What do you use for nicknames? Personally, I like naming Pokemon after their counterparts, so I named my Ho-Oh 'LUGIA' and my Lugia 'HO-OH'. For pokemon that are not version-specific, I have to work a little for it. I named my Snorlax 'LAPRAS' and my Meganium 'FERALIGATR'.
so, what are your preferences:
No name,
random name (e.g. YAY),
relevant name (e.g. Flame for a Typhlosion),
or tricky name (e.g. Scarfy for someone who would typically hold a choice scarf, but yours doesn't, or the name of a different pokemon)
Two things.
1) Relevant.
And 2) Is that so you trick your opponents in battle, so they think you're throwing out a different Pokemon?
I do it for strategic reasons such as I will tell my friend I will battle him with my Magikarp team, and five of my pokemon are Magikarp and one is a Lugia named Magikarp, so I win.
I nickname every single Pokemon that I catch, which makes for tough naming choices. I usually go for relevant names, such as Cinders for the Cyndaquil line and Nitemare for the Gastly line. It's nearly impossible to be incredibly creative with this style, though.
The relevant names also make for predictable Pokemon, but I do it anyway. :P
Couldn't have it any other way. FURRET just seems too impersonal.
Every once in a while, I name them after more "real" things. For example, I named my NidoranMale "Kine" and my NiroranFemale "Nido-san" in honor of Patrick Debardelaben. (Anyone who's browsed Pat's sites a bit knows the significance)
I use relevance as a factor.
Espeon is Solar and Umbreon is Lunar.
Scyther is Blade and Scizor is Scissor.
Most of my Water types are Aqua.
More later.
I name them after something from history or something else matching.
My Togekiss is named Icarus for example, from greek history.
My Typhlosion's name is Xanthos after the greek word for yellow.
My Furret's nick is Hooker, mainly I wnated to use it for HMs at first. Now it's in my main team.
And my Victreebel is called Flora.
I choose something that matches.
Well, I dunno, I called my Sentret in FR Steve.....
People freak out when you call a Pokemon MissingNo, so I my Porygon-Z that nickname.
I generally give random nicknames to Pokemon, if any. Most of the time I'm too lazy to think of nicknames :P
I usually give relevant nicknames.
Most of the Pokemon on my Ice team have nicknames that relate to Winter in Japanese.
*Froslass = Mizore (sleet)
Mamoswine = Itsuru (frost)
Walrein = Yuki (snow)
Delibird = Okuri (gift)
Others...
*Cloyster = Akoya (salt water)
Jynx = Kryss (as in Crystal)
Glaceon = Kenji (random Japanese name)
Mew = Embryo
Arcanine = Guardian
Hitmonchan = Jackie
Hitmonlee = Bruce
Meowth = Maneki (as in Maneki Neko)
Abra/Kadabra/Alakazam = Magician/Psychaos
I haven't gotten around to nicknaming my HG Pokemon, but I plan to soon. I'm going to name my Electivire Vance, after my highschool-vocational electricity teacher.
Oh, I also have an "A" glitch on Red nicknamed Houou, due to the dex number.
I don't nickname my Pokémon.
I once tricked some idiot to nickname his Ninjask to get a Shedinja (through a convoluted and incorrect method), but no, I've never done it myself.