Pokémon Name Generator — Nicknames

What makes a good Pokémon nickname?

This Pokémon name generator names Pokémon that already exist rather than inventing new species, so everything it suggests is something you could type in at capture. A nickname that sticks usually comes from one of a few places: the species name itself, the Pokémon's element, or a joke about how it looks. The seven categories here are those angles, split up:

Wordplay — clipped and suffixed forms of the real name. Bulbasaur gives Bulba, Saur, and Bulby; Pikachu gives Pika and Chu. Nothing here is a fixed list: the forms are derived from whichever species you picked.
Mythology, Food, Nature— chosen by type. A Water-type draws on Poseidon and Triton, on sushi and oysters, on tides and lagoons. A dual-type sees both of its types' pools.
Cute and Tough— weighted by weight and base stat total. A 3.8 kg Snom leans cute; a 398 kg Wailord leans tough. Both categories stay available either way, because naming a Steelix "Muffin" is a legitimate choice.
Real Names— human names, matched to the species' first letter. Bulbasaur suggests Bella and Buddy. This category has no deeper link to the Pokémon than that initial, and the page says so rather than pretending otherwise.

The in-game character limit

Twelve characters in Generation 6 onward, ten in Generations 1 through 5. A nickname you cannot actually type into the game is no use, so every suggestion here is built inside the twelve-character cap rather than trimmed afterwards, and anything over ten carries an 11+ marker for the older games.

Nicknaming is close to permanent

The Name Rater will rename a Pokémon you caught yourself, but not one that arrived in a trade — those keep whatever the original trainer typed, forever. Worth knowing before you settle on something, and a fair argument for scrolling a list instead of typing the first thing that comes to mind.

How official Pokémon names are built

Knowing the pattern helps you pick a nickname that sounds like it belongs. Almost every official name is two ideas smashed together: char (burnt) + lizard gives Charizard, bulb + dinosaur gives Bulbasaur, and squirrel + turtle gives Squirtle. The Wordplay category works the same seams in reverse: it cuts the name at its syllable joins, which is why Bulbasaur yields Bulb and Saur rather than an arbitrary slice of letters.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a Pokémon name generator or a Pokémon nickname generator?

Both describe this page. The two phrases get used interchangeably and mean the same thing: a tool that suggests what to call a Pokémon you already have. That is what this does. It does not invent names for original species that do not exist in the games.

How many characters can a Pokémon nickname be?

Twelve in Generation 6 and later, and ten in Generations 1 through 5. Every suggestion here fits twelve characters, and anything over ten is marked so you know it will not fit in the older games.

Are the nicknames based on the Pokémon I picked?

Mostly, yes. Wordplay is built from the species name itself. Mythology, Food, and Nature are drawn from pools keyed to the Pokémon's type. Cute and Tough shift with its weight and base stat total. Real Names are the exception: they are matched only by first letter, because a human name has no connection to a species.

Can I change a nickname later?

In the main series games a nickname can be changed by the Name Rater, with one exception that catches people out: a Pokémon you received in a trade cannot be renamed at all. So the name you give at capture is the one that sticks.

More generators

Need a face to go with the name? Get a random Pokémon, then kit it out with a random moveset and a random ability.