Pokemon Fans Try to Localize Pikachu’s Name
Pokemon fans try to imagine what Pikachu might have been called if its name had been changed when the first games in the series were localized.
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A group of Pokemon fans on Reddit have tried their hand at localizing the name of one of the franchise’s most iconic creatures. While Pikachu has its name preserved in almost every localization of Pokemon worldwide, the speculation provides a fun glimpse into an alternate world where Pikachu is known by some very different names.
Given the enormous success of the franchise, it’s hard to imagine a time when it was first being localized. There was no way for localizers to know whether their efforts would be successful, so they had to make their best guesses for what Pokemon names would resonate with fans. Of course, fans ended up loving the final mix of Pokemon names, to the extent some real-life species are named after Pokemon. Most of the original 151 Pokemon had original names in English and other languages, but a major exception was Pikachu, which preserved its original Japanese name.
A Reddit thread on r/pokemon began with users noting the name “Pikachu” is a portmanteau of two Japanese words. “Pika” comes from an onomatopoeia for shining or sparking, while “chu” comes from an onomatopoeia for the sound mice make. Users were quick to arrive at names like “Zapsqueak” and “Mouspark” as English equivalents, going farther to suggest Pikachu’s evolution Raichu could be named “Moustorm.”
Of course, Pikachu would require plenty of additional names for non-English localizations. While some related suggestions seem strange at first, they would be quite clever. For example, user Fraidai suggested the Italian localization could use the name “Biscuit,” combining the Italian onomatopoeia for sparking, “bzzzzz,” and the onomatopoeia for the sound a mouse makes in that language, “squit.” However, this would probably remind English speakers of food or Jump Force combatant Biscuit Krueger.
It’s worth noting the original localized names in the earliest Pokemon games did not always use the same naming strategy as the Japanese ones. For example, the “uno, dos, tres” naming of the Legendary bird trio Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres is a new addition to the localization. Mirroring this, some suggestions for Pikachu broke from the tradition of combining two onomatopoeia. Examples include “Electrat,” “Batterat,” “Buzzumi,” and others.
As far as the official localization goes, it seems that using the name “Pikachu” in most countries worldwide was the right move. The Electric-type mouse is a beloved mascot for the Pokemon games, anime, and trading card game, with dozens of iterations of specialized Pikachu releasing over the years. While the series could have succeeded without Pikachu as its mascot, or with a different name in place of “Pikachu,” it’s now hard to imagine the character by any other name.
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