Stephen A. Smith Goes Viral For His Choice Of Pokémon Starter

Colorful sports commentator Stephen A. Smith has seemingly let his beef with Jason Whitlock rest for now and has returned to doing what he does best: going viral for chiming in on some of the greatest debates of pop culture.

Two months ago, Smith became the toast of social media after offering a hilarious and quick-witted rebuttal to a caller who tried to trip him up with a question on whether Lightning McQueen (of the Cars universe) was the GOAT. Now, he has chimed in with his take on one of life's greatest questions: Who you picking as your first starter Pokémon?

Unlike in his Cars segment, Stephen A. doesn't exactly have a solid grasp on the Pokémon universe, making several Boomer mistakes in his assessment of Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. For starters, he asks, "Are these Pokémons?," and as most people under 40 know, the plural of "Pokémon" is "Pokémon."

He also has some extravagant pronunciations of the Kanto starters, pronouncing "Bulbasaur" as "Bulbasaahre" and "Charmander" as "Schamanda" (rhymes with "Amanda"). "Squirtle," he gets right.

Ultimately, Smith goes with "Schamanda" because he identifies with "Schamanda's" big forehead.

Smith's latest foray outside the realm of sports was celebrated by many on social media as users joked about his choice and debated the age-old question of Kanto Pokémon starters.

Of course, if Stephen A. Smith really wanted to get in the weeds of Pokémon, his choice is solid, as Charmander (when fully evolved) at least has the potential to go far in competitive Pokémon, though the current meta tends to prioritize Talonflame as a Fire/Flying sweeper.

However, Charizard has clear weaknesses, such as a 4x weakness to Rock moves, which might prevent any team it's a part of from winning a title.