debutniverseA Pokémon ramble:
If you look into the various leaked development documents, the translation of the original Pokémon games into English is documented in an amazing amount of detail, including full copies of the in-game text at various stages, internal discussions on what to name things, and more. One thing that particularly interested me is the fact that Rapidash seems to have been the very last Generation 1 Pokémon to get its finalised English name.
For those here unfamiliar with Pokémon, we're talking about a fire-type horse Pokémon. Two-stage evolution, Ponyta evolves into Rapidash (see attached image from Bulbapedia).
In the original Japanese version, these Pokémon are called Ponyta and Gallop respectively. There are documents about potential English names for all the Pokémon, with some explanation of why the various names were chosen, and the earliest documents conclude with the translators deciding on the names that would be used in the first drafts of the game's script. At that point in development, Rapidash was set to keep its Japanese name of Gallop.
Then there's a document involving correspondence with the legal team, where several Pokémon were requested to have their names changed as there would be trademark issues with the proposed names. All of the proposed trademark-friendly updates to the names match the finished names of each Pokémon… except Rapidash, for which the new name "Trotta" was proposed instead. From the looks of it, the game's translators were never on board with this proposal. At the point where the game script gets updated to match the new legal names for all other Pokémon in the list, the two points in the script where NPCs mention Gallop in the Japanese version (the Fan Club Chairman's ramble about his prize Rapidash, and a Burglar in the Cinnabar Gym) were updated to mention Ponyta instead of the expected Trotta.
The change to the new name of Rapidash came near the end of the localisation process. They updated the Fan Club guy's speech to call it Rapidash too, but the Burglar still mentions Ponyta in the final. His exact line is "Us fire POKéMON fans like PONYTA and NINETALES!" The fact that he mentions one unevolved two-stage Pokémon and one evolved two-stage Pokémon remains as a little clue that this line was originally supposed to mention a different Pokémon.
This change even persists into the remakes (FireRed and LeafGreen) even though they've otherwise re-translated the lines. Burglar Dusty, as he's known now that generic trainers have names, here says "PONYTA, NINETALES… Those are popular FIRE POKéMON." I'm not sure why he doesn't want to take credit for that opinion any more. In both of those versions, his party is a Vulpix and a Growlithe! In the Let's Go games, the unique set-up of this gym means that you don't get to talk to the generic trainers after the battles, so there is no equivalent of this line, but Dusty's party has amusingly been updated to a Growlithe and a Rapidash.
And yes, I realise it's funny for me to go on an endless ramble about Rapidash that mentions the Fan Club Chairman's own ramble about his Rapidash.
Good! Then listen up! My favorite RAPIDASH… It…cute…lovely… smart…plus…amazing…you think so?…oh yes…it…stunning… kindly…love it! Hug it…when…sleeping…warm and cuddly… spectacular…ravishing… …Oops! Look at the time! I kept you too long! Thanks for hearing me out! I want you to have this!
#Pokémon #Pokemon #Rapidash #Ponyta
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