I Like Shorts! They're Comfy and Easy to Wear!

About

"I Like Shorts! They're Comfy and Easy to Wear!" is a catchphrase uttered by a Youngster Pokémon trainer in Pokémon Red and Blue before starting a battle with the player. The line struck many players as a non-sequitur and a comedically stark contrast to other NPCs' pre-battle dialogue, which is usually boastful or threatening. As a result, the line has been widely parodied for decades in the Pokémon fandom.

Origin

In Pokémon Red and Blue, released in North America in September of 1998, players will encounter a Youngster who wants to have a Pokémon battle relatively early in the game. When he approaches the player, he says, "Hi! I like shorts! They're comfy and easy to wear!" before the battle begins.

Analysis

According to an analysis published by Clyde Mandelin of the "Legends of Localization" blog,^[1] part of the reason the line seemed so out of place is due to some changes made in the translation of the Youngster character and the line itself from Japanese to English. In the Japanese version of Pokémon Red and Blue, the Youngster NPC is named たんパンこぞう (tanpan kozō), which roughly translates to "Shorts kid." The line in the original Japanese translates roughly to, "Shorts are nice and easy to move around in! Why don’t you wear some too?" The analysis implies that shorts are an integral part of the Youngster NPC's character in Japan, which makes his dialogue less random in the Japanese version of the game.

Spread

The line has long been a staple meme of the Pokémon fandom, and was applied to many early meme templates, such as Demotivational Posters and Rage Comics (examples shown below).

The line has also been parodied in several webcomics. For example, VGCats once parodied the line in a comic (shown below, left). On June 8th, 2010, DeviantArt^[2] user seph-hunter posted a comic referencing the line (shown below, right).

The line has survived through each remake and rerelease of Pokémon Red and Blue, as the same NPC says the same line or nearly the same line in both Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen and the Pokémon Let's Go! games (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References