Okay, so this has been an issue that has caused a ton of confusion for a while now, and it has gotten to the point where even moderators are contradicting each other when asked which way is the "right" way. For the longest time, this issue has just been swept under the rug and it's about time we came up with a standard to apply to all analyses. To put it simply, this is the issue:
Do we call a Pokemon "he" or "it"?
On the Spelling and Grammar Standards section of the site, it states that:
"Pokemon are referred to as 'people'. Meaning, you use the pronoun 'who' instead of 'which' or 'that'."
If this is the case, then the point has been made that since we do not refer to people as "it", Pokemon should be referred to as "he". Someone has brought up that referring to a general person as "he" is politically incorrect (sexism) though, and that the correct way to refer to someone is "he/she". Now, I think we can all agree that enforcing "he/she" on Pokemon analyses would just look absurd and would not do anything but clutter things up. Another point that was brought up was, in-battle, Pokemon are referred to as "it". For example, "Breloom is tightening its focus!" is a clear example that Game Freak does not refer to Pokemon as people.
On the flip side, darkie made an excellent point in his post in twash's thread. He said:
I have to agree that using "who" in the place of "which" makes more sense in this scenario, but if we go by that, shouldn't it be standard in terms of every way we refer to Pokemon?
I personally could not care less which one we go by (it doesn't change the actual content of the analysis at all... and honestly I think it's ridiculous that this has even become an "issue"), but one thing is certain: this needs to be standardized to avoid confusion in the future. I would like to hear everybody's thoughts about this, and I think the way we will decide in the end would be to hold a vote where simple majority wins. This is not something I want to drag out, and I'm sure there will be those who feel strongly about this topic and won't ever change their minds. To avoid ambiguity at the end of this discussion, I feel like a vote is the only way to really come to a solid decision.
Do we call a Pokemon "he" or "it"?
On the Spelling and Grammar Standards section of the site, it states that:
"Pokemon are referred to as 'people'. Meaning, you use the pronoun 'who' instead of 'which' or 'that'."
If this is the case, then the point has been made that since we do not refer to people as "it", Pokemon should be referred to as "he". Someone has brought up that referring to a general person as "he" is politically incorrect (sexism) though, and that the correct way to refer to someone is "he/she". Now, I think we can all agree that enforcing "he/she" on Pokemon analyses would just look absurd and would not do anything but clutter things up. Another point that was brought up was, in-battle, Pokemon are referred to as "it". For example, "Breloom is tightening its focus!" is a clear example that Game Freak does not refer to Pokemon as people.
On the flip side, darkie made an excellent point in his post in twash's thread. He said:
I have to agree that using "who" in the place of "which" makes more sense in this scenario, but if we go by that, shouldn't it be standard in terms of every way we refer to Pokemon?
I personally could not care less which one we go by (it doesn't change the actual content of the analysis at all... and honestly I think it's ridiculous that this has even become an "issue"), but one thing is certain: this needs to be standardized to avoid confusion in the future. I would like to hear everybody's thoughts about this, and I think the way we will decide in the end would be to hold a vote where simple majority wins. This is not something I want to drag out, and I'm sure there will be those who feel strongly about this topic and won't ever change their minds. To avoid ambiguity at the end of this discussion, I feel like a vote is the only way to really come to a solid decision.
