It’s a question that has kept the Pokemon community up at night for decades, and now the community is arguing about it all over again, just what do Pokemon trainers eat?
Both in the mainline games like Pokemon Scarlet & Violet and in the Pokemon anime, there have been many answers over the years. It seems that some Pokemon trainers like Ash would happily eat a Magikarp, or a stuffed Pidgey, though occasionally it also seems like ‘food’ is just a separate entity from Pokemon in either universe. It is quite often, bizarre.
Well, now fans are getting into it all over again, with a tumultuous Reddit thread from Pokemon fan PossibleLavishness77 titled, “What do you eat in the Pokemon universe without feeling extremely guilty?”
They say the question has “haunted” them for a while, especially honing in on the idea of eating a Water-type Pokemon, saying, “The fish? That’s a sentient friend who would die for you on an amazing adventure?” At least a Mega Gyarados would feed a family for a few years.
Naturally, other Pokemon fans have some strong opinions, though many of the comments are coming out in favor of avoiding eating Pokemon altogether.
One person comments with a throwback to the anime, saying, “Jelly donuts”. This is a nod to the translation that changed Pokemon characters eating rice balls in Japan, into jelly donuts in the West, despite the fact the food still looked very much like a rice ball.
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A separate comment simply says, “Magikarp” with an image of Ash and Brock from the Pokemon anime salivating over the idea of a cooked Magikarp meal. A Pokemon fan argues underneath that Magikarp would be “almost pure bone”, though that doesn’t seem to be stopping many other fans.
The Pokemon franchise helps a lot of younger audiences build strong relationships with animals, which is perhaps why many players find the idea of eating their friendly and cute Pokemon so disturbing. Something even Ash Ketchum voice actor Veronica Taylor has touched on in the past.
Still, other Pokemon players are dropping some real-world truths underneath the post, as one person says, “Oh man, it’s gonna mess you up when you learn where food comes from in the real world”.
If you’re about to make a Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Shiny sandwich, remember where it comes from, as one person explains by saying, “You can put bacon, sausage, and chorizo in your sandwiches. It’s gotta be lechonk right?” Sorry Lechonk, we need that Shiny.