'The' Pikachu or just Pikachu?

[CWisgood]

In a fic, what should be used? The Pikachu or Pikachu?

Let's say Pikachu is facing a Squirtle.

Should I write: 'The Pikachu darted forward, its eyes focused on the turtle Pokemon in front of it.' or 'Pikachu darted forward, its eyes focused on the turtle Pokemon in front of it.'?

 

[Tale]

'The Pikachu', unless it is owned by a trainer and therefore a character in itself, in which case call it 'Pikachu'. If it isn't a main character, then call it 'the Pikachu'.

 

[Praxiteles]

Artcles are omitted when defining one nameless of a species. If there's a Wild Pikachu who doesn't have a name, or its name is unknown, you call it 'the' Pikachu. If some trainer names it Pikachu, you call it Pikachu, since, in this case, the word is a proper noun. And if the Pokemon is named Pikachu in the wild, maybe in some society, that's a really bad idea, and I don't want to give a fic like that any help. No offense if your fic is that way.

So, yeah, if you have just some random, nameless/unknown-name-having Pokemon, put 'the' in front of it.

 

[Ryano Ra]

Agreed.

Usually, you would use 'the Pikachu' if it is a wild Pikachu, for if it doesn't have a distinct name of its own (or owned by someone/something) then it is just a wild Pikachu or the Pikachu. However, a trainer's Pikachu would either have a nickname or be referred to as 'Pikachu'. However, 'the Pikachu' can still be a character of itself in my own personal opinion; anything mentioned in a story is indeed a character (or are they? o.o) but usually, that is the case -- 'the Pikachu' is wild, 'Pikachu' is a character/is owned.

 

[CWisgood]

Is it acceptable to use 'Pikachu' if I am writing in third person but in the Pikachu's P.O.V.? E.g.

Arbok tried to stretch its tail over to reach the Phanpy, but before long, it was out of its reach. Frustrated, it turned its attention back to the human. With brute force, it squeezed hard. The auburn backpack bursted, and various items including a red box-like item and metal cylinders. Whatever. These thing weren’t important to Arbok, its main focus was the kid. A beep sound startled it before it struck down with its venomous fangs. It appeared to be coming from the strange red box. A nudge proved that it wasn’t a simple box. It turned out to be a kind of mechanical device. A picture of itself appeared on a glass screen and a mechanical voice sounded.

 

[Seijiro Mafuné]

In summation: use the article if it isn't the most important Pikachu.

 

[Keleri]

If "pikachu" is the pokémon's given name (i.e. that is what the character whose POV it is would refer to it as; e.g. they say "pikachu, go!" when releasing it) then I would say "Pikachu darted forward...", etc.

If the pokémon has a name/nickname then I will refer to it as "the [pokémon]" occasionally in order to not be using its given name all the time.

If the pokémon's name is not known, I will refer to it as "the [pokémon]".

 

[Smile Guy]

Depends on whether the Pikachu is a main character or not. Can also depend on levels of description you are using at the point of writing. Essentially what everyone else is saying.

PS) Hey Tale!