The Pokémon Anime’s Character Names Are Hiding Several Real World References

As one of the most profitable media franchises of all time, Pokémon and its characters have become iconic and instantly recognizable. Although fans will be familiar with many of the names of Pokémon‘s extensive cast of characters, they may not be aware of the references to real-world historical figures that inspired the names of certain prominent characters in the franchise. While some of these references are only present in the original Japanese and have been dropped by the English localization teams, others have been adapted to make references to historical figures that would be more familiar to English-speaking audiences.