Pokémon in Vietnam

Pokémon in Vietnam
Flag of Vietnam
Language	Vietnamese
Continent	Asia
Original animated series airdates
EP001	2002 May 17, 2019 August 3, 2019
AG001	2003
DP001	May 23, 2021 February 6, 2023
BW001	January 25, 2014 October 28, 2017
XY001	September 28, 2015 August 17, 2018
SM001	June 3, 2018
JN001	November 21, 2020 December 11, 2021
HZ001	March 8, 2024

Pokémon logo used in Asia until c. 2017

The Pokémon franchise first reached Vietnam in the early 2000s. Currently, the license to the Pokémon franchise has been held by GoGo Entertainment Co., a Vietnamese company with 100% Japanese investment, since 2013.

Pokémon video games

Due to the high popularity of PC gaming, dedicated game consoles are not very popular in Vietnam.The first games in Vietnam were distributed by the Japanese Nintendo division.^[1] Since 2011, the distributor of Nintendo is the Japanese store called nShop.^[2]

Due to local regulations, all Pokémon mobile apps released since 2020 have not been released in Vietnam, with two apps released prior to 2020 ending service early: Pokémon Shuffle Mobile on January 31, 2020, and Pokémon Masters EX on November 27, 2024.^[3][4] However, Pokémon GO, Pokémon: Magikarp Jump, and Pokémon Quest remain operational in the country.

Pokémon animation

VTV3

The original series of Pokémon the Series aired on VTV3, an official national free-to-watch TV channel in Vietnam, with the name "Pokémon". This version of the series was a voice-over translation rather than being dubbed into Vietnamese.

Phương Nam Film

Another voice-over translation was available of the original series and Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, released on VCD by Phương Nam Film. The Japanese version was used for these releases, with character and location names pronounced the same as in Japanese. A variety of sources were used for Pokémon names, including names wholly or partially based on the Japanese names and names translated from the official Chinese Pokémon names. In this version, the word "Pokémon" itself was translated into "Bửu Bối Thần Kỳ", directly from Chinese. PNF's released ended with AG088

HTV3

In the winter of 2013, HTV3, a cable channel focused on children and families, created a poll on their website for everyone to vote for programs they would like to see aired on HTV3. HTV3 is well-known for dubbing all of the programs they air on their channel. Pokémon was one of the choices, and within a few weeks, it was announced that HTV3 would air the Pokémon animated series for the first time on January 25, 2014. The series began on HTV3 with Pokémon the Series: Black & White, which currently airs on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 9:30am, with the same episode repeating again at 5:30pm on the same day.

The Vietnamese dub on HTV3 is based directly on the Japanese version. Pokémon and characters are referred by their Japanese names, while move, Ability and item names are translated into Vietnamese. Unlike HTV3's other shows, the original Japanese themes are used, rather than themes dubbed in Vietnamese. The songs Best Wishes! and Fanfare of the Heart are used as the opening and ending themes for the whole series, even after the points which they would have been switched in the Japanese version. Beginning from BW070, a subtitled Vietnamese translation of the lyrics to Fanfare of the Heart began airing with the ending theme.

A controversy arose with fans due to HTV3 re-dubbing many of the Pokémon cries (except for Ash's Pikachu), despite that the Pokémon names are the same as in the Japanese version.

HTV3's run of the series ended with BW108. HTV3 also aired nine Pokémon movies from M10 though M18, starting in July 2018.

VTV2

Pokémon the Series: XY began airing on VTV2 on September 28, 2015, with two time slots. Half of an episode (12 minutes) is aired from Monday to Saturday at 17:45 while full episodes (25 minutes) are aired on Saturday and Sunday at 10:40. An official Facebook fan page and YouTube channel were created for fans to discuss and take part in various activities. Weekly games pertaining to the broadcast are held with Pokémon merchandise offered as prizes for the winners. The Vietnamese dub on VTV2 was based on the Japanese version of the series. VTV2's run of the series ended with XY093.

POPS Kids

Pokémon the Series: Black & White was uploaded to the POPS Kids YouTube channel from October 28, 2017 to April 29, 2018. BW055, BW076, and BW077 were not uploaded to the channel and are skipped in the episode numbering. The Vietnamese dub that aired on HTV3 is used through BW108 including the Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster segments; the dub of the remainder of the series does not include the segments. The season was later transferred to BH Kids channel and removed from POPS Kids channel.

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon began premiering on the POPS Kids app with the twentieth season airing from May 31, 2018 to July 5, 2018. A few days following its availability in the app, the episodes are made available on their YouTube channel. The dub uses footage from the English dub of the series (including the opening theme and background music), while it continues to use Japanese names and terms.

Pokémon the Series: XY was uploaded to the POPS Kids YouTube channel from August 17, 2018 to February 27, 2019. The Vietnamese dub that aired on VTV2 is used through XY093, while the Mega Evolution Specials and episodes from XY094 onward that were not previously dubbed are dubbed based on the English dub, including the background music.

The original series was uploaded to the POPS Kids YouTube channel starting with EP001 on May 17, 2019. Unlike the previous voice-over translations, the series is dubbed into Vietnamese based on the original Japanese version. EP096, EP098, and EP099 were skipped due to copyright restrictions from Japan. EP113 was also skipped for unknown reasons. The season was later stored to FPT Play and removed from POPS Kids channel.

Pokémon Journeys: The Series premiered on POPS Kids app in 2021.

FPT Play

After POPS Kids removed the original series, FPT Play stored all the episodes of the original series from disappear in Vietnam.

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl was upload to FPT Play on February 6 2023. The series is dubbed into Vietnamese based on the English dub version, but use Japanese opening and ending. DP048 and DP120 are skipped because both of these episodes only summarize the journey of Ash, Dawn and Brock.

BH Kids

Pokémon the Series: Black & White began to be uploaded on BH Kids YouTube channel in October 2021.

Voice actors

Note: All names are shown in Eastern order, and the name of the characters are shown in Vietnamese.

The voice director for the official Vietnamese dub of the Pokémon animated series is Nguyễn Anh Tuấn (Võ Ngọc Quyên at Novel Production). The dialogue editing is done by TVM CORP (Ace Media from BW109, and Novel Production from M10 to M18). The visual technical managers for the series are Thanh Mai, Duy Quang, Nhựt Minh, Huy Tú, Tấn Trạng and Quang Minh. The audio technical managers for the series are Minh Khương, Tào Tịch, Kim Long, Quốc Tuân and Phong Nguyên.

Music

Main article: List of Vietnamese Pokémon themes

For the original series on POPS kids and FPT Play and Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire (VCD), the original Japanese opening and ending themes are used.

For Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl on FPT Play, the original Japanese opening and ending themes are used, but all the remix version of Together, High Touch! and The Greatest - Everyday! are unused.

For Pokémon the Series: Black & White on POPS Kids, Best Wishes! and Fanfare of the Heart are used from BW001 to BW020, shown with Vietnamese subtitles and credits in place of the original Japanese lyrics and credits, with the opening additionally being shown with synchronized, romanized subtitles. From BW021 to BW052, the opening is shown in the same manner, but the ending theme is skipped entirely. Starting in BW053, the original Japanese credits and lyrics are shown for both the opening and ending themes.

Eternal Friendship by Cindy V is used for both the opening and the ending for the VTV2 dub of Pokémon the Series: XY. For these episodes on POPS Kids, 30 seconds of the song is played over the opening animations of Pokémon Theme (Version XY) and Be a Hero at the very beginning of the episode and another 30 seconds are played over the credits from the English dub at the very end of the episode. However, the first eight episodes maintain the original minute-long opening animation with translated credits. The remaining episodes of the series, including XYS04 and episodes from XY094 onward use the opening and ending themes of the English dub.

For Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, the dub retained Under The Alolan Sun, using the opening and ending themes of the English dub.

By My Side and Best Friend were used as the ending themes for Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel and I Choose You!, respectively.

Pokémon Trading Card Game

Like the video games, there is not currently an official distributor for the Pokémon Trading Card Game in Vietnam. Despite this, some specialty stores import cards from overseas, usually English language cards from the United States.

Pokémon manga

Pokémon Đặc Biệt Volume 1 cover (second edition)

Bulbanews has an article related to this subject:

Pokémon Adventures to return to Vietnam

Pokémon Adventures is known as Pokémon Đặc Biệt in Vietnam. In the Vietnamese translation, the trademarked romanizations of Japanese names are used for characters, Pokémon and locations; whereas moves are translated into Vietnamese.

In 2003, Pokémon Adventures was licensed by Kim Đồng Publishing House, one of the largest manga publishers in Vietnam. They published translated versions of Volume 1 through Volume 12, until the series was discontinued due to Kim Đồng's Japanese partner canceling their contract. These volumes were published in a left-to-right format with reversed artwork.

In late 2014, Kim Đồng regained the publishing rights to Pokémon Adventures. The first volume was originally projected for a January 2015 release, but was delayed due to changes requested by Shogakukan and by GoGo Entertainment Co., the company that holds the license to the Pokémon franchise in Vietnam. The new volumes are presented in the original right-to-left reading format. Volume 1 was released on April 6, 2015. Volume 2 was originally scheduled for an April 20 release date, but was delayed due to complaints from readers on vocabulary choices in the translation from the Japanese names to Vietnamese language. It was finally released on August 24, 2015, and subsequent volumes are scheduled to follow every two weeks on Mondays.

Additionally, in the early years of the Pokémon franchise in Vietnam, the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga was translated and published illegally by Kim Đồng with the name "Pokémon". This translation was published in a left-to-right reading format and used transliterations of Japanese proper names for Pokémon, characters and locations. The series was dropped after Volume 13. Kim Đồng and GoGo Entertainment are attempting to license the series for an official re-release in Vietnam, and Volume 1 were re-published on October 11, 2019 under the name Pokémon - Cuộc phiêu lưu của Pippi.

Pokémon merchandise

A backpack licensed by GoGo Entertainment, featuring Tepig, Pikachu and Snivy

In Vietnam, there are two official Pokémon shops in the country - one in Aeon Mall Bình Dương Canary, which held its opening ceremony on November 1, 2014; and one in Aeon Mall Tân Phú Celadon, which had its opening ceremony on January 11, 2015. The shops are operated in collaboration with GoGo Entertainment (which produces licensed items such as t-shirts and school bags), Kid's Kingdom Trading Co. and AEON Vietnam.

In the early years of Pokémon in Vietnam, most of the merchandise available was counterfeit, although some official items were released in the country. Many books were available in Vietnamese, including the Pokémon Chapter Books, quiz books, colouring and activity books, sticker books, and the like. In recent years, some specialty shops have begun importing official merchandise by Takara Tomy, such as toys and figures.

In December 2014, to promote the upcoming re-release of the Pokémon Adventures manga, Kim Đồng Publishing House released a 2015 calendar featuring images from Pokémon the Series: Black & White of the Pokémon animated series.

Community

Poke-mega.org, namely Pokémon & Mega Man FC Việt Nam, is one of the first and biggest Pokémon fan sites and forums in Vietnam. They also host content and forums related to the Mega Man series.

Events

To promote the upcoming re-release of the Pokémon Adventures manga, Kim Đồng Publishing House held a contest called POKÉMON - TỚ CHỌN CẬU from December 25, 2014 through January 21, 2015. Participants wishing to enter had to email a favorite picture from the Pokémon Adventures series, as well as writing about their favourite characters and memories of the manga. 20 winners will be selected — 10 participants whose photos had the most likes/shares on Kim Đồng's Facebook page and 10 winners chosen by the contest organizers. A list of winners has not yet been announced. The 20 winners received a tour of the factory in Hanoi where the manga is printed. Winners were also to receive a Pokémon figure by Takara Tomy, however, upon the closing of the contest, it was decided that all participants would receive a figure.

Kim Đồng Publishing House hosted an event called Selfie cùng Pikachu, which was held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 5, 2015, the day before Volume 1 was released. Attendees could purchase the volume early and have their photo taken with a Pikachu mascot. Attendees arriving between 8 am and 11 am had the chance to pick up special gift items including Pikachu balloons, paper hats, and stamps. Attendees who emailed their photos with the Pikachu mascot were entered into a special contest on Kim Đồng Publishing House's Facebook page; five winners received a Pokémon figure and a free copy of Volume 2. The photos had to be submitted on April 5—submissions after this date weren't accepted.

External links

• The Pokémon Company official site (Vietnam)
  • Pokémon Vietnam on Facebook
  • Pokémon Vietnam on YouTube
• Official website of GoGo Entertainment Co., Ltd. (Japanese)
• Official website of HTV3
• Official website of Kim Đồng Publishing House

References

This article is part of Project Globe, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon franchise around the world.