User blog comment:Kogath/Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate for the Nintendo 3DS/@comment-184612-20140924012347/@comment-184612-20140925101832

Monster Hunter is very serious business. Also, on the point of Palico, it's not a direct translation or anywhere close. They needed a short name so it would fit on the start menu, so they decided to go with a pun (they love puns) of Pal and Calico (a breed of cat).