Why grass?

[winstein]

I don't really like the representation of plants to be Grass, because Grass seems very frail (look at those type matchups!). There are different types of plants like wood, grass (of course) and fruit, and it seems to me that they all have different varying qualities. I imagine that if the description of the plant is different, then the type matchups will be wholly different. For example, Wood will not be weak to Flying, Ice and Bug but will be weak to Steel, so if the type will be "Wood", it will be as a whole better than Grass is now.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Water Max]

I prefer the type being called grass because it sounds suitable for the types which are super effective against it and it is super effective against. I think grass is super effective against water because grass needs water to grow and flying is super effective against grass because when flying the object or animal is above the ground most of which is grass.

 

[Oswin]

Whoa.. mind blown.. Plant type makes more sense, but I think Grass type sounds better. Maybe it refers to the fact that they aren't all Plants, such as.....oh wait.

THEY ARE ALL PLANTS!


Except maybe Tropius and Leafeon..

 

[Rocker32703]

Except maybe Tropius and Leafeon..

There are many more than just 2 Pokemon that do not directly represent a plant. Torterra immediately comes to mind for me, which is a tortoise with plant life growing on it's back, giving it the duel Ground/Grass-typing.

Grass and steel sound better than plant and metal. It's also a little more colloquial to call them grass and steel - in a good way.

This is exactly what I was trying to say in my last post. It's easier and more recognizable to say "Grass" than it is to say "Plant". Same logic for "Steel" and "Metal".

 

[JohtoMotto]

Really why does anybody call anything anything?

I mean we could of called bug types "Insect type" or ice type "Cold Type" or steel type "Metal Type".

Which in your honest opinion do you prefer? I mean Plant type sounds much stranger than grass type.

 

[Green Zubat]

You know, I think plant or flora type would've been a better call but grass works too, since its (presumably) the most common form of plant. In-universe you could explain it by the first people seeing grass types noting their similarity to the plant and hence deeming them such.

Really why does anybody call anything anything?

I mean we could of called bug types "Insect type" or ice type "Cold Type" or steel type "Metal Type".

My personal theory is that bug type isn't called insect type for several good reasons: firstly, the bug type includes all creepy-crawlies (scientifcally known as arthropods), not just the insects. for example, woodlice, millipedes and arachnids are not insects they are bugs (in the informal usage). Secondly, I think the bug-type is meant to include both arthropods as well as organisms with microbial (e.g. bacterial & fungul) features too, hence why the Paras line is part bug type. Virii may or may not count depending on whether or not you think virii are alive and if you think Deoxys can still be considered a viral organism or not.

And as for steel types being metal yeah, I think that would be a better name, though I prefer flying & ice to wind/air or cold.Its the same with Fire over heat-type, just sounds better.

 

[turtlekid]

I think because not all grass type pokemon are based on plants or are like plants.

 

[hurristat]

I want you guys to say the name "Plant-type", and then "Grass-type", out loud. Which rolls off the tongue better? I think Grass-type does, and is in some ways more of a neutral name than "Plant-type". This is probably what ran through the minds of the English translators that were helping design the English Red and Blue Gameboy games. I don't know the Japanese name - both the word itself, and the translation of it.

I think part of that may be the fact that we've trained ourselves to say "Grass-type" and that if it had been "Plant-type" from the beginning we wouldn't have had a problem with it.

 

[Kutomba]

Because GRASS SOUNDS AWESOME.

 

[Infinity Mk-II]

It is Grass Type in Japanese too, so it's not an english translation choice.

My guess is that they used grass to represent a grassy field or a nature area, seeing typing not so much as a classification of the pokemon but as an affinity that pokemon has with a certain aspect of nature.

Think of it like the Lands in Magic the Gathering.

Grass pokémon don't necessarially have to be plants, just have an affinity with flora. Though most of them represent it with having plants in their bodies. (For a bad example: Mow Rotom makes perfect sense as a Grass type)

 

[Tsareena]

Like hurristat said, if it had been Plant type from the beginning I'm sure we wouldn't think it sounds so awkward. And as some other had said it would have made sense to me if Flying had been named Wind, but because of most of the flying types being birds in first gen or something I think they just saw fit to call it Flying (thus why most moves are the way they are, wing attack and peck and all). Also don't forget the long lost bird type.

 

[AkatsukiKaizoku]

I agree, it is more for convinience sake, but then again, questioning things that were since the very start of Pokemon is kinda odd, kinda like Gyarados' type (Which I know the reason but that's off topic).

 

[~HollowTree~]

Well, probably because Grass is a kind of Plant. And maybe they thought Grass sounded cooler than Plant. (Think about it: Starters are the Plant, Fire, and Water types. It doesn't flow as smoothly)

 

[The Twilight Knight]

I like it the way it is grass. Plant just does'nt sound right.

 

[Almonds]

I guess it's just the pronounciation problems

 

[VirtualAnomaly]

I think they use the term "Grass" because it's very easy to correlate the type to the plant, and helps you (I guess) relate that to plants as a whole, because grass is everywhere. That may be Game Freak's reasoning.

 

[Jenni]

I just accept it, kind of like the "Thunder" thing they do with a lot of electrical attacks - it doesn't make much sense, but the point gets across well enough.
Besides, if they went with "Plant" there would be issues because not all grass pokemon are plant-like (Pansage is a monkey, Paras is fungus-based, snivy is more serpent than plant, deerling is ... well a deer, shroomish is a fungus as well.) So, really no matter how they name it, there would be a bit of an oddity about it.

 

[The Twilight Knight]

I think grass sounds a lot cooler than plant.