User:Siegfried/Predictions
These are my predictions of what the names of the main characters of Pokémon Black and White will be or, better, what I’d like them to be in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
This page was inspired by Maxim’s idea.
Enjoy!
English
| Japanese | Prediction | Reason | Real name | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dent | Silvius, Woody | From Latin silva, forest. Or from wood. | Cilan | They ruined the opportunity to create a good triple pun, and this is unforgivable. I find their names stupid, childish and uncalled-for. Score: 4 |
| Pod | Rufus, Charlie | From Latin rufus, red. Or from char. | Chili | My contempt for this name knows no rest. I wish I hadn’t lived to see the day when a Fire Gym Leader is named after a spicy food.
To complete this horrid tragedy, not only this isn’t a real name, but it’s also visibly and needlessly degrading. Maybe I’m a little overreacting, but I firmly believe that the culprit of this particular localization should be dragged out into the street and shot. Score: 3 |
| Corn | Livius, Sean | From Latin lividus, blue. Or from sea. | Cress | I won’t bother making a constructive comment. Score: 4 |
| Aloe | Norma, Nora | Do I have to explain this? | Lenora | Good. It diverts from the boring Norman/Norma/Nora group but at the same time it retains the “normal” pun. Score: 8 |
| Arti | Isaac, Nat, Dorian | From insect or gnat. Or from dor [1], also a reference to The Picture of Dorian Gray, which fits well with the artist theme. | Burgh | Hold your seat and prepare for a shock. I actually like this name. First of all, it’s a real (http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Burgh) and documented old-fashioned name. It may sound a little obsolete or quaint, but at least it shows some creativity and research. Score: 8 |
| Kamitsure | Electra, Farah | From electric. Boring but works. Or from farad. | Elesa | Is it a misspelling of Elisa? There seems to be an obscure Orthodox Saint called Elesa, though this probably isn’t the actual source for this name. Do I like it? Not really. But I can’t say I dislike it. All in all, at this point I would have preferred Electra. Score: 6 |
| Yacon | Arthur, Sandford, Landon, Clay, Cecil |
From earth, sand, land and clay. Cecil is the dominant red clay soil in the American South. | Clay | What should I say? >:D Score: 9 |
| Fuuro | Robin, Claude, Gail | From robin, cloud and gale. | Skyla | Real name (http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Skyla). The pun, albeit pretty |
| Hachiku | Fritz | From freeze. | Brycen | Pryce. Candice. Brycen. This wordplay is becoming more and more stale. At least they could have used a different spelling for the “ice” part. Brycen (http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Brycen) is an alternate (boorish?) spelling of Bryson, a name which could have retained the pun and brought a little more originality. Score: 6 |
| Iris | Kendra, Drusilla, Winnie | From dragon. Winnie is from wyvern and also is a reference to White (this one was inspired by both [2] & [3]). | Iris | Lazy & monotonous. The last Gym Leader to keep his/her Japanese name was Erika. I’m sure they could have worked out something better and draconic sounding. On second thought, I think we are lucky they didn’t overspell her name Yréez or something… Score: 4 |
| Shaga | Drew, Drayton, Basil | From dragon. Basil is from basilisk and is also a reference to Black (this one was inspired by both [4] & [5]). | Drayden | Is it just me or the localization team is particularly fond of variants and "creative spelling" names this generation? Drayton could have been a better choice pun-wise and you can actually find it in every book about given names. Well, at least Drayden is/looks real. Score: 7 |
| Shikimi | Morna, Ruth, Morgan | From mourning and ruth. Or Morgan le Fay / morgue. | Shauntal | This is the only name that needed more than 5 sec. to figure out the pun behind it. “Haunt”. It looks like her parents were called Shaun and Chantal and decided to go extravagant (using an euphemism) and fused their own names to create this amazing supercute name for their special offspring. They probably had a bad divorce afterwards. Score: 6 |
| Giima | Dimitri, Darius, Mark | From dim, dark and murk. | Grimsley | "Grim". This is a very, very, very obvious pun. Almost dazzling. The name itself is quite obscure, but at least it exists (http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Grimsley), and I really appreciate this. I just find it a little bit over the top. Score: 7 |
| Cattleya | Caitlin... | Wasted potential. | Caitlin... | ... |
| Renbu | Marshall, Fry | From martial and fray. | Marshal | Perfect name. >:D And I was lucky enough to pre-date (and not predate) Maxim. Score: 10 |
French
| Japanese | Prediction | Reason | Real name | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dent | Valère | From vert (green). | Rachid | Arachide > peanut. Surprisingly clever and funny (real) names. The puns work so good (compared to the others) that I’m in the mood of ignoring the lack of Elemental references. On a related note, Rachid sounds like a perfect name for a Lebensborn-looking sommelier… >:D Score: 7 |
| Pod | Roger | From rouge (red). | Armando | Amande > almond. Score: 7 |
| Corn | Blaise | From bleu (blue). | Noa | Noix > nut. Score: 7 |
| Aloe | Norma, Nora | Aloé | It simply doesn’t work as a name in the whole Western emisphere (and probably the Eastern too). No excuse. Score: 3 | |
| Arty | Abel, Anton, Apollon | From abeille (bee) and hanneton (cockchafer). Apollon (Apollo) is the god of arts, a kind of butterfly [6] and is also similar to the French word for butterfly, papillon. |
Artie | They’re not even trying anymore. Score: 3 |
| Kamitsure | Claire | From éclair (lightning). | Inezia | http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inezia Nomen Omen. Score: 3 |
| Yacon | Térence | From terre (earth). | Bardane | Direct plant name. A totally random plant, that is. Score: 3 |
| Fūro | Angélique | From angélique (angelic). | Carolina | Probably a direct plant name. Probably a totally random plant, that is. I don’t feel the need to further investigate. I feel the need to throw up. Score: 4 on trust. |
| Hachiku | Frédéric | From froid (cold). | Zhu | 豬. Score: 5 |
| Iris | Doriane | From dragon. | Iris | Disappointing and unsatisfactory. Score: 4 |
| Shaga | Darius, Guibert | From dragon and guivre, (wyvern). | Watson | Watsonia. Direct plant n... Writing bad reviews is really tiring. So many disappointing names and so little energy… Score: 3 |
| Shikimi | Amélie, Mira, Fantine | From âme (soul), mirage and fantôme (phantom). | Anis | AN*S. Score: 3 |
| Gīma | Tibère, Tristan | From ténèbres (darkness) and triste, (sad). | Pieris | P-E*IS. Score: 3
(Pierre, Pierre Rochard, Pierrick and now Piers...) |
| Renbu | Lothaire, Martial, Côme | From lutter (fight), martial and combat. | Kunz | CU… Pardon my French… Score: 4
This page wasn’t really meant to be a stream of consciuosness of hate. I don’t actually like to write bad comments. But these “names” are unprecedentedly cheap. Previous French localized names were so elegant and interesting… Good times. |
| Adeku | Goyah | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sleep_of_Reason_Produces_Monsters |
German
| Japanese | Prediction | Reason | Real name | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dent | Günter | From Grün (green). | Benny | Maiskolben! It’s a bummer Ben was already taken. The pun is technically very smart. But the final word in itself is totally purposeless. But this seems to be the leitmotif of this (de)Generation. Score: 7 |
| Pod | Rutger | From Rot (red). | Maik | Score 7 |
| Corn | Balder | From Blau (blue). | Colin | Score: 7 |
| Aloe | Norma, Nora | Aloe | Not only this is not a German name but it isn’t even a name at all. The only thing capable of turning my angst into schadenfreude is that Aloe Vera is, actually, a laxative. Score: 3 | |
| Arty | Wenzel, Klaus, Amos | From Wanze (bedbug), Laus (louse) and Ameise (ant). | Artie | Kitsch and low profile. Score: 3 |
| Kamitsure | Elrike, Thordis, Donata | From Elektrizität (electricity), Thor and Donner, (thunder). | Kamilla | From Kamille (chamomile). We already had a Kamillo. And his name had a beautifully constructed wordplay on Kampf, fight, his signature type. This time, instead, we get a repetitious and pitifull plant pun completely devoid of depth and purpose. Score: 3 |
| Yacon | Bogdan | From Boden (ground). | Turner | Turnip? But turnip is an English word. In German, Turner means gymnast. I don't think I have to explain why this name is ironic and self-contradictory. Really unfit. Literally. Score: 4 |
| Fūro | Flurina, Feodora | From Flug (flight) and Feder (feather). | Géraldine | Geranium. Also, a French name. It's probably the German response to Kunz. Score: 4 |
| Hachiku | Gerfried, Kalixt | From gefrieren (freeze) and kalt (cold) | Sandro | Dracaena Sanderiana? They could have used this Italian name for Yacon instead, as it incorporates a Sand reference. I’m royally pissed by the whole issue of giving random Japanese-version-inspired half-mutilated plant names nonchalantly omitting any Type reference. Score: 4 |
| Iris | Linda | From Lindwurm (lindworm). | Lilia | Lilie (lily). A little, very little, more elaborate than Iris. But obviously nothing Lindwurm related. I think I just have to surrender… Score: 4 |
| Shaga | Dietrich | From Drache (dragon) | Lysander | Fleur-de-lys. From my point of view, these names have lost any sign of creativity and enjoyability. They all look like ersatz imitations. I can’t find any delight in their contemplation. Score: 7 (I raised the score because 神奇超龍 pointed out that Lysander was a Spartan general. So this particular name is, after all, not that unjustified as I thought). |
| Shikimi | Gesine, Walburga | From Gespenst (ghost) and from Walpurgisnacht (the celebration of Saint Walburga and meeting of witches). | Anissa | Anis (anise). This time I will try to refrain from using scatological references. Score: 4 |
| Gīma | Finn | From Finsternis (darkness). | Astor | I’m not sure. Maybe from Asteraceae. Or something else similarly silly. Score: 4 |
| Renbu | Gerwald, Rufin | From Gewalt (violence) and raufen (brawl). | Eugen | From the Eugenia Genus. Another example of an otherwise good name based on a decapitated plant name. That’s deadly boring. Lethally unprofessional. And, to an unrefined actuation, I've always preferred a summary execution. Score: 4 |
Italian
| Japanese | Prediction | Reason | Real name | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dent | Silvio | From Latin silva, forest. | Spighetto | They just took a random word (spiga = ear of corn) and made it remotely looking like a silly pseudo-nickname. That’s childishly pathetic. I also hope that the Spaghetti assonance is merely a tragicomic coincidence.
This localization is particularly pitiable because Cilan is such a major character in the Anime… I think (hope?) that the Italian version of the Anime will retain Cilan instead. Or invent a brand new name. Score: 3 |
| Pod | Rufino | From Latin rufus, red. | Chicco | It’s the only acceptable human name of the triplet. And they’ve already used it for Buck. It’s really sad and demoralizing. Score: 3 |
| Corn | Glauco | From glauco, of the color of the sea. Also from Glaucus. | Maisello | It's a shame that stupidity isn't painful. Their parents should be |
| Aloe | Norma, Nora | Aloè | Blank name and superfluous stress. Score: 3 | |
| Arty | Settimio, Alvaro | From insetto (insect) and alveare (beehive). | Artemisio | The name exists. The art pun works. No trace of an insect pun. The main reference seems to be to the totally arbitrary genus of plants Artemisia (at least they spared us a painful artichoke reference…). I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the art reference was totally accidental. Score: 5 |
| Kamitsure | Elettra, Tonia | From elettricità (electricity) and tuono (thunder). | Camelia | Would that the Italian localization team had but one neck!
Pure assonance with the Japanese name. They probably wanted to use Camilla instead, but it was already taken by Cynthia. So, in the end, Camelia (Camellia) is a failed reference to Camomilla (Chamomile)! Also, obviously no trace of electric puns, and Elettra is a such a common Italian name. Score: 4 |
| Yacon | Sisto, Terenzio | From sisma (seism) and terra (earth). | Rafan | I’m particularly venomous about Rafan. It’s the epitome of the stupidity of these names: 1) Rafan is not a real name 2) It hasn’t anything to do with the Ground type 3) It’s a failed reference to Rafano (Raphanus genus), so it also fails to reference yacon in any way: it’s completely and tragically gratuitous. Score: 2 |
| Fūro | Violante, Celeste, Arianna | From volante (flying), celeste (celestial) and aria (air). | Anemone | A speck of light in this sea of garbage. It actually is a clever reference to her type of choice: Anemone comes from Greek ánemos "wind" (think about anemometer). It only hurts that probably the main reason behind this choice is that they wanted to find a plant reference (no matter how random, looking at every other name). Score: 8 |
| Hachiku | Nevio, Frediano | From neve (snow) and freddo (cold). | Silvestro | Do I need to confirm that it has nothing to do with Ice? It’s likely a reference to some random plant whose Latin name has Sylvestris in it. Or something. I don’t really care about searching for its real etymology. Score: 4 |
| Iris | Drusilla, Angelica | From drago (dragon). Or from Angelica, a character from Orlando Furioso. | Iris | Cheap. Lazy. Tedious. Score: 3 |
| Shaga | Diego, Rodrigo, Ruggero | From drago (dragon). Or from Ruggero, a character from Orlando Furioso. | Aristide | From Genus Aristea. Having a Greek origin, it could also be remotely inspired by Aristides (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristides). An Athenian name for a Spartan major? For me, they just wasted a good noble name. Thus, in summary, sheer fail. Score: 4 |
| Shikimi | Ombretta, Addolorata | From ombra (shadow) and addolorata (grieving). | ||
| Gīma | Oscar | From oscuro (obscure) | ||
| Renbu | Ercole, Massimo | From Ercole (Hercules) and peso massimo (heavyweight). |
Spanish
| Japanese | Prediction | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Dent | Silvestre | From Latin silva, forest. |
| Pod | Pirro | From Greek pyrros, flame-coloured, red. |
| Corn | Nereo | From Nereus, a Greek sea God. |
| Aloe | Norma, Nora | |
| Arty | Gustavo, Héctor | From gusano (worm) and insecto (insect). |
| Kamitsure | Amparo | From amperio (ampere). |
| Yacon | Tiberio | From tierra (earth). |
| Fūro | Paloma, Avelina | From paloma (dove) and ave (bird). |
| Hachiku | Heladio | From helado (frozen). |
| Iris | Drusila | From dragón. |
| Shaga | Doriano, Jorge | From dragón and Saint George. |
| Shikimi | Dolores, Angustias, Olvido | From dolores (pains), angustias (anguishes) and olvido (oblivion). |
| Gīma | Óscar | From oscuro (dark). |
| Renbu | Luciano, Pelayo | From lucha (fight) and pelea (fight). |