Pokemon Launches Perfect Sumo Team Up

The franchise of Pokemon has found itself a part of plenty of partnerships over the years, but perhaps one of its strangest has just arrived as The Pokemon Company is now in business with The Nihon Sumo Kyokai to support the sport of Sumo. Acting a sponsor for an upcoming tournament, the company responsible for the likes of Pikachu, Ash Ketchum, Mewtwo and the countless other characters of the franchise are throwing their lot behind the sport of Sumo in Japan, which normally sees two large participants attempting to knock one another outside of a small ring. 

Pokemon, ironically enough, has a Sumo-type pocket monster in its ranks, with the creature Hariyama being introduced as a rough and tumble physical opponent for any trainer that happens to get in its way. Introduced as a part of Pokemon’s Third Generation, which included the games of Pokemon Ruby, Pokemon Sapphire, and Pokemon Emerald, the larger-than-life Pokemon has made a few appearances in the anime series, battling against Ash Ketchum after evolving from its lower form, Makuhita. Of course, both Makuhita and Hariyama make for the perfect representatives for the franchise when it comes to sponsoring the sport of Sumo.

As a part of the Pokemon sponsorship, two-hundred banners will be marched around the arena during the Sumo sporting event, featuring Pikachu and Makuhita, along with several other creatures from the popular anime franchise to unite these two very different worlds:

The President of Pokemon Company, Tsunekazu Ishihara, had this to say about the upcoming partnership which will see the anime franchise featured in the upcoming Sumo tournament: 

“Pokémon is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, but compared to sumo, which has a long history and tradition, it’s still the beginning,”  

Pokemon has continued its reign of supremacy in both the world of anime and video games, with the latest entry Sword And Shield being well represented on both fronts. Though Hariyama hasn’t made a return appearance in either, Pokemon Journeys has recently brought back a large number of trainers and their pocket monsters, so this is a situation where anything is possible.

What do you think of this bizarre crossover? What other sporting fields would you like to see Pikachu and his friends dive into? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Pokemon. 

Via Kotaku