Pokemon Sword and Shield Fan Accidentally Names Nephew After Gen 8 Pokemon

A fan of Pokemon Sword and Shield on Nintendo Switch accidentally inspired his sister to name her child after a legendary Pokemon. On Reddit, poster Bladehuraska shared a story about how his sister was looking for a unique name for her child, and that she wanted it to start with the letter "Z." By sheer coincidence, Bladehuraska was playing Pokemon Sword at the time, and had just caught the legendary Pokemon Zacian. He mentioned that the name meant "Sword" in Japanese as an off-hand joke, but his sister and family loved the name. Now, the poster has revealed that he plans to reveal the name's origin with some Pokemon-related gifts for Christmas!

The original Reddit post from Bladehuraska can be found embedded below.

TIFU by accidentally naming my nephew after a pokemon. from r/tifu

Fans of Pokemon Sword and Shield should be all too familiar with Zacian. The legendary Pokemon appears on the cover art for Pokemon Sword, while Zamazenta appears on the cover of Pokemon Shield. Both creatures play a central role in the game's narrative, as players race to rescue them from a plot involving the characters Sordward and Shielbert. While the name "Zacian" is clearly less well known to those that don't play the games, the character has received plenty of focus in the year since Sword and Shield's release, in the form of various merchandise. As such, Bladehuraska shouldn't have too much difficulty finding Zacian related gifts for his new nephew!

It will be interesting to see how Bladehuraska's sister reacts to the news! At the end of the day, the origin of the child's name shouldn't matter all that much. The name "Zacian" certainly isn't as recognizable as one like Pikachu, or Charmander. Even if it was, there are plenty of people that have been named after video games, including celebrities like Zelda Williams! Williams has embraced being named after the Nintendo franchise, and even appeared in advertising for the Zelda games. Perhaps young Zacian will do the same for the Pokemon franchise, someday!

Pokemon Sword and Shield is available now, exclusively on Nintendo Switch. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the game right here.

Are you a fan of Pokemon Sword and Shield? Have you ever considered naming a child after a Pokemon character? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!