Names, Markets, and Issues

As with real organisms in life that need to be differentiated, Pokémon have names for this purpose. What might not be in (or escape) the minds of some people is that the names of a good number of Pokémon vary in some regions, particularly in its land of origin of Japan and a few other regions. This fact can and does play into the usage of them for marketing things for the franchise, including games and merchandise. There are a few happenings, possibilities, and considerations in this regard for things to turn out in the best possible ways.

I have already explained the difference in names and a reason (or at least the most likely one) for the way things are with Pokémon names. Domestication - or another name for it is localization - makes things make sense in the given language of certain people or regions. And by "making sense", it may also avert the potential for silliness if things otherwise don't make sense. While Pokémon is supposed to be entertaining and may become silly in some cases, to me and others, it is also a serious business, so it is preferred to avert unwarranted cases, especially in marketing.

That leads to the marketing efforts themselves. In a few Japanese posters for marketed Pokémon merchandise, particularly for items that are gained by gacha, the names of the Pokémon that are involved are written in Japanese script, but are also romanized directly, seemingly averse to the more globally recognized English name. In contrast, there have been packages of figures for the Western market, but all official names for the Pokémon are written out for the languages in which they differ. They're two different efforts involving the names in some way.

What appears to make the issue more complicated is trademarks. Each Pokémon name is actually trademarked, particularly in both the Japanese and English cases. Japanese marketing seems apt to hold on to its trademarks in the face of the global popularity of Pokémon, though some names are the same and therefore irrelevant in that specific case. Western marketing seems to embrace the possibility of different names, though the English trademarked names remain prominent. A "legal wall" might just be present otherwise.

By now, it is undeniable that Pokémon species have different names, and given the properties of language, this will always be the case. Marketing efforts in any region can and has to consider this fact as Pokémon is popular everywhere and recognized somehow outside the respective regions, and legal issues may have to be synchronized somehow in order for this to occur comfortably for the appeal of all. Names of Pokémon may sometimes vary from place to place, but among fans, the appeal likely won't, especially if they can connect in part through those same names.

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Three years ago: 15th Feature Film Mini-Figures