As the first mainline traditional home console entry in the series, Pokémon Sword & Shield was surrounded by hype. Game Freak (and Nintendo) was tasked with elevating the franchise’s Generation VIII games to another level that justifies the shift from portable systems to a hybrid home console, and the Wild Area was the exciting new addition that sought to separate Pokémon Sword & Shield from its predecessors. Well, that and Gigantamax forms, but the Wild Area was the most compelling new feature.
Although it is perhaps the best part of the games, the Wild Area also highlights some of the weirder or more disappointing aspects of Pokémon Sword & Shield. Here are 10 hilarious memes born out of Galar’s Wild Areas.
10 Catch Me If You Can
Comic by @Merryweatherey.
Created by Merry Weatherey, this hilarious comic pokes fun at the intense sprint executed by most Pokémon when they see a human traversing the Wild Area. Territorial as they can be, the Pokémon will refuse to give up the chase once they acquire the scent of their targets.
Strange as it might be to witness out in the open, Pokémon have a long history of attacking trainers that encroach on their areas. Sword & Shield just lets players see the attack coming.
9 The Stuff Dreams Are Made of
With the Nintendo Switch producing epic 3D adventures for both The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario, the hope was that Pokémon would receive the same love and care. When the idea of the Wild Area was revealed, many people could not help but imagine something akin to Breath of the Wild’s freeing map.
Ultimately, Sword & Shield’s Wild Area proved to be of considerably smaller scale than Breath of the Wild, although there is still fun to be had in the zone.
8 No Laughing Matter
DC’s Joker and Game Freak’s Pokémon might not be the most obvious of companion pieces, but this meme does kind of make the link work. In the Wild Area, anything goes; in many ways, Joker’s filthy and dangerous Gotham is a safer place than Sword & Shield’s free-for-all zone.
The Wild Area succeeds in presenting trainers as outsiders invading a territory belonging to Pokémon. It does not matter whether someone is on their way to a Den or is simply trying to get to the next town, they will be deemed a threat.
7 A Slight Improvement
Prior to and during its release, Pokémon Sword & Shield garnered criticism for some underwhelming textures. The trees were especially inconsistent and memeworthy, with some looking like they belong in a Nintendo 64 or DS title rather than a game released in 2019.
The Isle of Armor expansion pack introduced a new and improved Wild Area and even tweaked the trees slightly. Finally, Pokémon Sword & Shield’s greenery has entered the Wii era; hopefully, it will eventually catch up to the Nintendo Switch.
6 Spongebob Defends Game Freak
While the games still went on to collect all of the money in the world, Pokémon Sword & Shield was not exactly in the best place when it launched. There had been quite a lot of uproar at the lack of progress seemingly shown by the Generation VIII titles, suggesting Game Freak was happy to play it safe. The announcement that not all of the Pokémon would be included in the base games was also disappointing.
Pokémon Sword & Shield does have a few things going for it, but most of the positives mentioned by Spongebob in this meme are quality of life improvements. Naturally, these changes are important but they are also quite basic.
5 Bewear The Wild Area
A throwback to the running gag from Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon that saw Team Rocket be repeatedly kidnapped by Bewear, this meme takes a strange turn by throwing in an engine from Thomas & Friends. That said, the train’s terrified facial expression does fit the situation nicely.
Regardless of one’s team, a player’s flight response cannot help but be triggered by the sight of a Pokémon barreling towards them. It is the stuff that nightmares are made of.
4 Failure
Pokémon Sword & Shield is far from a bad game, but it is not a great Pokémon title. The story is too streamlined and bland, while the battle animations aspire to achieve mediocrity. The Forced Exp Share removes any challenge from an already easy JRPG, although that is hardly a new thing for the franchise.
The Wild Area is a weird one. Overall, players are likely to spend most of their time using this feature, but it is also underwhelming and lacks much in the way of personality. The Isle of Armor’s Wild Area does fix some of these issues, though.
3 A Terrifying Chase
A screenshot that grew into something of a meme, the image of the protagonist being mercilessly hunted by a Machoke captures the Wild Area in a nutshell. In many ways, it recontextualizes the relationship between humans and Pokémon. Usually, the former is depicted as the dominant species, especially since this universe is filled with children who go around catching and training Pokémon.
However, with the exception of a few relatively small towns, the Pokémon world mostly consists of zones like the Wild Area. In these places, Pokémon are free to simply exist, as long as a trainer does not show up and stick them in a Poké Ball.
2 Disappointment
In the Wild Area, a red/purple beam of light indicates that a Max Raid Battle is about to take place against a Dynamax Pokémon. Purple means the fight will involve a rare species, so a player might naturally hope the battle will be against a Gigantamax Pokémon.
Unfortunately, it is more likely to be a Dynamax Morgrem than a Gigantamax Grimmsnarl. As the latter has to be directly caught to be used in battle, it makes finding the former especially disappointing.
1 Homer Gone Wild
The Simpsons can make anything funnier. The Wild Area was such an enticing prospect on paper that users could not help but prioritize it over the rest of the game. That said, Sword & Shield’s restrictions on catchable Pokémon means players are not free to just do what they want.
Considering Sword & Shield has quite a linear structure, it is almost impressive that Homer managed to find a way to get lost.
NEXT: Sword & Shield: 10 Improvements We Want To See In The Definitive Version
