Thousands of Pokemon fans sign petition against Pikachu’s name change in China

Earlier this year, Nintendo announced plans to rename Pikachu among other Pokemon icons in Chinese territories for Pokemon Sun and Moon. Throughout the region, the company wants to use Mandarin instead of Cantonese, which is the primary language for the majority of citizens in Hong Kong. According to a petition against the change, this would alter the pronunciation of Pikachu to a point where it doesn’t even sound like the Pokemon mascot’s globally recognized name. The petition, which has garnered more than six thousand supporters, is asking that Nintendo “respects the local culture” by reverting its decision.