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"The non-damaging and non-effect move Splash is a mistranslation of Hop."

Summary from Bulbapedia:
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/S...ve)#Trivia

Quote:While its English name suggests an association with water, its Japanese name, はねる haneru, can mean both splash and hop (although usually the latter). This explains why the move can be learned by Pokémon such as Spoink and Hoppip—species who have no association with water but are known for hopping or jumping—and why its is disabled by Gravity. Its somewhat misleading English name is likely due to its initial exclusivity to Magikarp.

Nob Ogasawara (who goes by the alias of Douglas Dinsdale online) is a freelance translator. He translated every main series Pokemon game up to Pokemon Platinum. Nob stated on lparchive:

Quote:I told them that "Splash" is no substitute for "Flop" (more appropriate for a fish than "Hop"), but my NOA handler wouldn't listen. I didn't have enough clout back then, so I wasn't about to lose my job over several stupid translations foisted on me by that dumbass. Just as I suspected, that wrong translation would come back to haunt us in subsequent games. That's why it's so damned important to get the translation spot on from the get-go. That said, a lot of translation is subjective and situational, so "Flop" would've been kind of problematical for the pokemon that "hop" instead of "flop."

http://lparchive.org/Pokemon-Blue/code.html