Pokemon fans try to identify balloon Pokemon with unintentionally rude design

Scott Baird
Team Rocket Meowth Balloon in Sky from Pokemon anime screenshot

A Pokemon fan has revealed their parent’s balloon Pokemon for a Thanksgiving event, leading to many misidentification attempts, thanks to its unintentionally rude design.

The Pokemon franchise is squarely aimed at kids, and that won’t change anytime soon. Indeed, the COO of The Pokemon Company recently discussed how impressing children is one of the core approaches for the franchise in the future.

The Pokemon series has hidden jokes that only adult fans would understand, ranging from obscure movie references to rude remarks that would fly over a kid’s head. However, these moments are few and far between and have become increasingly rare over the years.

While Pokemon is intended for kids, a prominent adult fanbase still produces tons of content about its characters. These include plushies, dolls, and even balloon animals, one of which has found attention online for its curious design.

Drifloon Spotlight Hour

Pokemon fans are playing a rude version of “Who’s That Pokemon” with a strange balloon creation

A user on the Pokemon Reddit named NotSureWhat2Put_ shared a photo of a balloon Pokemon their mother made for a Thanksgiving Balloon Parade project. While it’s obviously meant to be Magmar, the Fire-type from Pokemon Red & Blue, the other users on Reddit had other ideas based on its head.

“Boober” one user wrote, referring to Magmar’s Japanese name, while another fan backed this claim up, “It’s clearly Boober.”

The blobs on its head led to several other rude comparisons and suggestions, which we won’t repeat here. It’s fair to say that fans love misidentifying the Magmar balloon as something risque, along with a few other cultural references.

“MAGICIANS RED” one user wrote, referencing the red birdlike Stand from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, while other users compared it to Blaziken, the fiery chicken Pokemon that debuted in Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire.

The OP mentioned that their mother made the balloon Magmar on short notice with little information on what the Pokemon looked like, so they did a really good job under the circumstances. Many fans did correctly guess its identity at first glance, even if they did slip in a joke about its head in the process.