CLICK HERE TO VOTE!
Hey, all. Thanks to everyone who provided input. We ended up with well over a hundred suggestions, many of which were fantastic (and I highly recommend anyone looking for a team name down the road for a forum PL to use the recent thread as a resource, because there were a ton of great options).
To get the list down to a more manageable amount, we set up an internal discussion and small slate of test voters including artists, social media folks, tournament players and team captains. Each test voter selected their own ten favorite, and from there we were able to narrow the list down to 21 great options:
So, from here we are opening it up to the community: what are YOUR favorites? Please select your ten favorite team names in this poll! I’ve included a brief description of each team name, the name’s origin/forum connection and possible mascots below:
INSTRUCTIONS: Please select up to TEN team names from the list and submit. Note that we will be unable to count votes from anyone who selects more than ten, so if you want your vote to be included, please only vote for ten or fewer! (If you accidentally select more than 10 or otherwise need to change your vote, contact Kalalokki or myself.)
You will only be allowed to vote ONCE. Voting will remain open for one week, and will close on Friday, April 2, 2021. As this is a blind vote, your vote will not be visible until the voting period closes.
Voting is currently restricted to those with Tour Policy/Inside Scoop access. If you wish to vote but do not have access, please contact your friendly neighborhood Tournament Directors.
Please note that we reserve the right to adjust the ten selected teams in order to avoid overlap in names/forum origins/mascots. (For example, some of our test voters expressed that having both Smogoff Ice and Smogcourt Royals/Knights might be a bit excessive or confusing.)
CLICK HERE TO VOTE!
Hey, all. Thanks to everyone who provided input. We ended up with well over a hundred suggestions, many of which were fantastic (and I highly recommend anyone looking for a team name down the road for a forum PL to use the recent thread as a resource, because there were a ton of great options).
To get the list down to a more manageable amount, we set up an internal discussion and small slate of test voters including artists, social media folks, tournament players and team captains. Each test voter selected their own ten favorite, and from there we were able to narrow the list down to 21 great options:
- Arena Spartans / Sports Arena Spartans
- Circuit Breakers
- Gym Class Heroes
- Indigo Inferno
- Indigo Platoon
- Long Swan Silvers
- Mt. Silver Foxes
- Orange Islanders
- Orange Island Kahunas
- Power Plant Dynamos
- Renaissance Knights
- Sandbox Hermits
- Showdown Shoguns
- Smogcourt Knights
- Smogcourt Royals
- Smogoff Ice
- Social Mediums
- Sports Arena GOATs
- Studio Gibles / Studio Gible
- Technical Machines
- Uncharted Terrors
So, from here we are opening it up to the community: what are YOUR favorites? Please select your ten favorite team names in this poll! I’ve included a brief description of each team name, the name’s origin/forum connection and possible mascots below:
Arena Spartans / Sports Arena Spartans
FORUM ORIGIN: Sports Arena
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Falinks, various Fighting-types
Some debate over whether we should go with Arena Spartans or Sports Arena Spartans. Lots of logo potential with Spartan/Roman themes and plenty of tough mascots, plus it shortens easily and can lead to lots of 300 memes.
Circuit Breakers
FORUM ORIGIN: Circuit Tournaments
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Regieleki, Magnezone, other Electric-types
Quick and to the point. Lots of folks liked this name, though there was some concern of overlap with the Power Plant Dynamos. Regieleki in particular has good logo/mascot potential.
Gym Class Heroes
FORUM ORIGIN: Trainer’s School
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Cinderace, Fighting-types
90s kids unite? This was the favorite Trainer’s School suggestion. The name is a bit off the beaten path, but from a logo perspective it’s one of the better options for showing off Cinderace and its gym shorts.
Indigo Inferno
FORUM ORIGIN: Indigo Plateau
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Infernape, Moltres, Fire-types
One of the two Indigo Plateau options that the test voters liked, Indigo Inferno rolls off the tongue nicely and gives Infernape or other Fire-type ‘mons a decent logo option.
Indigo Platoon
FORUM ORIGIN: Indigo Plateau
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Anything military - Inteleon, Bisharp, etc.
An easy play on words from Indigo Plateau, Indigo Platoon shortens nicely to the Platoon and there’s a lot of branding/marketing potential on this one, though it lacks some of the alliterative appeal of Indigo Inferno.
Long Swan Silvers
FORUM ORIGIN: Mt. Silver
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Swanna
A play on Long John Silver and reference to Mt. Silver, the now-closed forum. Would stand out next to a lot of the other “tougher” options, and can be shortened to the Swans or the Silvers.
Mt. Silver Foxes
FORUM ORIGIN: Mt. Silver
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Delphox, Eevee, Nickit, any of the fox-like ‘mons
Another Mt. Silver option, and another one that can stand apart from the tougher themes. Decent branding potential (silver fox being a reference to a particularly suave/good-looking gray-haired man).
Orange Islanders
FORUM ORIGIN: Orange Islands
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Exeggutor
See the excellent sample logo! This one had near-unanimous support from our test voters, thanks to the excellent and unique logo.
Orange Island Kahunas
FORUM ORIGIN: Orange Islands
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Exeggutor, Hariyama, Nosepass/Probopass, anything island-themed or Alolan
Of the alternative Orange Island names, this was the strongest. Kahunas is a fun name when shortened and rolls off the tongue easier than Islanders, and there are a number of different directions this could go from a branding perspective.
Power Plant Dynamos
FORUM ORIGIN: Power Plant
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Zapdos
See the sample logo. One of the three team names with unanimous support from our test voters.
Renaissance Knights
FORUM ORIGIN: Internet Renaissance
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Corviknight, Escavalier
There’s been a bit of a split between those who prefer Smogcourt Knights and those who prefer Renaissance Knights, but the idea of a Knight-themed team is one of the most popular, and leads to excellent logo options with Corviknight. Renaissance Knights has a slight popularity edge over Smogcourt Knights among the test voters, but it’s close.
Sandbox Hermits
FORUM ORIGIN: Sandbox
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Dwebble, Crustle
A cute option, and cute can stand out nicely among the other names. This is also one of the best ways to potentially feature an LC ‘mon as a mascot.
Showdown Shoguns
FORUM ORIGIN: Pokemon Showdown/WAIL
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Kartana, Rhyperior, Samurott
Another of the three team names with unanimous support from our test voters. Good alliteration, strong logo potential and easy to shorten, this has also been one of the most popular options on the thread and in #scl from the get-go.
Smogcourt Knights
FORUM ORIGIN: Smogcourt Supreme
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Corviknight, Escavalier
See the entry on Renaissance Knights. Both Knight names were very popular, and the test voters were pretty evenly split on which one was the better option.
Smogcourt Royals
FORUM ORIGIN: Smogcourt Supreme
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Tsareena, Slowking, Nidoking/queen, Vespiqueen
A royalty-themed team is interesting, and Royals has some history as a sports team name as well. There are a lot of regal mascot options and the branding for this one has a lot of potential.
Smogoff Ice
FORUM ORIGIN: Smogoff
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Articuno, Ice-types
It’s good to have at least one outright funny team name, and by far the favorite of the test voters was the Smogoff Ice. A play on Smirnoff Ice, this one feels like a fitting option if we want to represent the new Smogoff forum in any way.
Social Mediums
FORUM ORIGIN: Social Media
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Psychic- or Ghost-types
An easy play on Social Media, Social Mediums is strongest in the potential branding/logo options, and could play off of aspects like crystal balls, tarot cards, etc. Also if this team gets picked and the captain doesn’t use Unchained Melody as the official theme song, that captain should be replaced immediately.
Sports Arena GOATs
FORUM ORIGIN: Sports Arena
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Cobalion, Gogoat, Virizion
Listen, if the Smogtours lobby is going to spam GOAT, they might as well cheer on a team while doing it. A lot of folks liked the idea of a goat themed team for the obvious reason, and of those options the Sports Arena GOATs edged out the others.
Studio Gible / Studio Gibles
FORUM ORIGIN: Smeargle’s Studio
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Gible, of course
Extremely popular name on the thread and in #scl, and on the top ten list of two-thirds of our test voters as well. While it breaks the “no Pokemon names” rule and forces the team into a Gible for a mascot, the Studio Ghibli reference does allow for some flexibility in branding by focusing on different Studio Ghibli movies and can lead to easy memes to get spammed on the thread. Some debate over whether it should be Studio Gible (from a GP perspective, Pokemon pluralize without using an S, and it’s closer to Studio Ghibli) versus Gibles (which flows better when referring to a group of players).
Technical Machines
FORUM ORIGIN: Technical Projects
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Scizor, Porygon and its assorted evos, Genesect, Metagross, Deoxys
One of the later suggestions, Technical Machines was surprisingly popular considering that the person who suggested it initially did so as a joke. But the name is actually pretty compelling, as it’s simple and easy to shorten and carries a lot of really good mascot options with it.
Uncharted Terrors
FORUM ORIGIN: Uncharted Territory
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Ghost-types
Another of the three teams with unanimous support from our test voters. Terrors is a great short team name and it’s a clean play on words from Uncharted Territory, plus there are a lot of great Ghost-types to use as mascots and very good logo potential.
FORUM ORIGIN: Sports Arena
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Falinks, various Fighting-types
Some debate over whether we should go with Arena Spartans or Sports Arena Spartans. Lots of logo potential with Spartan/Roman themes and plenty of tough mascots, plus it shortens easily and can lead to lots of 300 memes.
Circuit Breakers
FORUM ORIGIN: Circuit Tournaments
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Regieleki, Magnezone, other Electric-types
Quick and to the point. Lots of folks liked this name, though there was some concern of overlap with the Power Plant Dynamos. Regieleki in particular has good logo/mascot potential.
Gym Class Heroes
FORUM ORIGIN: Trainer’s School
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Cinderace, Fighting-types
90s kids unite? This was the favorite Trainer’s School suggestion. The name is a bit off the beaten path, but from a logo perspective it’s one of the better options for showing off Cinderace and its gym shorts.
Indigo Inferno
FORUM ORIGIN: Indigo Plateau
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Infernape, Moltres, Fire-types
One of the two Indigo Plateau options that the test voters liked, Indigo Inferno rolls off the tongue nicely and gives Infernape or other Fire-type ‘mons a decent logo option.
Indigo Platoon
FORUM ORIGIN: Indigo Plateau
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Anything military - Inteleon, Bisharp, etc.
An easy play on words from Indigo Plateau, Indigo Platoon shortens nicely to the Platoon and there’s a lot of branding/marketing potential on this one, though it lacks some of the alliterative appeal of Indigo Inferno.
Long Swan Silvers
FORUM ORIGIN: Mt. Silver
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Swanna
A play on Long John Silver and reference to Mt. Silver, the now-closed forum. Would stand out next to a lot of the other “tougher” options, and can be shortened to the Swans or the Silvers.
Mt. Silver Foxes
FORUM ORIGIN: Mt. Silver
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Delphox, Eevee, Nickit, any of the fox-like ‘mons
Another Mt. Silver option, and another one that can stand apart from the tougher themes. Decent branding potential (silver fox being a reference to a particularly suave/good-looking gray-haired man).
Orange Islanders
FORUM ORIGIN: Orange Islands
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Exeggutor
See the excellent sample logo! This one had near-unanimous support from our test voters, thanks to the excellent and unique logo.
Orange Island Kahunas
FORUM ORIGIN: Orange Islands
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Exeggutor, Hariyama, Nosepass/Probopass, anything island-themed or Alolan
Of the alternative Orange Island names, this was the strongest. Kahunas is a fun name when shortened and rolls off the tongue easier than Islanders, and there are a number of different directions this could go from a branding perspective.
Power Plant Dynamos
FORUM ORIGIN: Power Plant
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Zapdos
See the sample logo. One of the three team names with unanimous support from our test voters.
Renaissance Knights
FORUM ORIGIN: Internet Renaissance
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Corviknight, Escavalier
There’s been a bit of a split between those who prefer Smogcourt Knights and those who prefer Renaissance Knights, but the idea of a Knight-themed team is one of the most popular, and leads to excellent logo options with Corviknight. Renaissance Knights has a slight popularity edge over Smogcourt Knights among the test voters, but it’s close.
Sandbox Hermits
FORUM ORIGIN: Sandbox
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Dwebble, Crustle
A cute option, and cute can stand out nicely among the other names. This is also one of the best ways to potentially feature an LC ‘mon as a mascot.
Showdown Shoguns
FORUM ORIGIN: Pokemon Showdown/WAIL
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Kartana, Rhyperior, Samurott
Another of the three team names with unanimous support from our test voters. Good alliteration, strong logo potential and easy to shorten, this has also been one of the most popular options on the thread and in #scl from the get-go.
Smogcourt Knights
FORUM ORIGIN: Smogcourt Supreme
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Corviknight, Escavalier
See the entry on Renaissance Knights. Both Knight names were very popular, and the test voters were pretty evenly split on which one was the better option.
Smogcourt Royals
FORUM ORIGIN: Smogcourt Supreme
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Tsareena, Slowking, Nidoking/queen, Vespiqueen
A royalty-themed team is interesting, and Royals has some history as a sports team name as well. There are a lot of regal mascot options and the branding for this one has a lot of potential.
Smogoff Ice
FORUM ORIGIN: Smogoff
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Articuno, Ice-types
It’s good to have at least one outright funny team name, and by far the favorite of the test voters was the Smogoff Ice. A play on Smirnoff Ice, this one feels like a fitting option if we want to represent the new Smogoff forum in any way.
Social Mediums
FORUM ORIGIN: Social Media
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Psychic- or Ghost-types
An easy play on Social Media, Social Mediums is strongest in the potential branding/logo options, and could play off of aspects like crystal balls, tarot cards, etc. Also if this team gets picked and the captain doesn’t use Unchained Melody as the official theme song, that captain should be replaced immediately.
Sports Arena GOATs
FORUM ORIGIN: Sports Arena
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Cobalion, Gogoat, Virizion
Listen, if the Smogtours lobby is going to spam GOAT, they might as well cheer on a team while doing it. A lot of folks liked the idea of a goat themed team for the obvious reason, and of those options the Sports Arena GOATs edged out the others.
Studio Gible / Studio Gibles
FORUM ORIGIN: Smeargle’s Studio
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Gible, of course
Extremely popular name on the thread and in #scl, and on the top ten list of two-thirds of our test voters as well. While it breaks the “no Pokemon names” rule and forces the team into a Gible for a mascot, the Studio Ghibli reference does allow for some flexibility in branding by focusing on different Studio Ghibli movies and can lead to easy memes to get spammed on the thread. Some debate over whether it should be Studio Gible (from a GP perspective, Pokemon pluralize without using an S, and it’s closer to Studio Ghibli) versus Gibles (which flows better when referring to a group of players).
Technical Machines
FORUM ORIGIN: Technical Projects
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Scizor, Porygon and its assorted evos, Genesect, Metagross, Deoxys
One of the later suggestions, Technical Machines was surprisingly popular considering that the person who suggested it initially did so as a joke. But the name is actually pretty compelling, as it’s simple and easy to shorten and carries a lot of really good mascot options with it.
Uncharted Terrors
FORUM ORIGIN: Uncharted Territory
POSSIBLE MASCOTS: Ghost-types
Another of the three teams with unanimous support from our test voters. Terrors is a great short team name and it’s a clean play on words from Uncharted Territory, plus there are a lot of great Ghost-types to use as mascots and very good logo potential.
INSTRUCTIONS: Please select up to TEN team names from the list and submit. Note that we will be unable to count votes from anyone who selects more than ten, so if you want your vote to be included, please only vote for ten or fewer! (If you accidentally select more than 10 or otherwise need to change your vote, contact Kalalokki or myself.)
You will only be allowed to vote ONCE. Voting will remain open for one week, and will close on Friday, April 2, 2021. As this is a blind vote, your vote will not be visible until the voting period closes.
Voting is currently restricted to those with Tour Policy/Inside Scoop access. If you wish to vote but do not have access, please contact your friendly neighborhood Tournament Directors.
Please note that we reserve the right to adjust the ten selected teams in order to avoid overlap in names/forum origins/mascots. (For example, some of our test voters expressed that having both Smogoff Ice and Smogcourt Royals/Knights might be a bit excessive or confusing.)
CLICK HERE TO VOTE!