Pokemon fan goes viral for accidentally naming baby after Sword & Shield

Brent Koepp
Screenshot of Ash Ketchum next to baby brother in Pokemon Journeys anime.

A Pokemon Sword & Shield player went viral online after accidentally naming their baby nephew after a Legendary ‘mon. The fan had the community in stitches after sharing their ridiculous mistake.

For Pokemon’s eighth generation, players were whisked away to the Galar regio, which was largely inspired by popular locations in the UK. The 2019 release has been a major hit for Game Freak.

A fan playing the Nintendo Switch title was floored when they accidentally named their nephew after a monster in the game. Even funnier is that the family doesn’t know that the baby is named after a Nintendo character.

Screenshot of Ash Ketchum and Pikachu shocked in Pokemon anime.
The Pokemon fan was shocked when their family took the joke seriously and named the baby after a ‘mon.

Pokemon fan gets nephew named after Sword & Shield

The story went viral on December 15 after being posted on the r/TIFU subreddit (Today I F**ked Up). Pokemon fan ‘Bladehuraska‘ explained that they were playing Sword & Shield around the time their sister was having a baby.

However, when the family was deciding on a name for the child, the player suggested a joke name from the RPG. “I had JUST caught Zacian with a quick ball. I jokingly suggested, “Hey Zacian is a kool name. It means sword in Japanese.” My mother and family loved it so it’s now official,” they said.

While most of the family are not aware where the name comes from, the user confessed that they plan on telling them: “Now we are getting some pokemon related gifts for the baby for christmas to reveal the truth and make it a funny joke.”

The story blew up on the social media forum as fans of the Nintendo series reacted to the mishap. One user saw a bright side to the situation and wrote, “It’s not like the baby got the name Pikachu.” Another said, “If she didn’t Google the name before giving it to their kid, it is definitely her f/u.” One fan even hilariously joked, “Missed opportunity to name him Rayquaza.”

Pokemon fans react to Sword & Shield baby name story.
The story went down well with fans.

The Sword & Shield player got sympathy from most users as it was an honest joke not meant to be taken seriously. Many also pointed out that at least the name wasn’t “Squirtle” or “Zapdos.”

Despite only releasing a year ago, the Gen 8 RPG is already on track to becoming the second-highest selling game in the franchise. Proof that Pokemon has never been more popular as it is today.