ONE Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket The player was not prepared for the ridiculous sequence of letters that make up Golduck’s French name. The mobile game allows players to draw cards from friends in different languages and Wonder Picks, which shows the Pokémon’s name, abilities, and abilities in that language.
A side effect of this is that more players are learning what various Pokémon are called in other languages. Reddit user AWildMod appeared found a particularly amusing translation when they received a French Golduck card. “I wasn’t prepared for the French Golduck,” says AWildModAppeared, sharing a photo of the card on Reddit. Golduck’s name in French, apparently, is the Silly looking Akwakwak.
Pokémon TCG Pocket’s Akwakwak is just the beginning
Not pronounced the way some players expect
The wonderfully named Akwakwak is actually quite logical, as the evolution of equally delicious Psykokwak (i.e. Psyduck). It appears that instead of going the “duck” route, the French version of the evolution line chose to name the Pokémon after the sound ducks make in French, “kwak.”
This means that Akwakwak is pronounced “Akwa – kwak,” in other words, “water charlatan.” This goes against what some people might initially think, and the original poster of the image does not approve of the official pronunciation. They say: “So it’s pronounced “Aqua-quack” and not “A quack quack”? …..I reject your reality and replace mine.“Fellow Redditor Sheriff HeckTate agrees with this opinion, noting that “I would like to subscribe to your reality. ‘A charlatan’ is much better.“
TCG Pocket highlights some of the different names Pokémon have in other languages
Akwakwak isn’t the only Pokémon that has another name in another language
It’s actually not that uncommon for a Pokémon’s translated name to be completely different from its English variant. In fact, Japanese Pokémon tend to have drastically different names. Even the three Gen 1 starters have different names in Japanese that make more sense in the original language: Bulbasaur is called Fushigidane (literally: “Miracle Seed”), Charmander is Hitokage (“Fire Lizard”) and Squirtle is Zenigame (“Baby Lagoon Turtle”). But it all seems incredible, especially my favorite entry, Baby Pond Turtle.
But when it comes to funny names, the Frenchman has a few more up his sleeve. Grimer is called Tadmorv in French, which means “Pile of Snot”, and its Muk evolution is Grotadmorv, or, of course, “Big Pile of Snot”. Other languages are no strangers to silly names, some of my favorites being Schlurp (Likitung in German), Freezer (Articuno in Japanese) and UHaFnir (Noivern in German and yes, those capital letters in the middle of the name are part of it).
It would have been just as easy for Pokémon use Japanese names in all languages, but they chose to go further. Many Pokémon names are based on puns and it’s amazing to see how these puns and even some of the sillier names translate into other languages thanks to Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket.
Source: AWildMod appeared/Reddit, SheriffHeckTate/Reddit
- Released
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October 30, 2024
- Developer(s)
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DeNA, Criaturas Inc.
- Editor(s)
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The Pokémon Company