Tweet Like Pokémon Were Real

About

Tweet Like Pokémon Were Real refers to a social game that invites users to create humorous posts based on a premise that Pokémon exist in the real world. First popularized in November of 2021, the format expanded to include other media properties, such as a video game or an anime series. The Pokémon variant saw a revival in early 2023.

Origin

On November 27th, 2021, Twitter^[1] user @nellychillin tweeted, "Tweet like Pokémon were real," inviting other users to create humorous posts based on the premise that characters and events of Pokémon franchise were real. The post gained over 5,100 retweets, 21,100 quote tweets and 42,900 likes in three days (shown below).

Spread

Starting on November 27th, 2021, Twitter users replied with humorous posts based on the scenario. For example, on November 27th, Twitter^[2] user @blueralts posted a video captioned "throwing my ditto around," with the post gaining over 24,500 retweets and 159,000 likes in three days (shown below).

Later on the same day, Twitter^[3] user @KONDEiscool posted a tweet that gained over 24,700 retweets and 167,000 likes in three days (shown below, left). On November 28th, Twitter^[4] user @IAMTHESLIME_ made a post that accumulated over 34,300 retweets and 220,300 likes in two days (shown below, right).

Other Media

Starting on November 28th, more similar prompts were suggested by users on Twitter. For example, on that day, Twitter user @KidderDudder suggested creating posts based on the premise that Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends were real, which was followed by several viral responses, including viral posts by users @WavePrism_^[5] and @megu_art_^[6] (shown below, left and right).

The format maintained major popularity on Twitter in late November 2021, with multiple prompts suggested and multiple tweets based on them going viral.

2023 Resurgence

In early 2023, @nellychillin's original post began attracting quote-tweets again, as many users posted Pokémon-related video memes. For example, on January 4th, 2023, Twitter user @applefantaa posted a video comparing a raccoon to the Pokémon Zigzagoon, gaining over 7,600 retweets and 48,000 likes in one day (shown below, top). The same day, user @Baystystar_ posted an example using the homophobic dog, gaining over 5,800 retweets and 35,000 likes (shown below, bottom).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References