Pokémon cosplay
- Cosplay redirects here. For thePikachu that can be dressed in different costumes, seeCosplay Pikachu.
Pokémon cosplay (short forPokémon costume play), orPokémon dressup, is the act of dressing up in aPokémon costume. This hobby is seen in both the Pokémoncanon and among fans.
In the games
InRed and Blue, cosplay is referenced by aPokéManiac inRock Tunnel. The PokéManiac asks ifRed has heard of costume players. After defeat, he explains that costume players dress up as Pokémon for fun.
Since their introduction inGeneration II, malePokéfans have been accompanied with their children who are dressed up likePikachu orPichu. InGeneration IV,Pokémon Sword and Shield andPokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, these cosplaying children can also be found on their own, calledPoké Kids.
Poké Maniacs wear pants that are similar toCharizard inGenerationsIII andVI, albeit lacking a flame at the tail's tip. InPokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, they instead dress up asSlowpoke.
Fantina's dress is notably inspired byDrifblim. However, it is considerably different from a typical cosplaying costume.
TheColosseum Leaders inPokémon Battle Revolution all cosplay as Pokémon.Taylor is dressed asPachirisu,Marina is dressed asKyogre,Rosie is dressed asRoserade,Voldon is dressed asElectivire,Terrell is dressed asGroudon, andDusty is dressed asLucario. All of these costumes can beShiny and both forms are available for players as well. Additionally, thePikachu Fan trainer class dresses as Pikachu. The clothing items they wear can also be individually purchased at the shop and worn by the player; wearing the complete set will result in the Pikachu Fan title becoming available for theirCustom Pass.
InPokémon Conquest, most of the outfits worn byWarlords, and some of those worn by regularWarriors, incorporate elements of Pokémon designs. Many Rank II Warlord designs could qualify as cosplay, such as those ofAya,Kotarō, andMuneshige.
InPokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the player can obtain aCosplay Pikachu, a special femalePikachu that has five different costumes it can wear, each with their own associated move.
InPokémon GO andPokémon UNITE, players can customize their characters with several Pokémon-inspired clothing items.
InPokémon Masters EX,Sygna suits are outfits that give Trainers a stronger connection to their Pokémon. These outfits match the appearance of their partner Pokémon.
In animation
Meowth ofTeam Rocket is well-known for dressing up as other Pokémon when needed.Jessie andJames also occasionally wear Pokémon costumes, though not as often as Meowth.
InDitto's Mysterious Mansion,Duplica dresses up as aGloom, aMetapod, aPsyduck, aHorsea, aBulbasaur, and aGoldeen during a flashback.
InThe Superhero Secret,Mr. Parker's costume as Gligarman is based on aGligar, as is his daughterLatoya's costume as Gligirl. In the same episode,Meowth andJames dress up as two Metapod.
In theWho's That Pokémon? for the Japanese version ofThe Bug Stops Here,Jessie turns out to be the subject, cosplaying as aVenomoth. In the Japanese episodes,Who's That Pokémon? is calledDare da?, orWho is it?, so when the "Pokémon" is revealed and the narrator says "Venomoth", the children shout "Wrong!"
InOctillery the Outcast, Ash wears anOctillery costume.
Ash wore aSeviper costume inZigZag Zangoose to helpNicholai figure out how to battle aSeviper using aZangoose.
Nicholai is well-known for his cosplaying. He wears the costume of any Pokémon he sends out intobattle or of whatever Pokémon he might be trying tocatch. He has been seen wearing costumes ofMudkip,Zigzagoon,Gligar,Tentacruel,Bellossom,Aipom, andZangoose.
Harley wore clothing that is based on his Cacturne.
Ash,Dawn, andBrock entered thePokémon Dress-Up Contest inAll Dressed Up with Somewhere to Go. In this contest, however, it was their Pokémon which cosplayed, not themselves, thoughRhonda,Officer Jenny, andNurse Joy were respectively dressed up asCherrim,Growlithe, andChansey. Ash enteredPikachu, who did many impressions of other Pokémon. Dawn entered herPiplup as aWeedle, but lost when he broke character and used aBubble Beam. The winner of the contest was Brock and hisCroagunk, who dressed up as aPolitoed and continued his impression of one throughout the entire episode.
Bill wore aKabuto cosplay inMystery at the Lighthouse. This costume was used for Bill's research.
InGetting the Pre-Contest Titters!, a flashback showsDawn dressed as aSlowpoke for a play in which she appeared when she was younger.
Dawn wore a Piplup cosplay in her dream inMalice in Wonderland!.
InYEAH!, an ending forPokémon Sunday, cosplayers are dressed up as aTreecko andWobbuffet.
On its own,Pokémon Sunday, and itsGeneration V successor,Pokémon Smash! has some of its hosts dress up as Pokémon.Sunday hadLucario andChimchar, whileSmash! hasZoroark andOshawott.
InReunion Battles In Nimbasa!,Jimmy Ray wears aWatchog costume.
InThe Mighty Accelguard to the Rescue!,Charles (as the Mighty Accelguard) has a costume based onAccelgor,Dr. Ferrara (as Cryogonal Man) wears aCryogonal mask, andDr. Ferrara's henchmen both wear costumes based onVanillite.
InClimbing the Tower of Success!, a portion of theWishing Bell Festival contest required those who made it through to the round to dress up. The Trainer had to dress up as an important Unova figure while their Pokémon dressed up as the Pokémon used by the figure.Ash,Iris, andStephan dressed up asAlder,Professor Juniper, andNurse Joy, respectively.Ash's Pikachu,Iris's Axew, and Stephan'sSawk in turn dressed up asBouffalant,Darumaka, andAudino, respectively.Ricky was to dress up asOfficer Jenny while hisElgyem was to dress up asHerdier but Elgyem used itsPsychic powers to manipulateMiles's mind into thinking they were dressed up. Lastly,Cilan dressed up asElesa andPansage dressed up asEmolga. However, they did not pass to the next round because Cilan could not remember his lines.
InClash of the Connoisseurs!, inRicard Nouveau's fantasy there was aLilligant and standing next to her was a young woman cosplaying one.
InA Pokévision of Things to Come!,Serena wore aFennekin cosplay for filming herPokévision video.
There were multiple cosplays during theGourgeist Festival inA Festival Trade! A Festival Farewell?, including: Ash as aSnorlax, Ash's Pikachu as aPsyduck, Serena as aRed FlowerFlorges,Clemont as a Watchog,Bonnie as aLudicolo,Clemont's Dedenne as aCorphish,Clemont's Chespin as a Pikachu, Jessie as aMismagius, James as aGourgeist, Meowth as aBanette,Jessie's Wobbuffet as aSawk andJames's Inkay as a Pikachu.
Samson Oak wore anExeggutor costume inThe Guardian's Challenge!.
InLillier and the Staff!, Ash,Lana,Sophocles, andMallow portray theguardian deities in their play, alongsideKiawe asSolgaleo and Jessie asLunala. Backstage, Ash and his friends are seen dressed as other Pokémon, includingPiplup,Chespin,Stakataka,Buzzwole, andXurkitree.
InPokémon Horizons: The Series,Dot dons a costume ofNidorina when streaming as her online persona, Nidothing.
Gallery
Duplica dressed as aGloom
Duplica dressed as aMetapod
Duplica dressed as aPsyduck
Duplica dressed as aHorsea
Duplica dressed as aBulbasaur
Duplica dressed as aGoldeen
Misty dressed as aGoldeen
Mr. Parker as Gligarman
Latoya Parker as Gligirl
Ash as anOctillery
Ash as aSeviper
Nicholai dressed as aTentacruel
Nicholai dressed as aBellossom
Nicholai dressed as anAipom
Nicholai dressed as aGligar
Nicholai dressed as aMarshtomp
Nicholai dressed as aZigzagoon
Nicholai dressed as aZangoose
Scene fromYEAH!
Dr. Gordon as aMachoke
James's Mime Jr. dressed as aClaydol
Dawn's Piplup as aWeedle
Jessie's Seviper dressed up as aMilotic
James in a Moltres costume
Iris's Axew dressed up asDarumaka
Stephan's Sawk dressed asNurse Joy's Audino
Ricard Nouveau's fantasy with aLilligant and a young woman cosplaying one
Jessie's Wobbuffet dressed as aGlaceon
Clemont's Chespin disguised as aSpewpa
James dressed as aBeartic
Professor Oak dressed as aFletchinder
Bonnie in aSnubbull-inspired chef's uniform
Bonnie in aSlowbro swimsuit
Bonnie in aDelibird snowsuit
Team Rocket as members of theRalts evolutionary line
Bonnie in aSlurpuff snowsuit
Nurse Joy dressed as aWigglytuff
Clemont's Chespin dressed as aPikachu
Ash's Pikachu dressed as aPsyduck
Team Rocket in theirGourgeist Festival costumes
Ash dressed as aSnorlax
James in aCorsola diving suit
Ash's Rowlet as aDarumaka
Ash disguised as aPassimian
Jessie dressed as aLunala
Ash's Rowlet as aDecidueye
Meowth
As aMetapod
As aDunsparce
As aSneasel
As aSunflora
As aVolbeat
As aWingull
As aSmoochum
As aSudowoodo
As aCroagunk
As anAipom
As aBanette
As aDewott
As aGolem
As aKirlia
As aMurkrow
As aPersian
As anAzurill
As aSpinda
As aShiftry
As anUmbreon
As aWailord
As aWeavile
As aPhione
As aCubchoo- As aLeafeon
As aPelipper
As aBewear withJessie's Wobbuffet
As aStufful
As aWobbuffet
In the manga
Diamond & Pearl arc
InStagestruck Starly,Diamond'sMunchlax,Lax, wears aMagikarp costume for Diamond andPearl's comedy act.
Pokémon RéBURST
While cosplay doesn't officially appear in mostPokémon manga, there is a technique based on Pokémon cosplay in thePokémon RéBURST manga calledBurst. Unlike usual Pokémon cosplay, the Burst techniques are used for battle purposes.
Magical Pokémon Journey
The cover ofThe Passionate Primeape depictsHazel,Almond,Coconut,Peanut andWalnut dressed asPikachu,Squirtle,Eevee,Charmander andDitto respectively.
Pokémon Newspaper Strip
InStrip 8,Ash wore aPikachu costume for Halloween.
InStrip 56,Misty wore aHorsea costume for Halloween.
Pokémon.com
When it was relaunched in January 2010,Pokémon.com added aPokémon Trainer Club, where players play games and earn coins to buy clothing at a Trainer store, some of which are Pokémon costumes.
Donphan costume and pieces of the Liepard costume
Heracross and Pinsir costumes
Gengar costume
Mudkip, Torchic, and Treecko costumes
In books
InLet's Find Pokémon!,Duplica can be seen dressed as aClefable, putting on a show at theCeladon City Fair.
In the fandom
Like most anime, manga, and video game fandoms,cosplay is common within thePokémon fandom. Most fans will dress up ashuman characters from thegames andanimated series such asAsh,Team Rocket, female generational protagonists likeMisty,May, orDawn, andOfficer Jenny orNurse Joy. Many female fanscrossplay as either Ash orJames because of their youthful male looks, commonly known in Japan asbishōnen, or "bishie" for short in English.
Additionally, many fans dress up in costumes of their favoritePokémon species, especially if it is in thekigurumi orgijinka style of cosplay.Kigurumi is basically a hooded coverall pajama jumpsuit disguise of a character likePikachu, while agijinka (also called "moe anthropomorphism") is a human form of a species. Because of the popularity ofPikachu as the mascot of the Pokémon franchise, many young women dress in aSweet Lolita style of dress at conventions.
