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Perrin, Dipplin, And 'Paradox Raikou': Everything You Need To Know About Yesterday's Meme-heavy 'Pokémon Presents'
Yesterday's "Pokémon Presents" presentation was light on substantial news for the franchise, and was mostly a showcase of trailers for already announced games, like the sequel to Detective Pikachu and the upcoming Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC.
This could have been an email #pokemonpresents pic.twitter.com/KeMw2Bvp4S
— Koshi 🏳️🌈 (@TheKoshirano) August 8, 2023
Still, despite the seeming lack of marquee announcements, fans still walked away with plenty to talk about thanks to the introduction of three new characters: two Pokémon and the latest instant waifu for the fandom. Here's a brief rundown of the key new characters that are the current heroes of the Pokémon fandom.
Who Is Raging Bolt (Paradox Raikou)?
By far the most controversial new Pokémon showcased in the presentation was "Raging Bolt," a "Paradox Pokémon" which is a variant of the legendary Pokémon Raikou from the distant past. "Raging Bolt" follows "Walking Wake," a "past" version of Suicune, another member of the Legendary Dog trio from the second generation of games. While Walking Wake was largely liked, or at least generated neutral responses, Raging Bolt garnered a much more divided reaction, due largely to looking like this:
The long-necked Raikou was an unexpected tweak to the character's classic design, and not everyone was a fan. Some felt it looked particularly goofy and started making memes featuring the character.
Currently, a new meme has started with people imagining the design for the presumed eventual Paradox Form of Entei, the third legendary Johto Dog, and following the controversial design for Raging Bolt, people are imagining Entei's will be a doozy.
LMFAO poor entei 🤣🤣🤣 this is all of us my friend trust me haha. We thinking many different designs for you lol pic.twitter.com/ckQEdaz8Yr
— GrimGrookey (@GrimGrookey28) August 9, 2023
Who Is Dipplin?
More universally beloved was Dipplin, the signature new Pokémon of new character Kieran. Dipplin is a new evolution of the Pokémon Applin and its design seems delightfully inspired by a candy apple.
Dipplin was an instant hit among fans, and memes and fan art hit the internet immediately after its reveal. Most of the pieces emphasize its (quite literally) sweet appearance, but there are some memes that have taken Dipplin in a different direction.
Perrin
As has been the case for seemingly every Pokémon trailer for the past six years, a new best girl stole the show for the more… romantic Pokémon fans. The lucky lady this time is Perrin, a photographer that the player will have to assist in the first chapter of the DLC, "The Teal Mask."
Perrin is theorized to be a descendant of Adaman, a hunky character from Pokémon Legends Arceus, which quickly made many fans express excitement (as well as thirst) over the new Poké-woman.
Artwork swiftly flooded Twitter, and depending on how her story plays out in "The Teal Mask" DLC, which releases in a month, it may just be the tip of the iceberg for Perrin fever.
For more information, check out the entries for Raging Bolt, Dipplin and Perrin on Know Your Meme.
