One Piece Creator Hides Special Pokemon Easter Egg in Manga

One Piece’s latest chapter is packed to the brim with easy to miss details, and series creator […]

May 26, 2020, 7:36pm

One Piece‘s latest chapter is packed to the brim with easy to miss details, and series creator Eiichiro Oda surprisingly snuck in a Pokemon cameo right under our noses. Although Oda has been known for his attention to detail and foreshadowing events in the series years before they actually take place in the manga or anime, it’s rare that he gives a shout out to other major properties. But that’s all changed with the latest chapter of the series as the cliffhanger for Chapter 980 snuck in a cameo from Meltan from the Pokemon franchise!

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As noted from @newworldartur on Twitter, Oda managed to sneak in two tiny Meltan into Eustass Kid’s Punk Gibson attack at the end of Chapter 980. They are both quite tiny, but can be seen wedged in the mass of metals and other junk Kid gathered for his launched attack on Scratchmen Apoo. See if you can spot them below!

A very unusual hidden detail by Oda, being an easter egg character from another series!! There are two Meltan Pokémon from Pokémon GO (which Oda has mentioned being a very big fan of) hidden in this panel. Can you spot them both? pic.twitter.com/60yteJHgiN
— Artur – Library of Ohara (@newworldartur) May 25, 2020

Meltan was first introduced to the Pokemon franchise as the sole new addition to the massive catalog of monsters in Pokemon GO. It was later brought into the Pokemon Sun and Moon anime towards the end of its run, and was eventually brought into Ash Ketchum’s team for the season soon after. It even had evolved before Ash challenge the Alolan League, and was part of the very team that helped him to his very first league championship victory.

This certainly was a surprisingly playful cameo from Eiichiro Oda, and now fans will definitely keep their eyes glued to each new page going forward just in case there are others snuck in. The next chapter of the series is on a break before it debuts, but now fans have something else to look forward to when the manga returns!

Did you manage to catch this sneaky Pokemon cameo at the end of One Piece‘s latest chapter? What do you think of Oda’s continuing attention to small details like this? What are you hoping to see in the Wano Country arc’s upcoming war? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!