Pokémon Gym Leader Hairstyle

Submission 1,447

Part of a series on Pokémon. [View Related Entries]

About

Pokémon Gym Leader Hairstyle, also known as Pokemon Types as Hairstyles, refers to a viral trend on Twitter / X in which people pair extravagant hairstyle pictures with Pokémon gym leader designs, which are often aligned with a specific Pokémon type. The trend started in April 2024 after two videos focused on unique and detailed hairstyles went viral on X, sparking fan art and memes comparing Pokémon gym leaders, later paired with an image macro featuring all Pokémon types and their respective hairstyles.

Origin

The "Pokémon gym leader hairstyle" trend started on April 23rd, 2024, after X^[1] user @unidraws_ reposted the video of TikToker^[2] @tatianatorie showing her chained-shaped hairstyle with the caption "She’s a steel type gym leader." The post (shown below, left) amassed more than 3 million views and 154,000 likes in a week.

On the same day, TikToker^[3] @kayratheodore's video showing her unique braids and hairstyle was reposted by X^[4] user @Rattlezziper, who suggested she's a "psychic gym leader." The tweet (shown below, right) garnered over 8 million views and 308,000 likes in a week.

On April 24th, 2024, X^[5] user @vannesprite posted the earliest known version of the "Pokémon gym leader hairstyle" trend in which he used a template featuring all Pokémon types, adding @tatianatorie's picture below the steel type symbol and @kayratheodore's picture below the psychic type symbol. The post (shown below) received roughly 40 likes and five reposts in a day.

Spread

Over the course of a day, X users started to search for other unique hairstyles that could be compared to a Pokémon gym leader design. X^[6] user @JustIndieCisive was one of the main creators updating the "Pokémon gym leader hairstyle" image, as he uploaded an updated version of the image on April 29th, 2024, featuring pictures of fire type, grass type and ice type gym leader hairstyles. The post (shown below, left) received more than 65,000 likes and 6,600 reposts in a day.

On April 27th, X^[7] user @kittycolours posted a fan art drawing inspired by @tatianatorie and @kayratheodore's hairstyles (shown below, right), which garnered more than 120 likes and 17 reposts in three days.

KayraTheodore Hair Art Trend

The KayraTheodore Hair Art Trend, also known as Kayra Theodore's Hair Art Trend, refers to a Twitter / X redraw trend in which artists draw TikToker KayraTheodore (@KayraTheodore) whose hair is shown in elaborate braids. Many also joked about how KayraTheodore looked like a "psychic gym leader" from Pokémon (specifically coinciding with the Pokémon Gym Leader Hairstyle trend) or a Tim Burton character. The art trend started in April 2024 and continued into May 2024.