It’s no secret that gamers should be wary of April Fools' Day, as fellow gamers, video game companies, and even video games themselves will stop at nothing to prank fans on the humorous day. While some April Fools' jokes include special in-game occurrences, such asOverwatch’ssignature googly-eyed characters,others will announce a fake character or even an entire event for the day.
The tradition is widespread in the gaming industry, and the company behind the world’s highest grossing media franchise has now taken a stab at a light-hearted joke for fans.The Pokemon Companyis no stranger to April Fools' jokes, given that the ever-popularPokemon GOmobile game was inspired by an April Fools' joke in collaboration with Google Maps. This year, however,The Pokemon Companytook a different approach, completely transforming its social media platforms for the day.
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On platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, The Pokemon Company changed its profile picture to a version of thePokemon25th anniversary logo featuring theNormal-type PokemonBidoof. Since this morning, the social media accounts have been posting about the Pokemon nonstop, with photos, videos, and .gifs, even going as far as to upload a Bidoof “fancam” to YouTube, mimicking the style of videos popular among K-pop fans.
The Pokemon Company has even gone as far as to load the “stories” of its social media platforms with Bidoof as well. Fans are thankful that the joke is rather harmless, but it may still haunt some nonetheless, as the Plump Mouse Pokemon is widely regarded as one of the most annoying monsters in the series, constantly appearing in the4th generation gamesPokemon Diamond,Pearl, andPlatinum. Despite this, many players regard its evolution, Bibarel, as one of the most useful Pokemon in the game, being capable of learning almost every Hidden Machine move available, which allow players to travel across bodies of water, move boulders, cut down trees, and much more.
Of course, while this is all a joke, it does feel rather timely. For the past year, fans had been clamoring for news onPokemon DiamondandPearlremakes for the Nintendo Switch, and just a couple of months ago, they received confirmation ofPokemonBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearl,as well as a new take on the series inPokemon Legends: Arceus. All of these games feature the Sinnoh region, which is where Bidoof made its debut.
All jokes aside, the franchise is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, which has already brought fansa plethora of newPokemonmerchandise,announcements, in-game events, and more. As 2021 continues, it will be interesting to see what else The Pokemon Company has in store for fans.
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