Can Pokémon read human writing?

[Red Knight]

I was writing something for my current project when this question came up in my mind.

My inclination is that no, the vast majority of Pokémon probably don't know how to read human writing. My main piece of evidence for this is Team Rocket's Meowth. When he was teaching himself to speak human language, he was apparently also teaching himself to read. This strikes me as an exception that proves the rule; it indicates that reading is not something that Pokémon learn passively, like understanding human speech, but has to be actively taught.

Additionally, the fact that Pokémon usually don't try to communicate more complex concepts to their Trainers by trying to write them out in some capacity indicates that this is not something they know how to do. And while an inability to write doesn't necessarily mean an inability to read, there is a strong enough correlation that I feel like this is decently admissible evidence.

 

[AndreskX]

They do know how to understand spoken human language though.

 

[Red Knight]

They do know how to understand spoken human language though.

That much is made abundantly clear. For a start, Meowth only ever needs to translate for the humans, never the Pokémon. And several other Pokémon (most notably Ash's Pikachu) occasionally imitate human speech to the best of their ability in a way that obviously indicates that they understand human speech and are simply incapable of replicating it - at least, not without expending an impractical amount of time and effort on the same kind of intensive training Meowth put himself through, and even that's assuming that the anatomy of their mouth and throat even allows them to make all the sounds that would require.

However, understanding speech and understanding writing are two very different things. Most humans need to be actively taught how to read. I don't think the vast majority of Pokémon, even those owned by humans, are being taught how to read.

 

[KatrinaSForest]

I feel like it depends on the Pokemon. If you wrote that an Alakazam can read, I probably wouldn't give it a second thought. If nothing else, it should be able to hear the thoughts of someone reading to themselves and figure it out.

If you tell me a Pokemon like Quagsire or Slowpoke (who apparently don't even pick up on their own pain signals) can read, that's a much bigger stretch.

I was about to type that Mewtwo sent written invitations in the first movie, but then I remembered he sent digital recordings instead and apparently told Dragonite to just give them to strong-looking trainers (so no addressed envelopes).

I guess it's not clear if the Gastly in the Ghost of Maiden's Peak created the "stickers" it sells or stole them from somewhere, but that's the closest I can think of to evidence of Pokémon using humans' written language.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Here's a question: How, if at all, do the Unown factor into whether or not Pokémon can read?

 

[Coolsteph]

Poké Job 33, Bookmark, “Help wanted finding books”, has the description: “We would really be grateful if Psychic-type Pokémon could come and use its powers to quickly search for the books we have in stock!” It doesn’t explicitly say it requires reading, but that seems the most likely way they’d find it. Admittedly, I suppose they could just read someone’s mind to see the look of the book and use telekinesis to carry it. That suggests some level of working memory and pattern recognition, though not quite reading.

The Pelipper Couriers Poké Job might require reading an address and tracking a map…unless the Pokemon follows a blinking dot on a GPS system.

Notably, most jobs are for “blue-collar jobs” (transport/delivery, manufacturing, electricity generation, farming, construction, etc.) with a limited selection of “pink collar jobs” (service industry job like cleaning, florist, food preparation, clerks/concierge, etc.). (Admittedly, some of these jobs might have the Pokémon work more as an assistant to humans or basically decoration/entertainment.)

It looks like the ability to read and speak is a big factor separating the kinds of jobs humans do from the jobs Pokemon do. Of course, there are still construction workers and miners in various games, but they might exist largely for supervising and directing the Pokémon, who do most of the actual labor.

According to Bulbapedia’s page “Poké Jobs”, the amount of money paid doesn’t increase depending the hours taken, so Pokémon labor is potentially much cheaper than human labor for jobs they’re suited for. I do wonder what the implications would be if Pokémon could read. With a fast enough pipeline for obtaining and training Psychic-type Pokémon, there would be few jobs left for humans. It would be a job security nightmare. The only jobs left would be ones that require speaking (sales, acting, teaching, daycares, etc.), medicine, research, and the direction/supervision of Pokémon or complicated plans (e.g., architecture).

It does put others' interest in Team Rocket's Meowth in a less flattering light...if people can replicate Meowth's technique for learning how to speak for other easily-obtained (non-legendary) Pokémon, it would lead to massive profits and mass layoffs.

EDIT: I just realized something. I believe that, in the movie Detective Pikachu, Ms. Norma, a disguised Ditto, texts someone. This suggests she can read. Admittedly, this is mixing canons, and she is apparently a genetically modified Ditto.

 

[Red Knight]

Here's a question: How, if at all, do the Unown factor into whether or not Pokémon can read?

I'd say that the Unown just happen to be shaped like the letters of the Latin alphabet. And it is suggested that much of the Pokémon world uses an alphabet/writing system that is not the Latin alphabet. Though the logos of most evil teams suggest that the Latin alphabet is used to some extent. Maybe it's used in a similar way to how the Greek alphabet is used in English-speaking countries.

 

[Red Knight]

Poké Job 33, Bookmark, “Help wanted finding books”, has the description: “We would really be grateful if Psychic-type Pokémon could come and use its powers to quickly search for the books we have in stock!” It doesn’t explicitly say it requires reading, but that seems the most likely way they’d find it. Admittedly, I suppose they could just read someone’s mind to see the look of the book and use telekinesis to carry it. That suggests some level of working memory and pattern recognition, though not quite reading.

The Pelipper Couriers Poké Job might require reading an address and tracking a map…unless the Pokemon follows a blinking dot on a GPS system.

Notably, most jobs are for “blue-collar jobs” (transport/delivery, manufacturing, electricity generation, farming, construction, etc.) with a limited selection of “pink collar jobs” (service industry job like cleaning, florist, food preparation, clerks/concierge, etc.). (Admittedly, some of these jobs might have the Pokémon work more as an assistant to humans or basically decoration/entertainment.)

It looks like the ability to read and speak is a big factor separating the kinds of jobs humans do from the jobs Pokemon do. Of course, there are still construction workers and miners in various games, but they might exist largely for supervising and directing the Pokémon, who do most of the actual labor.

According to Bulbapedia’s page “Poké Jobs”, the amount of money paid doesn’t increase depending the hours taken, so Pokémon labor is potentially much cheaper than human labor for jobs they’re suited for. I do wonder what the implications would be if Pokémon could read. With a fast enough pipeline for obtaining and training Psychic-type Pokémon, there would be few jobs left for humans. It would be a job security nightmare. The only jobs left would be ones that require speaking (sales, acting, teaching, daycares, etc.), medicine, research, and the direction/supervision of Pokémon or complicated plans (e.g., architecture).

It does put others' interest in Team Rocket's Meowth in a less flattering light...if people can replicate Meowth's technique for learning how to speak for other easily-obtained (non-legendary) Pokémon, it would lead to massive profits and mass layoffs.

EDIT: I just realized something. I believe that, in the movie Detective Pikachu, Ms. Norma, a disguised Ditto, texts someone. This suggests she can read. Admittedly, this is mixing canons, and she is apparently a genetically modified Ditto.

I agree that many Psychic types would likely be able to teach themselves to read quite easily, especially the hyper-intelligent ones like Alakazam or Metagross.

As for the maps, this is fairly apocryphal, but there's a Pichu Brothers short featured in Pokémon Chronicles in which Team Rocket's Meowth "delegates" his pizza delivery duties to various members of the Pichu Posse (apparently that's the official name for the Pichu Brothers' circle of friends). To guide them, he gives them paper maps on which their destination is marked by a large dot. So even pre-GPS, paper maps were still somewhat viable. Granted, in the case of the Pichu Posse, they are already quite familiar with Big Town, so Meowth's maps would be more helpful to them than they would be to Pokémon from outside Big Town. But many bird Pokémon in particular have navigational prowess at least on par with their real-world counterparts, so training them like carrier pigeons isn't very Farfetch'd. (I couldn't resist.)

As for the job security question, that is a very interesting point. I do think that the Pokémon world, at least as shown in the games, is generally utopian enough that mass layoffs like that wouldn't be quite as devastating as they would be in our world, and humans do still do blue-collar labor alongside Pokémon to an extent, not just acting as supervisors. And the Poké Jobs pay thing might be more of a gameplay thing than anything else.

 

[Coolsteph]

It's hard to really answer the question of "Can Pokémon read human writing?" because it's not narrowed down to a particular canon. The video games' attitude to/depiction of Pokémon gradually converged with that of the anime, but there might still be some elements and ways of going about them that are different from the anime. Sometimes Pokémon in the main series video games are treated like friendly, cooperative, mute humans with oddly specific cognitive impairments with memory (only being able to use four moves at a time) and using certain kinds of technology (e.g., Potions).

Perhaps the only reason Pokémon can't read is because most Pokémon are unable to learn how to read through the 'sounding it out' learning technique, because they are unable to speak the human language. The Zoroark in Black 2/White 2 that can disguise itself as a talking human might be able to learn how to read. (As for how Ms. Norma learned to read if all she can say is "Ditto"? I have no idea.)

 

[KatrinaSForest]

Perhaps the only reason Pokémon can't read is because most Pokémon are unable to learn how to read through the 'sounding it out' learning technique, because they are unable to speak the human language. The Zoroark in Black 2/White 2 that can disguise itself as a talking human might be able to learn how to read. (As for how Ms. Norma learned to read if all she can say is "Ditto"? I have no idea.)

Humans learn to read without the sound-it-out method or the benefit of hearing the spoken language all the time. It makes it more difficult, but it's certainly not an insurmountable obstacle.

 

[Coolsteph]

Humans learn to read without the sound-it-out method or the benefit of hearing the spoken language all the time. It makes it more difficult, but it's certainly not an insurmountable obstacle.

Could it be for Pokémon? Do Pokémon (by default; possibly excluding Ms. Norma) learn differently, even if at least some have human-level intelligence?
...of course, this is all idle speculation. The fact no Pokémon in the main video game series are shown reading doesn't mean they can't. It may be useful to determine the sub-skills or abilities of reading, such as pattern recognition, and figure out whether at least some species of Pokémon should be able to read, even if, in-universe, no one's taught them yet.

As for candidates for those that can learn to read...Smeargle seems like a good candidate. The Ruby/Sapphire entry is: "Smeargle marks the boundaries of its territory using a body fluid that leaks out from the tip of its tail. Over 5,000 different marks left by this Pokémon have been found." The Ultra Moon entry calls these "symbols". That it's called a "symbol" strengthens the case for it being similar to a letter, word, or prefix/suffix. This natural tendency to communicate through painting varying markings on walls and live in groups (the mention of "comrades" in Pokédex entries) suggests some tendencies for language and the social impetus to develop it (beyond that usual for Pokémon, anyway). More speculatively, if a Smeargle marks its territory with symbols, and it sees humans making similar symbols to mark their territory, a Smeargle might be able to figure out how to communicate with humans through painting symbols.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

In Magical Pokemon Journey, it seems like they have their own written language.