Pokémon is the biggest multimedia franchise on the planet, so it's got some bizarre crossovers in the world of packaged food and restaurant dishes.
The Pokémon franchise is the biggest multimedia entity on the planet. A big part of its financial success is tied to its merchandise, with The Pokémon Company making a lot of money from plushies, clothes, and toys. This has extended to Pokémon foods, some of which are just Pokémon branding on regular food boxes, while others are snacks that are made to look like Pokémon, so customers can pretend that they're eating their favorite Pokémon.
There is a lot of weird Pokémon merchandise on the market, a lot of which is only available in Japan. It was only recently that Pokémon-themed nail polish was announced, for those who want a shade that matches their favorite portable anime monster. In recent years, there was the Metapod sleeping bag, the Snorlax and Ditto bean bag chairs, and Pokémon wedding rings. The fact that these kinds of items are released isn't too surprising, considering that the Pokémon franchise has seen incredible new levels of success since the launch of Pokémon Go. The Pokémon games on Nintendo Switch might not have been critical darlings, but they have shipped a ton of copies, to the point where they're catching up to the Gen 1 games, which means there's a huge market for Pokémon around the world.
The lore of the Pokémon franchise confirms that Pokémon are eaten by humans, though this is almost never referenced. The same isn't true of real life, as there have been plenty of Pokémon foods released over the years for fans to chew on, and some of these Pokémon foods released over the years are particularly weird, especially in Japan.
In 2021, the official Oreo social media accounts started to hint at a Pokémon collaboration. It was revealed that there would be Pokémon Oreos available for a limited time, with sixteen different types available that featured different Pokémon, including Pikachu, Mew, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Sandshrew, Pipulp, Rowlet, Grookey, and Jigglypuff.
It wasn't long before Pokémon Oreo scalping started to happen, with sellers wanting up to $25,000. The Mew Oreo was an especially prized item, which goes to show just how valuable the original Mythical Pokémon can be. The days of looking for Mew under the truck in Pokémon Red and Blue are long gone, as it's now about paying ridiculous prices for its face on a cookie. Pokémon scalpers wanting $25,000 for Mew Oreos is the current state of the franchise.
The Mister Donut chain has had several collaborations with the Pokémon franchise, resulting in donuts that look like Poké Balls, as well as various Pokémon, like Pikachu, Eevee, and Chansey. Not all of these donuts quite match the cuteness of their source material, however. According to Kotaku, there were numerous reports on Twitter (like minmicaru's) in Japan about some of the Pikachu donuts not exactly matching the iconic character's appearance. There are lots of photos circulating of Pikachu donuts with mismatched features and misshapen ears.
The adorable Pikachu is the face of Pokémon as a franchise, and that comes with a lot of responsibility. There are lots of Pokémon foods that are candy replicas of a Pokémon and that's nothing new. There have been lollipops and ice cream iterations of pretty much every famous animated character at some point in time, so it's not surprising to see Pikachu's head replicated in toffee.
What's less understandable is why the official Pokémon Cafe in Japan would include Pikachu's backside in a dish. According to ComicBook, the Pokémon Cafe featured a carbonara dish with Pikachu's back recreated with a fried omelet and tortilla tail. Anyone who has ever wanted to devour Pikachu's butt had a chance to do in the past, but it's no longer on the menu.
Slowpoke are one of the Pokémon that have parts eaten by humans, as there is a moment in Pokémon Gold and Silver were the player must stop Team Rocket from cutting off Slowpoke tails to sell as food. These later returned in Pokémon Sword and Shield as a curry ingredient. The people who aren't satisfied with just the Slowpoke's tail can eat the whole thing. According to Nintendo Soup, the Kanagawa prefecture in Japan once sold Slowpoke merchandise, which included a box of Slowpoke candies that depict the laidback Pokémon relaxing on its side. The wannabe Team Rocket members of the Pokémon can chomp on them as much as they'd like, with no meddling protagonists to stop them.
Source: Kotaku, minmicaru/Twitter, ComicBook, Nintendo Soup
