Because most of the Pokémon games don't have real voice acting, fans usually have to wait until official sources like the anime provide the pronunciation.
General
- The word "Pokémon" (pronounced "Poh-kay-mon") itself is often mispronounced as "Pokeymon", "Pok-uh-mon" or "Pokeyman" (the last of which is often said by people who don't know the series very well or for laughs) by various fans. It doesn't help that in early episodes, the "Pok-uh-mon" pronunciation was used.
Humans
- Ghetsis is pronounced as "GAY-chis" in Japanese (his name in Japanese is G-Cis, with the G pronounced in the German way and the Cis pronounced in the Italian way), while the English dub of Pokémon Generations uses "GET-sis". However, the H in the name trips some people up, resulting in pronunciations like "JET-sis", "Guh-HET-sis" and various other pronunciations among fans.
- Because Kalos is based on France, people assumed Lysandre's name was pronounced in the French way - "lee-SAHN-drr" (with a rolled r at the end). The English dub of Pokémon Generations confirmed that it's actually "lie-SAN-dur".
- For English-speaking fans, at least, the pronunciation of Lusamine's name is rather confusing. They assumed that her name was pronounced "Looza-meenay" like in the Japanese dub of the anime, but the English dub pronounces it like "Loosa-meen". English-speaking fans still often pronounce her name like "Looza-meenay" to this day.
- Speaking of Alolan characters, Lillie and Wicke both have Germanic names which stayed the same in the English localization, confusing fans as to whether they should be pronounced as in English or German, even on
this very page. TPCi eventually settled on the English pronunciation. - Iono's name is commonly pronounced as "eye-O-no", with an emphasis on the first "o". Officially, it's supposed to be "EYE-ən-O", given that her name is a pun on "I 'unno" (a contraction of "I don't know") and "ion".
Pokémon - Generation I
- There are a few fans who have said that they thought Rattata's name was pronounced "rat-uh-tuh" or like "Rat Attack" without the "ck" as opposed to "ra-tat-uh" when they were children.
- A few people think Arcanine's name is pronounced "ar-kay-nine" because of how it's spelled, but as shown in the anime, it's pronounced "arc-uh-nine". It doesn't help that the Pokémon Stadium games used the former pronunciation.
- Some younger fans were confused by the apostrophe in Farfetch'd's name and thought it was pronounced "Far-fetch-dee" until it was revealed that it was pronounced "farfetched".
- Gyarados's name is officially pronounced "gair-uh-dos", but several fans think it's pronounced "gye-arra-dos" or "geer-a-dos".
- Some fans mispronounce Lapras's name as "lap-rass" when it's actually pronounced "lap-riss".
Pokémon - Generation II
- Several people think Chinchou's name is pronounced "chinchoo" or "chincho", but the anime says it's pronounced "chin-chow".
- According to the anime, Sudowoodo's name is pronounced "Soo-doh-WOO-doh", but many people think the "wood" in its name is pronounced as such.
- A few people think Wobbuffet's name is pronounced "wob-uh-fey" because of the "buffet" in its name, but it's pronounced "Wob-uh-fett" because of the other meaning and pronunciation for buffet, to hit something.
- Lots of fans believe that Houndour's name is pronounced "hown-dor", but the anime shows that it's pronounced "hown-dowr".
- Many older fans have admitted that they thought Phanpy's name was pronounced "fan-fee" as opposed to "fan-pee" when they were kids. This overlaps a bit into Viewer Name Confusion, as its name is often misspelled as Phanphy, which would support the erroneous pronunciation.
- It's not uncommon for fans to mispronounce Mantine's name as "man-tyne". In actuality, it is pronounced "man-teen". This is complicated by early episodes of the anime using the "tyne" pronunciation.
- Raikou's name is pronounced "rye-koh" (being derived from 雷光, the Japanese word for lightning), but a lot of fans mispronounce it as "rye-koo" or "rye-cow". The former flub made it into the anime a few times.
- Lugia's name is pronounced "loo-gee-uh", but some fans mispronounce it as "loo-jee-uh". An official advertisement made the same mistake once, which only added fuel to the fire.
- Some people, especially those with knowledge of Japanese, think that Aipom is pronounced "eye-pom", but it's actually pronounced "ay-pom" in both Japanese and English.
Pokémon - Generation III
- Poochyena and Mightyena's names are pronounced "Poochy-enna" and "Mighty-enna", but they're often mispronounced as to end in "ee-na" due to the fact that they're based off of hyenas.
- Those who don't get the portmanteau in Linoone's name ("line" and "raccoon") tend to mispronounce its name as "lin-oon" as opposed to "line-oon".
- Plenty of fans think Illumise's name is pronounced "ill-oo-mize", but the anime reveals that it's actually pronounced "ill-oo-mee-say".
- Various fans have confessed that they used to think Chimecho's name was pronounced "chyme-cho" as opposed to "chye-mek-oh" (chime and echo) when they were younger.
- Milotic is officially pronounced "My-low-tick" in the anime, but some have pronounced it "Mill-ah-tick".
- While Kyogre's name is pronounced "kye-oh-gurr" (its name is based on "kai", the Japanese word for "sea", and "ogre"), the Pokérap once mispronounced its name as "kai-oh-gree", so quite a few fans still mistakenly think it's the latter. Some also think it's pronounced "Kyo-gurr" or "Key-oh-gurr". Also, for Groudon, it's not "groo-don", but "grao-don".
- Rayquaza's name is pronounced "ray-kwey-zuh" according to Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys, but because of the way it's spelled, many people wrongly think it's pronounced "ray-kwah-zuh".
- Before Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys came out, it was rather common for fans to think Deoxys's name was pronounced "dee-ox-sees" instead of "dee-ox-sis".
- Manectric is pronounced "mane-ectric" (as in "mane" and "electric"), but many who don't realise that pronounce it "man-ectric" instead.
Pokémon - Generation IV
- Several fans think Roserade's name is pronounced "rose-uh-rade" due to masquerade being a part of its theme, but it's just "rose-rade".
- Cranidos's name is occasionally mispronounced as "cran-ih-dos" instead of "crane-ih-dos" (from cranium) within the fanbase.
- Vespiquen's name is pronounced "ves-pih-kween", but due to the way it's spelled, several people think it's pronounced "ves-pih-kwen".
- Lopunny's name is officially pronounced "lop-unny", but many fans mispronounce it as "loh-punny".
- Mismagius's name is pronounced "Mis-mag-ee-us", but a few people think it's pronounced "mis-may-jee-us", "mis-maj-us", or "mis-may-jus".
- Bonsly is sometimes mistakenly called "bons-lee", but since the name is a pun on bonsai and sly, it's pronounced "bons-lie". The anime initially used the first pronunciation before changing to the latter.
- For those who don't understand the origin of Gliscor's name ("glide" and "scorpion"), it's easy to mispronounce its name as "Gliss-kor".
- Fans frequently mispronounce Dialga's name as "Dye-al-guh" when it's pronounced "Dee-al-guh", probably because it was originally exclusive to Pokemon Diamond.
- Regigigas's name is pronounced "Rej-ee-gig-us", but some people have mispronounced it like "Rej-ee-guy-gus".
- Giratina's name is pronounced "geera-teena" with a hard G, but there are many fans who think it's "jeera-teena" with a soft G.
- Arceus is pronounced with a hard C instead of a soft C, making it sound like "ark-ee-us" instead of "ar-see-us". This is because the latter pronunciation sounds like the British swear "arse". In Japanese, the Alpha Pokémon's name is pronounced with a soft C.
Pokémon - Generation V
- People often think Patrat's name is pronounced "pat-rat" as opposed to "puh-trat", which is a pun on patrol and rat.
- Herdier caused some problems for those knowledgeable in French, as it's pronounced the English way "herd-ee-r", not the French way "herd-ee-ay".
- Most people assume Conkeldurr is pronounced "con-kul-DUR", but it's actually "con-KEL-dur" as a portmanteau of concrete and elder.
- Cofagrigus's name is a bit of a meme for this reason; people frequently think part of its name is pronounced like the slur against gay people. In reality, it is pronounced "Koff-uh-gree-gus" as a portmanteau of coffin and egregious.
- A lot of fans mispronounce Garbodor's name as "gar-buh-dor" as opposed to "gar-bo-dor", as it's a portmanteau of garbage and odor.
- Many were unsure of how to pronounce Minccino when it was first revealed. It's pronounced Mihn-CHEE-noh, by the way.
- Alomomola's name is officially pronounced "al-loh-mom-oh-lah", but fans often think it's pronounced "uh-loh-muh-moh-luh".
- Fans mistakenly think Ferroseed and Ferrothorn's names are pronounced "fare-oh-seed" and "fare-oh-thorn", respectively, since they're derived from ferrous, but the anime pronounces them "furro-seed" and "furro-thorn", and other sources emphasize the second syllable rather than the first as assumed by the fans.
- Several fans mistakenly think Mienfoo and Mienshao's names are pronounced "Mee-en-foo" and "Mee-en-shau", when they're actually pronounced "Meen-foo" and "Meen-shau".
- Zweilous's name is pronounced "zveye-luss", but several fans think it's pronounced "zwey-lus". Zwei is the German word for two. Same goes for the rest of its line, Deino and Hydreigon: it's "dye-no" and "high-dry-gon", not "day-no" and "high-dray-gon".
- The Swords of Justice: Cobalion is pronounced "koh-bay-lee-un", not "koh-bah-lee-un", Terrakion is pronounced "tuh-rack-ee-un", not "tear-uh-kee-un", and Virizion is pronounced "ver-rye-zee-un", not "ver-rizz-ee-un".
- Some fans pronounce Zekrom as "zay-krom" when it's actually "zeh-krom".
- Reuniclus is often thought to be pronounced "re-YOU-ni-clus" (as a portmanteau of "reunion" and "nucleus"), but according to the anime and some of the games, the official pronunciation is "ree-oo-NEE-clus".
- Genesect is often pronounced "jeen-sect" when it's actually "jen-eh-sect", which has the side effect of making it sound like genocide. Pretty appropriate for a Pokémon that was considered the top predator of its time.
Pokémon - Generation VI
- Some people think Quilladin's name is pronounced "kwill-ay-din", but it's actually "kwill-uh-din", a combination of quill and paladin.
- When Aromatisse first appeared, fans thought its name was pronounced "ar-oh-ma-tize" or "ar-oh-mat-i-zay" until the anime confirmed that it is pronounced "ar-oh-me-teese".
- Goodra's name is pronounced "goo-druh", but some people have mispronounced it "good-ruh".
- Vivillon's name is pronounced "vi-vi-yon", not "vi-vi-lon".
Pokémon - Generation VII
- Silvally's name is mispronounced as "sil-valley" by some fans, but the actual pronunciation is "sil-vall-eye", from silver and ally.
- Up until the anime confirmed that Nihilego's name is pronounced "Nye-uh-lee-go", people thought its name was pronounced "Ni-hell-iggo". This is because one of the words that make up its name is nihil (pronounced like nile), an obscure word that's rarely heard in common speech.
Pokémon - Generation VIII
- Zacian was one of the rare Pokémon to have its pronunciation confirmed from the start, as "zah-shee-un" in a prerelease trailer. This didn't stop various players from pronouncing it "zay-see-un", "zay-shee-un", or even "za-chee-un".
