Lechonk

About

Lechonk is a Pokémon appearing in the upcoming Scarlet and Violet generation of the video game series. Lechonk is depicted as a black pig with a brown face, pink nose and hooves with golden accents under its eyes. The name is likely a play on the word "lechon," a Filipino roasted pig dish or "piglet" in Spanish, with the addition of a "k" on the end to reference the chonk meme. The Pokemon appears in the second trailer of Scarlet and Violet that came out on June 1st, 2022, which subsequently became a fan favorite where it was referenced in memes and fan art around the web.

Origin

On June 1st, 2022, the official Pokémon YouTube channel uploaded the second trailer^[1] debuting the game, which included showing off various characters and revealing new Pokémon, including Lechonk. Lechonk appears to be this generation's version of the normal fodder Pokémon, similar to Sentret or Patrat, meaning it should evolve later on in the game. Its appearance had it slowly waddling forward towards the trainer, ready to battle the main character's starter Pokémon Quaxly. In the first six hours, the trailer earned over 200,000 views (shown below).

Immediately after the video, users on social media began to make memes and jokes about Lechonk, with the biggest one coming from the fan account Out of Context Pokemon,^[2] which tweeted out a simple statement of indignation on June 1st, earning over 122,000 likes in six hours (shown below).

Spread

Memes and fan art referencing Lechonk continued to spread after the Pokemon's reveal in the trailer. For example, on June 1st, 2022, another Twitter user, SalvaPot,^[3] also uploaded a Lechonk meme, using the I believe in Supremacy template to state that they believe in "Lechonk supremacy," earning over 2,000 likes in eight hours while proclaiming that Lechonk is the best (shown below).

While giving information on one of the other revealed Pokémon named Smoliv, Twitter user Sanxolotl^[4] explained that the region of Spain (which the in-game region is based on) is a world-leading producer of olives and has black pigs in the real world that match the design of Lechonk, with "Lechon" meaning piglet in Spanish. The post on June 1st received over 3,200 likes in five hours (shown below). That same day, Washington Post games reporter Gene Park tweeted^[5] another theory that the name could be a play on the word "lechon," which is a Filipino roasted pig dish.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References