ポケモン Pokemon Reading Club

[amagi]

I think I can add something to this.

@girakacheezer

Your second structure is wrong, the verb needs to be negative.

ポケモンを 助けなければならない。「たすけなければならない」

The first sentence is actually a similar structure, it’s just cut off. To give an example.

ポケモンを 助けないといけません。

They’re both basically conditional sentences saying that “If you don’t save the pokemon, then we can’t go on.”. Which is generally how the Japanese say “we HAVE to do this”. But the case of ないと is normally shortened with the result of the conditional omitted.

I asked this same question on another thread.

助けなと is shortening of 助けないといけません。

You are probably correct that adding だぞ is forceful. The full sentence, 助けないとだぞ, is a forceful way of saying, if you don’t save the Pokemon… which probably would feel like, “You HAVE to save the Pokemon!”