List of text errors in the Pokémon games

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There are a number of text errors, such as spelling mistakes, grammar errors, and translation errors in the Pokémon games.

The large volume of text in many Pokémon games may mean that a lot of these errors are overseen or missed, and left in the final game.

Additionally, if a feature has been altered or removed in the translated game the developers may have forgotten to change it. Probably the most well known example is the 'Evolving Raichu' glitch in Pokémon Red and Blue where a man states that his Raichu 'went and evolved', even though Raichu normally cannot evolve.

This glitch occurred because the text excluding the names of the Pokémon was based on Japanese Blue, where the player would trade the man a Kadabra instead of a Raichu. Kadabra evolve after trading them.

Spelling mistakes

In Generation I

Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow

One of the long-ranged trainers on Route 8 says before battle "You look good at POKéMON, but how's your chem?". Note this may also be an abbreviation, not an unfinished sentence. This was changed in the remakes to read "[...] but how's your chemistry grade?".

Pokémon Versione Rossa, Blu, Gialla (Italian)

"Non ho ancora trovato un MAROWAX adulto!"

In the Italian version of Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow after beating Blue in the Pokémon Tower in Lavander Town he misspells the Pokémon Marowak as "Marowax".


In Generation III

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire

Mawile referred to as "Mawhile"

In the English version 1.0 of Pokémon Ruby (only released in North America), Mawile's Pokédex entry erroneously refers to it as "Mawhile" instead of "Mawile". This was amended in the 1.1 and higher English versions.

Pokémon Team Turbo

Rayquaza is misspelled as Rayquayza. Pokémon Team Turbo is licensed by Nintendo, but it was released as a third-party game for the PC rather than a main part of the video game series.

Pokémon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire

"Bonus Challange" in the Poké Mart

The Spheal bonus stage is accessed by hitting the bumper change button until Wailord arrives (in Ruby) or the bonus multiplier button until it starts blinking (in Sapphire) and then hitting Wailord or Pelipper respectively.

The first step may also be performed by obtaining the appropriate item at the slots or the Poké Mart; said item is misspelt as "BONUS CHALLANGE" in some versions of the game.[clarification needed]

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

"Key Items Pokcet"

  1. In the Spanish versions of FireRed and LeafGreen, the two passwords required to enter the Rocket Warehouse are "Aron ama a Nora" (literally "Aron loves Nora") and "Ho-Oh es ese Ho-Oh" (literally "Ho-Oh is that Ho-Oh"). However, in one point in the game, the text reads "Garon ama a Nora" instead; note the erroneous G at the beginning. In addition, the first password isn't a palindrome.
  2. In Teachy TV, during the program about registering items, the second instance of "Key Items Pocket" is misspelled as "Key Items Pokcet".

In Generation IV

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

  1. If a FireRed or LeafGreen GBA cartridge is inserted into Slot 2, the migration option in the main menu appears as "Migrate from Fire Red" or "Migrate from Leaf Green", incorrectly written with a space.

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

  1. If the player directly speaks to Professor Oak in Pallet Town after completing the Pokédex (except for certain event Pokémon) he will say "Meeting you is something l will cherish all my life long!" with a lowercase L instead of an uppercase I.

Grammar errors

In Generation I

Pokémon Red and Blue

  1. At a certain point in the development of Pokémon Red and Blue, when the player encountered a trainer an additional "The" would be used in the phrase "(Trainer) wants to fight!". For example, in these versions the game might say "The YOUNGSTER wants to fight!" However, if the player was to encounter a trainer whose class is just a name such as "Brock" the game would instead say "The BROCK wants to fight!" A picture of a player encountering Brock with these words still remains in instruction booklets for both games. Before this, screenshots were released by Nintendo of the player encountering Blue, where the game would display the words "The BLUE wants to fight!"

In Generation III

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire

  1. The script used for when the player uses a recovery item such as a Potion displays "recovered by (X) points" where X is any integer, this script is always used even if the item only restored the Pokémon health by 1 HP. In this case the game display "(Pokémon) recovered by 1 points". In Pokémon Emerald, the 'problem' was fixed, because the phrase "recovered by (X) point(s)" is used instead.

In Generation IV

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

Unused dialogue strings

The unused sentence "You managed to come out here? That takes focus! For someone like you, this might be perfect." associated with the inaccessible fourth floor of the Jubilife Condominiums building uses two spaces between the words 'this' and 'might'.

PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure

There are two typos in PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure that were apparently fixed in later revisions of the game.

1. "He works for Venusaur in the Meadow Zone. He blocked the bride to stop anyone playing, but really he loves the Attractions to be found there!"[citation needed]
2. "not so far away are your Empoleon?" is said prior to thawing the door to Empoleon's Snow Slide.

'Bride' is meant to be 'bridge', and 'your' is meant to be 'you'.

In Generation V

Pokémon Black and White 2

  1. In the gate between Nimbasa City and Route 16, a woman says, "Two years ago, a Pokémon called Zoroark was hiding it's lair in the Lostlorn Forest on Route 16."

In Generation VI

Pokémon X and Y

In Anistar City after you complete the main story, Prof. Sycamore will meet you at the Mega Evolution sundial/rock. A string of dialogue says "It's relationship to the Mega Ring isn't understood at all yet."

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

The Omega Ruby Pokédex entry for Hoopa states, "In its true form, it possess a huge amount of power" rather than possesses.

Translation errors

General

Incorrect move names

Prior to Pokémon X and Y, a handful of moves were translated incorrectly or not at all into Italian, such as:

  • Libbra (Pound, as in the weight unit), now Botta
  • Contatore (Counter, as in the measuring instrument), now Contrattacco
  • Energy Conc (Focus Energy), now Focalenergia
  • Body Slam, now Corposcontro

While Spanish moves prior to Pokémon X and Y feature:

  • Amortiguador ("Shock Absorber") for Soft-Boiled, still the current translation as of Generation VIII
  • Contador (Counter, as in the Italian version) instead of Contraataque
  • Portazo ("slam the door"), now Atizar

Some moves were translated incorrectly in German and corrected in later games

  • Fauna-Statue for Frenzy Plant, now Flora-Statue (since Sun and Moon)
  • Pfund (Pound, as in the weight unit), now Klaps (since Sword and Shield)
  • Schnabel (beak of a bird) for Peck, now Pikser (since Sword and Shield)
  • Konfustrahl for Confuse Ray, now Konfusstrahl (since Sword and Shield)
  • Rollentausch ("role swap") for Role Play, now Rollentausch (since Sword and Shield)

Further moves, ability and item names were also changed in the German version since Sword and Shield for clarification (like preferring the word "Brille" instead of "Glas" for "Glasses" and "Specs" items), but they were technically no mistranslations or spelling errors. A full list can be found in the PokéWiki article.

In Generation I

Pokémon Red and Blue

Evolving Raichu

Main article: Evolving Raichu

If the player trades a man a Raichu for an Electrode he will state that "The RAICHU you traded to me went and evolved!" However, Raichu can never evolve in normal gameplay. This error happens because the game's text was based on Japanese Pokémon Blue, where the player would have to send the man a Kadabra instead (which can evolve by trade).

Pokémon Rouge et Bleue (French)

TM49 localization oversight
The use of the acronym "TM" in the French version of Pokémon Red and Blue. This is a translation error because in other areas of the game Technical Machines are abbreviated as "CT"

In the French version of Pokémon Red and Blue (Pokémon Rouge et Bleue), if the player gives the girl at the Celadon Department Store Rooftop Square a Lemonade, when the girl rewards the player with a TM49 she will explain that TM49 contains Tri Attack; although the actual translated text will still abbreviate a Technical Machine as a "TM".

In the French version, Techincal Machine is usually abbreviated as 'CT'. In the Spanish and Italian versions, Technical Machines are usually abbreviated as 'MT'.

This translation error is unique to Pokémon Rouge et Bleue and only occurs after giving the girl a Lemonade.

Pokémon Roja y Azul (Spanish)

Malvado (Pokémon)

In the Spanish versions of Pokémon Red and Blue, there is a mistranslation where "The hooked (POKéMON) attacked" (used for when capturing a Pokémon by fishing) is translated to "¡El malvado (POKéMON) atacó" which actually translates to "The evil (POKéMON) attacked" or "The wicked (POKéMON) attacked" in English.

(Youtube video by ChickasaurusGL)

Untranslated Words

In the Spanish versions of Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow, the Ghost is addressed as "Ghost". The proper word is "Fantasma". The elemental type itself, though, is still translated properly. This translation error remains even in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. The move Surf, every type of Poké Ball, and the Rocket trainer class are all not translated.

Pokémon Giallo (Italian)

Poké Ball fails text oversight

In the Italian version of Pokémon Yellow (Pokémon Giallo) the original English sentence: "Shoot! It was so close too!" was translated as "Colpisci! Era così vicino!", making the sentence meaningless. Although the word "Colpisci" can be accepted as a valid translation of the word "Shoot" or "Hit" it can't be used as an exclamation.

In Generation III

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (DLC)

The European versions (all five languages) of the Eon Ticket script (which, once installed in the savegame, replaces Norman's post-battle dialogue until uninstalled by the script itself) omits the first paragraph of dialogue present in the script supplied by the American e-card (source).

Pokémon Colosseum

The move Frenzy Plant is incorrectly referred to as Solid Plant.

Pokémon Rojo Fuego y Verde Hoja (Spanish)

  1. All of the original legendary birds scream "¡Artic!" when encountered. While this makes sense for Articuno, it does not make sense for Zapdos or Moltres.
  2. The Ghost is addressed as "Ghost" like in Pokémon Roja y Azul. The proper word is "Fantasma".

In Generation IV

PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure (German)

In the German translation of the game, when Munchlax thanks the player, "PokéPark" is misspelled as "ParkPoké".

In Generation VI

Pokémon Rubis Oméga et Saphir Alpha (French)

The Hiker who gives the technical machine TM70 will erroneously call it a "CS" (where "CS" is the French equivalent of English HM).

Pokémon Omega Rubin und Alpha Saphir (German)

The Hiker who gives the technical machine TM70 will erroneously call it a "VM70" (where "VM" is the German equivalent of English HM).

Pokémon Rubino Alfa e Zaffiro Omega (Italian, 1.1)

An NPC on the southwest of the top level of Mauville City approaches the player to give him a free Nugget. His first line of dialogue is "Ehi tu! Libero! Prendi questa!" ("Hey you! [It's] free! Take this!"); "Libero" is a valid translation of "free" only when used with the meaning of freedom. The correct word is "gratuita".

Other errors

In Generation I

Pokémon Red and Blue

  1. If player defeated their rival on Route 22 and doesn't own a Poké Ball or if they haven't registered a second Pokémon in the Pokédex as owned, Professor Oak will provide them with 5 Poké Balls (unless the player already got Professor Oak's 5 Poké Balls, even if they were tossed/moved into the PC). During the explanation of what Poké Balls are, two errors occur:
    1. While saying "Just throw a Poké Ball at it and try to catch it!", although the text doesn't fit on the screen, there is no 'V' arrow to blank the message box and continue the text. Instead, the start of the text on the bottom line is overwritten with "to catch it!" and 'nd tr' remains.
    2. On the same message, the 'y' in 'try' is made invisible by a V arrow.
  2. In the Pokémon academy in Viridian City, one of the notes on the blackboard claims that "A burn reduces power and speed. It also causes ongoing damage." In actual gameplay, burn does not reduce speed (paralysis does). The Japanese version has the same error.


Pokémon Yellow

In the same message described above, the word "try" in "try to catch it" remains cut off, but the text overwriting/missing new line problem has been fixed.



Pokémon Rosso, Blu, e Giallo (Italian)

  1. A line overflow happens in the same message in the Italian localizations, with "Lanciagli una [newline] POKé BALL e cerca [newline] di prenderlo!" being rendered as "Lanciagli una [newline]di prenderlo!erca".
  2. Later in that same speech, Oak says "Un POKéMON in forma può scappare", implying an attempt to weaken the opponent should be made before attempting capture. The "a" of "forma" is drawn over the window border.


Pokémon Giallo (Italian)

"JIZG can move boulders!"

If Teleport is used via the party menu to warp to the last Pokèmon Center, the text for Strength is displayed instead.


In Generation II

Pokémon Gold and Silver (English)

Coin Case glitch
Main article: Coin Case glitch

The English versions of Pokémon Gold and Silver use a hex:57 character as a terminator for the Coin Case's "Coins: (x)" text, like in the Japanese versions.

While this is a valid control character for the Japanese version, it isn't for the English versions, causing the game to jump into the memory at echo RAM address E112 and execute code there.

This can cause glitches such as a Glitch Dimension if a Pokémon cry is played before viewing the Coin Case, because this section of the memory can be changed by listening to cries.

If the player controls the flow of the code, it is possible to perform arbitrary code execution. Tricks including, but not limited to, obtaining Celebi, warping to Mt. Silver and getting flawless DV/max stat experience Pokémon have been made.

In Generation III

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

Pokédex species glitch
Main article: Pokédex species glitch
Pidgey as the "Tiny" Pokémon

In v1.0 of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, the Pokédex species glitch causes the species names of Pokémon in the Pokédex to be restricted to one word, for example "Tiny Bird" Pokémon is shortened to "Tiny" Pokémon. This happens because the game takes a space in the species name as a name terminator.

In Generation IV

Goldeen SoulSilver Pokédex error

Goldeen's SoulSilver Pokédex entry reads, "A strong swimmer, it is capable of swimming nonstop up fast streams at a steady speed of five knots per hour", when it should say "...a steady speed of five knots".

In Generation VI

Trainer Horde text error

When scoring a critical hit on a Pokémon in a horde, the Pokémon will be referred to as "wild", even if it's a Trainer battle. This has been observed when fighting the group of five Team Aqua Grunts in Pokémon Alpha Sapphire.


Ambiguities

Generation I

Jr. Trainer♂ in grass near Nugget Bridge

In English versions of Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, upon defeat, a Jr. Trainer♂ will say "I thought not" (original Japanese text: ……やっぱり だめだ). A more accurate translation is "......Of course, I'm no good"), however the Jr. Trainer♂'s text in the English version may mean 'I thought I wouldn't win' without overtly revealing his context. The translation may be confusing to some players because before battle the Jr. Trainer says "I saw your feat from the grass!", so they could wrongly believe the Jr. Trainer♂ means 'I thought I didn't see your feat'.

The choice of the word "feat" in the above phrase is itself a classic point of debate due to the more common, lookalike, and soundalike word "feet" also being suitable in the context of the initial encounter with this trainer in his normal stationary location.

The Italian translation avoids the issue entirely by going for "Ti ho visto dall'erba!", without any mention of feet or feats, and for "Non l'avrei detto!" which is a fairly common exclamation of disbelief.