Pokemon Go trainers want better Costume Pokemon after “lazy” Lapras design

Philip Trahan
Drip Lapras Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go fans want to see better Summer-themed costumed Pokemon after highlighting some “lazy” designs from past events.

For certain events that center around a specific theme, Pokemon Go will usually introduce a handful of Event Pokemon, commonly called costumed Pokemon by the community.

These Pokemon have special outfits that set them apart from others in their species. Pokemon like Flying Pikachu, Sunglasses Squirtle, and the recent Team Leader Pokemon are all examples of costumed Pokemon.

However, some trainers have called on Niantic to implement better costumed Pokemon going forward after highlighting some of the “lazy” costume designs from previous events.

Pokemon Go fans want better costumed Pokemon

A post on the Pokemon Go subreddit gained traction among the community after one fan reposted a screenshot they created after Drip Lapras was released last year during May 2022’s Season of Alola.

The OP titled the post: “Reposting this from last year to show what a beach-themed Lapras should look like. Niantic are so lazy with their vanilla hat mon recycling.”

There were plenty of fans who agreed that Drip Lapras in particular was an odd choice for a summer-themed event, with one player asking, “Wait, you don’t wear a bowtie to the beach?”

Another trainer compared the costumes in Pokemon Go to those present in Pokemon Unite, and said they “would cry to have such a cute Lapras.”

However, some trainers wondered if Niantic actually had complete freedom to design costumed Pokemon like some trainers evidently thought.

“To give Niantic credit, I do wonder how much of this is the Pokémon Company not allowing them to do too much to the designs of the Pokémon, they’re just licensing Pokémon and Japanese companies are pretty well known for being really protective over their IP,” said one trainer.

It’s certainly unclear how much leeway Niantic has when it designs costume Pokemon. While not every trainer agreed that costumed Pokemon designs need to be above and beyond, it seems many fans feel like the offerings have been a bit lackluster as of late.

About The Author

Philip is a Staff Writer at Dexerto based in Louisiana, with expertise in Pokemon, Apex Legends, and general gaming industry news. His first job in the games industry was as a reviewer with NintendoEverything.com while attending college. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication focusing on Multimedia Journalism, he worked with GameRant.com for nearly two years before joining Dexerto. When he's not writing he's usually tearing through some 80+ hour JRPG. You can contact him at philip.trahan@dexerto.com.