Two of the hottest fictional properties in the world right now are Pokemon and Ghostbusters. With the story of Ash Ketchum and Pikachu maintaining a level of high popularity since the series’ inception in the later 1990s, Ghostbusters has returned thanks in part to the upcoming sequel, Ghostbusters Afterlife. Now, one fan has discovered a link to the two different franchises, revealing how the origin of the ice cream themed pocket monster of Vanilluxe ties into the decades old, legendary comedy!
Twitter User and Poke-Fan DrLavaYT shared a breakdown of how this strange Pokemon was originally inspired by the most recognizable threat to the Ghostbusters, the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man, who had been inadvertently summoned thanks in part to Ray’s inability to stop his mind from wandering:
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Vanilluxe Origins:
According to its creator @JamesTurner_42, Vanilluxe was partly inspired by Weezing, but is mostly based on the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. James noted that the movie takes place in New York — which was the inspiration for the Unova region. pic.twitter.com/wv9EV0oBve
— Dr. Lava’s Lost Pokemon (@DrLavaYT) December 18, 2019
Vanilluxe was originally introduced as part of the fifth generation of pocket monsters, making its video game debut in Pokemon Black and White, giving fans one of the stranger Pokemon to appear in the series’ history. Besides being inspired by Mr. Stay-Puft, Vanilluxe was also inspired by its Pokemon “cousin” in Weezing.
As mentioned earlier, Ghostbusters has seen a resurgence in popularity recently thanks in part to the upcoming sequel, Ghostbusters Afterlife, which will be dropping into theaters next year. The trailer, which debuted earlier this month, features a family having to move to a small mid-Western town, discovering the old technology and vehicles of the Ghostbusters themselves. Each of the living original Ghostbusters are seemingly confirmed for the upcoming film, though we doubt any Pokemon will be making a crossover in this one.
The Pokemon series is quite familiar with ghosts, having even gone so far as to create a type of pocket monsters that is labeled “Ghost” such as Gengar and Haunter to name a few. Surprisingly enough, Vanilluxe itself is not a ghost type but is rather squarely in the field of ice.
What do you think of this link between Pokemon and Ghostbusters? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, Ghostbusters, and Pokemon!
Pokemon: The Series, is now airing new episodes weekly in Japan, but unfortunately is still not officially licensed for an English language release as of this writing. Staff confirmed for the new series include Daiki Tomiyasu serving as chief director for OLM, Maki Odaira as series director, and Kunihiko Yuyama as creative supervisor.
