The Pokemon Memes franchise has been around for decades, providing possibilities for the internet to create timeless memes about it.
You’re more than likely to be a regular in meme culture if you’re the world’s most popular media franchise. That is certainly the case for Pokemon, which have been part of the cultural zeitgeist since their inception in the late 1990s and have continued to do so until memes have taken over the internet.
Naturally, certain memes will stand the test of time better than others after you’ve been memed for that long. This will be a look at the best Pokemon memes of all time, ones that swept the globe when they first debuted and are still recognised now by dedicated fans and the general public.
Kyle Laurel updated this page on August 30, 2021: Pokemon is advertising a new set of games, and now that all of Sword & Shield’s features have been released, fans may reflect on how they tapped into Pokemon meme culture.
Trainer for Pokemon Memes in Scotland
Sword & Shield’s release drew a lot of attention on social media, and while the National Dex debate drew some negative attention, most Pokemon fans were put at ease by the introduction of Gloria, the female player character.
Because Galar is set in the United Kingdom, some speculated that Gloria might be Scottish, especially given her clothing. Tweets picturing Gloria speaking in a stereotyped Scottish syntax, comic strips depicting her belligerent personality toward other characters, and voice-over artists reading them aloud with an over-the-top Scottish accent kicked off the memes.
Oak’s advice
When compared to the actual world, the Pokemon universe lacks perfect logic. Why are you unable to run without your Running Shoes? How do Pokemon Centers keep their doors open while providing completely free medical care? Are Pokemon battles really a game of chance?
That’s where the Advice Oak meme comes in, pointing out all of the strange quirks of the Pokemon world. Bonus points are awarded when this template is used to highlight Professor Oak’s logical defects, such as his inability to recall his grandson’s name, a simmering disdain for indoor riding, and entrusting his entire life’s study to a ten-year-old newbie. It’s a bit of a throwback, but this meme structure will always work as long as the Pokemon world is logically flawed.
MissingNo.
To say the least, Generation I games are far from ideal. While all Pokemon games contain bugs, Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow were essentially beta versions masquerading as finished games when compared to the rest of the series.
Other glitches may be just as game-breaking, but Missingno is the most well-known. The method for obtaining this Bird/Normal-type glitch Pokemon is famous, and capturing it will cause the graphics in your game to jumble and scramble all over the place. At the very least, it has maintained its position in video game legend, and it has now found a second life as a meme.
Pikachu is overweight.
As older fans of the brand know, Pikachu, the game’s mascot, used to be a lot rounder than it is now. Game Freak made the proper decision to trim him down over time to reflect the game’s pace in comparison to its contemporaries. Still, fans prefer the chunkier Pikachu to the current-day version.
After hearing from fans (or seeing their Reddit postings), Game Freak created Pikachu, a Gigantamax form that was just Fat Pikachu with a lit-up tail. Fat Pikachu memes inundated social media channels as soon as one of the Sword & Shield teasers featured G-Max Pikachu with the whole Scottish Pokemon Trainer extravaganza.
Underground Diglett
Since the birth of the Pokemon franchise, there has been no definitive solution to this issue. What is Diglett’s subterranean composition? Is this just a normal gopher? Is it something more bizarre, like a colossal humanoid producing Diglett with their digits? Is this a natural human body with Diglett’s head protruding?
According to a phrase from the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, the only absolute is that it has feet. Aside from that, no other sources, such as anime or manga, have provided definite answers to viewers. At this point, Game Freak must be trolling. As a result, fans are free to make up their hypotheses or mess about as they choose.
Genwunners
The most challenging aspect of being a long-time series fan loves the old while remaining open to the new. You’ll have a hard time convincing Generation 1 apologists of that. These Pokemon fanatics, often known as “Genwunners,” have been adamant that Game Freak has been running out of ideas for Pokemon designs since at least Generation 5 and that only Generation 1 Pokemon count.
Their dogmatic tendencies have been named to oblivion, regardless of whether or not they are correct. In one way or another, most Genwunner memes point out how Generation 1 had many of the same problems with Pokemon notions as Generation 5, particularly when it comes to inanimate item Pokemon.
Slowpoke
This is one of the oldest memes in the book, and like Advice Oak, it has endured the test of time because of how applicable it is to so many circumstances. Slowpoke’s notion is used in a creative way in this meme style, citing events that occurred long before the meme was developed. This could refer to events in any space, such as the release of the first Avengers film, the Obama-Romney presidential race, or, most notably, the release of new Pokemon games for the Nintendo DS.
With the introduction of Galarian Slowpoke in Pokemon Sword and Shield and a slight update to the references, this meme has enjoyed a resurgence.
Sinnoh Has Been Confirmed
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, remakes of the Sinnoh games, were long overdue. People awaited the Hoenn remakes, Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, with bated breath, but Game Freak had never been scrutinised so closely for a potential release. This led to Pokemon fanatics yelling “Sinnoh Confirmed!” or similar phrases in response to any clues that they may be coming soon, even if they were complete stretches.
All of this culminated to a flurry of excitement at Pokemon Direct 2021, when two Sinnoh-themed games were revealed: the real remakes, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and their open-world project, Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
There’s Too Much Water
Alpha Sapphire, on the other hand, was a fantastic Pokemon game. According to one IGN review, it wasn’t flawless, and one of its major drawbacks was that there was “too much water.” Hardcore Pokemon fans screamed out that one line, as well as the game’s assigned review score of 7.8/10.
There are undoubtedly two sides to this debate. One may argue that the amount of water forced players to utilise the Surf HM all the time. Others argue that the nature of the Hoenn region necessarily contains a lot of water, pointing to the games’ themes of balancing water and land. Regardless, this meme has become a topic of conversation anytime Hoenn is mentioned.
Helix, Lord
Twitch Plays Pokemon, an automated Twitch streamer, allowed viewers to play Pokemon Red over chat. Thousands of viewers might be giving commands simultaneously, resulting in chaos.
When it came time to choose between the Dome and the Helix Fossils, the input eventually chose the Helix, which would be selected at random multiple times during the game. The conversation finally came together around the shared objective of resurrecting the fossil. They succeeded, and “Lord Helix” was brought back to life. Pokemon enthusiasts now sing hymns of thanksgiving at the sight of an Omanyte or Omastar, demonstrating how far the franchise has progressed since that fatal encounter.
Walk the Ferrets
This meme appeared out of nowhere, and it isn’t easy to comprehend how it didn’t appear sooner. This meme began with a simple video: a 3D walking animation of Furret set to a remix of the Accumula Town theme. It became viral on YouTube and has since spawned other adaptations, including 10-hour versions and Furret traveling through various areas.
There’s something immediately delightful about this meme. Furret’s adorable visage and bouncy strolling motion complemented the merry Accumula Town theme well. As a result, the Furret Walk is both accessible and highly healthy.
Joey, a youngster
This character is nearly as old as the internet itself and is one of meme culture’s earliest contributions. Youngster Joey was an NPC in Pokemon Gold and Silver. His gimmick was continuously phoning you and bragging about his “top-percentage Rattata,” even though it was at a superficial level when you first met battled him.
In every Pokemon game with the Youngster Trainer Class, there are a lot of NPCs, but Joey stands out above them all, whether or not it’s because of his Rattata. If anything, this demonstrates that memes can bring even minor characters in any media piece to life.
Donuts with Jelly Filling
4Kids was in charge of the Pokemon anime dub before The Pokemon Company took over. Their treatment of the dub was contentious, mainly regarding extreme cuisine localization.
While there are other violations, the shot of series regular Brock holding onigiri (a.k.a. Japanese rice balls) and calling them jelly-filled donuts, almost as if he’s attempting to dupe Ash into thinking they’re jelly-filled donuts, is the most offensive. Regardless of fans’ feelings on the subject, voice actor Eric Stuart supplied this and other memorable lines for his English version of the popular Rock-type specialist, with his adorably silly “drying pan” remark receiving special praise.
So I heard you’re Mudkipz.
This is one of the original memes in general. While it has never achieved the same level of virality as current memes, dedicated Pokemon fans and meme aficionados alike would recognise it as a classic. “So I Heard U Liek Mudkipz” has its roots in DeviantArt, dating back to 2004, when it was used to invite individuals to the MudKipClub group. It has since garnered traction on forums such as 4Chan.
While it may be an acquired taste for people unfamiliar with Pokemon or meme culture, it is one of the cornerstones of the latter, contributing to the creation of a community focused on memes. It also helped because it made one of the least popular Hoenn starters at the time into an online sensation.
Pikachu is taken aback.
This meme has perhaps gained the most traction among the general population, and with good cause. The Surprised Pikachu’s potential use in many scenarios is limitless, much like the Slowpoke meme.
It’s not much in terms of structure, though; it’s just a screenshot from the 10th episode of the Pokemon anime. It helps that it’s an image of the franchise’s mascot, who’d previously appeared in other meme formats. Sometimes it’s preferable to keep things simple. Of course, the most popular usage is to couple it with a caption that has a set-up that leads to an expected end, and then use the photo to convey sarcastic surprise. It shows no signs of popularity slowing down, with subsequent memes having more up-to-date references.
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