Vague concepts here still; open to both/neutral) powers is that they can swap the physical locations of objects of approximately equal mass at will. I'm looking for whatever their in-uniform/costume/stage name would be, and I'm coming up empty (for once).
 
I'm going to suggest "The Magnificent Miraculo", as that was the name I chose for a wizard in a D&D campaign about ten years ago. He was a 'master' (although I remember having a lot of critical fails while trying to cast magic) of illusionary magic, which included swapping items at a moment's glance, such as switching a bandit's sword with a raw chicken. It's a dumb name, so it's merely a suggestion.
 
I need a snappy, catchy and memorable name for a convenience store chain. Sort of like "Stop and Shop", but not Stop and Shop, because I'm trying to avoid copyrighted names. This isn't for any of my current writing projects, but something else I'm working on.

Q-Mart! We Put the Q in Quality! Their mascot is a Qwilfish.
 
So here's a bit of a strange request, I need a male superhero name for someone who has powers that revolve around manipulation of the earth, dispersing into sand, etc. I thought "Earthbender", but that sounds a bit cliched. I've toyed with the idea of giving all of the characters 'normal' names since they're not the type to wear masks and hide their identities, but I wanted catchy names as a fallback.

This is non-pokemon, by the way.
 
"Terraformer" sounds sufficiently dopey and superhero-like, I think I'll go with that.
 
Bit of an odd one this - I need a name for a TV channel. Something authentic-sounding for a channel covering pokémon training

Professional Pokémon League Network or something? PPLN for short.

This. This. Please go with this.

Anyway, I need two names: one for each of Jimmy's parents. His father is French-Canadian and his mother is Russian.
 
So it seems I am leaning towards writing a Trainer School fic, which means I need enough names to fill up a class. Actually I have come up with most of them, but there are still some I am unsure whether they are the optimal choice and I would like you guys to share your opinion and maybe suggest alternatives. Eighteen students in all, one for each type. I want to follow the canon naming conventions of gym leaders and E4- the theme naming according to their selected type. Here's the list of students, alongside their "first impressions" of sorts. I have bolded the names I am unsure about and hope your imaginations prove better than mine.

List by type:

Electric - Ray, as in "ray of light" - hyperactive, stubborn, dense, brash, impatient, relentless, carries around a pair of headphones at all times

Fire - Aiden, Irish/Welsh for "fire", can't exactly remember - brooding, sarcastic, power-seeking, aloof, determined, wants to prove himself as a Trainer

Ice - Lacie, from "glacier" - "girl next door type", daydreamer, runs hot-and-cold, goals change frequently

Water - Walter, just one L added - class pretty-boy, unrepentant womanizer, overshadowed by famous relatives, doesn't see a need to try and succeed at anything connected to training

Grass - Clover, as in the plant - alpha bitch with a heart of gold, Lacie’s best friend, haughty, fashionista, falls for every hot guy, offensively blonde at first glance

Psychic - Symon, as in "Simon says" and Psy/Sy sound the same - dude looks like a lady (*guitar riff*), book-smart, nice guy, forced by family to enroll as a Contest major but loves battling, loves horror movies and monster trucks

Dragon - Sandra, ends in "-dra" - lazy, prefers to nap around, pressured by parent’s high expectations, unmotivated, sleeps through classes or ditches them

Dark - Damon, one letter away from Demon - rebel, surprisingly social, red-streaked hair, piercings, really likes knives, psycho smile, likes cruel pranks, prideful, academic and battling ace trainer

Fairy - Nia, as in Titania, Queen of Fairies - idol singer, graceful and popular, heartthrob of the class/academy, always cheerful and friendly to everyone

Normal - Joe/Joseph, as in "Average Joe" - ridiculously average- average grades in all subjects, so generic looking he can get lost in a crowd of three, has approximate knowledge in surprisingly many areas, pervert of the highest caliber, always chases after girls, stealthy due to his generic-ness

Fighting - Katarina, as in kata and karate - heir to a dojo, athletic, tomboyish despite her attempts not to be, several younger girls have crushes on her, supposedly stronger and braver than most of the guys in class

Flying - Wendy, one letter away from windy and Wendy Darling from Peter Pan - overly optimistic, always tries to motivate her classmates to try harder, was member of just about every club, lots of boys crush on her without her noticing, flighty

Poison - no fucking idea, HALP - bespectacled smart guy, wants to be a doctor, expert at science and chemistry, friendly and a fast talker, loves and adores freaky and weird things that creep out others

Ground - Terrance, "terra"- land - only sane man in the class, hardworking, polite, tries to rein in his rowdier classmates, down-to-Earth :D

Rock - Shane, one letter away from shale - macho, delinquent with dyed blonde hair, always tries to assert dominance and acts needlessly tough

Bug - Vanessa, as in the vanessa cardui butterfly - genki girl to the max, always runs wherever she goes, fast talker, hot-blooded, can’t sit still for long, was part of the Media club, talks like a news announcer, sometimes talks in third person, adores all kinds of creepy crawlies

Ghost - Will/Wilhelmina, as in will-o-wisp - goth, striving artist with creepy and shocking paintings, sarcastic, gushes about weird and monstrous things, fan of ghost stories, fond of scaring others, used to being ignored and a self-imposed loner

Steel - Irene, similar to iron - shy, non-confrontational, academically strong, “steel under silk”, scion of a rich and influental family

I really want to follow the proper naming conventions here but it sure ain't easy, considering that some of the best variants are already taken and even some canon gym leader names are stretching it.
 
Poison - no fucking idea, HALP - bespectacled smart guy, wants to be a doctor, expert at science and chemistry, friendly and a fast talker, loves and adores freaky and weird things that creep out others

Jeremy? As in "germy". Kind of a stretch... Maybe Mackenzie (or Mack for short) as in "macabre".

I actually really like all of your others.
 
So it seems I am leaning towards writing a Trainer School fic, which means I need enough names to fill up a class. Actually I have come up with most of them, but there are still some I am unsure whether they are the optimal choice and I would like you guys to share your opinion and maybe suggest alternatives. Eighteen students in all, one for each type. I want to follow the canon naming conventions of gym leaders and E4- the theme naming according to their selected type. Here's the list of students, alongside their "first impressions" of sorts. I have bolded the names I am unsure about and hope your imaginations prove better than mine.

List by type:

Electric - Ray, as in "ray of light" - hyperactive, stubborn, dense, brash, impatient, relentless, carries around a pair of headphones at all times

Fire - Aiden, Irish/Welsh for "fire", can't exactly remember - brooding, sarcastic, power-seeking, aloof, determined, wants to prove himself as a Trainer

Ice - Lacie, from "glacier" - "girl next door type", daydreamer, runs hot-and-cold, goals change frequently

Water - Walter, just one L added - class pretty-boy, unrepentant womanizer, overshadowed by famous relatives, doesn't see a need to try and succeed at anything connected to training

Grass - Clover, as in the plant - alpha bitch with a heart of gold, Lacie’s best friend, haughty, fashionista, falls for every hot guy, offensively blonde at first glance

Psychic - Symon, as in "Simon says" and Psy/Sy sound the same - dude looks like a lady (*guitar riff*), book-smart, nice guy, forced by family to enroll as a Contest major but loves battling, loves horror movies and monster trucks

Dragon - Sandra, ends in "-dra" - lazy, prefers to nap around, pressured by parent’s high expectations, unmotivated, sleeps through classes or ditches them

Dark - Damon, one letter away from Demon - rebel, surprisingly social, red-streaked hair, piercings, really likes knives, psycho smile, likes cruel pranks, prideful, academic and battling ace trainer

Fairy - Nia, as in Titania, Queen of Fairies - idol singer, graceful and popular, heartthrob of the class/academy, always cheerful and friendly to everyone

Normal - Joe/Joseph, as in "Average Joe" - ridiculously average- average grades in all subjects, so generic looking he can get lost in a crowd of three, has approximate knowledge in surprisingly many areas, pervert of the highest caliber, always chases after girls, stealthy due to his generic-ness

Fighting - Katarina, as in kata and karate - heir to a dojo, athletic, tomboyish despite her attempts not to be, several younger girls have crushes on her, supposedly stronger and braver than most of the guys in class

Flying - Wendy, one letter away from windy and Wendy Darling from Peter Pan - overly optimistic, always tries to motivate her classmates to try harder, was member of just about every club, lots of boys crush on her without her noticing, flighty

Poison - no fucking idea, HALP - bespectacled smart guy, wants to be a doctor, expert at science and chemistry, friendly and a fast talker, loves and adores freaky and weird things that creep out others

Ground - Terrance, "terra"- land - only sane man in the class, hardworking, polite, tries to rein in his rowdier classmates, down-to-Earth :D

Rock - Shane, one letter away from shale - macho, delinquent with dyed blonde hair, always tries to assert dominance and acts needlessly tough

Bug - Vanessa, as in the vanessa cardui butterfly - genki girl to the max, always runs wherever she goes, fast talker, hot-blooded, can’t sit still for long, was part of the Media club, talks like a news announcer, sometimes talks in third person, adores all kinds of creepy crawlies

Ghost - Will/Wilhelmina, as in will-o-wisp - goth, striving artist with creepy and shocking paintings, sarcastic, gushes about weird and monstrous things, fan of ghost stories, fond of scaring others, used to being ignored and a self-imposed loner

Steel - Irene, similar to iron - shy, non-confrontational, academically strong, “steel under silk”, scion of a rich and influental family

I really want to follow the proper naming conventions here but it sure ain't easy, considering that some of the best variants are already taken and even some canon gym leader names are stretching it.

Most of these are a bit of a stretch as well, but they might be options nonetheless?
Fighting - Jude (one letter away from judo)
Steel - Estelle/Estella (incorporates the steel part, kinda)
Bug - Beatrice, aka Bea (tbh this one came to mind cause it's a name I use for a minor OC)
Water - Blake? (should be obvious. There's a game character with this name though, but it's not a main series game)

Fear I can't come up with anything else, though I think your names are pretty good!
 
Electric - Ray, as in "ray of light" - hyperactive, stubborn, dense, brash, impatient, relentless, carries around a pair of headphones at all times

Fire - Aiden, Irish/Welsh for "fire", can't exactly remember - brooding, sarcastic, power-seeking, aloof, determined, wants to prove himself as a Trainer

Water - Walter, just one L added - class pretty-boy, unrepentant womanizer, overshadowed by famous relatives, doesn't see a need to try and succeed at anything connected to training

Psychic - Symon, as in "Simon says" and Psy/Sy sound the same - dude looks like a lady (*guitar riff*), book-smart, nice guy, forced by family to enroll as a Contest major but loves battling, loves horror movies and monster trucks

Fighting - Katarina, as in kata and karate - heir to a dojo, athletic, tomboyish despite her attempts not to be, several younger girls have crushes on her, supposedly stronger and braver than most of the guys in class

Poison - no fucking idea, HALP - bespectacled smart guy, wants to be a doctor, expert at science and chemistry, friendly and a fast talker, loves and adores freaky and weird things that creep out others

Bug - Vanessa, as in the vanessa cardui butterfly - genki girl to the max, always runs wherever she goes, fast talker, hot-blooded, can’t sit still for long, was part of the Media club, talks like a news announcer, sometimes talks in third person, adores all kinds of creepy crawlies

Steel - Irene, similar to iron - shy, non-confrontational, academically strong, “steel under silk”, scion of a rich and influental family

Electric - Arkady (From "electric arc")

Fire - Blaise (sounds like "blaze"); Ignacio (from the Latin "Ignus" - fire);

Water - Brooks (like the body of water); Douglas (Scottish Gaelic for "black stream")

Psychic - Edgar (from the alleged psychic Edgar Cayce);

Fighting - Brunhilde (from the eponymous Valkyrie of Norse myth); Gertrude (from Germanic words meaning "spear" and "strength")

Poison - Jimson/Jim/James (from the toxic plant jimsonweed); Oliver (from the toxic plant oleander)
 
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