Why Isn’t There a Turkey Pokemon?

With almost nine hundred Pokemon species in existence, the time has come once again to ask why there isn’t a Pokemon based on a turkey. Today, millions of people will sit down with their families and loved ones to celebrate Thanksgiving and eat tons of turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, and other traditional food items. Millions of Pokemon fans will also be celebrating the day by sneaking in a few hours of playtime on Pokemon Sword and Shield, the brand new Pokemon games. However, Pokemon fans won’t be able to celebrate Thanksgiving by catching a Turkey Pokemon, because no such Pokemon exists.

There really isn’t a good excuse for the Pokemon franchise to not have a turkey-inspired monster at this point, especially with all the strange creatures that have appeared in the games over the last few years. The latest Pokemon games feature everything from a sentient coal cart with a face to an actual apple pie Pokemon, but we still don’t have a turkey Pokemon. Considering that we now know that people in the Pokemon world eat Pokemon AND that turkeys are so visually distinctive, there just doesn’t a good reason why there is a fire-breathing turkey named Burnkey or a gelatinous Jello turkey named Gooblygook.

It’s especially strange considering the Pokemon Company seems to have a Pokemon for every holiday occasion. We have a Santa-themed Christmas bird, tons of Ghost-type Pokemon for Halloween and even a few trees for Arbor Day. We even have a Pokemon that likes playing football, for crying out loud! It feels like the Pokemon Company is leaving money on the table by not having a turkey Pokemon to produce tons of merchandise of for the Thanksgiving season. I know I would gladly spend money a table centerpiece featuring a turkey Pokemon.

We’ll likely have to wait a bit longer for a turkey Pokemon, but hopefully we’ll get a gobbling Pokemon before too long. In the meantime, we’ll just have to celebrate Thanksgiving the old fashioned way – by arguing with family members over whether Pikachu or Eevee is cuter.