The Sounds of Pokemon in Game...

[Giles_Le_Breton]

Okay...so something has been bothering me... What is with the pokemon games still using the fake 'sounds' for each pokemon? I can see why this would have been needed for the early games like the MIDI sound clips where needed to save space.... but the N.DS is more than capable of handling voice and higher quality bytes than those cheesy "roars" that each pokemon makes. I'd love to hear each pokemon make and say it's actual name. How/why has this not been done...?

The sounds that each pokemon makes is pretty lame and they sound absolutely nothing like how they do in the show..do you guys feel the same way?
I'd prefer my Gengar to say "gennnngarrrh" rather than "Blarghgurl"

 

[Esserise]

I'm the opposite. I prefer the cries, as they at least sound somewhat more animalistic. Having them say their own names is goofy and cartoonish in my opinion (on that note, of course the cries don't sound like the show; the games pre-date the anime and the anime tends to do its own thing - Pikachu as of Gen VI being the exception). Can you imagine if your dog didn't bark, and instead said, "Dog! Dog!"

Then again, I don't like the anime at all, so this should come as no surprise coming from me.

 

[Osprey]

That's simple: because the "fake roars" have been around longer than the anime voices. It's a matter of tradition. Also, you have people like me who think that Pikachu's Gen VI anime squeal is annoying and off-putting, just like other Pokemon anime voices in general. The game shapes the anime, not the other way around.

Personally, I like how the Pokemon in the games don't scream their names over and over. It's just... weird. I can't take them seriously at all. And some cries (such as pre-gen VI Staraptor, Empoleon, Regigigas, Metagross, Rayquaza, and Kyogre... just to name a few) sound far better than some VA yelling their name in a cringey, hammy way.

 

[Norzan]

I actually prefer the cries in the games, I always found the pokemon saying their names in the anime to be really dumb. This is also the main reason why i hate the fact that Pikachu say its name in Gen 6 instead of the sound it did in previous gens.

 

[Peridorito]

I'm in the group that prefers the in-game cries too. It just doesn't make sense for the Pokémon to say their own names.

 

[godiego]

i prefer the current style of cries (barring anime Pikachu cry). it's important to notice that a good amount of Pokemon in the anime also just....grunt, growl, snarl, and such. i mean in the movies Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina all just roar, all three of which sound worse than their ingame cries.

 

[skyradiant]

I definitely prefer the cries. I wouldn't be able to take the cutscences involving legendaries seriously if they yelled their names.

 

[Dolce]

I like the ingame cries myself, they're more convincing and realistic to me. And like it was mentioned some Pokemon in the anime just roar, then there's Pokemon like Meowth whom talk. I think the ingame cries give a greater sense of adventure overall.

 

[PaulTheProtist]

I love the cries! Especially Abomasnow, whose cry sounds like a chainsaw. Would I really want to trade that for a guy saying Abomasnow?

I'd like the changes to cries made in Gen VI to be reverted though.

 

[henrymidfields]

Meh, I personally couldn't be bothered whinging and whining about the anime cries. If anything, I would find it jarring when the anime doesn't have the Poke-speak cries. Not to mention at least one manga series did this to a couple of the Pokemon (Golden Boys), and two others that I know (that "blockhead Clefairy" manga, and Magical Pokemon Journey) were more ridiculous in that they had the Pokemon speaking human Japanese. Outside of Pokemon, I've seen and heard Yoshi using his Poke-speak since Yoshi Story... As Poketuber Nate Smith says...and now you're pissed about it!!??

 

[BigBadButterfree]

If they ever change all Pokemon to using their anime voices, I will forever be disappointed in game freak. I very much like the growly-animalistic cries. I know some above have mentioned that they don't like the sight alterations made in gen VI, and to some extent I agree, but they also made some older Pokemon sound much more realistic. One that comes to mind is psyduck. Listen to its original cry. It sounds like just another random cry. Then listen to its gen VI cry. It oddly enough sounds more like a duck. I like that they did that.

And on top of that, they did something awesome. In Pokemon-amie, they made it so that Pokemon have different, further-altered cries to reflect their mood/what you're doing to them. It's small, usually just being shorter clips of the cry, but it makes them feel like real animals. I mean, a cat will usually meow, but it does not only have one distinct meow. It can meow, it can mew, it can hiss, and it can growl (yes, my old cat would growl, it's a very funny sound). So please, PLEASE, do not follow pikachu's footsteps. I've always had a problem with that rat and the fact that it shouts "pika pika!" Now just makes it such an annoying little thing.

Long post/rant over. *drops mic*

 

[LouThunders]

Meh, I personally couldn't be bothered whinging and whining about the anime cries. If anything, I would find it jarring when the anime doesn't have the Poke-speak cries. Not to mention at least one manga series did this to a couple of the Pokemon (Golden Boys), and two others that I know (that "blockhead Clefairy" manga, and Magical Pokemon Journey) were more ridiculous in that they had the Pokemon speaking human Japanese. Outside of Pokemon, I've seen and heard Yoshi using his Poke-speak since Yoshi Story... As Poketuber Nate Smith says...and now you're pissed about it!!??

I actually like the Blockhead Clefairy mangas. It's just so over the top and absurd I found it hilarious. I'm surprised a lot of people knew about it, I thought it had a particularly niche market in the Pokeverse because of its content.

My only issue with it is that Red's Pikachu and Togepi is pretty much the only recurring characters that couldn't speak (maybe there's more in the Hoenn story arc, I stopped reading years ago), but what gripes me most is that when the Pokemon speak, at least in the English version, it has to say a part of its name (maybe harking back to the anime's cries), which makes it very confusing when certain Pokemons speak (like Ninetales, Bellossom, and Nosepass).

 

[GhostFingers]

Gotta go with the majority on this one (for once). In-game cries far surpass anime name-speak nonsense. I for one appreciate the gen VI updates (Pika notwithstanding) because some of those cries really did grate on the upper registers. Especially the older cries that were blips of compressed computer noise as compared to gen V that had the likes of Lilipup and Stoutland making actual discernible barks. Now post-update the cries have overall been softened to make them a little easier on the ears, but still very recognisable.

 

[Krash]

In what world does an animal say its name when it opens its mouth? A dog doesn't go "Dog, dogdog dog dog."

Pokemon actually having cries that its mouth can form (Think about that for a second, bird Pokemon have no lips, half of them can't say their own names). The ONLY reason the anime has stuck as far as it has is because it used it as a gimmick. In the manga, they all have cries. In the games, they all have cries. They will leave it the way it is. I guarantee it.

 

[PaulTheProtist]

Gotta go with the majority on this one (for once). In-game cries far surpass anime name-speak nonsense. I for one appreciate the gen VI updates (Pika notwithstanding) because some of those cries really did grate on the upper registers. Especially the older cries that were blips of compressed computer noise as compared to gen V that had the likes of Lilipup and Stoutland making actual discernible barks. Now post-update the cries have overall been softened to make them a little easier on the ears, but still very recognisable.

I think that Gen VI did ruin a couple of amazing cries, like Staraptor's and Sigilyph's though.

 

[MizuTaipu]

I prefer the game cries as well. It would be too much of a hassle to record the 700+ Pokemon anime cries for the game, and we'd probably get the Japanese voices as well.

 

[~ Blazing White Yang]

Not a fan of the whole saying their own name thing...I think works great for Pikachu given how iconic Ikue Ohtani's work has become, and I guess I feel the same for the other more cutesy Pokemon like Jigglypuff or Chansey...But for many others it often times feels really forced and cheesy imo.

Personally, I love how some of the cries in Pokken Tournament sound. The gruff, animal-like voicework for Charizard, Lucario or Suicune is more realistic than the saying their name bit, and at the same time more lifelike than the electronic cries.

 

[henrymidfields]

The ONLY reason the anime has stuck as far as it has is because it used it as a gimmick. In the manga, they all have cries. In the games, they all have cries. They will leave it the way it is. I guarantee it.

Which manga series is it? Because I do remember seeing Poke-speak (and human speech from Pokemon) in the Pokemon mangas I've read in the past. I actually thought the game cries were due to limitations in Gen 1-3, and grandfather clause (and practical issues) in Gen 4 onwards, especially considering Smash Bros always had Poke-speak. (Can't say about other spinoffs.)

 

[Stratelier]

...especially considering Smash Bros always had Poke-speak. (Can't say about other spinoffs.)

It's safe to assume Smash Bros. followed the example set by the anime (why else would Jigglypuff be in it?) .

 

[DoctorWhy]

I miss the pre-Gen 6 cries, tbh. I'm not a big fan of the updated cries.