Convention regarding Gender

bugmaniacbob · Jul 12, 2010

Something that I have noticed recently is a certain inconsistency in the way that gender is approached with respect to writing analyses. Although it is not one of the most important matters, I would nevertheless like to propose a system for directing the genders applied for different Pokemon, which I believe should make the confusion of correcting gender on analyses slightly easier and slightly more applicable. At the moment, there can be some inconsistencies between analyses on the subject of a particular Pokemon's gender, particularly if the subject is genderless or the interpretation of its gender is subjective.

To start off with, this is, I believe, the current rule concerning genders:

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

In short, there are so many little quibbles and inconsistencies in the matter that I feel that there should be some sort of rule governing what gender is applied to a Pokemon, whether it should indeed be a "he" or "she". The first thing I want to put forward is this:

Genderless Pokemon have no gender and are referred to as "it", since that is the personal pronoun applied for objects without a gender in all other circumstances.
Female Pokemon are referred to as "her", "herself", and "she".
Male Pokemon are referred to as "him", "himself", and "he".

So, we have a positive base with which to work. First, we can remove those from OU, BL, and NU that are genderless or single-gender. This means that those marked as "neutral" will to all intents and purposes be referred to as "it", and similar rules are applicable to female- and male-only Pokemon.

Code:

Azelf - NEUTRAL
Blissey - FEMALE
Bronzong - NEUTRAL
Celebi - NEUTRAL
Jirachi - NEUTRAL
Magnezone - NEUTRAL
Metagross - NEUTRAL
Rotom-C - NEUTRAL
Rotom-F - NEUTRAL
Rotom-H - NEUTRAL
Rotom-S - NEUTRAL
Rotom-W - NEUTRAL
Starmie - NEUTRAL
Suicune - NEUTRAL
Zapdos - NEUTRAL
Cresselia - FEMALE
Froslass - FEMALE
Gallade - MALE
Porygon-Z - NEUTRAL
Raikou - NEUTRAL
Shaymin - NEUTRAL
Chansey - FEMALE
Claydol - NEUTRAL
Hitmonlee - MALE
Hitmontop - MALE
Mesprit - NEUTRAL
Miltank - FEMALE
Moltres - NEUTRAL
Nidoking - MALE
Regirock - NEUTRAL
Registeel - NEUTRAL
Rotom - NEUTRAL
Uxie - NEUTRAL

Now we come to the part where a rule or set of rules is agreed upon that can be used to sort out all other Pokemon as either Male or Female. After considering a number of unbiased ways to achieve this I came up with one that I believe should be the most acceptable, and most easy to remember when in doubt without having to refer back to the list. In essence, a Pokemon not in the above list will have its gender assumed depending on the ADV stat for their primary type. In other words, if its primary type is physical, it is Male, and if special, it is Female.

Male types are therefore Normal, Bug, Poison, Fighting, Rock, Ground, Steel, Flying, and Ghost.

Female types are therefore Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Dark, Psychic, and Dragon.

There are, however, a number of terms which I would like to use to deviate from this list, and would like feedback on if unsatisfactory. Here are the exceptions to the above rule:

This does not affect Pokemon with single or no gender. So, all of the Pokemon in the above list have their gender given regardless of typing.
All starter Pokemon are Male by virtue of gender ratio.
All fossil Pokemon are Male by virtue of gender ratio. Of course, all of the fossil Pokemon currently known about already have a primary Rock-typing, so this rule doesn't really matter.
Alakazam, Arcanine, Electivire, and Magmortar are Male by virtue of gender ratio.
Clefable is Female by virtue of gender ratio.
All Fighting-types are Male. Thus, Breloom and Poliwrath are Male where they wouldn't be otherwise.
All Flying-types are Male. Thus, Gyarados, Dragonite, Salamence, Honchkrow, and Altaria are Male where they wouldn't be otherwise.

If I may, I would also like to suggest some flavour exceptions in the list below. I would like Slowking/Slowbro to be Male, and Mismagius to be Female. However, I do not like breaking trends just for certain exceptions, so if anybody has any comments here, it would be greatly appreciated.

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Code:

[COLOR=darkred]Aerodactyl - MALE (Rock/Flying)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Azelf - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Blissey - FEMALE[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Breloom - MALE (Fighting)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Bronzong - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Celebi - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Dragonite - MALE (Flying)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Dusknoir - MALE (Ghost)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Electivire - MALE (Gender Ratio)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Empoleon - MALE (Gender Ratio)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Flygon - FEMALE (Dragon/Ground)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Forretress - MALE (Bug/Steel)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Gengar - MALE (Ghost/Poison)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Gliscor - MALE (Ground/Flying)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Gyarados - MALE (Flying)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Heatran - FEMALE (Fire/Steel)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Heracross - MALE (Bug/Fighting)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Hippowdon - MALE (Ground)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Infernape - MALE (Gender Ratio)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred][COLOR=seagreen]Jirachi - NEUTRAL[/COLOR] [/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Jolteon - FEMALE (Electric)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Kingdra - FEMALE (Water/Dragon)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Lucario - MALE (Fighting/Steel)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Machamp - MALE (Fighting)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Magnezone - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Mamoswine - FEMALE (Ice/Ground)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Metagross - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Ninjask - MALE (Bug/Flying)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Roserade - FEMALE (Grass/Poison)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Rotom-C - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Rotom-F - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Rotom-H - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Rotom-S - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Rotom-W - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Salamence - MALE (Flying)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Scizor - MALE (Bug/Steel)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Skarmory - MALE (Steel/Flying)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Smeargle - MALE (Normal)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Snorlax - MALE (Normal)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Starmie - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Suicune - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Swampert - MALE (Gender Ratio)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Tentacruel - FEMALE (Water/Poison)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Togekiss - MALE (Normal/Flying)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Tyranitar - MALE (Rock/Dark)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Umbreon - FEMALE (Dark)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Vaporeon - FEMALE (Water)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Weavile - FEMALE (Ice/Dark)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Zapdos - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
 
[COLOR=navy]Abomasnow - FEMALE (Grass/Ice)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Cresselia - FEMALE[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Crobat - MALE (Poison/Flying)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Froslass - FEMALE[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Gallade - MALE[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Honchkrow - MALE (Flying)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Porygon-Z - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Raikou - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Shaymin - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Staraptor - MALE (Normal/Flying)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Yanmega - MALE (Bug/Flying)[/COLOR]
 
[COLOR=navy]Absol - FEMALE (Dark)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Aggron - MALE (Steel/Rock)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Alakazam - MALE (Gender Ratio)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Altaria - MALE (Flying)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Ambipom - MALE (Normal)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Arcanine - MALE (Gender Ratio)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Azumarill - FEMALE (Water)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Blastoise - MALE (Gender Ratio)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Blaziken - MALE (Gender Ratio)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Chansey - FEMALE[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Claydol - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Clefable - FEMALE (Gender Ratio)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Cloyster - FEMALE (Water/Ice)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Donphan - MALE (Ground)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Drapion - MALE (Poison/Dark)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Dugtrio - MALE (Ground)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Feraligatr - MALE (Gender Ratio)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Hariyama - MALE (Gender Ratio)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Hitmonlee - MALE[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Hitmontop - MALE[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Houndoom - FEMALE (Dark/Fire)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Kabutops - MALE (Rock/Water)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Lanturn - FEMALE (Water/Electric)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Leafeon - FEMALE (Grass)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Ludicolo - FEMALE (Water/Grass)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Mesprit - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Milotic - FEMALE (Water)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Miltank - FEMALE[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Mismagius - MALE (Ghost)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Moltres - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Nidoking - MALE[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Omastar - MALE (Rock/Water)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Poliwrath - MALE (Fighting)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Regirock - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Registeel - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Rhyperior - MALE (Ground/Rock)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Rotom - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Sceptile - MALE (Gender Ratio)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Scyther - MALE (Bug/Flying)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Slowbro - FEMALE (Water/Psychic)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Slowking - FEMALE (Water/Psychic)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Spiritomb - MALE (Ghost/Dark)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Steelix - MALE (Steel/Ground)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Swellow - MALE (Normal/Flying)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy]Tangrowth - FEMALE (Grass)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Torterra - MALE (Gender Ratio)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Toxicroak - MALE (Poison/Fighting)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=seagreen]Uxie - NEUTRAL[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Venusaur - MALE (Gender Ratio)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Weezing - MALE (Poison)[/COLOR]

-----------------------------------------

Lastly, if there are any individual qualms about the assumed gender of a certain Pokemon, because of flavour or otherwise, they can be changed if there is enough support behind them. I would also like to state that, I am aware that at present the assumed gender of a Pokemon is the choice of the OP of the Analysis thereof, however I believe that this is useful in order to give people writing other analyses an immediate idea of the gender of the Pokemon in question, without having to refer to the individual's analysis or any other point of reference, and if the writer of the OP of an analysis wishes to change the site-wide gender of a certain Pokemon, he should make sure this change is added to this list.

I think that's everything, please feel free to criticise.

bojangles · Jul 12, 2010

I really hate to sort of shove aside all your work, but I have no problem with defaulting to male if its not on the neutral/female list that you provided. Your list seems sort of arbitrary and definitely confusing for analyses writers. Otherwise, I agree, and we should definitely keep referring to Pokémon as people.

twash · Jul 12, 2010

I agree with ibo. Defaulting with male barring exceptions (genderless, females) should be fine to be honest, it's much less complex than the suggestion in the OP.

Spenstar · Jul 12, 2010

That is true, since it doesn't matter competitively and I heard that a lot of battlers leave the gender at male. (I am not one of them)

If we're going with the "defaulting to male" thing, then we also need to apply gender ratios and in-game tidbits. Gardenivour should always be female, as should any pokemon whose appearance is strictly female. (Delcatty and Lopunny come to mind)

Rising_Dusk · Jul 12, 2010

I really think that this should not be addressed at all like proposed. I like to refer to Roserade as female, but someone else might like to refer to her as a male. So long as it is consistent within a given analysis, there should be no issue. Only the Pokemon with fixed genders should always be referred to a certain way.

bugmaniacbob · Jul 12, 2010

bojangles said:
I really hate to sort of shove aside all your work, but I have no problem with defaulting to male if its not on the neutral/female list that you provided. Your list seems sort of arbitrary and definitely confusing for analyses writers. Otherwise, I agree, and we should definitely keep referring to Pokémon as people.

twash said:
I agree with ibo. Defaulting with male barring exceptions (genderless, females) should be fine to be honest, it's much less complex than the suggestion in the OP.

The problem here is that this doesn't really do anything to solve the "exceptions". Stuff like Milotic, Gardevoir, and Clefable would be referred to as "he" by that rule, whereas most people would instinctively think of them as feminine. And then there are the more obscure cases - for example, I consider stuff like Absol and the Eeveelutions (and pretty much everything on four legs) as female, where other people would not. Hence there is an inconsistency here that would be nice to be ironed out.

The point of the suggestion above would be a way that gender could be ascertained quickly and without doubt, where there may be conflict between people's opinions, and indeed different analyses where these Pokemon are mentioned. If a list could be compiled of Pokemon that are agreed to be female then that would also work, but I would think that was much more confusing.

Rising_Dusk said:
I really think that this should not be addressed at all like proposed. I like to refer to Roserade as female, but someone else might like to refer to her as a male. So long as it is consistent within a given analysis, there should be no issue. Only the Pokemon with fixed genders should always be referred to a certain way.

This doesn't seem right. By that logic, I could claim that anything, referring to Pokemon as "it", or using British spellings, or not using the Oxford comma, would be fine as long as it was consistent in a given analysis. But they aren't, because I'm pretty sure there is a consensus that all the analyses on-site should follow the same grammatical rules, hence why there is a standards page, and "convention" in any case. Thus, I don't see why genders of specific Pokemon should be exempt from this, as they are about as important and common altogether as many of the things on the standards page already. Hence why I would like to create a standard that can be referred to and applied in practice.

Another thing I would like to draw attention to that hasn't been addressed yet is the subject of genderless Pokemon being referred to as "it", which is one of the main areas of conflict in a lot of analyses. Lots of analyses give genderless Pokemon a gender, others don't. I'd like to see a standard on this, if not what I have suggested in the OP then as deemed fit.

Great Sage · Jul 17, 2010

I don't see why we don't just use the neutral pronoun for everything. First, that's how it's done ingame (never are Pokemon referred to as "he" or "she" in the main series games), and there is precedent for following ingame standards (we use "forme" over "form" for goodness sakes). Second, "it" is universally applicable without being awkward, even for Pokemon that are single-gendered. However, when you start using "he" for Pokemon like Cloyster, it can get very distracting (I know I'm not the only one who is distracted when an analysis repeatedly calls a clam "he").

whistle · Jul 18, 2010

i like great sage's suggestion the most, but if we decide to keep to he/she for some reason, i'd prefer a standard of male pronouns that allows for author discretion (as long as it is consistent within an analysis).

Philip7086 · Jul 18, 2010

It has already been decided by an admin to stick with "he" "she" etc. instead of "it". Anyways, IMO just go with male for all gendered Pokemon, bar those who have a higher % of being female (some Pokemon have higher rates of specific genders). As for genderless Pokemon, just use your own judgment. IMO Suicune looks female, so I refer to it as "her" whereas Bronzong looks like a fat ass dude, so I refer to it as "him".

Though, this does raise issues for certain Pokemon like Milotic and Roserade who are 50/50, but obviously look like girls... (IMO anyways). I honestly wouldn't mind just going with whoever's writing the analysis's opinion on what the Pokemon looks like (unless he is way off base and receives a lot of criticism for it in his topic).

Zystral · Jul 18, 2010

Even if it was decided by an admin, a lot of people are questioning said decision, so can there not be a rethink?

Honestly, I find it a lot more comfortable to just type "it" as I'm writing. I do it subconsciously and only when the GP team pick it up do I change it. I can also understand the view when some people prefer using "he" or "she" instead and actively do it as such, and as Dusk and others say, they even decide themselves which gender to write in. Which again, I don't see a problem with.

I would much rather have the old "unofficial" rule in place in which "writer's preference, be consistent." At the least, that's easier to maintain, and if there are arguments about the inconsistencies across the whole site, we can leave that to a plebiscite through most of the article writers themselves, since they're the ones writing it, surely?

Great Sage · Jul 18, 2010

Philip7086 said:
It has already been decided by an admin to stick with "he" "she" etc. instead of "it".

I was able to find that decision. However, it's absurd that we try to follow Game Freak's conventions so strictly (again, we use "forme") and then do something that contradicts literally every ingame message, from Pokedex entries to statements by NPCs, that uses a pronoun in reference to a Pokemon. I recognize that in the games, Pokemon are referred to as animals rather than people, but I also recognize a legitimate need to refer to Pokemon as people for the purpose of clarity. I cannot conceive of a situation in which there is a grammatical reason to call a Pokemon "he"; to the contrary, this new standard forces to do such ridiculous things as referring to a clam (Cloyster) with "he" (not that "she" would be any better).

With all due respect, I do not see why it was necessary for an admin to make a decision here, when the decision was already made by hundreds of instances of ingame precedent, and when the ingame "decision" does not cause grammatical or stylistic problems.

eric the espeon · Jul 18, 2010

It is also worth noting that we already had a standard set by Obi, which was to refer to Pokemon as "it". This was set here (second post, second paragraph), and is still apparently in force. Unfortunately the topic in which phil brought it up was closed very shortly after it was started, which left those who would have discussed it unable or unwilling to bring in points which had been missed. A significant number of our best writers have expressed a strong preference for using "it" due to ingame precedent, appearance, and lack of arbitrariness/gender non-neutrality. The main arguments I have by people supporting he/she is that it does not matter which standard we use, and that it is not worth talking about. Which is simply not an argument for using he/she.

Heysup · Jul 18, 2010

As I've been suggesting and supporting for the last two months, the fact that we use any genders is inconsistent, inaccurate, and frustrating.

Reasons why we should stick to it for all Pokemon:

1. In-game uses "it". For example: Hariyama tightens its focus

2. He/she is inaccurate. For example, not all Milotic are she.

3. Adds unneeded subjectivity to an analysis. For example, Milotic looks like a male to me but female to Phillip7086. There is no way to decide who's more correct when we do this. Of course this isn't an issue if we make all Pokemon male, but that doesn't make much sense if there are in fact female Pokemon.

4. A Pokemon is like not a person where there is only one of them. Due to the possibility of having two genders, it makes no sense to generalize them as all male.

5. It was the standard ever since a couple months ago, it makes no sense to change it and be forced to update every analysis with he/she when "it" is better/more accurate.

And that "deciding" thread was left open for approximately one hour. There was no room to discuss it at all, and most writers generally prefer "it" (I gathered a list a while ago). And as eric said, the only argument for not changing it is "why bother", but this would not have been an issue if this wasn't changed without discussion in the first place.

Just my opinion.

Draco Zephyr · Jul 18, 2010

My two cents on this:

obi said:
Pokemon are referred to as "it". You don't talk about how Hippowdon uses his high Defense to wall physical hits, you talk about its high Defense.

We already had this rule before, and I don't see any reason to stray away from it. Pokemon should be referred to as "he" or "she" if and only if they have a specific gender. For example, Froslass has a 100% female gender ratio, and Tauros has a 100% male gender ratio. The aforementioned Pokemon should then be referred to as "she" and "he", respectively. If the Pokemon can be either male or female, using "it" should suffice. This is mainly because Pokemon can easily be seen as either gender, depending on perspective. Therefore, to prevent confusion and inconsistency, referring to them as "it" is a good compromise. Doing so makes things easier for both analysis writers and grammar checkers (specifically, the GP team). We GPers often have to replace every mention of "it" in an analysis with "he" or "she," which is tedious and unnecessary. Using "it" is consistent, simple, and saves time.

Great Sage · Jul 18, 2010

Draco Zephyr, I don't even think that exception is necessary. All Pokemon, regardless of gender ratio, are referred to by "it" ingame, without any exceptions whatsoever.

Jibaku · Jul 18, 2010

As I've said before, I would like to stick with it for all Pokemon. Pokemon with set genders (I mean set genders NOT gender bias like say...the starters) may be allowed to have "he" or "she" but it must be consistent throughout the entire analysis. I personally disagree with using "he" or "she", or defaulting to male, for ALL Pokemon.

Seven Deadly Sins · Jul 18, 2010

The "Pokemon are to be referred to as people" argument only existed insofar as we would use "who" to refer to them rather than "which", IIRC. I'm not a fan of "he/she" for referring to them, as it's been pretty much proven to be ridiculous and fairly restrictive to use he/she.

There's also Game Freak's convention of using "it", but I think that's more because they don't feel like coding based on gender. Still, at least from the viewpoint of a writer and to remove a layer of subjectivity, it would make sense to go back to using "it" in analyses.

PK Gaming · Jul 18, 2010

I like Philip's suggestion's. The system is pretty good as it is, with 50/50 gender splits being up to the person who wrote the analysis. I just hope we don't run into a situation were we debate a pokemon's gender.

umbarsc · Jul 18, 2010

I think it's just a style issue, whatever feels most natural writing the analysis. Personally, I just think it makes the most sense to call Blissey a "she" and Gallade a "he" and Magnezone an "it", but I guess there are some gray areas (for example, to me Suicune is a "he", which seems to go against popular opinion here) As long as it's consistent within the analysis, it really isn't a big deal at all.

As for the GameFreak thing, that should make absolutely no difference on the decision. We (for better or worse) are strict and literal with game mechanics; this is a flavor issue that doesn't even deal with Shoddy.

capefeather · Jul 18, 2010

I think that we should use "it" for all double-gendered species, and "he" or "she" for one-gender species (e.g. Blissey, Hitmonchan). Either that or use "it" for all Pokémon like Pokédex entries seem to do.

Philip7086 · Jul 18, 2010

I have said it before, and I'll say it again: I personally have no strong opinion on whether or not to use "it" or "he" and "she". My only preference is that it be uniform throughout all of our analyses. If we decide "it" is the best way to refer to Pokemon, then EVERY analysis should do so. If we decide to default to male unless an "obviously" female Pokemon, then EVERY TIME someone refers to said Pokemon, they must use the predetermined gender. That means if I'm writing a Scizor analysis, and I refer to Heatran, who was determined to be a "he" on his analysis page, I must refer to Heatran as a "he". Without conformity, it all just looks unorganized and unprofessional.

This is probably the last I'll have to say on this matter. I literally have no preference what is decided, so long as we fucking stick to it. I'm really just tired of this debate altogether to be honest. If you all cannot come to a decision, then someone will just have to make an executive decision like Aeolus did last time (though to be fair, we weren't really given much time to debate the matter then).

Great Sage · Jul 18, 2010

All right, we have basically boiled down to two possible choices:
A. we use "it" for everything
B. we use "he" for everything except those that are obviously "she"

I'll reiterate my argument that option B still has a lot of flaws, since calling a clam either "he" or "she" sounds awful. (Yes, you'll note that I'm using the Cloyster example a lot, because it's the analysis that made me realize how terrible using "he" and "she" is)

bojangles · Jul 18, 2010

Option A eliminates any sort of uncertainty involved (eg umbarsc thinks Suicune is a "he" whereas others think it is a "she"), so that's what I support.

Draco Zephyr · Jul 18, 2010

Restating my support for option A. It makes things simple, consistent, and clear.

Eo Ut Mortus · Jul 18, 2010

If we refer to Pokemon as "it", would we also refer to them as "which"? Because in the previous thread discussing this, it was noted that "who" has more clarity than "which", although I can't really think of an unclear situation that can't just be reworded.

Convention regarding Gender

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