The Pokémon Anime’s Character Names Are Hiding Several Real World References

As one of the most profitable media franchises of all time, Pokémon and its characters have become iconic and instantly recognizable. Although fans will be familiar with many of the names of Pokémon‘s extensive cast of characters, they may not be aware of the references to real-world historical figures that inspired the names of certain prominent characters in the franchise. While some of these references are only present in the original Japanese and have been dropped by the English localization teams, others have been adapted to make references to historical figures that would be more familiar to English-speaking audiences.

Anime localization is a delicate process and sometimes a good localization can improve a series. For the most part, the Pokémon localization team has done a very good of adapting many character names to better fit an English language script, while also maintaining the spirit of the original Japanese names, whether they’re based on wordplay or historical references. This is particularly impressive given the sheer size of the cast found in the long-running Pokémon series.

Pokémon Named Many Of Its Characters After Real People

Although not an absolute rule, in general, Pokémon characters tend to have names that thematically fit the character. Ash’s English surname is Ketchum, a pun based on the series’ “Gotta Catch ’em All” tagline as well as a reference to the fact that his goal is to catch every Pokémon. Many prominent Pokémon trainers throughout the series have names related to the Pokémon type they specialize in: Roxanne is a Rock-type Gym Leader, Skyla is a Flying-type Gym Leader. Both Misty’s English name and her original Japanese name Kasumi, from the Japanese word for “mist”, are fitting for the series’ most famous Water-type trainer. However, the series other major rule for naming characters is giving them names based on real-life people. Jessie and James are the most obvious examples of this.

In the English version of Pokémon, Jessie and James are named after the famous American Old West outlaw Jesse James (1847-1882). Their Team Rocket rivals Butch and Cassidy follow a similar theme, being named after Butch Cassidy (1866-1908), another famous outlaw widely depicted in American Pop Culture. In the original Japanese, Jessie is named Musashi and James is named Kojiro, referring to the famous samurai Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) and Sasaki Kojiro (1575-1612), who fought a duel leading to the death of Kojiro on the small island now known as Ganryujima. Adapting their names to refer to a famous Old West gunslinger is a clever choice, since Western outlaws inhabit roughly the same niche in American culture that samurai do in the Japanese one.

Jessie and James Aren’t the Only Characters Named After Real People

However, in addition to Jessie and James having an Old West-inspired name, several other major characters’ names are references to real people. While Ash’s English name is a pun, in Japanese, his name is Satoshi, a reference to the Pokémon franchise’s creator and Game Freak CEO Satoshi Tajiri. Similarly, Ash’s rival Gary’s Japanese name is Shigeru after legendary Nintendo game designer and executive Shigeru Miyamoto, who mentored Tajiri early in his career and helped with the design of the first Pokémon games.

While wordplay-based names are the most common, other Pokémon characters have names inspired by notable real-life people. Although these references are often most apparent in the original Japanese, the Pokémon localization team has done a very good job of remaining true to the spirit of these historical references in English. Knowing the real people who gave their names to Pokèmon characters gives a fascinating look into the creative process behind the series.