Pokemon community memes return of fat Pikachu in Sword & Shield anime

The Pokemon community was left in stitches when a February episode of Sword & Shield’s anime debuted Gigantamax Pikachu. The chubby version of the Electric-type was a big hit with fans.

Sword & Shield released in November 2019, moving the long-running Pokemon franchise into its eighth generation. The Nintendo Switch title introduced players to the Galar region, as well as new features like Dynamaxing and Raids.

However, when the anime showed Pikachu in his gigantic form, the community also celebrated the cute monster’s return to his original 1996 design. It also inspired fans to make hilarious memes on his rotund stature.

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Sword & Shield anime debuts fat Pikachu

The Nintendo franchise made its debut with Red & Blue in the 90s. In the groundbreaking RPG, Pikachu was portrayed as being chubby before the anime series decided to change his design. The Electric-type mascot has gone through various iterations over the years, however fans have often yearned for the original.

As is customary with the release of a new Pokemon game, an anime series based on the title’s region is currently airing. During its latest episode on February 15, the animation showed Pikachu as he Gigantamaxed, and it had the community going wild.

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Over on Twitter, popular streamer ‘TAHK0’ exclaimed “AFTER ALL THESE YEARS ASH’S FAT PIKACHU IS FINALLY BACK!” with a screenshot from the episode showing his larger form.

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They followed up the tweet by uploading a clip from the show with the caption, “Pikachu goes for a big boy walk.” The video shows the gigantic Pikachu stumbling around as he struggles to take steps due to his size.

After the episode aired, other fans of the series began to quickly meme the larger version of Pikachu on Reddit. Over on Sword & Shield subreddit user ‘u/MFGloom_’ uploaded a hilarious screenshot.

Most of the fandom seemed on board for the bigger version of the Electric pokemon. Twitter user ‘KurriTweets’ jokingly posted a classic image of a doll of the monster, as it looked close to the version in the anime.

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While the return of fat Pikachu technically happened when Sword & Shield released with its Gigantamax feature, seeing the heavyset version of the monster in the anime left fans celebrating.

• Read More: Pokemon community tries to guess Sword & Shield tease

Since its release in November 2019, the Gen VIII title has continued to smash sales records, becoming the fastest selling Switch title to date.