Talk:Electric rodents

Why should it be deleted? Electric Rodents is not only part of the fandom (and it is part, just search deviantart, tumblre, forums etc to see for yourself), but also a "Formula" that the pokemon creators used from the 1st generation onwards. U can't deny the similarity of these pokemon(Not only in appearance but in their "place" in the pokemon universe), even if the don't share an evolution line with each other. Mr. Bell (talk) 00:50, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

It's not a formula in-game. Look at their base stat totals (which is probably the most significant way of comparing unrelated Pokemon) and most of their other numerical values. They're just plain not all the same in almost any category. There is a recurring design motif, but that's an opinionated statement (no matter how obvious it is), so it doesn't belong in the mainspace of a fact-based encyclopedia like Bulbapedia. If you want to expand the entry on Appendix:Fan terminology*, that's your prerogative, but I really don't think this has enough factual information to support a full article. Pumpkinking0192 (talk) 01:29, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

And in response to Glik's edit summary, "It's a popular fan term for a group of related Pokémon that have no explicitly stated relation in-game but whose relation fans widely agree upon. Nowhere in the article does it say that it's a canonical group." I wouldn't call this "widely agreed upon"; anyone who's been around since Gen 2 will tell you that Marill was promoted as if it were the Pikachu counterpart in those games before Gen 3 retooled "Pikachu counterparts" to require the Electric type. As for the last part of your statement, the mainspace is for canonical content only. Like I said above, the Appendix namespace is fine for this topic, but it simply cannot go in the mainspace at all; it doesn't matter whether there's a "fan term" disclaimer at the top. Pumpkinking0192 (talk) 01:34, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

I agree that this group is more or less canon, they might not have the same BST, but their designs (and cheeks!!) and the fact that they are owned by a main character in the anime just can´t be ignored. The pseudolegendaries get less similarities every gen while the electric rodents get more. --Nico649 (talk) 01:50, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

Plusle and Minun were never owned by a main character.

I would consider the early bird Pokemon for each Generation (Pidgey, Hoothoot, Taillow, Starly, Pidove, Fletchling) to be more similar than I would consider these "Electric Rodents" to be. I mean, at least you're not skipping a Generation there (Pichu is explicitly Pikachu's baby form, so it hardly "counts"). And Pachirisu and Emolga don't fit so well with all the others IMO. (That's "IMO", as in, anyone else's opinion will not sway me in the slightest, it's simply my feeling.)

The thing is, you could just as well make a page for those early bird Pokemon. Probably with better cause, even. Ash has had every single one of them. Not "a main character"; Ash. Not "all except Plusle and Minun"; all period. The only thing different about the groups is that Pikachu became the franchise's mascot, so people want to ascribe some special significance to its group of similar Pokemon. ...But nothing in the franchise actually raises any of the other "Electric Rodents" to anywhere near the same level as Pikachu (except perhaps Pichu, which is related to Pikachu and therefore not really a surprise).

Maybe if you wanted to make a single page about all the similar Pokemon between Generations (the "Electric Rodents", the early birds, the early bugs, the early ground sorts (e.g., Rattata, Poochyena), Zubat/Swoobat...the starters...and so on...), that might be moderately worth a whole page. There are trends, certainly. But most of those trend really don't deserve their own pages. That goes the same for Pikachu's group, which is not actually special just because Pikachu is in the group. Tiddlywinks (talk) 02:34, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

The mainspace is not "for canonical content only". The notability requirements says "not all non-canon material is relevant, but neither is all non-canon material irrelevant". That's the whole point of Project:Fandom, to make articles on the notable bits of fandom that are not explicitly canonical. There is a large section of fandom that accepts that there is a pattern of Electric types modelled after rodents appearing every generation, that's why it's on the Appendix. I personally think that the group's members gaining a repeating, important function in the anime starting with the Diamond and Pearl series warrants the group having an article of its own. But I also agree with Tiddlywinks: the generational trends would be better if they had one combined article. Glik (talk) 03:03, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

A Couple of things I would like to say:

• First of all-presenting a different valid subject for an article (early birds) doesn't mean that this subject isn't valid. Maybe we should just have both articles?
• Secondly, u are correct that the usage of "Electric Rodents" in the canon(esp. anime) hasn't been constant. But this is true with other subjects as well, as the anime itself changed each generation(i.e. which character has starter pokemon).But for the past 3 generation there is a constant formula.
• Electric Rodents is a popular fandom term, google it and find out.
• Aside from fandom, the similarities between these pokemon is found in canon-their origin and design of course, their egg group, their base stat isn't equal but it is the lowest of all others' electric pokemon, and of course their use in anime in the past 3 gen.
• And a more meta-encyclopedia argument- i can't see why would we want to delete it? Even if one can argue about the similarity of them, it is clear that many believe it exist. Bulbapedia should be the source for knowledge about pokemon, why would we want to deny this knowledge from our readers?

Mr. Bell (talk) 20:35, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

You're still just talking about a general trend that is only remotely special in this case because Pikachu is in this group. A page about all of those general trends would be great. Redirect "Electric rodents" to there, and you can add any minor comments about all their commonalities there. But the "Electric rodents" are not nearly special enough to have their own page, nor would every trend deserve its own page. A list of trends, including the Electric rodents, is the only really sensible solution. Tiddlywinks (talk) 21:44, 12 December 2013 (UTC)