POCKET Monsters, or Pokémon, have gone from cult classic to household name since “Pocket Monsters Red and Green” were released in 1996. The franchise’s imaginative designs and rich universe even led to a ‘Pokémania’ craze following its international launch.
Many Pokémon are designed around real animals and mythical beasts (for example, the avian monster Ho-Oh resembles a phoenix). As such, their original Japanese names are also based on the behaviours or appearances of their real-world counterparts.
The international localisations of Pokémon names attempt to stay faithful to the original naming conventions while still making sense in their target language, often incorporating puns and other references to the inspiration behind the creature.
However, it is said that some Pokémon were named after American cities in the early stages of the game’s English localisation.
Is this true?
Verdict:
TRUE
Early promotional material has revealed some pre-release English names for the original 151 Pokémon… and there were some truly awful contenders in the mix.
Of particular notoriety were Poison-type Pokémon Koffing and Weezing’s beta names, which continue to be ridiculed by fans.
The villainous-looking, gas-spewing blobs were originally going to be called “Ny” and “La” – a reference to the cities of New York and Los Angeles.
These names do make some sense given the context that New York and Los Angeles are known to have issues with air pollution. Los Angeles, in particular, has the dubious honour of being the American city with the dirtiest air.
However, considering that the games were not only catering to an American audience, the names were unlikely to resonate with a large portion of players.
Add that to the fact that Pokémon names had to be spoken out loud in spinoffs such as the anime, and you had a disaster in the making. Just imagine Team Rocket’s James shouting “I choose you, Lah (or is it Ell-Eh?)!” every time he sent out his Weezing! Malaysian fans would have had a field day.
Some other bad beta names the writer is glad did not see the light of day were Charizard’s original name of “Charizr”; Tentacool, which was almost called “Jilly”; and Kabuto and Kabutops, who could have been “Att” and “Lantis”.
To be fair, localisers did not have an easy time, as Pokémon names needed to be catchy and relevant in their native tongue, while remaining simple enough for kids to understand and pronounce.
All things considered, the punmakers over at The Pokémon Company have done a rather good job!
References:
https://screenrant.com/
https://x.com/DrLavaYT/status/
