Pokemon fans are just realising they've been saying legendary monster's name wrong

Pokémon is one of the most beloved franchises in gaming. Since 1996, around 122 games have been released, including 38 mainline titles, amounting to over 489 million units sold worldwide. These games are split into nine generations, with each one introducing more and more Pokémon. While the initial release included just 151 creatures, the total is now at 1,025.

With so many Pokémon for fans to remember, it's no wonder some of them might get forgotten or mispronounced, as people aren't as familiar with them. But it turns out one monster we've all been pronouncing wrong for years is one of the most popular Pokémon out there - and it was released 23 years ago.

In a video shared by Game Central on TikTok, it was claimed the Pokémon Company confirmed that most of us, especially those in the UK, have likely been pronouncing the name of the Legendary Pokémon from 2002, Rayquaza, completely incorrectly all this time.

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Rayquaza is a large, green, serpentine Pokémon that served as the mascot for Pokémon Emerald. In an English accent, the most common pronunciation is "Ray-quar-zah" - but we've now been told that's not right.

Instead, the Pokémon should be pronounced as "Ray-quay-zuh". This is something that our neighbours in the US may have been doing already, but it often sounds jarring to Brits.

Rayquaza is pronounced this way because the end of its name is supposed to derive from the word "quasar," which is the term for a luminous galactic core powered by a supermassive black hole.

Quasars are known to be the brightest objects in the universe, and Rayquaza is quite literally a cosmic dragon, which would make the space connection make sense.

The official X account for Pokémon also confirmed this pronunciation in a post earlier this month, boldly stating in no uncertain terms that the creature should be pronounced "Ray-KWAY-zuh."

Commenters on the Game Central video were baffled by the news, as many said they'd been pronouncing it the incorrect way ever since the Pokemon was released back in 2002.

One person said: "I know the pronunciation. I just refuse to use it."

Another added: "The person who made the GIF says it's pronounced JIF. Sometimes the creators are wrong."

While a third agreed, writing: "Pokémon itself can be wrong. Remember, the creator of .gif files says his own creation incorrectly."

Others pointed out that Rayquaza isn't the only Pokémon people have been mispronouncing. They claimed that the 2009 Legendary Pokémon, Arceus, should be pronounced as "Ar-kee-us," although most people would assume it should be said as "Ar-see-us."