Pokemon players in hysterics over “beta” Red & Blue ‘mon names
The Pokemon CompanyThe iconic 151 Gen 1 Pokemon nearly had very different names, and fans have been caught off guard by the ridiculousness that seems to have almost made it into Pokemon Red & Blue.
The numerous leaked Pokemon games over the years have revealed just how much thought goes into the design and localization of each ‘mon. This was especially true for Pokemon Red & Blue, seeing as they were localized in an era when RPGs made in Japan were rarely aimed at kids.
The original 151 Pokemon seemed to have had several name changes, as revealed in alleged leaked documents and promotional material from the pre-launch of Pokemon Red & Blue. A user on the Pokemon Subreddit has created a series of images revealing these names, to the incredulity of the fans.
“Those are hilarious. Att and Lantis (especially as it rhymes with mantis) and Ess Kargo are cool too. Machop line names interesting as well,” one user wrote, while another said, “Damn Orphan for Cubone that’s cold.”
“Lantis, Meduza, and Skullkraken would’ve been cool names,” one player admitted, “I first learned the beta names in an unofficial magazine from around the time Gold and Silver were gonna come to the west. It also had pics of the upcoming new mons but included beta designs like the pink Marill.”
“Pudding and Custard had me gigglin ngl. Orphon is RAW. And I unironically like Ess and Kargo and Att and Lantis,” one user said, while another wrote, “NY and LA ooooooo shots fired!”
The names are all short, as explained by one user. “It seems obvious, but nobody pointed it out. I dont think that most of them changed the name, just that in the beta there was a cap of 7 characters, thus most of the names are cut short (except Lickitung, Vaporeon, Gyarados, and Articuno for some reason). Ofc some of them did change, but still.”
We know from the Nintendo Gigaleak that some Pokemon names were changed for legal reasons (usually copyright infringement), but it seems these were all mostly placeholders, partly due to character limits.
It’s strange to think of a timeline where these names became canon, and people would be arguing about how Pudding is better than Orphon.