If you’re around my age, Pokemon may have been your first RPG. The start of a grand adventure in the world of Pokemon and the start of a lifelong love of the genre. I’ve mentioned this a couple of other places on the site, but Pallet Town was also the start of my gaming in Japanese adventures. I took a stab at playing gen 1 really early on in my studies and now I’m going to put up side-by-side English and Japanese from Pallet Town in Pokemon Let’s Go.
Try reading the Japanese and checking the translation to see if understand the gist of it. There are also a few little grammar points that I mention that you’ll definitely come across again if you decide to play through Pokemon or another game. Hopefully I’ve translated things in such a way that the Japanese is easy enough to grasp. Let’s get to it!
Little girl: お花 摘んでたこと ニューマンくん には ぜーったい ナイショにしてね！
Little girl: Definitely keep me picking these flowers a secret from Trace(I named my rival Newman)!
Science guy: 科学の 力って すげー！今は スマートフォンとゲーム機を 連動 させて データを 送れるんだと
Science guy: The power of science is amazing! Now they say you can link your smart phone and game stystems and send data!
Fun Grammar Point! だと：The だと here is used to show emphasis in like a, “Wow! That’s way cool and I was surprised when I heard it,” kind of way.
Little boy: マスタートレーナーズに ついて どんなことが 知りたい？
Little boy: What sort of things do you want to know about master trainers?
Mom: ニック！ ポケモンとの 旅 楽しそうね！
Mom: Nick! A journey with Pokemon seems fun!
Grammar Fun Point! との： This is basically the particle と and の combined, so nothing too wild. In this case, the noun 旅(trip, journey) has the fact that it’s a trip with Pokemon added to it and 楽しそう is referring to the journey.
Examples:
ボスとの会議：The meeting with the boss.
ボスとの会議はつまらなかった。
The meeting with the boss was boring.
タケシとの勝負：The battle with Brock (Takeshi in the Japanese version)
タケシとの勝負は難しかった。
The battle with Brock was difficult.
Trace’s sister: ニックくん！ 自分の ポケモンに 好かれてるか どうか 知りたい？それなら カメックスの 様子を ちょっと みてみるわね！カメックスは あなたの こと 大好き なのね！ いつも一緒に いたいって！
Trace’s sister: Nick! Do you want to know whether or not you’re liked by your Pokemon? If so, let’s try taking a little look at Blastoise! Blastoise loves you! It’s saying it always wants to be together!
Casual Speech Alert: The って here is like といっている or Blastoise is saying.
Sitting science man: わたしも 博士の 助手 として ポケモンを 研究 してます。
Sittine science man: I’m also researching Pokemon as an assistant of the professor.
Bookshelf lady: ああ みえても オーキド博士は ポケモンの オーソリティなの！ 博士を 尊敬する ポケモントレーナーも 多いわよ！
Bookshelf lady: Despite appearances, Professor Oak even looks like the Pokemon authority! There are also a lot of trainers that respect the professor!
Professor Oak: よく きた！ ポケモン図鑑の 調子は どうかな？ どれ。。。ちょっと見て あげようか！
Professor Oak: Thanks for dropping in! How is Pokedex coming along? Let’s see here… Shall I give it a quick look?
*examines at Pokedex*
Professor Oak: ここまで 図鑑が できたら もはや プロフェッショナルじゃ！
Professor Oak: If your Pokedex has come this far then you’re already a pro!
よく来た：I wanted to spotlight this because it’s a little expression like ‘welcome’, ‘thanks for coming’, or ‘thanks for coming all the way out here to see me’ which might not be totally clear when seeing it for the first time.
And that’s Pallet Town! It’s the humble beginning for many gamers and Japanese students alike. If you have a Switch and a copy of the game, you can play it in Japanese so jump in and give it a try. Just don’t forget to check the Pokemon Vocabulary page for a little extra study material.