Can deaf people be pokemon trainers? and other pokemon musings

[rpgamer]

More accurately should be "mute people" but you get the idea. How's a pokemon supposed to battle if you can't give them commands?

For that matter, how do pokemon just understand all these commands, no matter the language? You're telling me I can go out in the ocean and catch a pokemon that probably hasn't ever seen a human, and it'll just instantly know exactly what I'm trying to tell it to do?

Setting aside how they might understand any language their trainer might use, how would they even understand the moves they call out? "You're asking me to 'fly'? Can you not see my wings flapping here?" "Wtf is 'swift'?" "Did you just tell me to use 'acid'? We're in the middle of a fight, bro."

Pokemon spend all this energy learning to understand humans and all the dumb names they come up with for moves, I wonder if pokemon are ever frustrated that humans never even bother trying to understand any pokemon language.

[GuyBeardmane]

In my headcanon, it's the pokeball.  Wild pokemon don't know shit except how to survive in the wild, they're animals.  But once they're captured in a pokeball, they're changed.  Like, first the ball changes them from a full on living being into a hybrid of computer data and a physical entity.  Once they're turned into data, it's easy to write to their DNA to make them understand speech as well as make them willing to follow commands.

[André Toulon]

3 hours ago, GuyBeardmane said:

In my headcanon, it's the pokeball.  Wild pokemon don't know shit except how to survive in the wild, they're animals.  But once they're captured in a pokeball, they're changed.  Like, first the ball changes them from a full on living being into a hybrid of computer data and a physical entity.  Once they're turned into data, it's easy to write to their DNA to make them understand speech as well as make them willing to follow commands.

Nailed it...thanks for saving me some time

[rpgamer]

Can the recoding be used to teach pokemon to understand sign language? Could it be used to teach pokemon sign language we could understand?

I mean. DNA doesn't really have much say over what you know, I don't think. But, it does still make a simple sort of sense.

[GuyBeardmane]

3 minutes ago, rpgamer said:

Can the recoding be used to teach pokemon to understand sign language? Could it be used to teach pokemon sign language we could understand?

I mean. DNA doesn't really have much say over what you know, I don't think. But, it does still make a simple sort of sense.

Considering none of this is confirmed by canon, let's say yes.  We can get meta and say that hackmons exist because programmers have figured out how to hack pokeballs and have created brand new creatures based on pokemon, making sure they've got the preferred stats for battling and such.  It wouldn't take much to catch a pokemon, plug the ball into a computer, and rewrite the pokemon's DNA/program to understand sign language.

[rpgamer]

...This is how Pokemon Centers work, isn't it? Heal your pokemon? Do these people look like professional veterinarians? Nah, easier to just re-write them to a healthy state.

[GuyBeardmane]

14 minutes ago, rpgamer said:

...This is how Pokemon Centers work, isn't it? Heal your pokemon? Do these people look like professional veterinarians? Nah, easier to just re-write them to a healthy state.

Yup.  They just take the pokeball and reset it to an earlier restore point.

[katt_goddess]

2 hours ago, rpgamer said:

Can the recoding be used to teach pokemon to understand sign language? Could it be used to teach pokemon sign language we could understand?

I mean. DNA doesn't really have much say over what you know, I don't think. But, it does still make a simple sort of sense.

Not sure about the actual sign language but hand signals aren't that hard to learn. People do hand signals with their pets all the time. Repetition makes it more likely that a particular movement will be followed by a particular action. Whistles too for that matter. You don't necessarily need verbal cues to get things done.

Plus, if you add in the concept that pokeballs rewire the pokemon, it's not that hard to add non-verbal cues if that's what because needed. 

[Seight]

Please, please, there's so much to talk about in the Pokémon universe that all together leads to one going "ya'll this is fucked up"

[GunStarHero]

Through years of trial and error I was able to "communicate" with one of my pet betta fish. It boiled down to a sort of sign language where I made a motion and he would make a motion in response. Super limited obviously but we were able to establish an affirmative motion for him to make in response to a few different propositional motions I would make. 

For example, if I pointed down and swirled my hand around it meant "play," which was like doing hoop tricks, playing tag or something simple like that. If he saw that and wanted to play, he would swim side to side, sorta like a dance. If he didn't want to play he would swim away then come back. 

Now he never knew any words or the real meaning of anything and I never knew what he was really saying. But we had a simple means of communication in a way. He was very smart for a tiny ass fish and he lived for 5 years. I'd say it wasn't until he was around 3 that I could do any of this at all. His brother was seemingly smart too but not cooperative and only learned simple tricks that a lot of my other fish learned. 

It actually doesn't take much to teach a betta fish easy things like jumping through a hoop or getting them to dance with you. So if that's possible with only physical communication, I'm sure Pokemon could learn from a trainer that couldn't speak to them. I've seen videos of mute dog and cat owners that can still communicate in some way, too. 

[PhilosipherStoned]

Pokemon Trainer Red: ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

Edited September 4, 2021 by PhilosipherStoned

[PhilosipherStoned]

 

[Raptorpat]

On 8/31/2021 at 8:12 PM, rpgamer said:

...This is how Pokemon Centers work, isn't it?

what if every time you go to the pokemon center they pokemon is destroyed completely and cloned like the star trek teleporter

[rpgamer]

It really is a shame that Pokemon is a kids show/IP, there'd be some really wild places it could be taken in a more mature setting.

[GuyBeardmane]

Imagine pokemon RIGHT BEFORE the pokeball and PC Pokesystem were invented.  You have an old Houndoom that you had raised from a pup.  15 years of memories of your poke-dog, and then he dies of old age.  You mourn and bury him, and the next day they introduce the pokeball.  Turn your pets into data.  If it gets sick, you can have the data reset to a point where it's healthy again.  Your pets can now attain immortality.  Do you buy a pokeball and try to capture your dead dog and see if they can restore him to life?

Some hardcore Frankenstein shit can go down.

[Raptorpat]

You can't catch "fainted" pokemon though. Also, under your theory, would the pokemon retain their memories if they're reset?

[GuyBeardmane]

Just now, Raptorpat said:

You can't catch "fainted" pokemon though. Also, under your theory, would the pokemon retain their memories if they're reset?

I think it was in Black and White or B&W2 that they canonically answered that.  The bad guy team was basically PETA and argued against pokeballs, saying they were mind control for the captured monsters.  They stole a kid's Purrloin, and when one of the characters found it to rescue it, it had since evolved into Liepard and attacked the character.  Something like that, anyway.

 

[katt_goddess]

1 hour ago, rpgamer said:

It really is a shame that Pokemon is a kids show/IP, there'd be some really wild places it could be taken in a more mature setting.

Semi-done.

It's called 'Pokemon 'Bridged' .

I cosplayed as the Officer Jenny from 'bridged years ago for Con. She is a horrible creature and probably belongs on a list.

[NaBabby]

1 hour ago, rpgamer said:

It really is a shame that Pokemon is a kids show/IP, there'd be some really wild places it could be taken in a more mature setting.

There's some rom hacks that explore some of these questions and scenarios, if you ever wanted to play a pokemon game with some weirder and darker stuff than Nintendo would ever allow