Pokemon The Elite Four’s Japanese Name Is Way Cooler

Pokemon: The Elite Four’s Japanese Name Is Way Cooler

The Elite Four from the Pokemon franchise has a very different name in Japan, as they’re referred to as the Four Heavenly Kings.



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Pokemon The Elite Four’s Japanese Name Is Way Cooler

The name of the Elite Four is enough to send shivers down the spines of longtime Pokemon fans, but they have a far more imposing title in Japan, where they are referred to as the Four Heavenly Kings.

The Elite Four are some of the most powerful trainers in each region of the Pokemon world. In order to challenge them, the player needs to acquire eight different Gym Badges. Once they reach the Pokemon League, they are thrust into individual battles against the Elite Four. If the player can conquer these mighty trainers, then they are allowed to take a shot at the Champion.

The Elite Four name is well-deserved, as fans well remember the struggle against trainers like Lance, Karen, and Drake. In Japan, they are referred to as the Four Heavenly Kings, which is a reference to the gods of the four cardinal directions in Chinese mythology. The use of the king name appears to be gender-neutral, as every Elite Four in the series has featured at least one female member. The Four Heavenly Kings name was also used by Japanese lords to refer to their four most loyal and capable servants, which is why it was chosen for the Elite Four in the games.

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These kinds of mythology references appear a lot in Japanese media, like the Four Symbols (the bird, the dragon, the white tiger, and the turtle) cropping up in different forms. The Four Heavenly Kings name has been used in other franchises, as it’s the name given to the four bosses in Street Fighter 2 (Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison). The Spice Boys from Dragon Ball Z (the forgettable goons that appeared in the Garlic Jr. Saga) also used a variation of the Four Heavenly Kings name.

The Four Heavenly Kings name is a relic from the era when the developers of the Pokemon series were still working out the details of the world. The majority of the international translations of the Pokemon games have used a variation of the Elite Four name, and it does fit them better than the more regal title given to them in Japan. The Japanese meaning (refering to the four loyal servants) would have been lost on most international gamers, which is the Elite Four is a better choice of name for these dreaded trainers.



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