“Pokémon” is turning 30 this year, and the franchise is kicking things off with a star-studded (and Pokémon-filled) ad on Super Bowl Sunday.
Trevor Noah, Lady Gaga and more celebrities reveal their favorite Pokémon and appear alongside animated versions of them in the commercial, titled “What’s Your Favorite?” Noah starts by walking down a sunny boardwalk and asking, “What’s my favorite?” He’s followed by actor Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (“Never Have I Ever,” “Freakier Friday”), who describes her favorite “jet-black” Pokémon while sitting in a make-up chair. Formula One driver Charles Leclerc appropriately says his favorite is “extremely fast,” rapper Young Miko likes her “limitless” Pokémon and Blackpink member Jisoo says hers is “so cute.”
In a recording studio, Lady Gaga reveals that her Pokémon “has a 12-octave vocal range” and “always finds a way to make it funny.” The camera pans over and the adorable, singing Pokémon Jigglypuff is sitting on the couch. The two huddle over a microphone and have a duet together, singing Jigglypuff’s iconic, self-named song that puts people to sleep from the “Pokémon” anime.
The rest of the stars are soon joined by their Pokémon partners. Noah is paired with the yellow, goofy duck Psyduck. “Every single time you met a new Pokémon, it felt like you met a new part of yourself,” he says. Luxray, the big, electric lion, naps on Ramakrishnan’s desk as she says, “he likes to sleep. Just like me.”
Jisoo likes Eevee for its ability to transform into various forms, and Young Miko adores the ghost Pokémon Gengar because “he’s mischievous but that’s sort of his love language.” Spanish soccer star Lamine Yamal is paired with the formidable legendary Pokémon Zygarde, and Leclerc reveals his partner to be Arcanine, the fast and powerful fire-type.
“This is one of those moments where you get to reward your childhood self,” Noah told Variety about getting the call to be part of the Super Bowl ad. “‘Pokémon’ has been part of my life since the age of 9 or 10. It first came to South Africa in the Pokémon trading card packs. Kids went crazy trading them around. But it really blew up in my life with the Game Boy.”
Noah said he played the original “Red,” “Blue” and “Yellow” versions of the first “Pokémon” video games, and watching Psyduck in the anime TV show cemented the creature as his favorite. Psyduck, one of the main Pokémon used by Misty in the series, was a water-type who could use powerful psychic moves, but the timing and effectiveness of its abilities was disrupted by its constant headaches.
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“I feel like ‘Pokémon’ is a perfect allegory for society. It’s like this crazy world where you’ve got all these different characters who have their strengths and weaknesses,” he explained. “The reason I choose Psyduck is because I grew up as a neurodivergent kid, still figuring out what ADHD does in your brain. When I watched Psyduck in the TV show, it’s this little weirdo in a weird world. Psyduck can’t handle its brain. It’s trying to figure out how things work. It’s the most powerful, then the least powerful. It can literally freeze the whole world, levitate everything and throw it away, but then sometimes it can’t even walk out of a Poké Ball in the right direction. It was the classic tale of of the unlikely hero, the hero that we hope we all have inside us. We don’t expect it, and then against all odds you figure everything out, and you come out on top”
“Pokémon” is celebrating its 30th anniversary with the new video game “Pokopia,” a life simulation game set for release on March 5 on the Nintendo Switch 2. The first-ever Pokémon outdoor facility, PokéPark Kanto, also opened this month in Tokyo.
From Variety US