Koffing and Weezing were nearly named NY and LA

A City-Sized Joke in Two Letters

The proposed names NY and LA would have turned Koffing and Weezing into a pointed bit of environmental humor. New York and Los Angeles stand in for big, traffic-heavy cities, so the names would make the pair’s poisonous fumes feel like a jab at urban smog—not just a monster’s gimmick.

That joke would also have depended on recognition: the initials work only if players connect them to the cities and to dirty air. Without that context, they are simply abbreviations.

From Place Names to Body Sounds

The names that stuck take a different route. “Koffing” echoes coughing, while “Weezing” suggests strained, noisy breathing. Instead of locating the pollution in particular cities, the names make its effect immediate and physical: these creatures produce gas, and someone exposed to it might cough or wheeze.

The contrast is a small example of how a name can steer a character’s meaning. NY and LA would have made the pair a geographic punchline; Koffing and Weezing make them sound like the symptoms their fumes could cause.