Pokemon Anime Pays Homage to Naruto Run with Raboot

Pokemon‘s latest series has been throwing fans for a loop over its first 18 or so episodes thus far as it’s made many changes to how the anime has worked in the past. One of the biggest was undoubtedly the introduction of a second protagonist added to the series with Go and his own partner Pokemon Scorbunny. While that was already a huge shake up of its own, the anime recently made an even bigger impact when Scorbunny surprisingly evolved in battle to Raboot before many fans even expected it to.

Fans had already loved Scorbunny’s big evolution into Raboot when it made its debut in Episode 17 of the anime, but the latest episode of the series featured another reason to fall in love with Raboot beyond its already moody demeanor when it was revealed that Raboot has the “Naruto run.” As one of the most famous runs in all of anime, it’s now gotten an adorable new makeover.

Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto recently celebrated its 20th Anniversary, and although there are a ton of memorable moments from the franchise over the course of its tenure there’s nothing quite as impacting as its run. The running with the arms flailing in the wind became such a huge hit with fans and non-fans alike that it’s taken on a whole new life outside of its original incarnation.

This run had been especially prominent within the last couple of years in the United States especially when it became a huge new meme. Fans were jokingly planning to use the run to “invade” the mysterious Area 51 base, and it has since gone on to a whole new second life. It’s become so recognizable that even if the Pokemon team wasn’t planning on making a reference to Naruto, they most certainly did with this run. Now it’s just a matter of seeing what other ninja tricks Raboot uses as the anime continues.

Did Raboot’s run immediately remind you of Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto too? Did its surprise ninja evolution make you think of Naruto already? How do you think its relationship with Go will evolve as the newest anime continues? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!