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31st May 2016
04:36pm BST

In Hong Kong the official language is Cantonese, rather than Mandarin, but now the Pikachu name - along with many other Pokemon - will be the same everywhere, which is jarring for Cantonese speakers.
As QZ explains it:
"Pikachu was originally translated as 比卡超 (Bei-kaa-chyu) in Hong Kong. Now it is named 皮卡丘 (Pikaqiu). While the name 皮卡丘 in Mandarin sounds similar to the global name Pikachu (as it was always called in China and Taiwan), it reads as Pei-kaa-jau in Cantonese, which doesn’t sound the same at all."One group of people were so outraged by the decision that they even demonstrated in front of the Japanese Consulate in Central, singing the Cantonese theme song and demanding Nintendo change the name back. https://twitter.com/brockmclaughlin/status/737641069224038400 The p*ssed off Pokefans carried banners that read “No Pei-kaa-jau, give me back Bei-kaa-chyu”, with many of them arguing that their traditions are being threatened by the mainland Chinese government. They managed to get over 6,000 people to sign a petition on the issue, and many more have taken to Facebook to warn Nintendo that they will boycott their games if they don't rethink the policy. One wrote: I hereby vow I will never buy from Nintendo again, unless you finally understand what is Cantonese and the correct Chinese usage."
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