The Road to the Biggest Franchise Ever: Pokémon's Localisation Strategy

𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦: 11 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘴🕒

Pokémon. The best way to describe it is a craze. However, a craze implies something has been and gone. ‘Pokémania’ is still very much alive.

In the western world in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, the Pokémon game and playing cards were everywhere. Schools banned them, parents bought them, and Pokémon enthusiasts loved them.

Wolfestone's very own Head of Marketing was a huge fan as a child (and to this day), playing Pokémon on the Gameboy Colour, through to the DS and Switch.

Even now, in 2025, there are reportedly around 60 million global monthly active users of Pokémon Go, the mobile game.

One of the big reasons why it appeals to so many people across the globe is down to the localisation of the Pokémon brand (the Pokémon Company being a joint investment of Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures).

A big part of this was initially down to Nobuyuki ‘Nob’ Ogasawara, a well-respected freelance translator, who translated the text of almost 20 Pokémon games.

Some of Pokemon's localisation methods included:

• Changing names of characters and colour themes to suit the Western market
• Adapting user experience
• Leveraging social media
• Create unique experiences at Pokémon centres
• Moving with the times with the launch of Pokémon Go

Please note that we aren’t going to go through every single localised item and we aren’t here to scrutinise either, but more so focus on some key methods as to how the Pokémon ecosystem was localised to reach various markets and how that contributed to its success.

At what point did Pokémon go global?

After a 1996 Game Boy release in Japan, in 1998, Pokémon - shortened from ‘Pocket Monster’ - hit the Western markets.

It had its own adapted versions in English and soon after Italian, German, French and Spanish.

More games, cards, films, centres and more followed. As of today, Pokémon is said to be one of the highest-grossing media franchises in the world.

In 2023, the Company made a huge $10.8 billion in retail sales alone.

Localising Pokémon games, names and locations

Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green versions were the first games released for the Game Boy in 1996.

Two years later when the games arrived in the U.S., it was Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version, rather than the red and green versions like Japan.

This was a conscious, localisation decision, said to align the colours with those of the U.S. flag.

As part of the localisation of the games, names of the characters were translated and adapted for different language markets.

For example:

• Hitokage (Japanese version) became Charmander, combining ‘char’ (burn) and ‘salamander’
• Fushigidane became Bulbasaur, combining the bulb on its back and dinosaur-esque appearance
• Zenigame became Squirtle, combining squirt and turtle

There were 151 names in the Pokémon Red and Blue versions. Very few remained untouched but one of those that did survive: the internationally iconic Pikachu.

It’s interesting that not all were localised. And while there is no official reasoning, a few speculative reasons include that as Pikachu was already iconic, it needn’t have changed.

Also, Pikachu sounded relatively Western anyway, as ‘pika’ relates to the sound an electric spark makes, and ‘chu’ is the noise a mouse makes, so localisation wasn’t needed due to the clever onomatopoeia.

In addition to names, other parts of the game including locations were altered from Japanese to English. For example, the hometown of Red and Blue, Masara Town, became Pallet Town.

This was one example of a clever localisation as Masara, meaning pure white, wouldn’t translate into English so a word was chosen that can be interpreted as an artist's choice of colours.

Another way the locations were localised was that when the game went into the Western market, religious features were removed. For example, Buddhist shrines were removed from Celadon City buildings and turned into the sculpture of Diglett.

And as for the impact, in its first year, the Pokémon franchise globally generated $5 billion, which was nearly the same as the whole U.S. games industry in 1998.

Pokémon media localisation

After being released in Japan in July 1998, ‘Pokémon the First Movie’ came to the U.S in November 1999 as a full English adaptation.

And soon after the Japanese version was released, in September 1998, the first TV anime series ‘Pokémon, I Choose You!’ was launched in U.S. which was the tease ahead of the Pokémon Red and Blue launch.

Both forms of media furthered the Pokémon empire.

The anime series featured a U.S. English dub. The original TV cartoon was re-edited by 4Kids Entertainment for the Western market and the U.S itself. It combined Japanese manga (comic book style) with parts of the limited animation of the U.S. superhero cartoons of the ‘80s.

This cleverly combines a part of the soul of Pokémon, while quietly tailoring it to the Western markets as well.

The contents of the Western cartoon were heavily tailored to that audience, with bills adapted and references to Japanese soup changed to ‘cornflakes for dinner’ or ‘cold spaghetti for breakfast’.

As for the first localised film, there was criticism over the voice acting, the omission of Mewtwo’s backstory (for three years) and that the soundtrack was too ‘Americanised’, including the likes of Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears.

The Japanese dub version tends to be preferred, with translated subtitles.

If a brand is strong enough, even despite a couple of minor issues, success in new markets can prevail. Additionally, sometimes full localisation isn’t needed, as what can attract audiences is the charm of the original branding.

Ultimately, the film has made $164 million at the worldwide box office and it has, without a doubt, contributed to the rise of the Pokémon brand, so it can be seen to be a success.

Pokémon centres

With seven centres in Japan already, in April 2019, Pokémon centres finally expanded across Asia to Singapore, and now there are centres in the likes of Taipei, Taiwan and Shanghai, China.

Those locations weren’t just chosen randomly.

For example, Taipei was chosen due to Pokémon's presence there, where the animation series was broadcast soon after the Japanese launch.

This strategy aligns with the advice we give to our clients. We could, in theory, advise translating into all languages as this would generate the most revenue for us. However, as a trusted translation company, we recommend picking languages and markets based on market research, data and demand.

The centres are adapted and localised to reflect the specific region, even within Japan. The centres will hold special events, hold a unique shop design, and stock exclusive original merchandise.

• Traditional workshops: At Pokémon Center Okinawa, the workshops combine ‘bingata’ (a traditional textile dyeing method) that originates there.
• Traditional dance: At the same centre, Pikachu performs Okinawa’s traditional drum dance, ‘eisa’ in shows.
• Walls inspired by lanes: Inside Pokémon Center Kanazawa, bronze-tinted walls were influenced by historic lanes in the city.
• Unique merchandise: At the same centre, you can find Pokémon-inspired Kutani porcelain because of the locality.

This is a good time to mention that this is also a localisation best practice.

Brands that are winning in countries aren’t just adapting for other markets, they are continuing to make the home market feel valued and adapted to as well.

Digital content

As for social media and websites, which all form part of Pokémon's content output, there is heavy localisation on show here.

On Pokémon's website, there are 20 versions depending on your country or region.

These website versions are translated and localised, such as the European options including UK/Ireland, Italy, Spain, Germany and France.

Note that not all sites are run directly by The Pokémon Company International, some are potentially outsourced or run by a local third party (which, if it’s the case, is a good idea when localising to unfamiliar markets).

The localisation is functional; for example, the age accessibility is aligned with the governing bodies.

When the options move into Asia, this is where the localisation gets more notable.

The main screen becomes more consuming, brighter and more colourful (writer’s note: it’s worth saying this comes from my opinion, whereas the intended audience may not find the website noticeably bright and consuming).

• Relevant events: In China, the featured image relates to the 2025 Beijing Masters Tournament, where prizes and points can be won. On the Thai and Singaporean websites, as well as others in Asia, promotion for the Pokémon Asia Championship Series features too.
• Clever colour schemes: Also in China, gold and red feature heavily as the main colour scheme. Red relates to good luck and gold is associated with wealth and fortune.
• Imagery: On the Japanese site, localised imagery is in play. Consumers are more likely to choose products that reflect their social identity.
• Clothing: On the Indian site, Pikachu are dressed in clothing as typically seen in that market.

Even the Pokémon centres outside of Japan have localised websites, such as the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

As for social media accounts, there are several different YouTube accounts for various markets including English, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Latin America and Japan.

Although Pokémon was already global by the time the first one (UK) was created in 2005, what the brand has done well is that it has moved with the times to cater to various audiences in different ways to keep them engaged and feeling valued.

Episodes of the animation show, Pokémon Horizons, feature on the channels as well as short clips. Some of those clips and videos contain text that is translated for other markets, like Japanese.

And as for social media, there are accounts on the likes of Instagram for various regions including Poland, Turkey Spain, Latin America, Thailand, the UK and Ireland and lots more. Further proof that Pokémon makes a huge effort to keep specific regions engaged.

That’s just for the main brand; there are also localised accounts for the trading card game for several European markets.

Merchandise

This is a huge money maker for the Pokémon brand. Total retail sales now come to more than $100 billion.

Here are some of the ways the products and merchandise have been localised:

• Toys and Apparel: For example, there was a summer collection by Zavvi specific to the UK and EU inspired by Alola - based on Hawaii - the setting for Pokémon Sun and Moon games.
• Brand Partnerships: As part of the promotion for Pokémon: The First Movie, Pokémon had a partnership with Burger King where every kid's meal came with a different Pokémon toy.

Packaging: Multilingual or local-language packaging, often with additional safety and instructional labelling relevant to that area. We refer to this as multilingual label compliance.

Pokémon Go

In May 2025, there were more than 125 million active Pokémon Go players across the globe.

If the brand wasn’t localising to you on social media, or in the game at this point, it caught another generation of users with the game that is playable in 15 languages.

Also, it took Pokémon to you and wherever you were, you could access Pokémon which was genius. It aligned with Satoshi Tajiri’s inspiration for Pokémon: going out into nature and finding new creatures.

Another clever touch was that the best Pokémon (and the rarest ones) weren’t just randomly dotted around. They were picked to feature in certain notable areas. For example, you could find Blastoise in Senso-Ji Temple, Tokyo.

There are also plenty of PokeStops, which are real-world landmarks in the game but reflect the importance of the location in real life too. There are said to be lots of these in the iconic Shibuya, Tokyo.

Not only that, the game itself was also translated and localised into various languages.

It is worth noting that the localisation wasn’t perfect. It was suggested that some road names appear to be machine translated (which makes sense given the mammoth task at hand). But, as we advise, raw machine translation output isn’t always suitable for public-facing materials and content.

For example, as it was pointed out in a Global Point blog, the Berlin street named ‘Schinkestraße’ appears as ‘Ham Street’ in English, with the first part ‘schinken’ meaning ham. This was opposed to it staying as the full name.

However, from a localisation point of view, we would always recommend that if you need to use AI and want 100% accuracy, using a human post-editor to ensure that.

Analysis of Pokémon's localisation strategy

In our opinion, as a language service provider that has been in the game for 19 years, Pokémon's localisation and translation strategy is excellent – and not often mentioned.

The media franchise has localised cleverly across the world. First targeting key markets like the UK and the U.S. when going global, before going even further.

But the brand kept to its core values and charm.

Creators even turned down Nintendo of America’s suggestions to redraw Pokémon and Pikachu’s name stayed the same.

And this is the advice we would give to brands looking to go global. Don’t compromise on your brand values, your USP and your non-negotiables. But, where there is room to further appeal to a market, do it when backed up by research, data and need for cultural adaptation, as Vogue did.

‘Nob’ Ogasawara did a superb job on the initial localisation, and the Pokémon brand has been able to continue to rise again since, thanks to further localisation efforts.

Conclusion

There are six ways that the Pokémon brand localised itself and its other entities. We have thoroughly enjoyed putting this detailed guide together, and we hope you have enjoyed it and found some value in it.

Key localisation takeaways from Pokémon

• When first localising for a new market, tailor your content (such as names and locations) for the new audience without making your brand unrecognisable
• If a film or series is doing well in your home market, localise it to target markets but do it when it’s backed up by market research
• If you’re localising the eco-system around it, such as shops, tailor unique experiences and products to respective shops to give it an edge
• Consider the images, clothing and colours in various markets and respect cultures
• Evolve with the times to enable continued success, as Pokémon did with Pokémon Go, given the increase in smartphones

Contact us today to find out more about our localisation services.

𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭-𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦.