Pokemon Sword and Shield players have been able to get especially creative with their Pokemon personas thanks to dynamic features like the game's League Cards, but even before this, fans of the series have often been known to reference the game in daily life. Diehard fans sometimes name their pets after certain Pokemon, for example, but even non-gamers are heard adding "Poke" or "Pika" to their words on occasion.
In this case, one devout Pokemon Sword and Shield fan and sarcasm enthusiast seems to have accidentally helped honor a mighty Legendary Pokemon, and name his nephew, all in the same breath. Specifically, the Pokemon (and soon-to-be nephew) in question is Zacian, the sword-wielding Legendary Wolf, and "Cover Legendary" for Pokemon Sword.
The story was initially posted by Pokemon fan and Redditor, u/Bladehuraska. U/Bladehuraska was apparently traveling with family in a van when the moment in question arose.
His relatives were discussing potential names for their child, and wanted the name to specifically begin with a letter "Z," and be otherwise unique. Meanwhile in the back of the van, u/Bladehuraska worked away at catching Zacian in Pokemon Sword. Presumably tired of hearing the baby-name talk, he suggested that Zacian was a "cool name," and even claimed that it meant "sword" in Japanese (it does not).
This Pokemon fan's family loved the suggestion and actually decided to name their soon-to-be child "Zacian," in supposed reference to the Japanese word for "sword." As fans of the series might already know, Zacian is named so largely and simply because of the cyan vs. magenta color theme it shares with the games' other titular Legendary. Apparently, u/Bladehuraska's significant other is the only other person aware of the hilariously unfortunate mishap aside from his sister, but rather than simply ignoring the concern, the three will be revealing this fact to their family and nephew come Christmas time.
They hope to continue to lean into the "joke" origin of the entire situation, and gift their relative a series of seasonal Pokemon merchandise, presumably themed with Zacian in mind. Hopefully u/Bladehuraska's nephew's parents take this in stride, and embrace the true uniqueness of their child's Legendary name.
Fans have been quick to point out that whether the parents appreciate this fun-fact or not, the name Zacian still offers a fair amount of flexibility. That is, it's an ambiguous word, with regard to pronunciation. Zacian (the theoretical nephew) can choose to go by "Zacian" as it's pronounced by fans of Pokemon and the eponymous Legendary, or, they can simply pronounce it in a different reasonable way.
For example, many fans are suggesting that the first syllable can alternatively be pronounced as "Zay," in case of extreme aversion to the monster-taming franchise. Though of course, many are also pointing out that if there are any Pokemon worth being named after, they're undeniably the Legendary sort, like Zacian. Besides, the name comes prepared with a back-up sibling name to match: Zamazenta.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are available now on Switch.