Standards for Grammar / Spelling, What a Good Writer Looks out for

[mingot]

Not so fast, there, Havak.

Official Guide from Nintendo Power for Pokémon Colosseum has it spelled (twice) as Ho-oh on the directions for snagging it after beating all of the Mt. Battle trainers.

 

[Rook]

Well, I don't really know too much about how "Ho-oh" is spelled, but it may be like that on the video cover because it's in the title.

 

[Havak]

Well, since it's possible that neither is wrong, we should just choose one and stick to it. For the sake of not having to go and edit every instance of 'Ho-oh', I'd suggest keeping it as 'Ho-oh' on-site.

 

[Arseus]

For what it is worth, it is spelled Ho-Oh on the Smash Bros. Dojo in addition to the 2009 Pokémon World Championships website. Unless "Ho-oh" suddenly appears on the back of HeartGold and SoulSilver, or the official Pokémon website, I believe that Ho-Oh is indeed the correct version. We can correct any future instances of "Ho-oh" as they arise, but for now I think we can look at it as an "error" in the vein of "Pokemon" instead of Pokémon. I do believe that Ho-Oh is more correct.

 

[Matthew]

I would like to bring up when people use parentheses in in analysis. Usually the information inside them is not needed, or it can be easily used with commas. Take from the Jirachi update:

Toxic Spikes because both's main counters are bulky Water-types (namely Vaporeon) which will eventually lose to racked up poison damage.

Vaporeon doesn't need parentheses, commas suffice.

majority of Gyarados's counters, such as Celebi and Vaporeon. Utilizing Taunt means Jirachi gains a free switch-in on a (hopefully) resisted attack

Hopefully isn't needed in this sentence, as resisted attack is what you'd aim to switch in on anyway.

I don't know if any of you care, but I thought to bring it up.

 

[darkie]

i think that should just be up to personal stylistic preferences. i personally enjoy using parentheses very much.

 

[Legacy Raider]

I agree with darkie. Writers should not be banned from using parentheses since they are one of the only ways to put asides in analyses.

 

[DCJ]

Always append 's to a noun when signifying a singular possessive or plural possessive that doesn't end in s (My Latias's Soul Dew, Lucario's Swords Dance), and simply a ' when signifying a plural possesive for a word that ends in s (All Latios' Draco Meteor).

Latias and Latios both end in "s", so why does Latias still receive the 's when it possess something while Latios only receives the '? Is this an error, or am I missing something in context translation?

 

[TEA_DEMON]

The case for Latios is the plural possessive, and Latios ends in 's', so you just slap the apostrophe on at the end of the word. There's nothing wrong with it.

 

[Dubulous]

looks like an error to me dcj, the latios version is correct.

 

[obi]

Latias and Latios both end in "s", so why does Latias still receive the 's when it possess something while Latios only receives the '? Is this an error, or am I missing something in context translation?

It was a vague example that added more confusion than it fixes, which is why I edited it. The plural of all Pokemon is the same as the singular. So it's talking about "My Latias's Soul Dew" (singular), but "All Latios' Draco Meteor" (plural).

 

[eric the espeon]

Sorry to bump this, but we right now we have analysis uploaded which use conflicting standards for this. It would be good to have a judgement, even if its just "either is fine".

For Little Cup analysis and guides we have tended to use "Little Cup" rather than "LC", which to some extent goes against the standard of abbreviating tiers (OU, UU, BL, ect). While LC was largely unknown this made more sense (avoided a lot of people going "what's LC?"), but these days most people have at least heard of it.

The question is, should Little Cup be shortened to LC in the same way Over Used is shortened to OU when writing material for the site?

 

[Reflect Suicune]

Well Little Cup is more the name for an alternate metagame than a tier. I think it is more comparable to Metronome, also iirc "Little Cup" was a term coined on one of the non-portable Pokemon games, ie: Nintendo made the term so in my opinion it stays the way it is.

---
Here are a couple of questions/issues I have:



1. I think we need to clarify more standards for abbreviations/shortcuts. In my opinion, abbreviations and "shortcut terms" are never acceptable. They can be quite confusing for newer users, and this group represents the majority of those who will be using the Pokemon analyses in the first place.

If we do in fact allow abbreviations, the following policy springs to mind:


Abbreviates and shortcut terms are only acceptable when the full term has already been established in the same paragraph. Move abbreviations are not allowed, unless you are referencing a particular moveset on another Pokemon ("CM Suicune gives this set trouble"), and not just the move specifically ("After a Calm Mind")


2. When referencing the condition of Reflect and/or Light Screen, as being set-up by another Pokemon... ie: "Dragon Dance Tyranitar can come in and take full advantage of..."
- "The effects of Reflect and/or Light Screen"
- "(The) screens"
- "The effects of screens"
Personally I prefer the first option, but I imagine the second option would be favored by most, and would also be more consistent with already existing policies (RestTalk and not Rest and Sleep Talk, phaze and not pseudo-Haze).



3. When referencing the generic group of moves that inflicts status effects, containing moves such as Thunder Wave and Sleep Powder...
- Status-inflicting moves
- Status inflicting moves


4. When referencing moves that do not damage the opponent, or more accurately, moves that are affected by Taunt...
- Indirect moves
- Non-attacking moves
- Support moves

 

[obi]

The policy is to not use abbreviations in analyses.

The one exception to this is for the name of a set. People call it "DDTar", so it should be named that. Within an analysis, it should be safe to re-use that exact abbreviation (so referencing it later in the analysis, you can call it DDTar, as we have already established that is the name). In a different analysis, however, things are tricky. Do we mention "DDTar" in Lucario's analysis, or "Dragon Dance Tyranitar"? I recommend "Dragon Dance Tyranitar", as that seems the most new-person friendly.

 

[DJXO9]

The policy is to not use abbreviations in analyses.

The one exception to this is for the name of a set. People call it "DDTar", so it should be named that. Within an analysis, it should be safe to re-use that exact abbreviation (so referencing it later in the analysis, you can call it DDTar, as we have already established that is the name). In a different analysis, however, things are tricky. Do we mention "DDTar" in Lucario's analysis, or "Dragon Dance Tyranitar"? I recommend "Dragon Dance Tyranitar", as that seems the most new-person friendly.

I agree. The analyses should probably be kept as formal as possible. Dragon Dance Tyranitar doesn't take that much longer to type than DDTar anyways.

 

[cantab]

What is the standard way to refer to Deoxys' Normal Forme and Rotom's non-appliance Forme. Does 'Deoxys' refer to the Normal Forme or to all Formes, with 'Deoxys-N' referring to the Normal Forme? Does 'Rotom' refer specifically to the non-appliance Rotom or to all Formes?

 

[diinbong]

Normal Deoxys and normal Rotom are reffered to simply as Deoxys and Rotom, respectively.

If you're talking about the alternate formes you should always either say "Rotom formes" or the specific name of the forme.

 

[Umbreon Dan]

Pokemon are referred to as "people". Meaning, you use the pronoun "who" instead of "which" or "that".

for example, the following is correct:

Staryu fears Bulbasaur, whose Grass-typed moves deal super effective damage.

if i'm interpreting that right, then bulbasaur should always be referred to as "him" or "her", right?

Staryu fears Bulbasaur and his Grass-typed moves, which deal super effective damage.

but then, how does this apply to genderless pokemon like staryu? would it be "Staryu fears Grass-typed moves. Bulbasaur can hit it for super effective damage." or "Staryu fears Grass-typed moves. Bulbasaur can hit him/her for super effective damage."

i asked around #stark, and nobody seems to be able to agree, so i thought i'd ask here.

 

[Reflect Suicune]

Based on a conversation I just had on IRC, my understanding is that Pokemon are never assumed to be of a certain gender, unless it is the only gender possible (ie: "Blissey...her")

In other words, both Bulbasaur and Staryu are "it".

http://www.smogon.com/articles/grammar_standards

GRAMMAR

• Smogon uses the serial comma (the comma before "and" in a list). (I went to the store with Bob, Jane, and Mike.).
• For unbracketed asides, use the em dash and no spaces (—). (Mareep—that is to say, the entire evolution family—is extremely cute.)
• Hidden Power Type, not Hidden Power [Type].
• The plural of a Pokemon is identical to the singular of that Pokemon. One Blissey, two Blissey. Never two Blisseys.
• OHKOes as the verb form (Salamence OHKOes Alakazam.) and OHKOs as a plural noun (Salamence scores many OHKOs.). OHKOed is the past tense (Salamence OHKOed Alakazam).
• Always append 's to a noun when signifying a singular possessive (My Latias's Soul Dew) or plural possessive that doesn't end in s (Lucario's Swords Dance), and simply a ' when signifying a plural possesive for a word that ends in s (All Latios' Draco Meteor).
• When listing multiple types, use a hyphen after each type (Water-, Flying-, and Normal-types).
• When listing effectiveness of attacks, the number goes before the x ("Earthquake is 2x super effective on Lucario") + ("Ice Beam is 4x super effective on Salamence").
• Pokemon are referred to as "people". Meaning, you use the pronoun "who" instead of "which" or "that".
  
• Smogon uses the American English spelling of words (favor, minimized, maximized, etc.).
• "Outspeed" is a term generally accepted by the Pokemon community, meaning "to move first in battle".
• The past tense of "to EV" is "EVed".

The highlighted 'rule' needs to be reworded (or a new rule added), possibly as such:

Pokemon are referred to as "people". Meaning, you use the pronoun "who" instead of "which" or "that". Do not, however, assume the gender of a Pokemon. Meaning, it is always "it" not "he" or "him", except in the case of Pokemon exclusive to a single gender (like Blissey or Gallade).

 

[Xia]

When referring to moves that are typically shortened (such as Baton Pass and Rapid Spin), should the shortened term (pass and spin, respectively) be capitalized or not? Personaly, I thought that since it was part of an attack that it should be capitalize, although the fact that it is not a "full term" would mean that it should not be capitalized.

When I searched "spin", the majority of the hits I got showed "Spin" and "Pass" capitalized, although there were (greatly outnumbered) instances where they were not. However, using terms like "base 80 Speed" suggests that when a full term (Base Stat) is shortened (base), it should be lowercase. If someone could shed some light on this it would be very much appreciated.

 

[Longfellow]

Hi, just a random lurker here. I'm curious about a few grammar issues.

1. The rules for hyphenating compound adjectives. I'll give some examples below. Are they all correct, or should I remove the hyphens from some of these sentences?

"Salamence switched in on Flygon's Earthquake. The switched-in Salamence then swept my team."
"That revenge-killed Machamp was only a sacrifice to set up my sweep."
"I tinkered with a dual-screen starter but could never make it work."
"Many Pokémon appreciate a Baton-Passed Agility."
"There was little my paralyzed team could do against his Bulked-Up Medicham."
"Fire Pokémon have trouble surviving a Spiked and Stealth-Rocked field."

2. The spelling of certain moves when we use them as verbs. (May we use them as verbs?)

Bulked Up or Bulk Upped?
Followed Me or Follow Me'd?
DoubleSlapped or DoubleSlaped?
Fire Spun or Fire Spinned?
Is "Self Destructed" a legal construct? What about "Erupted"? Should "Erupted," "Exploded," etc. be capitalized?
Does it even make sense to turn Conversion2 into a verb?

3. What are the guidelines for Pokémon pronouns? Do we say "Hitmonlee is known for his soaring attack" or "its soaring attack"?

 

[Reflect Suicune]

Hi, just a random lurker here. I'm curious about a few grammar issues.

1. The rules for hyphenating compound adjectives. I'll give some examples below. Are they all correct, or should I remove the hyphens from some of these sentences?

"Salamence switched in on Flygon's Earthquake. The switched-in Salamence then swept my team." Correct

"That revenge-killed Machamp was only a sacrifice to set up my sweep."

"I tinkered with a dual-screen starter but could never make it work."

"Many Pokémon appreciate a Baton-Passed Agility."

"There was little my paralyzed team could do against his Bulked-Up Medicham."

"Fire Pokémon have trouble surviving a Spiked and Stealth-Rocked field."

The hyphen is incorrect in all of these cases, you would simply use "dual screen", "Baton Passed", "Bulked Up", and "Stealth Rocked", respectively of course.

2. The spelling of certain moves when we use them as verbs. (May we use them as verbs?)

Bulked Up or Bulk Upped?
Followed Me or Follow Me'd? I would use the latter if I had to choose from the two choices, but an even better option is something like "the Pidgey affected by Follow Me"
DoubleSlapped or DoubleSlaped?
Fire Spun or Fire Spinned?
Is "Self Destructed" a legal construct? What about "Erupted"? Should "Erupted," "Exploded," etc. be capitalized? Yes to all three questions
Does it even make sense to turn Conversion2 into a verb? No, it would look very silly. Use phrases like "Pidgey used Conversion2" or possibly even "The Converted Pidgey."

3. What are the guidelines for Pokémon pronouns? Do we say "Hitmonlee is known for his soaring attack" or "its soaring attack"?
I do believe Hitmonlee is exclusively male, so either pronoun is acceptable in this case, but for any Pokemon of an uncertain gender, you would use "it".

 

[eric the espeon]

Is "Self Destructed" a legal construct?

Nitpick, but wouldn't it be "Selfdestructed"?

 

[Longfellow]

Yes.

Thanks for your responses!

I do believe Hitmonlee is exclusively male, so either pronoun is acceptable in this case, but for any Pokemon of an uncertain gender, you would use "it".

That's what I was wondering about. I noticed that feminine pronouns are used on Miltank's page but neutral pronouns are used on Hitmonlee's, and I figured it would be useful for consistency's sake for the "Smogon Style Guide" to prefer one over the other.

 

[Reflect Suicune]

That's what I was wondering about. I noticed that feminine pronouns are used on Miltank's page but neutral pronouns are used on Hitmonlee's, and I figured it would be useful for consistency's sake for the "Smogon Style Guide" to prefer one over the other.

I am almost always in support of more consistent standards, however, it should be noted that standard grammar allows for "it" and "he"/"she" to be used interchangeably in most cases, even when the gender is defined. For example, you may continue to refer to your friend's pet dog as "it", even after your friend has informed you that the dog is male. It simply comes down to personal preference in most cases outside of Pokemon, where a given author or speaker is free to choose whichever pronoun he prefers, as long as he remains consistent throughout his own writing. Furthermore, I do not really see it as practical or worthwhile to enforce either preference as the standard here. I am not necessarily against a standard being applied, but I am not in support of the proposal, either.