#haidai (kofu)

[kurayamineko]

[littleeyesofpallas]

Now that i've made some headway into the new games I can revisit this* little series of posts:

*[Kanto] [Johto] [Hoenn] [Sinnoh] [Unova] [Kalos] [Alola] [Galar] [Hisui] [Champs] [Paldea] [Paldea2] [Paldea3] [Teams] [Misc.]

Katy's name in Japanese is Kaede[カエデ] from kaede[楓] the japanese word for the maple tree. While the link is likely the Japanese use of maple syrup as a natural sugar in a lot of traditional pastries, it's kind of an odd choice of design when the Japanese maple is so well known for its deep red leaves, and even other maple trees are distinctly associated with various shades of red, orange, and yellow... Yet she's all brown with just a dash of minty green in there?

I covered Brassius' name in the lead up to game release but his Japanese name is Korusa[コルサ] as in Colza, another name for rapeseed or canola. He shares a namesake plant with Natane and Nabana, in Sinnoh/Hisui, but appears otherwise unrelated. Weird that his design is plant themed yet totally unrelated.

Iono's name was one I wasnt sure of at first, in Japanese it's Nanjamo[ナンジャモ] which is a pun on Nanjamonja[何じゃもんじゃ], which is and exclamation that gets translated very loosely as something like "what the hell is that!?" What i didnt realize at first and that apparently Nanjamonja-no-ki[なんじゃもんじゃの木] is actually the common name of the Chionanthus retusus, the Chinese fringetree. Incidentally I also thought for a moment that her name was a reference to nanjamonja-goke[ナンジャモンジャゴケ], the Takakia lepidozioides moss. But Iono's English name seems to come from the "...iona..." in Chionanthus...

Kofu's name is Haidai[ハイダイ] from the chinese name hǎidài[海带] for a type of Kelp/seaweed(Saccharina japonica). The English name might be a halfbaked attempt at appropriating makonbu[真昆布], the japanese name for the same plant; noting that the ko...bu[こ...ぶ] and kofu[こふ] are written similarly. Anyway... Given the chef gimmick, the seaweed you have to barter for for him, and the fact that one of his town's unique features is a chinese restaurant, it would appear to refer to it specifically as food. It's also the logo on his apron.

Larry's name is Aoki[アオキ] from aoki[青木] the spotted laurel/Japanese laurel tree.(Aucuba japonica​) Funny enough it reminds me of Norman's name being Senri from the Senryo plant, which is a similar looking plant with red berries, and they're both normal type specialists. His highlights are similar in shape and color to aoki leaves. And they seem to have gotten Larry from Laurel.

Ryme... Her name is Raimu[ライム] as in Lime, homonym with Rhyme. She raps, but she does not appear to resemble limes... Her sister Tyme is taimu[タイム] like the herb thyme. I dont know why the english localization felt the need to remove the "h" in both of these.

Tulip's name was already Rippu[リップ] as in Lip from tulip.

Grusha/guruusha[グルーシャ] I've done before too. He's named in Russian, grusha[груша]: "pear." His big winter coat makes his head and torso pearshaped.

Rika's name is Chiri[チリ] like Chilipeppers, the genus Capsicum. Some other languages opted to name her after cayenne, but the English name Rika comes from Paprika. Funny enough it has nothing to do with Chili from Unova, as his name, like all his brothers', was originally a reference to corn, not any sort of pepper.

Poppy is popii[ポピー] is poppy. Although they come in a few colors they all have the distinctive black center, which I assume is meant to be reflected in the design of Poppy's hair.

It's just Larry/Aoki again...

Hassel's name in Japanese is hassaku[ハッサク] from hassaku[八朔] aka the "jagada," a type of orange cultivated in Japan, known for being larger than most oranges; about the size of a grapefruit.

Geeta's name is Omodaka[オモダ] from Omodaka[沢瀉] a tree called the threeleaf arrowhead/Chinese arrowhead (Sagittaria trifolia). Its also prominently featured in Japanese family crests, like that of the Sawada, included above.

Might as well get Team Star is in on this too! In the same way Guzma and Plumeria were kind of villainous alternatives to trial captains, for bug and poison type respectively, the Team Star sub-bosses kind of occupy a sort of pseudo/demi-gym leader status.

Giacomo's name is Piinya[ピーニャ] as in Piña:"Pineapple." His puffy autumn uniform vest and spiky hair makes him look like a pineapple.

Mela's name is Meroko[メロコ] seemingly taken from the Meloco... Of melocotón, Spanish word for "peach." Her red is a little too vibrant for it to be obvious, but her yellow to red hair appears to be peach inspired.

Atticus's name is Shuumei[シュウメイ] from Shumeigiku[秋明菊] Japanese name of a flower called the "fall-blooming anemone"(Anemone hupehensis japonica​). It comes in a few shades of pink and violet that seem to match the poison type color motif.

Ortega's name is just a tiny tweak from Orutiga[オルティガ]:"Ortiga" spanish name for nettle, a broad family of herbs known for their stinging hairs.

Eri's Japanese mame is Biwa[ビワ] from biwa[枇杷]: "loquat"(Eriobotrya japonica) a tree with a long history of its fruit and leaves bring used for food and tea. It is sometimes erroneously called the "Japanese Plum."

And just to round things out a little...

Nemona's English name came from her Japanese name, Nemo[ネモ] from the Nemo nemphilia, a broad range of flowers known for their baby blue color. Oddly thats not reflected in her actual design..

Laughably Arven's name was Pepaa[ペパー]:"Pepper" and you would think it would refer to... You know... peppers. But given the English name, Arven from Mentha arvensis, it's actually a reference to peppermint which does make sense with his herb theme.

Penny's name is Botan[ボタン] from Botan[牡丹] Japanese name for the "tree Peony"(Paeonia suffruticosa) The peony has long standing cultural importance in China and by some proxy Japan, and is often compared to the Rose's prominence in Western Europe; this is incidentally why Chairman Rose's brother in Galar is named Peony. Incidentally this is likely why they had to name her Penny, as Peony had been taken.

Clavell's name is actually the same, Kuraberu[クラベル] approximating "Clavel" the Spanish name for the Carnation. He shares a flower name with Champion Diantha in Kalos.

Oops, first pass thru i forgot about the school faculty so i've added a post for those

[roxannarambles]

Pokemon Scarlet/Violet Character Names Explained

Fun fact! The characters in Pokemon Scarlet/Violet are all named after various plants. Yes, all of them. The localizations for their English names did their best to stay true to this, but sometimes their namesake is not always obvious in the English names.

So I thought I'd collect them all and summarize them in a post! You can find all these on a Wiki, but I thought it would be handy to have them all in one place. Warning: this is an image-heavy post.

Team Star Bosses

Giacomo (ピーニャ Piña) - Pineapple: Giacomo is derived from the pineapple's scientific name (Ananas comosus). It's easy to guess why Giacomo was named after the pineapple, with his spikey hair. (Also, yeah, pineapples don't grow on trees, a lot of people don't know that.)

Mela (メロコ Meloco) - Peach Tree: You'd think Mela would be named after the pepper plant, but no, she is named after the Spanish word for peach. Go figure. (Fun fact, it is Rika the Ground-type user who is named after the pepper!)

Atticus (シュウメイ Shūmei) - Japanese Anemone: His English name is derived from the plant genus 'Hepatica.' The Japanese Anemone is a flower in the buttercup family, native to Asia.

Ortega (オルティガ Ortiga) - Stinging Nettles: A traditional medicinal herb, this plant has stinging hairs that irritate skin if touched. A pretty aggressive plant!

Eri (ビワ Biwa) - Loquat: A fruit tree native to China and popular in Japan. If you're from the US, you might have heard it called "Japanese plum" or "Chinese plum." Eri is dervied from the plant's scientific name 'Eriobotrya japonica.'

Gym Leaders

Katy (カエデ Kaede) - Maple Tree: In addition to being named after the maple tree, Katy's English name might also be a play on 'Katydid'

Brassius (コルサ Colza) - Rapeseed: This plant is in the Brassicaceae family, which are a wide range of cultivated crops in the mustard family. Rapeseed in particular is best known for the vegetable oil made from its seeds (canola oil)

Iono (ナンジャモ Nanjamo) - Chinese Fringetree: A species of tree in the olive family that is native to Asia and produces many pretty white flowers. The Japanese name for Iono is a name used for unknown trees (literal translation: "What is it?"), with the Chinese Fringetree often being the culprit of an unknown tree. Likewise, Iono's English name is supposed to sound like "I dunno"

Kofu (ハイダイ Haidai) - Kelp: There are many, many species of seaweed; Kofu's English name refers to a group of edible kelp in particular (often called 'kombu')

Ryme (ライム Lime) - Lime: A play on the words "lime" and "rhyme"

Tulip (リップ Lip): In this case, there is no mystery what plant her English name is referring to!

Grusha (グルーシャ Grusha) - Pear Tree: Yeah, Grusha is named after pears. The Russian word for pear, in particular. I have no idea why. Pear trees do have white flowers, so perhaps that's why.

Paldea League

Rika (チリ Chili) - Chili Pepper: Her English name is short for 'Paprika' and her Japanese name is a pun (chili and 地 chi - ground)

Poppy (ポピー Poppy): Again, just like with Tulip, this name is already obvious for English speakers!

Larry (アオキ Aoki) - Spotted Laurel: A shrub with pretty gold specks on its leaves; thrives in damp environments

Hassel (ハッサク Hassaku) - Hassaku Orange: This is a hybrid citrus tree between an orange and a grapefruit

Geeta (オモダカ Omodaka) - Threeleaf Arrowhead: An aquatic plant that grows in swamps and has a starchy tuber that can be eaten. Her English name is derived from the genus Sagittaria.

Main Cast

Arven (ペパー Pepper) - Peppermint: Arven is named after the peppermint plant, although his English name derives from the scientific name for a close relative, the corn mint (Mentha arvensis). I like to think Arven was named after peppermint for being a bit 'spicy' and terse when you first meet him, but that is just my wild speculation.

Penny (ボタン Botan) - Peony: Penny is named after the peony flower; the tree peony in particular, which is a manmade cultivar that is a shrub/tree rather than herbaceous. The tree peony is incredibly popular in China, for both ornamental and traditional chinese medicine reasons.

Nemona (ネモ Nemo) - Baby Blue Eyes: The Baby Blue Eyes is a native wildflower to North America (California & Oregon in particular), unlike a lot of the plants on this list. Nemona's name derives from its scientific name in particular (Nemophila menziesii). It bothers me to no end that Nemona is named after a plant called 'baby blue eyes' when her eyes are orange; the California poppy (which is bright orange) seems to make more sense for her? But, who knows what went on in the naming process.

Juliana (アオイ Aoi) - While the player character names are not directly named after a plant, they are inspired by plants in general. Juliana's Japanese name is a pun that means 'springtime' and 'green/young' (her English name comes from the word 'juvenile')

Florian (ハルト Haruto) - Florian's Japanese name, on the other hand, is a pun with 'springtime' and 'spring.' His English name comes from 'flower.'