the most important thing to keep in mind is that even the official Pokemon sources are not consistent in how they pronounce the names so don't get too snob about it because you can't be correct since there is no clear correct way. Pokemon has contradicted themselves many times, they have pronounced Arceus in like 4 different ways for example

Who the heck pronounces Rayquaza's name with an 'r' at the end?

The official pronunciations are laughable at best, most of the time. They make zero sense. Besides, as long as people know which Po-Kay-Mon you mean, it's Okidogi, right?

@Erigen I'd reckon British folks. They love doing that and sipping tea while doing it.

'Quaquaval' is deliberately meant to invoke the word 'Carnival' because, well, look at it dance.

Growing up being a Harry Potter fan and having trouble with Pokemon names I always called Alomomola, Alohomora.

No love for the Charcadet line? Some of our local Pokémon Go players have been baffled by my French(ish) pronunciation of their names and they haven't been able to unsee (or unhear) it.

@moonblastx : I think they retconned Arceus's actual pronunciation so as to avoid the dreaded "arse" syllable for British audiences (the Japanese pronunciation is like that too).

Arceus needed an "Arkoos" option. IYKYK

I reckon Fire Emblem Genealogy players will have the best score here?😄

@Splash_Woman Me and my friends also called it "RAT-tuh-TAT-tuh," with the extra syllable, lol

@SillyG Yeah they needed to spell it with a k if they wanted us to pronounce it Ark-ee-yus

Ohhh, well yeah in Spanish, even if called the same, they are pronounced very differently in some cases apparently.
Phonetically, Spanish is surprisingly similar to Japanese, so I would expect to pronounce them like it is intended.... but of course most of the Pokemon have different names in Japan so it doesn't even matter XD

I pronounce Kyogre as "kai-oh-ger" 🤷‍♂️ I'd be curious to see how people pronounce "Mightyena" as well (mainly if they prefer the "enna" or "eena" ending).

@dartmonkey, I'm pretty sure Shiinotic is a Gen VII Pokemon, not Gen V.

The only thing I learned from this is that most Pokémon names make no sense when pronounced, so you should either use the original Japanese names or pronounce them as you see fit, because it makes as much sense.

@SillyG Oh my gosh yes, I have been so annoyed by people calling Armarouge "Armarogue".

Another hard hitting article from Nintendo Life. Bravo!

Surely anyone at the Pokemon Company could care enough about this to provide IPA. It takes 5 seconds to look up and would even be a teaching moment for kids (and adults). This is the series that had us all read braille.

Anyway, glad to see people coming around on the latin C in Arceus, except I'm then 1 of the 10% saying the E correctly. It's not "Arcius"

Ones I selected 'Other' for:

Hydreigon: Hei-drei-ghin

Kyogre: Kai-oh-ger (Surprised it wasn't an option; I've never even heard a different pronunciation until today, but I guess I was wrong)

Kyurem: Cure-em (Kyurem is a doctor confirmed)

Shiitnotic: Shih-not-ic

Xatu: Sha-too

Ones I have notes on:

Arceus: I pronounce Ar-kee-iss, but going off of Silvally's ability The 'RKS System', I think the correct pronunciation Is Ar-kay-ess.

Nihilego and Yveltal: I change my pronunciation every time I read their names.

Silvally: Guys the etymology clearly includes the word 'Ally' not "Valley", get it right.

Like @Broosh and @UpsideDownRowlet said, I pronounce Kyogre as "Kai" (like the name) and then "ogre" (like what Shrek is). Was shocked to see this omitted from the options.

Quaquaval I pronounce "quack-a-val", which also wasn't an available vote.

I selected the first option for Reuniclus, but I think "ree-yoo-nih-klus" would be more accurate to how I say it. I believe that it's supposed to come from the word "reunion".

My brother always tells me about how he used to pronounce Suicune as "soo-ee-soon" as a kid 😆

I started saying Rattata as Ra-tuh-tat as a kid, and while I acknowledge that it's completely invalid, I still think it rolls off the tongue better than anything else.

I pronounce them as their cries, e.g. "I caught a TRRR-LLLL-LEEE!" or "Dang, I cannot find a RWWOO-ROH…".

You did Kyogre so dirty with those choices, not a single one pronounces the r in his name.

It’s Kai-Oh-Grrr btw.

@Erigen
The British love adding Rs where there aren't any and ignoring them when they're written.
'ello Govna.

Where is Kai-oh-ger??

This is why as a kid the anime was so important for me. I’m not sure I would’ve been able to properly pronounce half the pokemon names on my own. I know I get most of the new ones wrong lol

Its obviously "Ax-two" not "Za-too" or whatever

For those I comment other but didn't have the option to say:

Kyurem - I go with the official pronounciation

Nihilego - I'm actually not sure, its not a Pokémon I think about that much.

Quaquavel - Same as Nihilego

Rattata - Same as Kyurem

Reuniclus - Ree-you-neh-klus

Zoroark: Zo-roar-ark

"How do you pronounce them all?"
"Correctly."

The number of people who still mispronounce "Pokemon" after 30 years makes me sad, and this poll doesn't make me feel any better.

@Dr_Corndog "Correctly, I choose you!"

Today I learned I've been pronouncing a bunch of Pokemon's names incorrectly. Giving off the same energy as parents who call every Pokemon Pikachu lmao.

Kyogre = kai ogre
Rayquaza = ray quah sah
Kyurem = cure em

So they're all basically pronounced by me exactly as they're spelled. And Arceus will always be Ar-see-us, I don't care what GameFreak says lol.

Kyogre is a fine example of of people who have a "non-rhotic" accent (most of England) not realizing there's actually an R sound on the end of the word when spelling it out phonetically. It's not Kai-o-guh. It's Kai-o-gur. Ogre, like Shrek. Get a Scottish person to say it, or an American (so long as they aren't from Boston). They would never say o-guh. I'm Bristolian, I pronounce my R's at the end of words. It's o-gur, guys. O-gur.

Silvally's ability "RKS System" and its connection to Arceus should make the pronunciation of Arceus obvious once you're aware of that. Ryan Reynolds even pronounced it incorrectly as "arsey-us" in the Detective Pikachu movie.
And for Silvally itself, it's 'silv-ally'- it's a silver ally- for stuff like this, you often have to take into account the intent of why the Pokémon was named the thing in the first place, instead of just raw syllables. Lots of different pieces of words used for Pokémon names- and many not even English words in the first place. And English is a frankenstein language anyway.

I know I’m in the minority but I’ve always called it “pocky mon”. I believe that’s the shortened Japanese version and also it would have been called “pocket monsters “ in the west but the name had already been trademarked. So they went with “pocky mon”, the shortened Japanese version but the name became Americanised and they called it “poke-ay-mon”. Personally I prefer the Japanese version. It is a Japanese game, after all.

@Baker1000 I have never, across all the articles I've ever read, been so reminded where NintendoLife publishes from than on the pronunciation choices for Kyogre.

It's pronounced Knee-hill-Lego

Illumise: Ill-you-Mize (as in golfer Larry)
Kyogre: Kyo-guh
Kyurem: Cure'em
Nihilego: Niall-A-go
Shiinotic: Sheen-o'titch (I do the same with Milotic - a short grave-accented ò and an acute on the ć. It just looks kinda Balkan to me - plus the Magic used to have Nikola Vučević in the team)

@ShadLink I was thinking the same thing.

I pronounce Quaquaval "Quay-quay-vul"

ah my favorite Pokemon, alomohomolomololomamolohola

Short answer: I don't.

reuniclus is my all time favorite pokemon! ree-you-nih-clus of course

@USWITCH64 agreed, an utter fluff piece as per usual

@PC2 it's spelled 'Pokémon'

That rake was a gift from Bill! As Maxmoefoe would say.

Most of the time I just pronounce them as I would any other word, in Spanish.

@Dee123 Same, but don't support JK rowling's empire, read fanfiction instead. isn't arse a british swear word? makes sense that they insist on Ar-kee-us, but Arse-ee-us is clearly correct.

Awfully cheeky of you to end the polls early. I couldn’t even vote in most of them…

Also, Reh-jeece.

@UpsideDownRowlet those are some interesting ones. I agree with Ky-Ogre, it always seemed straightforward to me. Ray-kwa-Za was always how I heard it until very recently. Arceus is always going to be Ar-kee-us to me, even though I do know that it's probably Ar-Kay-Us, as you mentioned, RKS system. I've never seen or heard Sha-Too, but that DOES make sense =o If Za-Too wasn't so hardwired by now I would probably start using that lol and I know it's adding to the name, but I've honestly always said Hy-Drei-G/Jin, or Hy-Dre-Jion, which is most definitely wrong but people always know what I mean XD

And Neh-Heh-Leh-Go, like a Nihilist lego. =3 lol

@HellbladesFFXI So you pronounce Hydreigon as Hydrogen?

Some of these polls didn't include any option that matches how I pronounce them!

I ignore the "official" pronunciations anyway. Some of them are ridiculous and some don't account for regional accents e.g. Budew is Buh-DOO but that's not how dew is pronounced in Ireland/UK so I'm not saying it that way

When I was a kid I always read kyogre as kee-oh-gree so that still lingers in my head but i've gotten accustomed to pronouncing kyogre as intended. The "correct" way sounds way cooler anyway. Like a kaiju ogre, and it's a giant shark/whale monster? Just awesome stuff

Y'all lost me with the non-rhoticism on Kyogre and the intrusive r on Rayquaza 😂

@Broosh so do I. I can't believe there wasn't even an option close to it that recognizes there is an R in his name...

I honestly still cringe everytime I hear Ray-kway-zuh. While I understand the equivalence to Quasar, phonetically it is still wrong and IS Ray-kwah-zuh.

Another one that I have been hearing more frequently for Lugia is a hard G. Loo-G-uh instead of Loo-gia

@PC2 Pokey mons? I do like that IMDB has separated the Simpsons and Family Guy characters of Bill Cosby into a separate entry from the real person. Yes, I know at this point the former is probably thought more fondly than the latter.
But I do like the one involving Pokemon on the Simpsons, I think from like 2001.
The bits those two shows did about him far outlasted their source (a 1998 revival of a TV show from like the '60s, Kids Say The Darndest Things).

I thought that Kyogre was pronounced kai-Oh-gr, but that wasn't even an option in the poll... however, 10% of people did pick other, so I'm guessing I wasn't the only one who thinks it's pronounced this way. So,

Kyogre: kai-Oh-gr