You type “Pokémons” in the plural, and soon that guy or annoying friend comes to correct you, saying that Pokémon doesn’t have a plural. First, applause for him because he’s right! But why doesn’t Pokémon need to have the letter “S” at the end to be in the plural? And why do technology and gaming websites, and many people, insist on writing the word Pokémon with the letter “S” to make it plural?
The meaning of Pokémon and the correct spelling
The word Pokémon comes from an abbreviation of the English “Pocket Monsters“, which is already in the plural and means “Pocket Monsters“. The name that receives this meaning in English is directly associated with the franchise of the Japanese brand, “Pocket Monsters“. In Japanese: ポケットモンスター (Poketto Monsutā), which translates to pocket monsters as well. Besides referring to the Pokémon franchise itself, it also collectively refers to the over 800 fictional monster species that have appeared in Pokémon media since the release of RPG games for Nintendo and the famous Pokémon GO for Android and iOS. Thus, the singular and plural forms of the word “Pokémon” do not differ, nor does the name of each individual species; in short, it is grammatically correct to say both “a Pokémon” and “many Pokémon.”
So, since the word Pokémon refers to the term in the plural, why do other individuals and prominent websites still write the word in the plural with an “S“?
When it comes to websites, writing the word “Pokémons” serves to help people find the correct content in their internet searches the way they type it. For instance, if you search for the name of an object on Google Images and write the word in the plural, the likelihood of finding images of many objects of the same type at the top is much higher than if you type the search word in the singular. Similarly, most people who type “pokemons” in their search will find articles with titles that use the letter “S“, and given that the majority of people type it that way, it is much more convenient to create titles with the word “Pokémons“, which has become a Brazilian habit.
Therefore, it’s a logical habit for almost everything in the plural to have the letter “S” at the end. When typing the word on social media and in other places, almost no one cares about being right or wrong because social media is characterized by informal and popular language. This type of language is used in everyday communication and doesn’t demand complete grammatical attention, allowing for more fluidity in spoken communication. This is especially true for a subject that is not as serious, such as mentioning the name of an animated series or a game, where it has become a trend to say or type the word “Pokémons” with an “S“.
