Fan project on the rise: the artist behind the localization of the Pokemon series

“Pikachu use thunderbolt!” was the catchphrase that hit the American cartoon scene in 1998 through a translated version of the Japanese show, Pokémon. However, over the years, Pokémon fans have noticed translation discrepancies between the Japanese and American series, but a translation project had never been undertaken.

Fortunately, that’s where Ahan Robertson steps in. Four years ago, the self-taught, 19-year-old set out with the purpose of retranslating the English Pokémon series to better convey the meaning of the original Japanese version.

Ahan Robertson often runs under the usernames “GrayZStars” or “SwordGuy17.”

Robertson began his translation work in 2017 after hearing an English cover of a Pokémon song by Mark de Groot. He became fascinated by the translation changes that were made and began studying how translated lyrics work. He then found that the music would work well as a more correct version of the song for the credit sequence and began his work in editing.

“People actually do often mistake my credits for official credits,” Robertson said. “I’ve gotten to…