The most mispronounced Pokémon names include Rayquaza (ray-KWAY-zuh), Illumise (ee-loo-MEE-zay), Arceus (AR-kee-us), Charizard (CHAR-ih-zard) and Gyarados (GYAIR-uh-dohs). The Pokémon Company has corrected dozens of names out loud at its own championship events, and the 29 that Bulbapedia records are all in the first table below.
The main games have no voice acting, so most of us learned these names by reading them. That is how a whole playground ends up saying "ray-KWAH-zuh". Hear it on pokee.si: every row in the first two tables below has a speaker button that plays the name, and each Pokémon page has one too.
How to read the respellings
We write each name the way it sounds, split into syllables, with the loud syllable in capitals. PEE-kuh-choo means the "PEE" gets the push.
| Spelling | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ah | father | NAH-too (Natu) |
| air | hair | GYAIR-uh-dohs (Gyarados) |
| ay | day | ray-KWAY-zuh (Rayquaza) |
| ee | see | PEE-kuh-choo (Pikachu) |
| y | my | SY-duk (Psyduck) |
| oh | go | SLOH-pohk (Slowpoke) |
| oo | food | MYOO (Mew) |
| uh | the "a" in sofa | BUL-buh-sor (Bulbasaur) |
| j | jam, and a soft G | JEE-oh-dood (Geodude) |
| g | always hard, as in get | GEN-gar (Gengar) |
Two rules cover most surprises. An X at the start of a Pokémon name sounds like Z, and a hyphen in a name is silent. So Xatu is ZAH-too and Ho-Oh is HOH-oh.
Names The Pokémon Company corrected itself
At the 2023 and 2025 World Championships, and at the 2026 Europe and Latin America International Championships, the official Pokémon channels ran short "commonly mispronounced names" segments. These are the strongest answers anyone has, because they come from the people who own the names. Our respellings follow them, and the notes quote the official version.
| Pokémon | Say it | Note | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nidoking | NEE-doh-king | Official: "NEE-do-king" (2023 World Championships). Not "NY-doh-king". | Hear it |
| Illumise | ee-loo-MEE-zay | Official: "EE-loom-MEE-zay" (2023 and 2025). Not "IL-oo-meez". | Hear it |
| Numel | NUM-ul | Official: "NUM-mull" (2023). Not "NOO-mel". | Hear it |
| Tropius | TROP-ee-us | Official: "TROP-ee-us" (2026 Europe). "Trop" as in tropical. | Hear it |
| Chimecho | chime-EK-oh | "Chime" plus "echo". Official: "chime-ECK-ko" (2023). | Hear it |
| Rayquaza | ray-KWAY-zuh | Official: "RAY-KWAY-ZUH" (2025). The English anime agrees. | Hear it |
| Drapion | DRAP-ee-on | Official: "DRAP-EE-ON" (2025), not "DRAY-pee-on". | Hear it |
| Uxie | YOOK-zee | Official: "YOOK-zee" (2023). | Hear it |
| Munna | MOON-uh | Official: "MOON-nuh", like moon (2023), not "MUN-uh". | Hear it |
| Sigilyph | SIJ-ih-lif | Official: "SIH-jih-liff" (2023). | Hear it |
| Minccino | min-CHEE-noh | The double C is "ch", as in Italian. Official (2026 Europe). | Hear it |
| Reuniclus | ree-yoo-NEE-klus | Official: "ree-yoo-NEE-klus" (2023). | Hear it |
| Emolga | ee-MAHL-guh | Official: "ee-MAHL-guh" (2023). | Hear it |
| Ferrothorn | fer-AH-thorn | Official: "fer-AH-thorn" (2026 Europe). | Hear it |
| Quilladin | KWIL-uh-din | Official: "QUILL-uh-din" (2023). | Hear it |
| Vivillon | VIV-ee-yon | The double L is a "y" sound, as in French. Official: "VIH-vee-yon" (2026 Latin America). | Hear it |
| Aegislash | EE-jih-slash | "Aegis" plus "slash". Official: "EE-jih-SLASH" (2023), which leans on both ends. | Hear it |
| Dragalge | druh-GAL-jee | "Dragon" plus "algae". Official (2023 and 2026 Europe). | Hear it |
| Dewpider | DOO-pih-der | "Dew" plus "spider". Official (2026 Latin America). | Hear it |
| Oranguru | or-RANG-goo-roo | "Orangutan" plus "guru". Official (2023 and 2026 Latin America). | Hear it |
| Solgaleo | sohl-guh-LAY-oh | Official: "SOUL-gah-LAY-oh" (2026 Latin America). | Hear it |
| Necrozma | neh-KROHZ-muh | Official: "neh-KROHZ-muh" (2023). | Hear it |
| Runerigus | roon-uh-REE-gus | Official: "ROON-uh-REE-gus" (2025). | Hear it |
| Stonjourner | STOHN-jur-ner | "Stone" plus "journey", with the push on STONE (2026 Latin America). | Hear it |
| Zacian | ZAH-shee-un | Official: "ZAH-shee-an" (2026 Latin America). | Hear it |
| Arboliva | ar-boh-LEE-vuh | Official: "ar-bowl-EE-vuh" (2026 Latin America). | Hear it |
| Garganacl | gar-guh-NAK-ul | Official: "GAHR-ga-NAK-al" (2026 Latin America). | Hear it |
| Farigiraf | fuh-RIG-uh-raf | Hard G. It is a palindrome, so it reads the same backwards. Official (2025). | Hear it |
| Kingambit | kin-GAM-bit | "King" plus "gambit". Official: "KIHN-GAM-BIT" (2025). | Hear it |
Rayquaza is the big one. For years, plenty of guides (including an early draft of ours) treated ray-KWAY-zuh as the mistake. The Pokémon Company settled it in 2025, and "KWAY" won.
The classic mix-ups
These names have no official correction segment. The English anime and games have said them out loud for years, though, so the answer is well settled.
| Pokémon | Say it | Why people get it wrong | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charizard | CHAR-ih-zard | Often read as "CHAIR-ih-zard". The anime says CHAR, like charcoal. | Hear it |
| Mew | MYOO | Rhymes with "new", like a cat's mew. | Hear it |
| Gyarados | GYAIR-uh-dohs | Not "jy-ARE-uh-dose". A softer "GAIR-uh-dohs" is also heard. | Hear it |
| Arcanine | AR-kuh-nine | Often read as "ar-KAY-nine". | Hear it |
| Lucario | loo-KAR-ee-oh | Often read as "loo-KAIR-ee-oh". | Hear it |
| Suicune | SWEE-koon | Often read as "SOO-ih-kyoon". | Hear it |
| Arceus | AR-kee-us | The English dub chose a hard C on purpose. "AR-see-us" is a very common fan reading. | Hear it |
| Rattata | ruh-TAT-uh | The push is in the middle, not "RAT-a-ta". | Hear it |
| Cubone | KYOO-bohn | "Cue" plus "bone", not "koo-BOH-nee". | Hear it |
| Psyduck | SY-duk | The P is silent. | Hear it |
| Groudon | GROW-don | GROW as in growl (it comes from "ground"), not as in grow up. | Hear it |
| Slaking | SLAK-ing | Said like "slacking". "SLAY-king" is a common reading of the spelling. | Hear it |
| Xerneas | ZUR-nee-ahs | The X sounds like Z. | Hear it |
| Yveltal | ee-VEL-tal | Starts with "ee", not "why". | Hear it |
| Alakazam | al-uh-kuh-ZAM | The push is on the last syllable, like the magic word. | Hear it |
| Gardevoir | GAR-duh-vwar | A French-style ending, like "au revoir". | Hear it |
| Chandelure | shan-duh-LOOR | Starts like "chandelier". | Hear it |
| Skiddo | skih-DOO | The English dub was re-recorded to say "ski-DOO". | Hear it |
| Unown | un-OHN | Sounds like "unknown". | Hear it |
| Meowth | mee-OWTH | Two syllables: "meow" plus "th". | Hear it |
More from the 2025 official list
The official Pokémon account posted a longer list during the 2025 World Championships. A few of its names that trip people up most often: Milotic is MY-loh-tik, Regice is REJ-ise (two syllables, not "REJ-ee-ice"), Gallade is guh-LAYD, Archen is AR-ken and Wormadam is WUR-muh-dam, a worm plus "madam".
Names nobody is sure about yet
For a handful of newer Pokémon we could not find any English source that says the name out loud. These are our best readings, built from the parts of each name, and we mark them as unconfirmed on the site.
| Pokémon | Our best reading | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Dhelmise | del-MEEZ | The H is silent. "DEL-mize" is also heard. |
| Magearna | muh-GEER-nuh | "mag-ee-AR-nuh" is also heard. |
| Stakataka | stak-uh-TAK-uh | "STAK-uh-tak-uh" is also heard. |
| Zarude | zuh-ROOD | "zuh-ROO-day" is also heard. |
| Enamorus | en-uh-MOR-us | "eh-NAM-er-us" is also heard. |
| Maschiff | MAS-chif | "MAS-tif", like mastiff, is also heard. |
| Grafaiai | graf-EYE-eye | No English source found. |
| Greavard | GREEV-ard | "GRAYV-ard", like graveyard, is also heard. |
| Iron Jugulis | EYE-ern JUG-yuh-lis | From "jugular". "JOO-gyuh-lis" is also possible. |
| Wo-Chien | woh-CHEN | From Chinese. The hyphen is silent. |
| Chien-Pao | chen-POW | From Chinese. The hyphen is silent. |
If you have heard one of these in the anime or a trailer, tell us through the contact page and we will update it.
Tips for saying any new name
- Break it into the words it was made from. Tarountula is tarantula plus round. Dewpider is dew plus spider. Most names fall apart this way.
- Check for a silent letter at the front. The P in Psyduck and the H in Dhelmise are both silent.
- Treat a starting X as Z, and a double C in an Italian-looking name as "ch".
- When in doubt, listen. All 1,025 names have a clip on pokee.si, and you can browse them from the Pokédex.
How we checked these
Each respelling on pokee.si has a source tag. Of the 1,025 names, 845 follow how English official media (the anime, games and official videos) say them, 2 come from an English dictionary, and 178 are worked out from the parts of the name. Where The Pokémon Company corrected a name itself, that wins. Where English media disagree, the Pokémon page says so in a note.