diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2b8d87379d..b96101d0ff 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -71,6 +71,10 @@ Every module contains its own CHANGELOG.md. Please refer to the module you are i
 * (crypto | x/auth) [#14372](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/pull/18194) Key checks on signatures antehandle.
 * (types) [#18963](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/pull/18963) Swap out amino json encoding of `ABCIMessageLogs` for std lib json encoding
 
+### Deprecated
+
+* (simapp) [#19146](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/pull/19146) Replace `--v` CLI option with `--validator-count`/`-n`.
+
 ### Bug Fixes
 
 * (baseapp) [#19198](https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/pull/19198) Remove usage of pointers in logs in all OE goroutines.
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 280b310791..a8dd2b415c 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -498,7 +498,7 @@ localnet-build-dlv:
 #? localnet-build-nodes: Start localnet node
 localnet-build-nodes:
 	$(DOCKER) run --rm -v $(CURDIR)/.testnets:/data cosmossdk/simd \
-			  testnet init-files --v 4 -o /data --starting-ip-address 192.168.10.2 --keyring-backend=test --listen-ip-address 0.0.0.0
+			  testnet init-files -n 4 -o /data --starting-ip-address 192.168.10.2 --keyring-backend=test --listen-ip-address 0.0.0.0
 	docker-compose up -d
 
 #? localnet-stop: Stop localnet node
diff --git a/simapp/simd/cmd/testnet.go b/simapp/simd/cmd/testnet.go
index 4ae56e28c4..3455bcf904 100644
--- a/simapp/simd/cmd/testnet.go
+++ b/simapp/simd/cmd/testnet.go
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ import (
 
 var (
 	flagNodeDirPrefix     = "node-dir-prefix"
-	flagNumValidators     = "v"
+	flagNumValidators     = "validator-count"
 	flagOutputDir         = "output-dir"
 	flagNodeDaemonHome    = "node-daemon-home"
 	flagStartingIPAddress = "starting-ip-address"
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ type startArgs struct {
 }
 
 func addTestnetFlagsToCmd(cmd *cobra.Command) {
-	cmd.Flags().Int(flagNumValidators, 4, "Number of validators to initialize the testnet with")
+	cmd.Flags().IntP(flagNumValidators, "n", 4, "Number of validators to initialize the testnet with")
 	cmd.Flags().StringP(flagOutputDir, "o", "./.testnets", "Directory to store initialization data for the testnet")
 	cmd.Flags().String(flags.FlagChainID, "", "genesis file chain-id, if left blank will be randomly created")
 	cmd.Flags().String(server.FlagMinGasPrices, fmt.Sprintf("0.000006%s", sdk.DefaultBondDenom), "Minimum gas prices to accept for transactions; All fees in a tx must meet this minimum (e.g. 0.01photino,0.001stake)")
@@ -116,8 +116,8 @@ func testnetInitFilesCmd(mbm module.BasicManager, genBalIterator banktypes.Genes
 	cmd := &cobra.Command{
 		Use:   "init-files",
 		Short: "Initialize config directories & files for a multi-validator testnet running locally via separate processes (e.g. Docker Compose or similar)",
-		Long: `init-files will setup "v" number of directories and populate each with
-necessary files (private validator, genesis, config, etc.) for running "v" validator nodes.
+		Long: `init-files will setup one directory per validator and populate each with
+necessary files (private validator, genesis, config, etc.) for running validator nodes.
 
 Booting up a network with these validator folders is intended to be used with Docker Compose,
 or a similar setup where each node has a manually configurable IP address.
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ or a similar setup where each node has a manually configurable IP address.
 Note, strict routability for addresses is turned off in the config file.
 
 Example:
-	simd testnet init-files --v 4 --output-dir ./.testnets --starting-ip-address 192.168.10.2
+	simd testnet init-files -n 4 --output-dir ./.testnets --starting-ip-address 192.168.10.2
 	`,
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 			clientCtx, err := client.GetClientQueryContext(cmd)
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ Example:
 	}
 
 	addTestnetFlagsToCmd(cmd)
-	cmd.Flags().String(flagNodeDirPrefix, "node", "Prefix the directory name for each node with (node results in node0, node1, ...)")
+	cmd.Flags().String(flagNodeDirPrefix, "node", "Prefix for the name of per-validator subdirectories (to be number-suffixed like node0, node1, ...)")
 	cmd.Flags().String(flagNodeDaemonHome, "simd", "Home directory of the node's daemon configuration")
 	cmd.Flags().String(flagStartingIPAddress, "192.168.0.1", "Starting IP address (192.168.0.1 results in persistent peers list ID0@192.168.0.1:46656, ID1@192.168.0.2:46656, ...)")
 	cmd.Flags().String(flagListenIPAddress, "127.0.0.1", "TCP or UNIX socket IP address for the RPC server to listen on")
@@ -168,11 +168,11 @@ func testnetStartCmd() *cobra.Command {
 		Use:   "start",
 		Short: "Launch an in-process multi-validator testnet",
 		Long: `testnet will launch an in-process multi-validator testnet,
-and generate "v" directories, populated with necessary validator configuration files
-(private validator, genesis, config, etc.).
+and generate a directory for each validator populated with necessary
+configuration files (private validator, genesis, config, etc.).
 
 Example:
-	simd testnet --v 4 --output-dir ./.testnets
+	simd testnet -n 4 --output-dir ./.testnets
 	`,
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 			args := startArgs{}