Translating 1996's Lost Pokedex

Big update below. First off, let me just say to the new Patreon supporters -- thanks so much for signing up, it really means a lot. The previous 3 or 4 Patreon posts have links to some translation articles and videos only available here on this website, so check those out if you haven't already.

Okay, now for today's news. So I've been using y'all's generous donations to, along with other projects, commission translations for an official Pokemon book called Pokedex, published by Creatures in Japan in April 1996. I shared a small section in my previous Patreon post, and there's an 8 page Tajiri interview with some really interesting development info almost finished -- I'll share it here soon, I just need to combine it with some translations from the 2018 Tajiri biographical manga. But the main point of this post is that this book has an entirely unique Pokedex. 150 entries with interesting lore not seen outside this book -- like what happens if a human drinks Moltres' blood? The Pokedex also has a  unique classification system with descriptions, and an introduction with Pokemon lore going back to the 18th century. Really cool stuff.

I was about to put one of my usual translators on the job, then it occurred to me that there's one guy who really oughtta be the one to translate this Pokedex into English for the first time. Nob Ogasawara, the former Nintendo staffer who localized the first 26 Pokemon games -- who could be better than that? So I talked to Nob and he agreed he'd do it. He's a very expensive translator, but I think it's worth it, to make this Pokedex localization as official as possible. Did You Know Gaming's owner Shane Gill (great guy btw, truly) generously agreed to pay most of Nob's fee, RacieBeep said she'll kick in $100, and the rest will be paid from your Patreon pledges. Being a good steward of y'all's money is something I take very seriously -- this is an expensive translation, but I think it's worth it. I hope you agree.

These book scans and the translations be used in an upcoming Did You Know Gaming video, and also published in full on my website in a month or two. The 8 page Tajiri interview will be shared only here on Patreon in about a week, then someday in the future it'll make its way onto my website as well. I wanna give y'all special stuff as thanks for your support on these projects, but I also think it's best for the community as a whole to share everything publicly eventually -- months, sometimes years after it's posted here (like the Tao Trio translations). Beyond that, there's a few more pages of the book that still need translating, and also some cool artwork that needs scanning. I'll be doing all that, so the book will essentially be translated in its entirety. You'll have access to all of it. The only exception are the pages of battle stats and things of that sort, which obviously don't need to to be translated.

Okay, that's the update. I'm really excited about this. Let me know your thoughts in the comments if you fancy. Thanks again for your support, these kinds of projects wouldn't possible without you. Cheers :)

-Dr Lava