Pokemon players love Palafin’s “cursed” Dragon Ball attack
The Pokemon CompanyThere are some Pokemon attacks that look a lot more impressive when animated as part of a cartoon series, and the Water-type dolphin ‘mon Palafin has one that fans love, even if it’s a little unexpected.
Palafin was introduced in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, and is a dolphin Pokemon with a superhero theme. When switched out in battle, it transforms into its Hero Form, allowing it to stand upright and giving it water-based powers that look incredible when animated.
In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, Palafin has a signature move, called Jet Punch. When used in-game, Palafin fires a fist made of water at the foe, with the camera following the punch as it flies across the screen before crashing into the enemy.
The animated versions of Jet Punch reveal that Palafin is actually firing its hand as it’s creating elements of its superhero costume with water. A thread on the Pokemon Reddit discussed how cursed and awesome this technique is, especially as it evokes Android 16’s Rocket Punch in Dragon Ball Z.
One user wrote, “Seeing this actually made me appreciate his design, the hands are the part I hated the most, now that I know they are “artificially” done with water I really like it.”
“This is a Pokémon I successfully ignored and forgot ever existed, until I stumbled across this post. Thanks,” another user wrote, while one said, “Palafin is the gift that keeps on giving. Legit one of the coolest designs and gimmicks in a long time IMHO.”
Palafin has used this strange version of Jet Punch in the Pokemon Horizons anime and the Pokemon: Bubble Beam Berry Blast short. Because it appears in multiple forms of media, it can be considered a canon design.
Pokemon is full of references to other franchises, so it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that Palafin’s Jet Punch is a nod to Dragon Ball Z or the Rocket Punch from the 1970s mecha series Mazinger Z. In Pokemon, this classic anime attack takes on a kid-friendly tone, which also fits Palafin’s superhero theme.