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Pokemon name changes in China are making fans quite upset

by rawmeatcowboy
30 May 2016
GN Version 5.0

Pokemon Sun/Moon will be the first games in the Pokémon series available in traditional and simplified Chinese, and distributed in December in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China.

...Pokémon in Greater China will be officially called 精靈寶可夢, or Jingling Baokemeng in Mandarin (Jingling means “spirit” or “elf,” and Baokemeng is a transliteration of Pokémon). Earlier in Hong Kong, it was 寵物小精靈, Pet Little Elves (or Spirits), while in Taiwan, it was 神奇寶貝, Magic Babies.

...fans in Hong Kong, where the official language is Cantonese, not Mandarin, are the most upset.

...Pikachu was originally translated as 比卡超 (Bei-kaa-chyu) in Hong Kong. Now it is named 皮卡丘 (Pikaqiu). While the name 皮卡丘 in Mandarin sounds similar to the global name Pikachu (as it was always called in China and Taiwan), it reads as Pei-kaa-jau in Cantonese, which doesn’t sound the same at all.

Believe it or not, this whole situation has lead to rallies from fans in protest of the name changes. I mean, it has been 20 years of the same name. To have things change now, basic things like the name of Pikachu, is indeed a tough pill to swallow.

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