One of the joys for many trainers during the earlier generations of Pokémon was giving the main character and their rival a rude or downright inappropriate name. In the Switch eShop versions of Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen, it seems there have been some updates to this.
As reported by Kotaku, you'll either have to get really creative now, or there's a good chance the game will override whatever you've input and instead give you a generic name. Here's a sample of some of the words that won't fly:
"Kotaku has verified that some words, such as “d**k,” “p***y,” “s**t,” and even the f-slur are replaced by names like “Gary” or “Janne.” This doesn’t seem to extend to some milder words, however, as “hell” and “damn” were not replaced."
This update appears to impact Pokémon names as well. One theory suggests the update is to prevent users from flooding social media with screenshots and footage containing offensive language. It could also potentially be linked to Pokémon Home. Either way, some names wouldn't be the best look, as Pokémon is intended to be a friendly experience for all ages.
As many trainers have highlighted, this confirms these classic Game Boy Advance releases have actually been edited for this special release. There have also been some other updates...
What are your thoughts about this? Let us know in the comments.
Liam is a news writer and reviewer on Nintendo Life. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of many iconic video game characters.
