Pokemon Gen 5 Starter US names revealed

Written by pikaby

The US names for our Gen 5 Pokemon starters are now out on the official Pokemon US website. I'll let the screenshot do the talking:

Tsutaaja, the grass snake, is named Snivy.
Pokabu, the fire pig, is Tepig.
Mijumaru, the sea otter, is Oshawott.

Isshu, the region where Pokemon Black/White takes place, is named Unova.

Then the two legendary mascot Pokemon, Reshiram and Zekrom, keep their names, as expected, and they are the Vast White Pokemon and the Deep Black Pokemon, with the abilities Turboblaze and Teravolt.

Snivy is plain and simple, a combination of the words 'snake' and 'ivy'. In fact it was so simple that some Pokefans have actually predicted this name long before it was revealed. At least it's not Smugleaf...There is an interesting bit about Tsutaj- I mean, Snivy's name, which I found on Urban Dictionary. 'snivy' is an adjective also meaning horny or randy maybe even reckless at times when thinking about sex. Okaaaaay.....It's not a bad name though. Moving on to the next one.

Tepig, Pokabu's new name, is also a combination of two words, 'tepid' and obviously 'pig'. Tepid meaning lukewarm, or low level of enthusiasm. The word is played well, but it certainly could have been better (being of a neutral/slightly negative connotation). No more sexual innuendo though.

Oshawott is tougher to crack. It could be a mixture of three different words, 'ocean', 'water' and 'otter'. I swear it's this close to matching the fan name of 'Wotter' (imagine how ridiculous that would sound if that were real). And just like 'Miju' is a corruption of 'mizu' (water in Japanese), 'Osha' could be a corrupted form of 'ocean'. The name also sounds oddly Canadian. Does the water starter come from Oshawa, Canada? Anyway, it's a brilliant name. I like it more the more I say it. Oshawott!

Unova, could mean UNited States OV America (silly, but makes sense. I'd lol if this was the real inspiration) or based off the Latin words meaning 'one new', or the Italian derivative of 'new' too. Wonder why they didn't keep the name Isshu though- this makes Gen 5 the first generation with a region name difference between the JP and US versions.

Overall, it's fine, it's not the end of the Pokemon world as we know it. The new names didn't make me puke. Sure, I was taken aback for the first ten seconds, but the names are comfortable and easy to get used too, even if Oshawott still sounds a little weird. Looking forward to know more!

Pokemon Gen 5 Starter US names revealed