Dear TPCi, that is NOT how people talk

[ShadyWolf]

I like this thread; it seems so ludicrous to me. I in no way find am and will to be too unnatural-sounding. This seems to be cavilling at its pettiest, but welcome to the fandom, I guess.

Even speaking as a linguist, I find that this is madness; if I'm and I'll are more common than will and am, respectively, then I'll eat my hat; the two, at best, have a roughly equal distribution (this is, of course, disregarding non-SAE dialects). I find it quite hard to believe that the average person finds am and will to be unnatural when compared to the 'll and 'm clitics, let alone in general, quotidian speech.

OP, I am genuinely curious: did you even consider other dialects (or, for that matter, SAE) before you posted this, or are you just going by what you have seen in movies and have heard in your area?

 

[The Outrage]

Okay, looking at the dialogue for Gym leaders, the only one that seems to fit the OP's complaint of not using contractions is Cress, and that's a character who generally has an overly formal feel to his speech pattern.

Skyla used a combination of both, which is what most people around me seem to do.

 

[Zeta]

The thing is, DPP had a very funny translation more or less done by SomethingAwful fans who got away with as much as they could. Accuracy or not, it helped spice up the dialogue from the little minor trainers you grind through. While I think the major characters of the Gen V game have well-translated dialogue, I kind of think that the minor trainer's direct translations have gotten a little boring in comparison to Gen IV's.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

I haven't noticed anyone speaking unnaturally either, except in cases of strange characters or distinct presentation (ie, Clay, Ghetsis).

Also seconding wanting to know where this "ten years after DPPt" comes from because don't you think Cynthia would look different if she was pushing 40? Do you mean ten years after GSC/HGSS, what with the ex-Rocket? Because that may not actually have taken place at the same time as DPPt.

 

[Faye Scarlet]

Whoa, BW can't be 10 years after Pt. D8 I guessed 3 years at the most.

And hey, complaining about dialogue of NPCs! I didn't think this fandom could get any lower! D8 I'm glad to see people with sense in this thread, though. Seriously, I think TPCi does a MUCH better job at handling this game, translating it, I mean.

Sure, it made me giggle to see that random artist say "my Pokemon is fight!!", but it doesn't make a HUGE difference in the end. o.o There are no rematches, so it's not like you'll be seeing them again.

And to me, the dialogue sounded MORE natural to me. Like these are actual people, instead of silly game characters. D: Plus the characters actually had personality in their dialogue. The aforementioned Cilan/Chili/Cress, is a HUGE example. Cilan is shy and stutters (which is adorable as hell! <3 shame the anime didn't keep that!), Chili is hot-headed and loud, while Cress is level-headed and cool. Etc. It is quite well done in the end.

One last thing: I actually DO talk like that all the time in real life. "I am" comes off of my tongue easier than "I'm" does. So yes, some people DO talk like that.

 

[Azure Butterfly]

It feels more natural to me. I think that's how I'm used to people talking.

 

[proserpina]

Like a lot of people, I'm perfectly used to people speaking in that way, and I, too, have studied linguistics enough to know that if it is more or less common for you it is likely because of the area and class you are in, not because it's just weird to speak the other way. I'd say they're used equally, and I tend to switch between the two depending on my mood/the situation.

Figures.

Regardless: honestly? I don't even care. I didn't even notice until someone nitpicked it. It doesn't feel any less natural to me or a good few others in this thread, clearly.

 

[The Outrage]

Sure, it made me giggle to see that random artist say "my Pokemon is fight!!"

Yet no body complained in Gen IV about how people don't talk like that >_>

Yeah, memes, cool. For those who don't know what memes are, you know what stuff like that is? Bad grammar or generally awkward dialogue. Sure, you can argue the old translation team tried to connect to older generations, but you know what? They could do that with pop culture references that aren't just memes.

Then there's also the fact that they've previously missed in-game references to movie characters (DPPt had one from the Jirachi and Deoxys movie), and only time will tell if TPCi is more diligent with that kind of stuff.

 

[Aladar]

Strange. I never noticed any differences.

 

[Joshawott]

The only time I've read something and thought "Wait, what?" is when you find one of the Seven Sages and Looker appears; but that's only after I read this thread.

 

[Slenderman]

I haven't really noticed anything. Maybe how there are a lot of "I am"s instead of "I'm"s, but that doesn't really matter. It doesn't effect the gameplay at all, so just enjoy that game and stop being so picky.

 

[SinCosTan]

As much as I dislike TCPI, I never thought the dialogue felt strange. I do miss the DPPT dialogue. It was the best thing about the game IMO.

 

[33Whimsicott33]

Weird.

I always thought the dialogue in BW was more refined. Through my play through the main story (and some parts beyond), I filled my local chat-rooms with NPC quotes to show to my friends, sharing them because I felt they were memorable. Pt, nor HgSs has made me do it to this extent before.

 

[Gar]

I'll admit, I haven't actually stopped mid-game and actually noticed words that aren't contracted. Usually I'm picky about the same stuff.

However, I'll agree that "I will see you tomorrow." and "I am home!" sounds odd. Maybe that's just my area and the people I'm around. I know that those are generally more formal ways of speaking, but I hardly ever speak like that. In written text, sure, I'll use it for writing papers because I know I should. But when speaking... "Uncontracted" words just throw my sentences off and make me feel weird. I just feel it throws an unneeded stop in that doesn't make the phrase flow.

As someone else mentioned, I will use both words if I'm saying something in emphasis. But speaking at a normal pace, I'll always, always go with contractions.

Maybe that's just me and where I'm from!

 

[Saloma]

The dialogue reminded me of pre-Gen IV stuff. Not bad in any way, it's just that D/P had a lot of fine lines. Like, that one NPC that goes "This has nothing to do with anything, but here's a TM!", which isn't really as present in B/W. It's a shame, but it really isn't the end of the world.

Also seconding wanting to know where this "ten years after DPPt" comes from because don't you think Cynthia would look different if she was pushing 40? Do you mean ten years after GSC/HGSS, what with the ex-Rocket? Because that may not actually have taken place at the same time as DPPt.

Caitlin is clearly much older than she was last gen, and the Rocket guy now has a child. While ten years is only a guess, gen V definitely takes place much later than the first time gap.

edit: Oh, and Cynthia is clearly part of the Super Adventure Club.

 

[Garren]

Yeah, I felt the scripts of DPT had more humor, even without the memes. The funnier lines though in BW came from the television programs for me, such as Dr. Technic Al'Machine's "Troll Logic". Using Smack Down to stop air mail was my favorite, lol, as was using Venoshock for cooking.

Also...uh...remember that translated script posted back during the Japanese release? It was really close to the script we ended up getting, and I was surprised. I always assumed the dialouge was changed a lot more.

Oh, one bit of dialouge I did find dumb (outside of N's...BURN BABY BURN line) was the Sages spurting out random aphorisms when you face them in N's Castle. "You can't see the forest for the trees!" The fuck?

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Caitlin is clearly much older than she was last gen, and the Rocket guy now has a child. While ten years is only a guess, gen V definitely takes place much later than the first time gap.

edit: Oh, and Cynthia is clearly part of the Super Adventure Club.

The Rocket guy would only establish time after SECOND gen though.

And Caitlin doesn't look any older to me. Just...different.

I know SOME time has passed, but ten years seems excessive.

 

[The Outrage]

The Rocket guy would only establish time after SECOND gen though.

And Caitlin doesn't look any older to me. Just...different.

I know SOME time has passed, but ten years seems excessive.

If you compare her art, she is certainly older. Perhaps its due to different artists drawing the characters, but even when you examine characters that are around her age and compare them to her new art (closest example being Bianca), she looks far older. I'd say she's close to Elesa's age. She's taller, and they gave her the usual anime-style aging procedure of reducing her eye size.

If I recall, they also make reference to Platinum's plot, one of the TP grunts in N's castle mention that Team Rocket and Team Galactic failed because they made their existence too obvious too soon. While its not clear which Team Rocket the grunt was talking about, there's only one Team Galactic, placing the game past Dppt, and Dppt already places itself past HgSs (though not by much)

As for DPPt and HgSs, they make reference to each others events, though DPPt would be in an advanced timeline from the events of HgSs as the Red Gyarados was already famous (which would not have happened until after TR forced Magikarp to evolve), but I doubt the time gap is that large between the two.

 

[Eitarou]

From what I remember, the Pokemon that are put in BW by the Transfer Machine are listed as time travelling

 

[Silktree]

As for DPPt and HgSs, they make reference to each others events, though DPPt would be in an advanced timeline from the events of HgSs as the Red Gyarados was already famous (which would not have happened until after TR forced Magikarp to evolve), but I doubt the time gap is that large between the two.

There is no evidence that the red Gyarados did, in fact, appear as a result of Team Rocket's radio wave experiment. A girl in the Lake of Rage knew that it would be there and had come a long way to see it, so the news broadcast could have very well preceded the event.

In contrast, it is almost undeniable that HGSS' ending takes place after that of DPPt. In the Sinjoh Ruins, Cynthia knows Arceus by name and says that her research in Sinnoh has been meant to lead her to the Mystri Stage; in Platinum, Cynthia's last words are about the "Original One" and how she can only conjecture that it exists. Clearly, the Sinjoh Ruins event follows the Platinum story, although probably not by much.

As if that weren't enough, in HGSS Jasmine trades the very same Steelix she used in Sinnoh's Super Contests, as evidenced by its nickname (Rocky). Earlier in the games, she tells Erika that she'd like to return to Sinnoh because she couldn't bring herself to participate in a Super Contest the last time she was in the region (specifically in Sunyshore). Obviously, Jasmine's last chronoglogical appearance takes place in HGSS, and the order of her appearances is as follows: Olivine (Lighthouse event and Gym battle) -> Sunyshore (first visit to Sinnoh) -> Celadon (conversation with Erika about going back to Sinnoh) -> Hearthome (first Super Contest) -> Olivine (trade)

From what I remember, the Pokemon that are put in BW by the Transfer Machine are listed as time travelling

If that is the case, then the Relocator is different from the PokéTransfer in this respect, with the latter being like Pal Park in that the Pokémon are merely said to have arrived from another region. Suffice to say that Celebi's involvement could have something to do with this; the scientist who developed the Relocator only mentions linking to a network, which doesn't explain how the event Pokémon or the Lock Capsule got to that network in the first place.