Interesting Japanese Pokémon Move/Ability Names

[Parissong]

I thought about how some of the Japanese names for some Pokémon moves/abilities have either surprising origins or "darker" translations. After going through some, I thought to share some that stood out in particular to me.

• Submission in Japanese is じごくぐるま that translates to Hell Wheel, an apparent nod to manga series Jūdō Icchokusen by Ikki Kajiwara
  
  
• Leech Seed in Japanese is やどりぎのタネ that translates to Mistletoe Seed, which is a nod to the popular Christmas kissing plant that is parasitic in nature, hence the leech part
  
  
• Fire Blast in Japanese is だいもん that translates to Daimonji, based on the character for big (大, as seen in the move) from the Gozan no Okuribi festival
  
  
• Night Slash in Japanese is つじぎり that translates to Crossroad Killing, based on the ancient samurai practice of striking an unsuspecting passerby to test a sword's capabilities

• Aftermath in Japanese is ゆうば that translates to Induced Explosion, which seems sort of dark in its own right
  
  
• Cloud Nine in Japanese is ノーてんき that translates to No Weather. It can be read as
  • ノー天気 nō tenki (no weather, as it is an ability that negates the effects of weather)
  • 能天気 nōtenki (carefree, as cloud nine is an english idiom meaning you are in a state of bliss)
    
• Desolate Land in Japanese is おわりのだいち that translates to Land of the End. I think this one just sounds cool haha

Do you have any cool ones you know of?

 

[hanecco]

Hyper Fang is ひっさつまえば - Certain-kill Fang in Japanese.

 

[Matleo]

Leech Seed should cause infautation? a Mistletoe grass/fairy or grass/psychic pokemon that would cause Infautation anyone?

 

[prog rocker]

Aerial Ace is known as Swallow Cut in Japanese, a sword technique used by Sasaki Kojiro. This explains why a lot of non-Flying Pokémon learn it.

 

[RileyXY1]

Mirror Move is called Parrot Mimicry in the Japanese version. This is why it is a Flying-type move and why only bird-based Pokemon can learn it.
Growl and Tail Whip are called Cry and Tail Wag in the Japanese version. This is why both moves are considered Cute moves with a chance to endear the audience in Contests.
Assist is called Cat's Paw in the Japanese version. This name comes from the Japanese proverb "neko no te mo karitai". This translates to "I would even borrow a cat's paws" and it roughly means "I need all the help I can get". This is why a lot of the Pokemon that can learn this move are feline-based.
Meteor Mash is called Comet Punch in the Japanese version. The change was made because the English localization already named a move "Comet Punch". The move that the English localization calls "Comet Punch" is called "Consecutive Punch" in the Japanese version.
Heat Wave is called Hot Wind in the Japanese version. This is why many Flying-type Pokemon are capable of learning this move despite being Fire-type.
Leer is called Glare in the Japanese version, while the move that is called "Glare" in the English localization is called "Snake Glare" in the Japanese version. This is why only serpentine Pokemon were capable of learning "Snake Glare" until Gen 5, when Druddigon got it as an egg move.

 

[FANG-TAN]

Recover is じこさいせい 【自己再生】in Japanese. Literally means "self-regeneration" in English. Which isn't just healing, but also includes actions such as regrowing limbs. Think Namekians and Majin Boo from Dragon Ball. This is actually shown in some official Pocket Monsters material, such as the Birth of Mewtwo CD Drama storyline where laboratory laser guns violently turn Mewtwo into mush only for Mewtwo to reform, or the Deoxys Pokemon Generations episode where Deoxys constantly regenerates when Rayquaza takes a big chunk out of its body.

• Aftermath in Japanese is ゆうば that translates to Induced Explosion, which seems sort of dark in its own right

Yeah, the idea behind the ability is that the Pokemon is basically a living counter bomb.

• Fire Blast in Japanese is だいもん that translates to Daimonji, based on the character for big (大, as seen in the move) from the Gozan no Okuribi festival

だいもんじ. I've seen Hidari Daimonji while I was in Kyoto visiting Kinkakuji. Very cool, you could see the 大 character on the mountain from very far away.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I've been looking at ability articles on Bulbapedia to get ideas for something to post on this thread, when I learned two things. First, Forewarn is called Prophetic Dream (よちむ) in Japanese. Secondly, in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, it shows the location of all items and Pokémon on the floor when the user is asleep.

 

[TheGoldenToon]

Here's one I'm sure some people may know of. Leech Life's Japanese name is Suck Blood! It makes sense when you look at the moves animation, but still pretty freaky stuff, and why the Litten and Alolan Sandshrew lines can learn these moves (albeit through TM) I have no idea...

 

[prog rocker]

Here's one I'm sure some people may know of. Leech Life's Japanese name is Suck Blood! It makes sense when you look at the moves animation, but still pretty freaky stuff, and why the Litten and Alolan Sandshrew lines can learn these moves (albeit through TM) I have no idea...

Another fun thing about this is that it proved that Lunala is not a vampire, since it cannot learn Leech Life.

 

[Yami-no-Game]

Induced Explosion sounds so much cooler than Aftermath. Most of the Japanese attack names are better than the English ones honestly.

 

[Parissong]

Assist is called Cat's Paw in the Japanese version. This name comes from the Japanese proverb "neko no te mo karitai". This translates to "I would even borrow a cat's paws" and it roughly means "I need all the help I can get". This is why a lot of the Pokemon that can learn this move are feline-based.

Wow! This is super cool how it is steeped in even proverbs. Very nicely found.

Forewarn is called Prophetic Dream

Sounds infinitely cooler than Forewarn