Whether you’re into the card game, the video game series, the animations, or some combination of the three, you’ve definitely got a name or two memorized when it comes to Pokemon, whether that’s the adorable pets you’re catching and leveling or the human characters you meet along the way on your adventures.
We’re no strangers to the pun names some of the characters get when Pokemon is localized into English, but what about their original names in Japanese? There are plenty of jokes, references, and more hiding in the translations when you look up some of your favorite Pokemon characters.
Ash
If you’ve been watching the Pokemon anime for some time, then you’re definitely familiar with our eternally youthful protagonist, Ash Ketchum from Palette Town. In English, his name comes from a play on the series’ catchphrase, “Gotta catch ‘em all,” and it’s a fitting one, given how long we spend with the spunky ten-year old on his mission to do just that.
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In Japanese, however, Ash goes by the name Satoshi, given to him as a namesake by Pokemon series creator Satoshi Tajiri. After taking inspiration from catching bugs outside in his youth and developing the entire series we know and love today, Tajiri is still passionately involved in the project now as the CEO of Game Freak, the company behind the series.
Gary
“Gary, Gary, he’s our man! If he can’t do it, no one can!”
Anyone who watched the Pokemon anime back in the original Kanto region will be no stranger to this sniveling rival that continues to taunt Ash throughout the series. Gary Oak is Professor Oak’s grandson (even if Professor Oak doesn’t always seem to remember that), and he’s one of the snottiest characters in retro anime.
His name comes from the same inspiration in both languages: Shigeru Miyamoto, who worked on the original Pokemon series in addition to his efforts creating both Mario and The Legend of Zelda. His name is Shigeru in Japanese, and -geru lent itself well to Gary in English.
Misty
We first met Misty, the leader of the Cerulean Gym, when Ash stole her bicycle early in the anime, and she’s cemented herself in the hearts of fans everywhere ever since. Defeating her as ta gym leader in the original Pokemon games was no small feat, but she was much more endearing in the animated series, with her and Togepi happily trotting along on adventures with Ash.
If you’re familiar with her sisters – Daisy, Lily, and Violet – then you’ll recognize their floral theme. While Misty maintains this in Japanese, instead of feeling a bit out of place among her bouquet-named sisters in English, her name is still a water reference in the original language as well.
While Kasumi, Misty’s Japanese name, does nod to baby’s breath flowers, keeping not only with her sisters and the Kanto gym leaders theming, but “Kasumi” in Japanese also means “mist,” so she keeps the joke even across the sea.
Brock
Fans of the original series of Pokemon games know Brock to be the stoic leader of the Pewter City Gym, testing your mettle with his Rock-types early in the games and making you prove yourself before marching on. His Onyx is a foil for anyone who didn’t grind enough out in the wilds before the city, making him one heck of an intro to the battles you’ve got ahead.
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In the animation, though, you’ll see him as a womanizing chef instead, caring for his friends and family when he’s not making heart-eyes at practically any woman nearby.
In every language, Brock’s name references rocks, stone, or being strong, and this is the naming convention that gave us Brock in English (with “rock” right there in the name), and Takeshi in Japanese (with “take” meaning “mountain peak”). It also aludes to another meaning for “take,” which is “bamboo” to keep with the Kanto gym leader naming conventions.
Officer Jenny
Fans of the animated series will definitely remember Officer Jenny, the family of woman cops in every town around the Pokemon universe there to keep the peace and be a friendly face for those in need. Brock also takes quite a liking to her, and spends a good amount of time in the series facing rejection from Jenny after Jenny as the trio venture on their Pokemon journey.
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Her English name is likely a derivative of her Japanese name, Junsar. It’s based on “junsa,” which Bulbagarden says derived from the Japanese word for “police.”
The characters in the Japanese versions of the show will often call her Junsar-san as a sign of respect, for which Japanese culture is renowned.
Jessie And James
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Japanese Names |
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Musashi and Kojiro |
Anyone who watched the Pokemon anime will fondly remember Jessie and James, the affable members of Team Rocket who are perpetually on a mission to steal Ash’s Pikachu (often in a series of ridiculous disguises), convinced it will make their boss Giovanni take them seriously for once. Each episode ends in their continued failure as they “blast off again” until the next time you tune in.
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In English, the pair’s name is derived from Jesse James, the name of an infamous American outlaw from the 1800s.
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In Japanese, meanwhile, Jessie goes by Musashi, and James is known as Kojiro, and these names are based on historical figures, too. Miyamoto Musashi was a famous swordsman in Japan in the 1600s, and his most infamous fight was against his rival, Sasaki Kojiro. Kojiro was bested in battle and the victory went to Musashi.
Who’d have thought these three tough guys would give their names to oafish cartoon characters someday?
Red
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Japanese Name |
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The color of the game you’re playing |
Anyone who’s played any of the Pokemon games will recognize Red, whether you actually played the Kanto games in which he starred or not. He was your default protagonist in the first generation titles, and while you likely renamed him before heading out, he’s always been considered the default.
Red has a way of showing up at the end of plenty of more modern Pokemon games, too, often serving as an optional end-game battle to really test your might.
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You’ll see him referred to as a mix of names in English – Blue in Pokemon Red and Blue, Ash in Pokemon Yellow, and then Red or Green in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen (respective of which title you were playing).
Japanese, meanwhile, has been a little bit more consistent with how they refer to the protagonist of each of these main games from the first generation. You’ll be called the color of the game you’re playing – fans playing Pokemon Red will be Red, those on Pokemon Blue will be Blue, and so on.
Blue
We’ve already taken a look at Gary Oak from the anime, but his handheld game counterpart has pretty consistently been Blue. You’ll have a rival in every Pokemon game, another young trainer who shows up every now and again on your adventure as something of a skill check for the gyms ahead, and that character is Blue in the original Kanto games in English.
He went by a few names in the first games but settled into Blue from the second generation onward. In Japanese, though, his name wound up becoming Green instead. This is because, while the two versions of the original Kanto games were Pokemon Red and Blue in the West, Japan got Pokemon Red and Green in the late 1990s instead.
Japan views red and green as opposite colors due to their placement on the color wheel, while the company worried that Western audiences might have a distinctly Christmas vibe from the color scheme if they did the same abroad. They landed on Blue for the Western release of the game, though they eventually released FireRed and LeafGreen as Kanto remakes in 2004.
Tracey
After meeting Ash and Misty not long after Brock’s departure in the animated series, Tracey Sketchit, a Pokemon Watcher who’d been working for Professor Oak, opts into traveling with the duo. He’s a wildly talented artist, consistently drawing Pokemon as he shares his breadth of knowledge about them.
In English, his full name is a duo of puns about drawing – Tracey being “trace” and Sketchit like “sketch it” – but his Japanese name goes back to the original series’ naming convention for major characters. He’s known overseas as Kenji, named after original Pokemon illustrator Ken Sugimori.
According to animation director and storyboard artist Masamitsu Hikada in a 2008 interview, Tracey was introduced due in part to fears that Western fans might feel Brock’s eyes were too racially stereotypical when the series went global.
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