How Pokémon Mastered Translation

Most Gen Z and Millennial Americans have fond memories of the Pokémon franchise and its games, cards, and other merchandise. This monumental impact stems from Pokémon's position as the largest media franchise in the world, with an estimated total revenue of nearly $100 billion. Reaching this success, however, required expanding beyond its original Japanese market into other countries. This global growth necessitated translation into over a dozen languages, including English, Korean, and Spanish.

Originally coined in Japanese, Pokémon names are perfect for their domestic market but require adaptation for international success. To achieve this, translators localize names to fit other markets through several strategies. The most straightforward method for adapting Pokémon names is transliteration, which involves substituting Japanese characters with the orthography of other languages, like the Latin alphabet.

Related Names

The most prominent example of a Pokémon name adopted through transliteration is Pikachu. Although both English and Japanese fans know the creature as “Pikachu” (ピカチュウ), the name carries different connotations across cultures. Japanese fans recognize the name as a portmanteau where “pika” comes from the onomatopoeia for a spark and “chu” comes from the squeal of a mouse. While this direct meaning is lost on most English speakers, the name still feels natural.

This effectiveness is due to phonetic connotations that can transcend language barriers. For instance, the hard “k” sound in “pika” may evoke a sense of sharpness, similar to “kiki” in the bouba/kiki effect. These universal attributes can make a name like “Pikachu” feel fitting in English, even though it lacks its original, explicit meaning.

Approximately a quarter of 805 Pokémon analyzed in a 2018 UC Berkeley linguistics study had some phonological overlap between Japanese and English names. Many of these, like “Pikachu,” are direct Japanese borrowings. However, the study notes that this overlap also occurs with Japanese names originally based on English, such as “Riifia” becoming  “Leafeon” or “Annoon” becoming “Unown.” These names are relatively easy for translators to adapt, but most names undergo a more complex process for effective localization.

Adapting to Culture

Most English-speaking fans don’t recognize the name “Fushigidane” because its English translation, Bulbasaur, is completely different. The Japanese name is a portmanteau of “fushigi,” meaning wonder or curiosity, and “tane,” meaning seed. Like Pikachu, "Fushigidane" is a concept-based portmanteau. However, translators determined that its Japanese name wouldn’t appeal to American audiences. This may have stemmed from its length, difficult pronunciation, a noticeably more “Japanese” structure, or other factors that led to an alternative English version being chosen. For this Pokémon, translators settled on Bulbasaur, a name far more marketable in English.

Bulbasaur’s name, a portmanteau of “bulb” and “dinosaur,” clearly signals the creature’s concept to English-speaking audiences. This approach is a trend in Pokémon localization. Most Pokémon names have relatively obvious connections between English things or concepts and appearances, but there are still several nuances translators must navigate.

An effective translation requires a deep knowledge of the target language's sociolinguistic properties. For example, the study also revealed that phonetic associations, such as the correlation between the sounds [s] and [ʃ] and serpent-like creatures, can vary across cultures. In English, serpent-like Pokémon tend to have more [s] sounds due to the sound’s cultural association with snakes. In Japanese, this pattern is less pronounced.

The study also found that other naming tendencies can transcend language barriers. More intuitive connotations, like longer name length correlating to greater weight, power, and evolutionary stage, are shared between English and Japanese. For example, Pichu, the pre-evolution stage of Pikachu, is tiny, weak, and has a shorter, more diminuitive name.

Global Expansion

Pokémon’s successful adaptation strategy sets it apart from other Japanese franchises that have tried to expand globally. Yo-kai Watch, a similar creature catching franchise, struggled to successfully enter the US market, likely due to the cultural components that made it jarring to American audiences. The main term “yōkai,” while impactful in Japan, is unfamiliar and meaningless to most Americans. Unlike Pokémon, its identity was too culturally tied to the Japanese market, making it appealing domestically but not internationally.

In contrast, the international success of Pokémon relies on its effective localization. The franchise has done extensive research to analyze cultural connotations and pronounceability of their Pokémon names in target regions. Planners understood linguistic characteristics of target regions, such as local phoneme connotations and phonotactic constraints that govern pronunciation. This thoughtful naming process bolsters Pokémon’s global appeal, revealing that, for international appeal, even fictional names must feel real.