

This question has been quite bothersome. As mentioned in the title, how
exactly does it work? Do Pokemon get their species names from the only thing
they're able to say? Or do they say (and repeat) whatever species name they're
given?

(I think it's the former reason. But I haven't found any factual description
that proves it. So I'm looking for answers supported by facts considered
cannon.)


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pokemon
Can Pokémon say only what their species is named as, or are they named with the only word they can say?


don't think they ever really mentioned this issue (watched everything till x
and y) but something to consider could be the meaning of the names

<http://pokemondb.net/etymology>

a possible theory could be that the names that describe the pokemon itself
came first. Especially since there are some pokemon that don't even say their
names.


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I found a good episode recently that shows the anime contradicts itself on
this matter. In the _Black and White_ episode [_Archeops in the Modern
World_](http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/BW036), Professor Juniper and
Dr. Fennel revive an Archen from a fossil. Professor Juniper specifically
mentions one benefit of a live specimen is that they wouldn't know what
Archen's cry was just from the fossil. But Archen is mentioned as being a
Pokémon from millions of years ago. This is contradictory because Archen's cry
is its name but they somehow knew what its name was before reviving it.
Additionally, there is no way that humans could have taught it to say its name
because humans weren't around millions of years ago. Because of this
contradiction, it cannot be said one way or another whether Archen says the
name of its species or whether it is named by the word it says. Therefore, I
conclude that there is no canonical answer to this question in the anime.

It really doesn't make much sense at all for Pokémon to say their names like
they do in the main anime. That's why they don't do this in _Pokémon Origins_
, _Pokémon Generations_ , or in the games. In all three of these, each
Pokémon's cries/growls are more similar to real animal noises. In the main
games, the cries in the Pokédex are animal shrieks and noises (well, sort
of... as noted in the comments, they do sound electronic and staticky).
Sometimes if you talk to Pokémon on the overworld in a game they'll say part
of their name, but an audio clip of that Pokémon's cry will also play, so I
interpret the Pokémon's dialogue to be an onomatopoeia.


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