Can Pokemon understand languages?

[Nanoka-kun]

can they understand english?

 

[Bandit Keith]

Can they understand JAPANESE, you mean? the game is from The Land of the Rising Sun.:dumb::dumb::dumb:

 

[Spikeheila]

Can they understand JAPANESE, you mean? the game is from The Land of the Rising Sun.:dumb::dumb::dumb:

And sometimes the japanese use english on occasion too.

 

[Bandit Keith]

Not on a citizen-to-citizen, day-by-day basis, no.

 

[Slenderman]

Well, I think they can. They know what move to use when the trainer tells them don't they? And supposedly lapras is smart enough to understand english.

 

[Hunter Blade]

Most of the time yes.

 

[Paragon]

In the anime they are repeatedly proven to in most cases while in the games it has not been confirmed either way, except for in a few Pokedex languages.

For instance, remember the joke in "The Path to the Pokemon League" where Ash said the Japanese word for sandbag and Pikachu held up a pillow because the Japanese words for sandbag and pillow sound alike? Or when Pikachu and Ash play "charades" in "Clefairy and the Moonstone", and Pikachu can clearly tell when Ash says something correct or incorrect. Also, whenever a trainer says something like "ready to go?!" their Pokemon will often look at them and nod, or do something similar. When they ask if they are alright is another situation showing this.

So I'm wondering why no one in the Pokemon universe has just sat down with a Pokemon with a notebook and asked them what certain words were in their language? That would let them learn the language of Pokemon.

 

[Arc Blader]

They're probably like dogs; they don't understand the language itself so much as the intent. Is this answer too boring for you?

 

[Kyuuketsuki]

Probably yes, because they listen to your attack commands and the interactions in HGSS indicate that they are not the most stupid (most of them)

 

[CrystalGlacia]

They're probably like dogs; they don't understand the language itself so much as the intent. Is this answer too boring for you?

I feel inclined to agree with this.

I also don't believe that the ability to understand human languages is innate with Pokemon and that it's more something that they learn over time, which would explain how, say, Pokemon trainers from Germany to China to Japan can still command their Pokemon in battle.

They just gradually learned what their trainers wanted them to do, which overall just seems like it would be a basic part of Pokemon training, much like dog training.

And since dogs have been taught how to obey commands in multiple languages (say, American sign language) this brings up the topic of Pokemon being multilingual.

 

[Hector]

And there are Pokemon that can speak to humans telepathically (Mewtwo, Alakazam, Lucario? - I forget. Haven't seen that movie), which shows that at least the psychic mons can learn English / the native language of their trainer.

 

[Dark Tranquillity]

Of course they can.
How else would they be able to attack if they can't understand the command to do so?

I'm also sure, if they existed in real life in other countries, they would be able to understand those languages, as well.

 

[Azure Butterfly]

I don't think they understand the language - they understand the meaning. Not saying that all of them are psychic and can read your mind; more like they are able to understand what you want (reading your'heart' instead of your mind).

 

[cringe]

That's a good question, I think they understand, because if they didn't they would not understand the names of the attacks..

 

[DracoMan]

It has to be more than just intent and meaning. Trainers have often given pretty complex instructions to their Pokemon, requiring more than just basic comprehension of intent. The Pokemon would need full command of the trainer's language to understand properly.

 

[Data_Error]

They've been proven multiple times to at least understand body language and tone, and are strongly implied to comprehend human speech. For that matter, a lot of trainers seem to have various degrees of understanding of Pokémon speech, as well.

Also, how else would they be able to take commands?

 

[EnteiPossibility]

If you take into account that 70% of human communication is made by body language more than linguistics, I'd assume Pokemon don't understand human language, but rather, human gestures.

 

[Paragon]

It has to be more than just intent and meaning. Trainers have often given pretty complex instructions to their Pokemon, requiring more than just basic comprehension of intent. The Pokemon would need full command of the trainer's language to understand properly.

I'm gonna agree with this.

 

[Sith Droideka]

Some Pokémon. I like to think of it like this- psychics can easily understand human language, as can some other smart Pokémon like Lapras. Others act like cats or dogs.