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Grammar question: Group of latios/latias

Eruannion

New Member
Say there is a group consisting of multiple latias and latios, how would you refer to them as a whole? Lati? Latis?
I'd like some suggestions
 

Poetry

Dancing Mad
Pokemon names are the same in plural as in singular.
 

GingerDixie

Hopes and Dreams
Personally, I would refer to a group of Latias as just that...a "group (or flight) of Latias". Same goes with Latios. I would probably only use "Latis" if I was referring to a mixed gender flight, considering that seems to be the fan term to referring to both of them as whole.

To be quite honest, I'm more interested in what context this is going to be used in...Latias and Latios are Mythical Pokemon, which means that there aren't going to be more than one or two of them flying around in my opinion. So really, this is probably a moot point unless you are just referring to the two of them together.
 

Dragonfree

Just me
I think what Eruannion is asking about is how to refer collectively to a mixed-gender group containing both Latios and Latias.

Personally, given "Lati" as a collective term for them is completely fan-made and has never been used in-universe as far as I'm aware, I'm not convinced it belongs in fanfiction, any more than something like "T-tar" or "Boltbeam". I'd just call them "a group of Latios and Latias", the same way I'd refer to a group of Tauros and Miltank or Pidgey and Spearow or some other combination of Pokémon.
 

Eruannion

New Member
Personally, I would refer to a group of Latias as just that...a "group (or flight) of Latias". Same goes with Latios. I would probably only use "Latis" if I was referring to a mixed gender flight, considering that seems to be the fan term to referring to both of them as whole.

To be quite honest, I'm more interested in what context this is going to be used in...Latias and Latios are Mythical Pokemon, which means that there aren't going to be more than one or two of them flying around in my opinion. So really, this is probably a moot point unless you are just referring to the two of them together.

A mixed gender flight is exactly what I was referring to. Or rather, a single species of which the males are Latios and the females Latias.
As for the context, I was asking for a friend of mine who wants to write a fic about said species. We know that Latios and Latios are legendary and therefore unique, in the games. The anime however seems to imply that most legendary Pokemon are not in fact unique, just very rare. The Japanese version of Pokemon Heroes in particular heavily implies this about Latios and Latias. For reference, here is the Japanese intro of the movie, which was cut from the dub: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQQ-qg7B4TU


I think what Eruannion is asking about is how to refer collectively to a mixed-gender group containing both Latios and Latias.

Personally, given "Lati" as a collective term for them is completely fan-made and has never been used in-universe as far as I'm aware, I'm not convinced it belongs in fanfiction, any more than something like "T-tar" or "Boltbeam". I'd just call them "a group of Latios and Latias", the same way I'd refer to a group of Tauros and Miltank or Pidgey and Spearow or some other combination of Pokémon.

That is indeed what I meant. I am aware that this terminology is fanon, and I am not looking for an official name. I'm just asking how people would refer to a species consisting of Latios and Latias. Which term is more commonly used? Lati, latis, or something else?
 

Dragonfree

Just me
Well, again, I'd just call them "a group of Latios and Latias". I know you're not looking for an official name; I'm recommending not using the fanon name and instead just referring to both of them, because being fanmade shorthand makes it sound weird in a fanfic.

But if you do really want to use the fanmade term, I've always seen it pluralized as "Latis".
 

Sike Saner

Peace to the Mountain
It's probably more a matter of preference than grammar, tbh. Lati, latis, latias and latios, latithingers... your friend can go with whatever they think sounds best, or sounds the least awkward.

(Though I don't, for the record, actually recommend "latithingers". :p)

Aesthetically and phonetically speaking, I'm personally a fan of "lati"--with a long "I" sound at the end, like in "magi". Again, though, that's just a preference. Whichever term your friend chooses, it's unlikely they'll have an angry mob at their doorstep. :B
 

Umbramatic

The Ghost Lord
For what it's worth main fanon spelling I've seen in fanwork and I personally use is "Latii" with two Is for both singular and pural, and it works fine by me.

Granted, in the universe I set most of my fics in the species is pretty supernatural in nature and not the type to congregate in flocks, but that's obviously not the case here.
 

Venia Silente

[](int x){return x;}
As with Umbramatic, I see a lot of, and use a lot of, Latii for the collective name of the species (and when I happen to write in Spanish, Lati@s). As for the term of a collective of such a Pokémon (aka a collective noun) I am much partial to Anne McCaffrey's weyr but lacking that the mostly standard fantasy wing and flight look and feel pretty right too, in particular if it's about an organized collection of such Pokémon.
 

Polipuff

Artisan of Words
I would, instead of putting group, put a unit or flight of latios and latias. Why? Because they're based off of jet planes, which flies in units. For example, if there were a group of murkrow, I would use a murder of murkrows (or something like that if possible). A miltank or tauros would be called a herd, etc. but that's just me. :)

Edit: Holy cow guys! I just made the name for a group of latios and latias. An eon of latios or an eon of latias.
 
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