Protesters March in Hong Kong Over Pikachu Name Change

While most Pokemon fans across the world are excited about the impending release of two new Pokemon games, some in Hong Kong are upset over a planned translation shift. Over a dozen protestors marched through the Chinese city earlier today to protest Nintendo's plan to use the Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese) translation for over 100 Pokemon characters in the Hong Kong version of Pokemon Sun and Moon. Previously the characters' name were translated using Cantonese, the majority language of Hong Kong.

The protesters' main source of ire was the re-translation of Pikachu, the adorable electric rodent and face of the Pokemon franchise. Previously, Pikachu was known as "Beikaaciu" but will be referred to as Pikaqiu in future games. Over 6,000 people signed a petition in March asking Nintendo to reverse the changes, but the request was reportedly ignored.

Nintendo's plans to change Pikachu's Hong Kong name relates back to a controversial subject in Hong Kong. Many locals fear that, after decades of self autonomy, Hong Kong is losing its distinct cultural identity as it integrates with mainland China. Pokemon inadvertently became involved with the controversy after it announced that, for the first time, the new Pokemon games would be available in both Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese. While the Pokemon franchise had a presence in China via manga and the anime (which led to the Beikaaciu and Pikaqiu translations, Sun and Moon are the first Pokemon games to officially reach the country.

(via SCMP)