Diehard fans are followingPokemon Journeyseven as it releases to Japanese audiences, but the mostrecent episode managed to catch fans off guardand has since gone viral for a hilarious reason. The episode in question is called “Pokémon Champion! The Battle of Big Eaters!!”, and the Japanese version aired last week.
During the episode, Team Rocket enters their Morpeko in an eating contest against other big eaters like Goh’s Skwovet and a Blaziken known for his legendary eating skills. As it happens, Team Rocket is also rigging the contest in order to give their Morpeko a better shot at winning, but as usual, this doesn’t work out for them inPokemon Journeys.
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The scene that caused the episode to go viral is towards the end, at the final round of the eating contest. All thefoods leading up to this point had been berries or itemsoff the menu, but the final round is something terrifying. Blaziken and the other contestants have to eat as many Torchic manjū as they can, Japanese confections shaped to look like the Pokemon Torchic.
While the other Pokemon all start chowing down immediately, Blaziken hesitates, looking at what must appear to him as babies of his own kind. For those that haven’t put it together yet,Torchic is Blaziken’s initial form, so eating food in the shape of a Torchic would be rather difficult for him. Eventually, rather than finishing the contest, Blaziken wraps up the Torchic treats in front of him and walks off with them.
Fans thought the moment was both a hilarious and surprisingly dark twist, withPokemonusing the concept of cannibalism to knock Torchic out of the contest and pave the way forGoh’s Pokemonto win. Some viewers point out that it should be no different than eating a gingerbread man or a sour patch kid, while others claim it would be more akin to slicing into a realistic, baby-shaped cake. Just the thought of that is unnerving for many, so it’s no wonder that Blaziken refused to finish the competition.
Given Team Rocket’s involvementin rigging the contest up to this point, some fans theorize that they had the final food be Torchic shaped intentionally in order to get Blaziken out. This theory does hold water, as after getting Blaziken out Team Rocket’s Morpeko should have had an easy win against Goh’s Skwovet, but a timely evolution turned the tables.
