Here’s something nice that happened in yesterday’s new “Pokemon Journeys” episode. In one of the first scenes of the episode, we see two people exchanging their Pokemon in the Vermillion City Pokemon Center. A Gentleman trades his Farfetch’d (nicknamed Oshou) for a little girl’s Spearow (nicknamed Onichan). Avid Pokemon players have likely recognized the scene as a reference to the memorable Spearow-for-Farfetch’d in-game trade that happens in Vermillion City in the original Gen I games. But there’s apparently more to this...
Oshou is the Japanese name of Dux, the original in-game trade Pokemon from Pokemon Red and Blue that a little girl (named Elyssa in FRLG) trades for the player’s Spearow. Dux reappears in LGPE in the very same house in Vermillion, but this time it’s not traded. His owner, this time a Gentleman, expresses his will to catch a Spearow. You may ask why they changed Dux’s owner from a little girl to a Gentleman. Possible answer is that it’s a reference to the Pokemon Trader TCG card from Gen I times.
Onichan, in turn, is the Japanese name of Speary, the Spearow owned by a little girl and her father in a house in Viridian City. The house serves mainly as a demonstration of the Pokemon nicknaming mechanism and appears in all core games that feature Kanto. In Johto-based games, Speary is joined by a Rattata nicknamed Rattey.
So yeah, we have a reference to two in-game Pokemon and the NPCs who own them (ironically, none of these two are the original in-game trader from Gen I). If you ever wished for these NPCs to appear in the anime, your wish has just been granted.
Now let's hope that the English dub doesn't screw this up and catches the Pokemon nicknames as Dux and Speary. Otherwise, this entire scene loses its sense. Also, I hope that the anime keeps adding such cute and easy-to-miss game references. They’re incredibly nice to spot.
