The Pokémon Company Won April Fools’ Day With an ICONIC Community Meme
Pokémon’s April Fools’ Day prank this year involved a Bidoof takeover of various social media accounts, acknowledging the Gen IV rodent’s meme status.
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Like many other brands, Pokémon marked the beginning of April with a social media prank, celebrating April Fools’ Day by changing its icons on several accounts to images of Bidoof. The icon itself referenced Pokémon’s 25th anniversary logo, replacing franchise mascot Pikachu’s face with that of Generation IV’s Plump Mouse Pokémon.
Beyond that, Pokémon’s YouTube channel and Twitter account posted a Bidoof fancam featuring a compilation of scenes from the anime, as well as tweeting various Bidoof gifs throughout the day. However, that evening, Pokémon’s Twitter released a statement apologizing for the “Bidoofery” that took place.
Since its debut, Bidoof has been something of a joke to the Pokémon community. Its basic, goofy, yet somewhat cute design combined with its status as a weak, early-game creature makes it the perfect fodder for memes. Plus, not only is Pokémon’s day-long Bidoof takeover a nice nod to these long-running jokes, but also perfect timing considering the recent announcement of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
bidoof fancam pic.twitter.com/JBHyyyYU2r
The Normal-type Bidoof is one of the first Pokémon players will encounter in the Sinnoh games, serving a similar role to Rattata from Generation I. For those whose first Pokémon game was Diamond, Pearl or Platinum, Bidoof was likely one of the first Pokémon they ever caught after choosing their starter. But while Bidoof may hold that sentimental value for those players, it, and its evolution, Bibarel, aren’t particularly useful on a team after getting further in the game. While both can learn a variety of the Hidden Machine moves necessary to traverse Sinnoh, outside of that, their stats and abilities do them few favors in battle.
In spite of that, many fans have latched onto Bidoof, joking that the little beaver is actually a godlike entity with massive hidden powers. One popular Bidoof meme even combines it with every Legendary, and enough people have asked the questions “Is Bidoof a God?” “Is Bidoof a legendary Pokémon?” and “Is Bidoof the strongest Pokémon?” that those show up when simply searching “Bidoof” on Google.
The Bidoof prank is especially timely since, after years of speculation and fan fervor on the subject, Sinnoh remakes were finally confirmed earlier this year alongside Pokémon Legends: Arceus, another game set in that region. In previous years, a Bidoof takeover may have seemed like a cruel joke — salt in the gaping wound that could only be filled by Sinnoh remakes being announced. However, with two Sinnoh games in the works, the Pokémon Company was able to acknowledge a fun and popular meme and do so while subtly reminding gamers of what they can expect in the not-too-distant future.
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